Anatomy of 55 More Songs
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- Create Date：2022-12-08 01:19:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Marc Myers
- ISBN：0802160204
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Summary
Following his 2016 smash hit Anatomy of a Song， acclaimed music journalist Marc Myers collects fifty-five new oral histories of iconic songs from his popular Wall Street Journal column
Songs that sell the most copies become hits， but some of those hits become something more—iconic recordings that not only inspire a generation but also change the direction of music。 In Anatomy of 55 More Songs， based on his column for the Wall Street Journal， music journalist and historian Marc Myers tells the story behind fifty-five rock， pop， R&B， country， and soul-gospel hits through intimate interviews with the artists who wrote and recorded them。
Part oral history， part musical analysis， Anatomy of 55 More Songs ranges from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” to Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By，” the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations，” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid。” Bernie Taupin recalls how he wrote the lyrics to Elton John’s “Rocket Man”; Joan Jett remembers channeling her rage against how she had been unfairly labeled and treated as a female rocker into “Bad Reputation”; and Ozzy Osbourne， Elvis Costello， Bob Weir， Sheryl Crow， Alice Cooper， Roberta Flack， John Mellencamp， Keith Richards， Carly Simon， and many others reveal the emotions and technique behind their major works。
Through an absorbing， chronological， song-by-song analysis of the most memorable post-war hits， Anatomy of 55 More Songs provides a sweeping look at the evolution of pop music between 1964 and today。 This book will change how you listen to music and evaluate the artists who create it。
Songs that sell the most copies become hits， but some of those hits become something more—iconic recordings that not only inspire a generation but also change the direction of music。 In Anatomy of 55 More Songs， based on his column for the Wall Street Journal， music journalist and historian Marc Myers tells the story behind fifty-five rock， pop， R&B， country， and soul-gospel hits through intimate interviews with the artists who wrote and recorded them。
Part oral history， part musical analysis， Anatomy of 55 More Songs ranges from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” to Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By，” the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations，” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid。” Bernie Taupin recalls how he wrote the lyrics to Elton John’s “Rocket Man”; Joan Jett remembers channeling her rage against how she had been unfairly labeled and treated as a female rocker into “Bad Reputation”; and Ozzy Osbourne， Elvis Costello， Bob Weir， Sheryl Crow， Alice Cooper， Roberta Flack， John Mellencamp， Keith Richards， Carly Simon， and many others reveal the emotions and technique behind their major works。
Through an absorbing， chronological， song-by-song analysis of the most memorable post-war hits， Anatomy of 55 More Songs provides a sweeping look at the evolution of pop music between 1964 and today。 This book will change how you listen to music and evaluate the artists who create it。
Reviews
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Grove Atlantic for an advanced copy of this oral history on the creation of some legendary songs。 Reading about the creation of any kind of art can be a both humbling and inspiring for artists。 For creative types to share how their works come forth in the world， gives hope to all artists that hey， if they could do it so could I。 And also humbling in the fact that some lyrics do come from dreams， or a casual comment from someone。 Combine these words w My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Grove Atlantic for an advanced copy of this oral history on the creation of some legendary songs。 Reading about the creation of any kind of art can be a both humbling and inspiring for artists。 For creative types to share how their works come forth in the world， gives hope to all artists that hey， if they could do it so could I。 And also humbling in the fact that some lyrics do come from dreams， or a casual comment from someone。 Combine these words with music， either from the artist or a lick tossed out by a studio musician and boom alchemy takes place and from simple words and noise， music is created。 Music that in many instances pass the test of time。 Journalist Marc Myers has in his column for The Wall Street Journal has been writing about the history of great songs and has collected them in Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock， Pop and Soul a sequel to his 2016 book， that looks at the creation of many songs， with interviews from singers， songwriters and many others。 The book offers a look at fifty-five songs， ten more than his previous book。 The criteria is that the song that he is discussing must be at least twenty-five years old， and fit that definition of being an iconic song， both for the era and today。 Chart placement is not a factor， as readers can see that many of these songs that are considered classics didn't chart that high， or were neglected at the time。 Myers interviews as many people as he can， singer， songwriter， lyricist producer， studio musicians， anyone who can offer insight or interesting tidbits about what makes that song persevere。 Interviewing different people sometimes is difficult as not many in music can remember the whole story， or even the real story， depending on the amount of pharmaceuticals they musicians might have been sharing the studio with。 The are listed chronologically featuring classic country， R & B， rock of course and others。 