How the Song Came to Be
The Ides of March and the Story of ‘Vehicle’
They took their band name from a Shakespeare classic, their biggest hit from a real-life incident, and they drove their way up the charts in the year 1970.
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‘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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Brian Wilson & the Beach Boys’ ‘Don’t Worry Baby’: Instant Inspiration
There’s no more representative piece of work to play for a visiting alien as testament to Wilson’s gifts than “Don’t Worry Baby.”
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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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‘It’s the Real Thing’: When a Coca-Cola Ad Inspired 2 Hit Singles
In 1971, the creative director for the beverage’s ad agency wrote down the words “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.” His vision for a new campaign took off
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Once Upon a Time: Mark Lindsay on the Raiders’ ‘Good Thing’
The group’s lead vocalist talks about writing the hit single with producer Terry Melcher, the wild story of the Los Angeles home they lived in and the Tarantino movie.
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John Fogerty Talks About Writing ‘Proud Mary’
50 years after he began writing one of his most-beloved tracks, the musician shared how the song came to be
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Gerry Rafferty, ‘Baker Street,’ and That Sax Solo!
The smash hit was written while its author was hanging out in a flat in London, trying to escape from frustrating legal proceedings.
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Zager & Evans’ ‘In the Year 2525’: The Gloomiest #1?
It was, to be sure, one of the bleakest songs ever to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. And then Zager and Evans never charted again.
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‘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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