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

The Gentrys’ ‘Keep on Dancing’: Behind the ’60s Garage Classic

The Memphis septet took an obscure R&B tune and turned it into a top 5 rocker in 1965. The story behind the recording–and the band–is fascinating.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Iron Butterfly’s Classic ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida’

The single and album signaled a shift from the psychedelic sound toward something more aggressive, loud and primal. Rock fans either loved it or hated it.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Love Me Do’: The Beatles’ 1st Single Was the Sound of Identity

We don’t talk about it as one of the great debut singles, but perhaps that’s because it transcends the normal categories.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Joan Baez ‘Diamonds & Rust’—Reflections on Her Friend Bob

Dylan asked her who her new song was about. She told him it was about her ex-husband. It wasn’t, of course. It was about Bob Dylan.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Five Americans’ Catchy Hit, ‘Western Union’: Dit-Da-Dit-Da-Dit

The clean-cut band from Oklahoma chose its name to help stand out from groups that were part of the British Invasion, and scored a catchy single in 1967.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Doobie Brothers’ ‘What a Fool Believes’: Behind Their #1 Hit

The song almost didn’t happen. Michael McDonald’s sister told him it sounded like ‘circus music’ and to forget it. Good thing he didn’t listen to her!

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Elton John’s ‘Levon’: A Pauper to a Pawn

The first single from 1971’s Madman Across the Water is “one of our finest moments lyrically and melodically” and includes Paul Buckmaster’s soaring orchestral arrangements.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

First Banger: The Shredding Delight of the Beatles’ ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’

This is the first Beatles guitar solo that shreds, and it’s hard to fathom/estimate how many kids decided they wanted to be guitar heroes upon hearing Harrison’s thrilling break.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Johnny Cash—’A Boy Named Sue’: Behind the Song

“That’s the most cleverly written song I’ve ever heard,” Cash told the song’s composer. It became Cash’s biggest hit single.

Read More
The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Dancing in the Moonlight’—The Circuitous Path of the One and Only King Harvest Hit

Everybody was “Dancing in the Moonlight” in the early ’70s, but who was the band that recorded this catchy one-hit wonder? We decided to find out.

Read More