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

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

A consummate, road-tested professional, Charles 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

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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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Shining a Light on the Origin and Impact of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

“I said to Leonard, ‘This is the one. This is what we’ve been waiting for. This might be your best record.'”–Producer/songwriter/performer John Lissauer

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Remember Nelson? Twin Brothers Now Well Into Their ’50s

Less than 5 years after the untimely death of their father, Ricky Nelson, Gunnar and Matthew were on top of the music world themselves

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Glory of ‘Gloria’: Behind Van Morrison’s Most Resilient Rock ’n’ Roll Anthem

One of the most beloved and oft-covered songs in the garage-rock canon started life as a single’s B-side. We take a look at the wonders of ‘G-L-O-R-I-A.’

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Beatles’ Forgotten Top 20 Hit: A ‘Sweet’ Story

A top 20 hit in the U.S., yet it has received virtually no radio airplay in decades and is almost never mentioned in accounts of the band’s early days.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’: Behind the Song

The composer of one of the greatest countercultural anthems never made it to the festival that served as the song’s subject.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Paradise By the Dashboard Light’: Was Phil Rizzuto In On the Joke?

In interviews 30 years apart, with radio legend Dennis Elsas, Meat Loaf tells the inside story of the recording session with the beloved Yankees broadcaster

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

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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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Sonny & Cher: ‘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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