The book is very well done， well laid out and filled with fascinating tidbits about music， writing， playing and developing songs。 Myers is a very good interviewer， and in turn the subjects seem to find him easy to talk with， and worthy of sharing stories with。 The is plenty of technical discussions， instruments used， what guitar was played， discussion of studio tricks， Gary Numan's discussion on the Moog he came across and how it was set to play。 The studio people's stories are good too， sharing how a part of a song might have come together， or how a song came together with lots of input， or sometimes just from the creator。 I found the discussions from professional songwriters unusual， as I can't imagine writing a song and not knowing who would sing it or how they planned to do it。 Myers has a nice relaxed writing style and almost seems to bring the reader in with him while he discusses songs with various people。 A great book for music fans of course， and for musical historians， as Myers communicates quite well about what the music scene was like during a song's creation， which might help future scholars。 This would also be a good book for creative types， poetry， fiction writers， as well as lyricists and playwrights。 So many creative types talking about how they get inspiration， and how their minds work would probably feed the creative fires of quite a few people。 If they can do it， it might push others to at least try。 There might be a book about the person that tries someday。 。。。more
*TUDOR^QUEEN*
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This is a fun book to delve into bit by bit if you are a classic pop/rock music lover。 It covers major radio hits from the sixties and into the nineties。 When I first started the book one evening I experienced it by reading about the song， then listening to the song on YouTube。 Quite honestly I was in a sort of nirvana， closing my eyes and letting the joy and wonder of this wonderful music wash over me， sometimes resulting in near tears because of its beauty。 Each of these 55 songs is described， This is a fun book to delve into bit by bit if you are a classic pop/rock music lover。 It covers major radio hits from the sixties and into the nineties。 When I first started the book one evening I experienced it by reading about the song， then listening to the song on YouTube。 Quite honestly I was in a sort of nirvana， closing my eyes and letting the joy and wonder of this wonderful music wash over me， sometimes resulting in near tears because of its beauty。 Each of these 55 songs is described， then followed by actual narratives from the artists themselves about the songs' creation， inspiration and recording methods。 It was fun and interesting to read about many of my favorite songs' origins， but because I am not a musician a lot of the technicalities of the recording studio went over my head。 However， I absolutely love most of these songs and likely own the physical records！ So it was an enjoyable nostalgia trip， and I kept thinking what a great CD compilation this would make to accompany the book。 If you don't like the songs you won't like the book- so here is a complete listing of the 55 songs discussed:"Walk on By" DIONNE WARWICK"Dancing in the Street" MARTHA AND THE VANDELLAS"Sunshine Superman" DONOVAN"Good Vibrations" THE BEACH BOYS"Up， Up and Away" THE 5TH DIMENSION"Get Together" THE YOUNGBLOODS"The Weight" THE BAND"Fire" THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN"Bad Moon Rising" CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL"Crystal Blue Persuasion" TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" DIANA ROSS"Paranoid" BLACK SABBATH"Truckin'" GRATEFUL DEAD"I'm Eighteen" ALICE COOPER"Bang a Gong" T。 REX"Roundabout" YES"Doctor My Eyes" JACKSON BROWNE"Long Cool Woman" THE HOLLIES"Rocket Man" ELTON JOHN"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" THE TEMPTATIONS"I'll Be Around" THE SPINNERS"Killing Me Softly with His Song" ROBERTA FLACK"Smoke on the Water" DEEP PURPLE"Hello It's Me" TODD RUNDGREN"She's Gone" HALL & OATES"Come and Get Your Love" REDBONE"Sundown" GORDON LIGHTFOOT"I'm Not in Love" 10CC"Love is the Drug" ROXY MUSIC"The Boys Are Back in Town" THIN LIZZY"Fly Like an Eagle" STEVE MILLER BAND"Year of the Cat" AL STEWART"Barracuda" HEART"Nobody Does It Better" CARLY SIMON"Peg" STEELY DAN"My Best Friend's Girl" THE CARS"The Gambler" KENNY ROGERS"September" EARTH， WIND & FIRE"What a Fool Believes" THE DOOBIE BROTHERS"Accidents Will Happen" ELVIS COSTELLO"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND"Good Times" CHIC"Highway to Hell" AC/DC"Cars" GARY NUMAN"On the Radio" DONNA SUMMER"Bad Reputation" JOAN JETT"Rapture" BLONDIE"Don't Stop Believin'" JOURNEY"Steppin' Out" JOE JACKSON"Burning Down the House" TALKING HEADS"The Power of Love" HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS"Small Town" JOHN MELLENCAMP"Take it So Hard" KEITH RICHARDS"Being Boring" PET SHOP BOYS"If It Makes You Happy" SHERYL CROWThank you to the publisher Grove Atlantic， Grove Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley。 。。。more
MookNana
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Very interesting reading！ Each song is introduced with a brief article explaining the context in which is came to be and the impact it had。 Then interviews with songwriters， musicians， and industry members are used to explain how the song was born， how it changed and evolved， and how the performers felt about it。 I learned lots of interesting tidbits （Can you imagine having Sheryl Crow as your 3rd grade music teacher？ Did you know there is a very sweet reason why it's the 21st night of September Very interesting reading！ Each song is introduced with a brief article explaining the context in which is came to be and the impact it had。 Then interviews with songwriters， musicians， and industry members are used to explain how the song was born， how it changed and evolved， and how the performers felt about it。 I learned lots of interesting tidbits （Can you imagine having Sheryl Crow as your 3rd grade music teacher？ Did you know there is a very sweet reason why it's the 21st night of September？？？）。 That said， it's VERY boomer-centric （a 1996 song by Sheryl Crow is the most contemporary piece featured） and some of the choices are a little obscure。 Still， anyone who enjoys music history and pop culture will find a lot to like here！Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review！ 。。。more
