In 2016, journalist and author Marc Myers released Anatomy of a Song, a collection of essays and interviews with artists about some of their iconic songs and the songwriting process behind those songs. The collection originally ran as a column in the Wall Street Journal before being compiled into a book. As the column continued, Myers has found himself with a sizable amount of extra content that has been collected into a new book called Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock, Pop and Soul. In the introduction, Myers explains how it is not always easy as artists tend to want to talk about their new projects rather than dwell on the past. He also explains his process of choosing songs that are iconic but not worn out, songs that have had a significant impact, and songs that might have aspects that have puzzled listeners over the years.
A great example of this is the chapter about “Sunshine Superman” by Donovan. For decades, fans have mostly assumed that the song was an allusion to LSD. However, in the interview with Donovan Leitch he explains how the song was actually a love letter to his then love interest (now his wife of over 50 years). Donovan discusses how the inspiration for the word ‘sunshine’ in the song was merely a description of the sun coming through his window and the reference to ‘Superman’ was inspired by Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra. It was also interesting to discover that the session musicians on “Sunshine Superman” included John Paul Jones on bass and Jimmy Page on guitar before the days of Led Zeppelin.
Another great chapter is about Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”. Many have assumed that it has to do with astrology, but according to John Fogerty it was more of a send-up on astrology. Fogerty discusses how he always thought astrology was a bit silly and that spawned the idea to write down the phrase ‘bad moon rising’ for future inspiration. The rest of the lyrics were inspired by the movie The Devil and Daniel Webster.
In the chapter discussing “Barracuda” by Heart, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson reveal that the song came out of anger resulting from a trade ad made by their record company that implied they were incestuous lovers. Ann was furious and wrote a scathing poem that became the lyrics. Joan Jett discusses how she formed the Blackhearts and how the name had no deeper meaning except that a black heart is easy to draw on a bathroom wall. Her producer/cowriter also discusses how the song “Bad Reputation” came out of a conversation with Jett when labels wouldn’t sign her because of her ‘bad reputation’ in which Jett replied ‘I don’t give a damn about my bad reputation’. And the rest is history.
This is just a small sample of the wealth of stories contained in Anatomy of 55 More Songs. The chapters are laid out in chronological order from “Walk On By” by Dionne Warwick to “If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow. Myers interviews David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison for the chapter on “Burning Down the House,” and Kenny Rogers for “The Gambler”. The chapters are fairly short, making it an easy read. An added bonus would be to listen to the song the chapter is discussing right before reading it to have it fresh in your head. Anatomy of 55 More Songs is a fantastic addition to any music lovers library.
