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

Barry McGuire vs. Barry Sadler: When the News Hit #1

One chart-topper listed complaints about the inequities and horrors of the day, while the other was a patriotic paean to the Army’s elite special forces.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Gotta Bludgeon: The Delightfully Punishing, Hell-for-Leather Second Take of The Beatles’ ‘Helter Skelter’

Close your eyes and it’s not hard to picture George Martin in the control booth, thinking, “What on earth are we doing tonight?”

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

The Important Half: John Lennon, ‘Julia’ and Singing to Reach

“The song, inspired by John’s late mother, “is brave, because in the delivery we hear a singer willing to be transported.”

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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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