Nicola Southall
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love music so found this an interesting read。It covers popular songs and gives a back history on each one with interviews with the artists themselves。
patrick Lorelli
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This is a wonderful book especially if you are into music。 Here the author takes you through different songs but I am sure you have all heard most if not all of them。 He speaks to the writers and other people with the record of how it was written and recorded。 Each song has a different meaning or understanding for everyone I am sure。 For me the ones "Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress" by the Hollies I still listen to， "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple， Paranoid by Black Sabbath， "Truckin' " by This is a wonderful book especially if you are into music。 Here the author takes you through different songs but I am sure you have all heard most if not all of them。 He speaks to the writers and other people with the record of how it was written and recorded。 Each song has a different meaning or understanding for everyone I am sure。 For me the ones "Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress" by the Hollies I still listen to， "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple， Paranoid by Black Sabbath， "Truckin' " by the Grateful Dead， "Come and get your Love" by Redbone。 John Cougar's 'Small Town" really hit home when it came out for me because I grew up in a small town and watched it slowly get smaller。 Each of the songs in this book is still great songs and these were only just a few but each song I remember and enjoy listening to each。 A very good book and worth the read。 。。。more
Paul Sutter
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This is the entertaining follow-up to the 2016 release from Marc Myers， ANATOMY OF A SONG。 Now he returns with another cavalcade of great songs， that many of us will be familiar with。 Growing up in the sixties， there were classic songs that definitely were must listen-to’s。 Some of them are noted here， and the remainder follow through into the 1970’s， 1980’s and even into the 90’s。 The book begins with Walk On By recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1964。 Burt Bacharach the co-writer of the song along This is the entertaining follow-up to the 2016 release from Marc Myers， ANATOMY OF A SONG。 Now he returns with another cavalcade of great songs， that many of us will be familiar with。 Growing up in the sixties， there were classic songs that definitely were must listen-to’s。 Some of them are noted here， and the remainder follow through into the 1970’s， 1980’s and even into the 90’s。 The book begins with Walk On By recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1964。 Burt Bacharach the co-writer of the song along with Hal David， talks about the song in general。 He mentions how the melody line evolved， along with other lyrics of the song， plus the orchestration and melody。 The analysis of the song through lyrics and music， is noted in all the fifty-five tunes， and it might definitely make us listen to the songs again in a much different light。 I am sure some people might question why other tunes were not mentioned here， but when one is selecting fifty-five songs out of thousands， decisions must be made to highlight some and not others。 It is likely there might be another volume down the road where Marc Myers picks and chooses another batch of iconic songs。 Up Up and Away is also mentioned in the book， written by Jimmy Webb。 He was a struggling songwriter。 There was a hot air balloon in a lot not far from the college campus where a disc jockey was stationed。 The disc jockey said as Jimmy and friends walked toward him， “Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon？” Jimmy and a friend talked about making a teen beach movie， but this being in the desert with balloons involved。 The next day he was went into a writing phase， thinking first of Superman and his line， “Up， up， and away！” Then the words of the disc jockey came back， “Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon？” And as they say， the rest is history。 There are dozens of other notable songs noted in the book。 Sunshine Superman by Donovan， Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys， Fire by the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown， I’m Eighteen by Alice Cooper， Year of the Cat by Al Stewart， Come and Get Your Love by Redbone， Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot， and Nobody Does It Better are just a few of the fifty-five songs。 Music lovers will definitely find so much to savor in the book， bringing to light the manner in which so many tunes were brought to life。 。。。more
Shaun Jex
