Behind the Muse : Pop and Rock's Greatest Songwriters Talk about Their Work and Inspiration

"Behind The Muse" features interviews with over 40 successful and respected songwriters. Billy Joel, Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Smokey Robinson, John Mellencamp, and David Byrne are among the acclaimed writers who discuss their methods for tapping into the sources of creativity, their work habits, and the stories behind their most popular songs.

The book spans 70 years of popular music, from interviews with Mitchell Parish (who wrote the lyrics to "Stardust") and Burton Lane (whose standard "How About You?" first charted in the Big Band era) to discussions with current cutting-edge artists such as Aimee Mann and Tori Amos.

Along the way, there are revealing interviews with the creators of famous songs from a wide variety of genres such as 1960s pop (Jimmy Webb, Hal David), Motown (Ashford & Simpson), classic rock (The Byrds' Roger McGuinn, The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward), country (Dolly Parton), musical theatre (Jerry Herman, Marvin Hamlisch, Tim Rice), 1970s and 1980s Top 40 (Barry Gibb, Phil Collins, Steve Winwood), power pop (Nick Lowe, Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook, Matthew Sweet), and current singer-songwriters (Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan).

Bill DeMain is a songwriter, recording artist, and journalist. He is one-half of the pop duo Swan Dive and his songs have been featured on a number of critically-acclaimed albums. His writing has appeared in "MOJO," "Entertainment Weekly," and "Performing Songwriter."