How the Song Came to Be
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Important Half: John Lennon, ‘Julia’ and Singing to Reach

The song, inspired by his late mother, “is brave, because in the delivery we hear a singer willing to be transported.”

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Pete Townshend’s ‘Teenage Wasteland’

For years, he worked on an ambitious project called Lifehouse. It was intended to be another rock opera and a logical follow-up to Tommy. This song evolved into “Baba O’Riley.”

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Dancing in the Moonlight’—The Circuitous Path of the One and Only King Harvest Hit

Everybody was “Dancing in the Moonlight” in the early ’70s, but who was the band that recorded this catchy one-hit wonder? We decided to find out.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Ray Charles: ‘What’d I Say’—An Accidental Classic

A consummate, road-tested professional, he sat down at his Wurlitzer electric piano and improvised a blues-based boogie-woogie riff.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Dueling Banjos’ From ‘Deliverance’: An Unlikely Hit

The song, featured prominently in the 1972 thriller, was used without the permission of its composer. There’s actually only one banjo used.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Beatles’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There’: Way Beyond Compare

The song is an endless (and endlessly relatable) story, but also a finite one in that it takes place in less than three minutes.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Dion’s Moving ‘Abraham, Martin and John’

Tension was in the air in 1968 and rock music reflected the turmoil. Then came a voice from the past, gently singing of non-violence and hope.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Billy Jack’: One Tin Soldier Rides Away

The movie, directed, written and starring Tom Laughlin, had a long journey on its way to the screen. Its memorable song was recorded – and charted – multiple times.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Elvis Presley’s Inspiring ‘If I Can Dream’: Behind the Song

There are many goosebump-inducing scenes in Elvis, the sensational 2022 biopic. One such chapter is his 1968 comeback TV special, and its culminating moment.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Carly Simon’s Breakthrough to Superstardom: ‘You’re So Vain’

Watch the singer-songwriter perform a previously unheard verse of her huge 1972 hit from a ‘Carly Simon No Secrets’ classic albums special.

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