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Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers is a fun read that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the stories behind some of pop music’s biggest hits。 Each song is briefly introduced by Myers， who provides some historical context for the artist and the period of the career when the hit was written。 From there， the story is turned over to the musicians， producers， and writers who brought the songs to life。 The book's biggest strength also happens to be its weakness。 Not every songwriter/musician is Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers is a fun read that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the stories behind some of pop music’s biggest hits。 Each song is briefly introduced by Myers， who provides some historical context for the artist and the period of the career when the hit was written。 From there， the story is turned over to the musicians， producers， and writers who brought the songs to life。 The book's biggest strength also happens to be its weakness。 Not every songwriter/musician is a storyteller。 Some of the stories are deeply engaging and anecdotal， while others seem to stick to a fairly dry recounting of the facts。 As a musician， it was fascinating to hear some of the technical details about how the songs came together （with information on production techniques， musical progressions， key changes， and more）。 Still， some of this may be of moderate to low interest to the average reader。It's definitely worth a read for anyone interested in popular music in the second half of the 20th century， covering a wide variety of genres， with some of the world's biggest superstars and some artists who are lesser known to the general public。 。。。more
Ellen
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This book is a sequel - or one might say a continuation - of music historian Marc Myers’ Anatomy of a Song， which was published in 2016。 Both volumes are loving gifts to music nerds， especially those who grew up in the 60s and 70s。 Each song in the volume is given about 6 pages worth of analysis and oral history， starting with Myers’ background and analysis and including reminiscences from composers， singers， producers and other personnel involved in the music。 We learn， for example， that Martha This book is a sequel - or one might say a continuation - of music historian Marc Myers’ Anatomy of a Song， which was published in 2016。 Both volumes are loving gifts to music nerds， especially those who grew up in the 60s and 70s。 Each song in the volume is given about 6 pages worth of analysis and oral history， starting with Myers’ background and analysis and including reminiscences from composers， singers， producers and other personnel involved in the music。 We learn， for example， that Martha Reeve （of the Vandellas） was the administrative assistant at Hitsville studios， and asked to sing “Dancing in the Street” after hearing Marvin Gaye’s recording。 The energy we hear in her version was partly due， she says， to the fact that she was angry that they had forgotten to turn on the recording equipment for the first take， which she thought was perfect！The only downside to a book like this is that there are inevitably songs that the reader doesn’t like or even know。 I ended up flipping by several chapters - but that’s not too harsh a criticism， as it would be impossible to choose a selection that would be interesting to everyone and also represent significant music history。If you have a music lover in your life， treat them to this book。 Better yet， buy the first one too for a jam-packed collection of 100 songs。 。。。more
Tony
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"Anatomy of 55 More Songs" by Marc Myers was such an incredibly fun read for me。 I used to love watching all of those behind the music type shows where they'd interview band members and talk about the ideas behind their songs， what inspired them， details about their craft， etc。 I also happen to really love lists。 This book checked those boxes for me。 To make it a little more fun for myself， I also created a playlist with all of the songs Myers writes about and listened to them after I read about "Anatomy of 55 More Songs" by Marc Myers was such an incredibly fun read for me。 I used to love watching all of those behind the music type shows where they'd interview band members and talk about the ideas behind their songs， what inspired them， details about their craft， etc。 I also happen to really love lists。 This book checked those boxes for me。 To make it a little more fun for myself， I also created a playlist with all of the songs Myers writes about and listened to them after I read about each one。 The technical aspects that the musicians discussed， interestingly enough， became easier to pick up on after reading this book。 Absolutely recommend for anyone who loves music history/appreciation and maybe those of you that want to pick up a little trivia knowledge） Thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy！ 。。。more
Dubi
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Marc Myers is back with 55 more entries from his Wall Street Journal column telling the oral history of influential rock， pop， soul， and disco hits released between 1964 and 1996。 As with the first of his collections， Anatomy of a Song， covering 45 numbers， each chapter tells the story of how each song was written， recorded， and released， how each artist came to record the song， how it fits into the evolution of rock- and soul-based popular music。The 55 are even better than the 45， for me -- the Marc Myers is back with 55 more entries from his Wall Street Journal column telling the oral history of influential rock， pop， soul， and disco hits released between 1964 and 1996。 As with the first of his collections， Anatomy of a Song， covering 45 numbers， each chapter tells the story of how each song was written， recorded， and released， how each artist came to record the song， how it fits into the evolution of rock- and soul-based popular music。The 55 are even better than the 45， for me -- the song selection is more within my own lifetime， more a part of the soundtrack of my life， and better curated than the first collection in avoiding songs that have grown stale or were too obscure to begin with。 