Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop

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 show more 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.” show less

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 show more 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. show less

I love this stuff. I love learning the background, the genesis for a work, be it a book or painting, tv episode or – obviously – a song. Websites like SongFacts are huge rabbit holes that I can and do fall into and lose ridiculous amounts of time. And this collection of 45 tales, originally articles in the Wall Street Journal, derived from the author's interviews with those who participated in the songs' creation and recording, are (more or less) fascinating.

There's a fairly common bit of trivia about the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", about how although everyone pretty much assumes it's about an acid trip (the capitals of the song title are LSD!), John Lennon always denied it, said it was based on a crayon drawing from show more one of his kids. Similarly, Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" is not, as – oh, come on, as everyone who's ever heard it – thinks, about any mind–altering substances. It makes so much sense when you hear the story. ("Lucy" is not one of the 45 songs in this book, by the way – consider this a bonus.)

I do love this stuff. I love inside information, inspiration, in–jokes – I will never hear "Groovin'" the same again, now that I know about the Misheard–Lyric Joke the band used to make, which ranks up there with "There's a bathroom on the right" and "Hold me closer, Tony Danza".

I still find the selection of songs a little surprising. Despite never having heard of several, I have no argument with the songs and artists included (except for "Suspicious Minds" – I despise that song) – but I do wonder about so many artists who are not represented. Billy Joel, Simon and/or Garfunkel, Rush, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Styx, Bruce Springsteen. Bob Dylan. Michael Jackson – any of the Jacksons. Prince. David Bowie. Hell – the Beatles. I mean. There were two songs from the Rolling Stones, though. That doesn't work for me. But it's not my collection. I just wonder why. In a perfect world would these 45 songs be the 45 songs he would have chosen out of all the songs ever? Or did the songs choices depend on the interviews – whether people involved in the production were still alive, were willing, were otherwise available?

Why "Mercedes Benz" and not "Me and Bobby McGee?" I mean, it's a great story, but how do I know "Bobby McGee" doesn't have just as cool a background?

In audio format it took a bit of adjusting for me. Jonathan Yen did an excellent job of narrating, but still – knowing that the essays were based on taped interviews, it seemed off not to have the artists' own voices telling the stories. To sit with them, talk with them and extract the answers, edit everything down and write an article, and then give it to someone else to read – verbatim, with all of each person's idiosyncrasies – into a microphone – it just feels a little crazy. I mean, it does make sense, in that having to get the rights and permissions would have taken time and money from the book's budget, and the edited-down versions of the interviews were, I'm sure, pretty choppy. It just took a little time to adapt to the same voice reading Grace Slick and Loretta Lynn and Stevie Wonder and Michael Stipe. I absolutely commend the narrator and the producers for the decision not to try for impersonation of any sort – no accents, none of those characteristic speech tics, only a slightly lighter voice used for women's contributions. None of my problems with the book were due to the narrator – he was very good.

I think – apart from that – my only real complaint about this book is that it ended quite abruptly. The last song, "Losing My Religion", is featured, and then … that's it, no wrap up. Some kind of coda would have been nice. Other than that, it was a well–put–together compendium of articles.

But seriously, why two Stones songs?

