HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45…
Loading...

Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop (original 2016; edition 2017)

by Marc Myers (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
19617137,536 (3.54)10
Believing that every great song has a fascinating backstory, Myers brings to life five decades of music through oral histories of forty-five transformative songs woven from interviews with the artists who created them.From "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price to "Losing my religion" by R.E.M., leading artists reveal the emotions, inspirations, and techniques behind their influential works. The result is a love letter to the songs that have defined generations.… (more)
Member:ijustgetbored
Title:Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop
Authors:Marc Myers (Author)
Info:Grove Press (2017), Edition: Reprint, 336 pages
Collections:Your library, music
Rating:*****
Tags:music, music history, rock, rock music, rock criticism, R&B, pop, songs, songwriters

Work Information

Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop by Marc Myers (2016)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 10 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
I loved the looks into the creative process: the songwriting and the recording, Some of the recording details went over my head. I'm not surprised that I liked that part. The aspect of the book that surprised me was the historical essay that placed each song in context. This book really did tell a history of pop music. I look forward to reading the sequel. I'd love to read books like this about other genres of music, especially country. ( )
  Beth3511 | Feb 25, 2023 |
Many of my favorite songs from the '50s - '80s appear in this nifty collection from 2016. The author interviews performers, songwriters, and producers to recount their stories of how these gems were created - and each sausage is made differently! Sometimes a band member has a tune they can't forget. Other times a singer writes down a line or two (Steven Tyler wrote "Walk This Way" after seeing the movie Young Frankenstein, and when he couldn't find any paper, he scribbled some of the lyrics on a stairwell wall!). Or a producer plunks down a string quartet right in the middle of the studio, much to the band's surprise. Or a technician erases an entire lead vocal track, oops, when he was supposed to be sweetening it with strings. The title proclaims that the 45 (the number chosen to match those li'l records) songs changed rock, R&B, and pop. I'm not sure, and there are some very obvious omissions (Beatles, Aretha, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Dylan, The Band, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Simon and Garfunkel - I could go on), but it's possible that those contacts were not available. What's here is marvelous and there's a fascinating tale behind every tune. The author’s criteria is that the songs he chooses have to had twenty five years of staying power, and the sequel, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, will be out 12/6/22, so maybe the some of the blanks will be filled in.

Quote: “New Wave, upgraded post-punk bands were artfully camp in their jittery nerdiness and jaded sophistication. Their music was also more accessible and less taunting than punk, making the shift from gothic bleakness to art rock.” ( )
  froxgirl | Nov 11, 2022 |
The subtitle promises a bit more than it delivers. It would be more accurate to say "The oral history of 45 songs, most of which were hits, and some of which changed rock, R&B and pop."

It's a fun read though, with plenty of interesting anecdotes from the making of popular music. ( )
  Fulminata | Apr 19, 2021 |
A wonderful book about how forty-five popular songs came to be. The writing and recording techniques are diverse, and show that creativity has many routes and forms. From Steely Dan’s painstaking recording process to Merle Haggard talking about writing “Big City” with his tour bus driver and playing the finished recording for him back on the bus an hour later.

There’s an intriguing interview with Joni Mitchell about her song “Carey,” and then one with the song’s subject, whose name she misspelled. Grace Slick on writing a now-classic: “I think White Rabbit is a very good song. I’m not a genius, but I don’t suck.” Another tidbit: Tammy Wynette kept her hairdresser’s license active in Mississippi throughout her life, just in case the music business didn’t work out. Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” is covered in both the original version and the later collaboration with Run-D.M.C.

An inside look at the processes behind some groundbreaking music. ( )
  Hagelstein | Dec 4, 2020 |
I did enjoy the stories of these famous songs though I often found myself wishing for more in depth info on some of them. Interesting to hear songwriter and producer recollections. Recommended for music lovers. ( )
  jldarden | Aug 7, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
For Alyse and Olivia My melody and harmony
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Believing that every great song has a fascinating backstory, Myers brings to life five decades of music through oral histories of forty-five transformative songs woven from interviews with the artists who created them.From "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price to "Losing my religion" by R.E.M., leading artists reveal the emotions, inspirations, and techniques behind their influential works. The result is a love letter to the songs that have defined generations.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

LibraryThing Early Reviewers Alum

Marc Myers's book Anatomy of a Song was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.54)
0.5 1
1
1.5
2 1
2.5 2
3 16
3.5 3
4 11
4.5
5 7

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

HighBridge Audio

An edition of this book was published by HighBridge Audio.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,186,749 books! | Top bar: Always visible