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How the Song Came to Be

‘Dirty Water,’ The Standells’ Garage Rock Classic

Since Opening Day in 1998, moments after the final out is recorded in a Boston Red Sox win at Fenway Park, the loudspeakers blare the 1966 hit single, the only one, in fact, from the band.

The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

How Dr. Hook Got on the ‘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?

The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Jaggerz’ ‘The Rapper’: You Know What He’s After

“The song was something that I wrote watching people in nightclubs. You’d see these dudes go over and start rapping to chicks,” said the band’s Donnie Iris.

The Scene: 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.

The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Harry Chapin Inspiration for ‘Taxi’

‘Cat’s in the Cradle’ may have been his biggest hit, but this one resonated with listeners, perhaps due to its real-life connection.

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.”

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.”