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

Marc Myers is a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal, where he writes about rock, soul, and jazz, as well as the arts. He is the author of the critically acclaimed bookWhy Jazz Happened, and posts daily at JazzWax.com, winner of the 2015 Jazz Journalists Association’s award for Jazz Blog of the Year.

Keith Richards on “Street Fighting Man”
"Early on, when I had played the tape of my melody for Mick, his lyrics were about brutal adults. We recorded them and called the song, 'Did Everyone Pay Their Dues?' But we weren’t that crazy about the results, and the lyrics underwent several rewrites once we saw what was going on in the streets in London and Paris in 1968. While we were in the studio, Mick had been at a huge demonstration against the Vietnam War in London’s Grosvenor Square in March. And we were both in Paris in May during the violent protests by students demanding reforms. The French cops were pretty nasty about it.
As we traveled around, Mick and I would look at each other and realize something big was happening in two major capitals of the world and that our generation was bursting at the seams. Mick knew that 'Dues' needed a lyric overhaul that better matched what was going on. I came up with the line 'What can a poor boy do' and threw it out to Mick. He completed the thought with '’Cept to sing for a rock ’n’ roll band.' He wrote the rest of the new lyrics in the studio. That’s often how we worked. One of us would have a piece of a lyric that sounded interesting, then hand it off to the other to get things going."
Joni Mitchell on "Carey"
"I had my dulcimer with me from the States. I used it to write “Carey” over a period of weeks in different locations in and around Matala as a birthday present for Cary. My lyric, “Oh Carey get out your cane” referred to a cane Cary carried with him all the time. He was a bit of a scene-stealer, and the cane was a theatrical prop for him."
Stevie Wonder on “Love’s in Need of Love Today”
"It’s about creating a marriage of all the instruments and vocals, bringing them together to make a statement . . . Whether it’s the Beatles, Sly Stone, Prince or Ed Sheeran, you start with an idea or vision and bring what you hear in your mind to reality. When I’m doing this, I become all the different musicians and approach the song from each musician’s understanding."