Grammy-winning record producer Don Was shares studio stories and insight on his work with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, Kris Kristofferson and more.
Behind The Song
Heartbreak Hotel
On Jan. 10, 1956, Elvis Presley went into Nashville’s RCA Studio to record “Heartbreak Hotel” which went on to become his first #1 hit. Here’s the story behind the song written by Mae Axton and Tommy Durden.
The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
On May 7, 1965, Keith Richards woke up in the middle of the night with a melody in his head. He was in a room at the Gulf Motel in Clearwater, Florida. His guitar was on the bed beside him. Fumbling around in the dark, he found his portable cassette recorder on the nightstand. He […]
Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide”
The story behind “Landslide” as told by Stevie Nicks: It was written in 1973 at a point where Lindsey [Buckingham] and I had driven to Aspen for him to rehearse for two weeks with Don Everly. Lindsey was going to take Phil’s place. So they rehearsed and left, and I made a choice to stay […]
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”
By late 1969, Burt Bacharach and Hal David were kings of the pop songwriting game. With over 20 Top 40 singles by their vocal muse Dionne Warwick, cover versions of their songs by an A-Z of artists including Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and Ella Fitzgerald, movie soundtracks, TV specials and a Broadway musical, they’d done […]
Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee”
Merle Haggard often gets name-checked in contemporary country songs. It’s a quick way to tip a hat to tradition and add a helping of honky-tonk cred. Haggard’s 41 No. 1 country hits and place in country’s Mount Rushmore aside, his name personifies the hard life that was once synonymous with the genre. Prison sentences, multiple […]
Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is like a condensed version of the second side of Abbey Road, with makeup and tights. Six minutes of flamboyant patchwork pop—a capella intro, sentimental verses, faux-Italian chorale, a thundering glam-metal climax—it’s a testament to Freddie Mercury’s adeptness as a songwriter and Queen’s musicianship that the disparate parts add up to such a […]
Jimmy Webb’s Story Behind “The Highwayman”
I was in London, finishing an album, El Mirage, with [Beatles producer] George Martin. My friend Harry Nilsson was there, and we were doing some professional drinking. He left my apartment one night, and I went to sleep and had an incredibly vivid dream. I had an old brace of pistols in my belt and […]
The Andy Griffith Show Theme Song
Andy Griffith passed away this morning at the age of 86. With scores of roles to his credit—from Broadway to the Silver Screen to Matlock—the character that he is, of course, best known for is that of Sheriff Andy Taylor, the loveably laid-back peacekeeper of the fictional town of Mayberry. Anyone who grew up watching […]
Ray Davies on The Kinks’ “Picture Book”
I always knew that song would have its day,” Ray Davies says of 1968’s “Picture Book.” “Sometimes you just know. It was never a hit, but it’s become a hit in another way.” Tucked away as an album track for 36 years, “Picture Book” finally had its day when it was featured in an innovative […]
Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young”
“When I wrote ‘Only the Good Die Young,’ the point of the song wasn’t so much anti-Catholic as pro-lust,” Billy Joel said. The object of Joel’s affections was one Virginia Callahan, an unrequited crush from his high school days in Levittown, Long Island. In 1999, the piano man reminisced, “One of the first gigs I […]
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