How the Song Came to Be
‘Brandy’ by Looking Glass (It’s a Fine Song)
For one week only, in the summer of 1972, it was the best-selling, most often played single in the United States of America.
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The Mamas & the Papas’ ‘Creeque Alley’: Behind the Song
The lyrics are stocked with names and places, some of which may have been (and still are) unfamiliar to fans of the group. We break it down.
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Dr. Hook ‘Cover of the Rolling Stone’
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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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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Mark Lindsay, Hal Blaine and the Raiders’ #1 Hit, ‘Indian Reservation’
Our interview with the star about the legendary drummer who made magic happen at the recording session and the single’s unusual path to success
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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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Deliverance’s ‘Dueling Banjos’: 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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‘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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Gordon Lightfoot’s Tale of a Ship’s Crew and Its Captain
The singer-songwriter had a string of big hits including 1976’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” based on a true story of a doomed freighter
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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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