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, he 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

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 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

‘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

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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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Harry Chapin 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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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

‘Yellow Submarine’ Before It Was ‘Yellow Submarine’— A Naked Submersible, Sung By John Lennon

Most fans had no idea that these early compositional demos of the song existed. Now that we do, we can never think of it the same way again.

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The Scene: How the Song Came to Be

Al Kooper on Recording “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” With the Stones

“Mick wore a gorilla coat and Keith a hat with a long feather. Everyone sat around and they passed out acoustic guitars.”–Kooper

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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”

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