Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop - Softcover

Myers, Marc

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802127185 ISBN 13: 9780802127181

Publisher: Grove Press, 2017

Synopsis

Writer and music historian Marc Myers brings to life five decades of music in Anatomy of a Song, based on the popular ongoing Wall Street Journal column, through oral histories of forty-five transformative songs woven from interviews with the artists who created them.

Taking readers inside the making of a hit, Anatomy of a Song includes Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz,” Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” Joni Mitchell remembers living in a cave on Crete with the “mean old daddy” who inspired her 1971 hit “Carey,” while Elvis Costello talks about writing “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” on a train to Liverpool. Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Smokey Robinson, Grace Slick, Mavis Staples, Steven Tyler, the Clash, Merle Haggard, Bonnie Raitt, Debbie Harry, and many other leading artists reveal the inspirations, struggles, and techniques behind their influential works. Covering the history of rock, R&B, country, disco, soul, reggae and pop, Anatomy of a Song is a love letter to the songs that have defined several generations of listeners.

About this title

About the Author

Marc Myers is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, where he writes about rock, soul, and jazz, as well as the arts. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Why Jazz Happened and posts daily at JazzWax.com, a two-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association’s award for Blog of the Year.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Keith Richards on “Street Fighting Man”
"Early on, when I had played the tape of my melody for Mick, his lyrics were about brutal adults. We recorded them and called the song, 'Did Everyone Pay Their Dues?' But we weren’t that crazy about the results, and the lyrics underwent several rewrites once we saw what was going on in the streets in London and Paris in 1968. While we were in the studio, Mick had been at a huge demonstration against the Vietnam War in London’s Grosvenor Square in March. And we were both in Paris in May during the violent protests by students demanding reforms. The French cops were pretty nasty about it.
As we traveled around, Mick and I would look at each other and realize something big was happening in two major capitals of the world and that our generation was bursting at the seams. Mick knew that 'Dues' needed a lyric overhaul that better matched what was going on. I came up with the line 'What can a poor boy do' and threw it out to Mick. He completed the thought with '’Cept to sing for a rock ’n’ roll band.' He wrote the rest of the new lyrics in the studio. That’s often how we worked. One of us would have a piece of a lyric that sounded interesting, then hand it off to the other to get things going."
Joni Mitchell on "Carey"
"I had my dulcimer with me from the States. I used it to write “Carey” over a period of weeks in different locations in and around Matala as a birthday present for Cary. My lyric, “Oh Carey get out your cane” referred to a cane Cary carried with him all the time. He was a bit of a scene-stealer, and the cane was a theatrical prop for him."
Stevie Wonder on “Love’s in Need of Love Today”
"It’s about creating a marriage of all the instruments and vocals, bringing them together to make a statement . . . Whether it’s the Beatles, Sly Stone, Prince or Ed Sheeran, you start with an idea or vision and bring what you hear in your mind to reality. When I’m doing this, I become all the different musicians and approach the song from each musician’s understanding."

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0802127185
• ISBN 13: 9780802127181
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336