How the Song Came to Be
Sonny & Cher’s ‘The Beat Goes On’ (& On & On)…
A breakdown of the way things used to be vs. the inevitable winds of change, it gave them their third major hit. But some things, it seemed, never changed.
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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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‘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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ELO’s ‘Don’t Bring Me Down… Bruce!’
Most classic rock acts have a misheard lyric. It goes with the territory. So what did Jeff Lynne do when concert audiences started singing along to his big hit?
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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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Harry Chapin’s Inspiration for ‘Taxi’
‘Cat’s in the Cradle’ may have been Harry Chapin’s biggest hit, but ‘Taxi’ resonated with listeners, perhaps due to its real-life connection.
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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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The Kinks’ ‘Celluloid Heroes’: Everybody’s a Star…
“Everybody’s a dreamer, and everybody’s a star,” Ray Davies sang. But it was never quite that simple. Watch a stellar performance of this Kinks Klassik.
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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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Dr. Hook ‘Cover of the Rolling Stone’: Backstory
A band records a song about its burning desire to make it to the cover of the leading music magazine. We’ve got the backstory. Do you know who wrote it?
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