1. Lloyd Price – Lawdy Miss Clawdy – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYO263wui1w
2. Little Willie Littlefield – K.C. Loving – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEPt9lrfO_8
3. The Isley Brothers – Shout – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFCePEPdaU4
4. The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSlzhYd0rYw
5. Dion – Runaround Sue – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID–jsd0HGZs
6. The Dixie Cups – Chapel of Love – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTq7w8P6_2I
7. The Kinks – You Really Got Me – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTTsY–oz6Go
8. The Righteous Brothers – You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NONMSNzLhHU
9. The Temptations – My Girl – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bsdGo8dEoY
10. The Four Tops – Reach Out I'll Be There – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd6XkaKmqMM
11. The Lovin' Spoonful – Darling Be Home Soon – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXjzOpz4Cyw
12. The Doors – Light My Fire – (7 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deB_u–to–IE
13. The Young Rascals – Groovin' – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=falI0baGhBQ
14. Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) – White Rabbit – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR8LFNUr3vw
15. The Stone Poneys – Different Drum – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLN4MUROXk
16. Otis Redding – (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyPKRcBTsFQ
17. Loretta Lynn – Fist City – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvPnYhftIjs
18. The Rolling Stones – Street Fighting Man – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_ypZLjVbFE
19. Tammy Wynette – Stand by Your Man – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM–b8P1yj9w
20. Steppenwolf – Magic Carpet Ride – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ccBi8f_2RE
21. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfyEpmQM7bw
22. The Edwin Hawkins Singers – Oh Happy Day – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzj3pOdCOqU
23. Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxOBOhRECoo
24. Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0utAHY3xo4
25. Janis Joplin – Mercedes Benz – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qev–i9–VKlY
26. The Rolling Stones – Moonlight Mile – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stpRIyHHw8g
27. Rod Stewart – Maggie May – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxtCqs2WFZE
28. Joni Mitchell – Carey – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bulwl46vz9s
29. The Staple Singers – Respect Yourself – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–1pYKdqD1ls
30. Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Nm5baiM4M
31. Gladys Knight and the Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0F9lh8TiSM
32. The Allman Brothers – Ramblin' Man – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x28jaeyX2s
33. The Hues Corporation – Rock the Boat – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO1Z8ikSEPU
34. Aerosmith – Walk This Way – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UFFa1HbFfA
35. Stevie Wonder – Love's in Need of Love Today – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmcXIaBwz_g
36. Steely Dan – Deacon Blues – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A0wGO3c2T8
37. Elvis Costello – (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0aAGP3ty_A
38. Blondie – Heart of Glass – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa911_8TP2s
39. Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU–U
40. The Clash – London Calling – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7ZiwhDAo04
41. The Neville Brothers – Brother John/Iko Iko – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99NYJkWZC9I
42. Merle Haggard – Big City – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th7tgdCZjUo
43. Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQY7BusJNU
44. Bonnie Raitt – Nick of Time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy8gHfGIS_A
45. R.E.M. – Losing My Religion – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg show less

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.

Marc Myers is a regular music columnist for the Wall Street Journal. The 45 oral history interviews in Anatomy of a Song started as WSJ columns. Myers added new material and new introductions in this anthology, so it's more than a collection of previously published material. The songs are arranged chronologically so cover-to-cover readers will see the development of rock and pop music through its first four decades. However, this collection is better suited for occasional rather than sustained reading. It's the type of book that many readers will prefer to browse, lingering over the stories of familiar songs and skipping those they don't know or don't like.

I listened to the audio version of this book. It's not well-suited for this show more medium, for reasons just stated. It's easy to skip over a song or two in a print book; it's not so easy to do it in an audiobook if you're doing other things while you're listening. It would have been nice if short audio clips of the songs had been added at the beginning of each piece to remind listeners of songs they might not have heard in a while. Maybe the licensing would have been too complicated to do this. Jonathan Yen's narration will appeal to regular listeners of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 since his voice sounds very similar to Kasem's.

This collection might be a good gift for a hard-to-buy-for friend or relative of a certain age. Other readers may wish to borrow this from a library for guilt-free selective reading.

This review is based on a complimentary audio edition provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. show less

The author has chosen 45 songs that, in his mind, tracked the routes rock & roll has taken over the years. There is a discussion of the song and what makes it iconic, then interviews with several people involved with the song (artists, writers, musicians, etc.). Although I know very little about music, the talks about how the songs were arranged and dubbed and overdubbed was really interesting--I always thought they just went into a studio and played!
The only downside was listening to all the information, and not hearing the songs as I went along. I should put together a mix tape.... :)

Anatomy of a Song by Marc Myers is a nice nostalgic trip through essentially the rock and roll era as reflected in 45rpm records. This is not a history and certainly not the most important songs but a compilation based on interviews Myers has done for his Wall Street Journal column and the songs he was most moved by in his version of the history of rock and roll. Since there is no definitive history nor a definitive list of most important or most iconic, the reader needs to understand that this is one person's view through his own personal lens.

Each song is presented in chronological order with a brief contextual explanation then the words of the artists, writers or producers associated with creating the record. The selection covers a show more fair range of the music available on 45s but is far from either balanced or of the songs that most changed the music landscape. His selections, by the criteria he set for himself, is hit and miss with the selections, but the reader needs to understand he was choosing from the collection of interviews and columns he had done, so he wasn't actually free to choose from all 45s. Thus the disconnect between what the title claims for the book and what it is.

Putting aside the hyperbole of the title, this is a fun read because most of us who have lived through this period and remember these songs will be taken back. The information the interviewees share vary from interesting trivia to wonderful ideas on using, and sometimes misusing, the available technology to achieve the desired effect.

I would highly recommend this to fans of music in general, rock and rhythm and blues in particular and anyone who enjoys a nostalgic trip through music. I would just warn against thinking of this as a history or as a list of songs that changed the music, though some surely did.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less