Also， for me as a musician who plays a lot this kind of music， the emphasis this time around is more heavily skewed toward the inspiration and technique of songwriting as well as the technical aspects of the recording process。As with the previous collection， it just amazes how many times the big hit was an afterthought in album production， how many of the people （particularly women） who inspired love songs never knew they were the inspiration， how many artists claim to not know how to read music， and various other tidbits。Just great great stuff for music aficionados。 Pro tip: listen to the song being discussed before， after， or even during its chapter while you're reading -- even if you think you know the song well， listen again for some of the things that are discussed， you'll be amazed。 Thanks to the author， publisher， and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this excellent book。 。。。more
Meow558
，
Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers is pretty good。In this book， Myers picks 55 influential songs and writes a short paragraph detailing why he picked each。 He then includes an interview with the people involved in the song， discussing how it was written and what it means。 I think， overall， he does a good job。 The introduction paragraphs are short， easy to read， and tell us what we need to know。 The quality of the interview is mostly based on the person being interviewed， but Myers does a goo Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers is pretty good。In this book， Myers picks 55 influential songs and writes a short paragraph detailing why he picked each。 He then includes an interview with the people involved in the song， discussing how it was written and what it means。 I think， overall， he does a good job。 The introduction paragraphs are short， easy to read， and tell us what we need to know。 The quality of the interview is mostly based on the person being interviewed， but Myers does a good job keeping it fairly short and keeping the interesting stuff。 I also really appreciate the pictures of the band， giving us a little visualization。 Myers picks a large range of songs as well。 While they are mostly rock songs， it has different subgenres， and it also has some pop， funk， and country music。 I wish that there could have been some different photos， maybe a photo of the album or single。 I also think the book could have benefitted from stating who is being interviewed， not just in the table of contents， but also at the beginning of each chapter。 Related to that， I would have loved some extra information under the title of each song。 Maybe the genre of music， how many sales， the record company。 All in all， I would recommend this book more for reference， and for people who are interested in this music。 I would also recommend it for people who know more about different types of guitars and notes。Thank you to Marc Myers and Grove Atlantic for sending me this ARC on NetGalley。 。。。more
Leyla Johnson
，
This book is fabulous， it takes me back so far into the days of these hits were played， to the extent of tying to find on my old records or CD's。The book delve in the life of the various artists， that wrote and created the music from these hits。 The concept of making songs seem s much easier and simpler in the early days， yet great hits that live on for generation are made。 A very experimental time with very little technology and some very， very talented music and lyric makers。 A must read for a This book is fabulous， it takes me back so far into the days of these hits were played， to the extent of tying to find on my old records or CD's。The book delve in the life of the various artists， that wrote and created the music from these hits。 The concept of making songs seem s much easier and simpler in the early days， yet great hits that live on for generation are made。 A very experimental time with very little technology and some very， very talented music and lyric makers。 A must read for anyone who is interested in music。， 。。。more
Darius Ostrowski
，
There is much to like about “Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of 55 Hits That Changed Rock， R&B， and Soul” by Marc Myers。 Mr。 Myers hits on a lot of classic songs that helped shape popular music from 1964 until the present day。 We see a wide variety of genres， covering Motown to heavy metal to California to British invasion。 We learn about the inspiration for many of the songs， the situation surrounding the writing and recording of the songs， and the effect the songs had on the authors There is much to like about “Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of 55 Hits That Changed Rock， R&B， and Soul” by Marc Myers。 Mr。 Myers hits on a lot of classic songs that helped shape popular music from 1964 until the present day。 We see a wide variety of genres， covering Motown to heavy metal to California to British invasion。 We learn about the inspiration for many of the songs， the situation surrounding the writing and recording of the songs， and the effect the songs had on the authors。We also get the history directly from the key players， the artists， authors， and producers who were involved in making the song the hit it has become。 I enjoyed learning about the backstory of several of the all-time greats， from Roxy Music to Joe Jackson to the Cars， and that I was wrong about Sheryl Crow and a bunch of other song inspirations！However， there were parts that were difficult for me to get through， being a non-musician， all about the song structures and what the chord progressions were and how the guitars were tuned and other technical recording details。 Probably very interesting for musicians， but not for me。Well worth the read， a fun romp through the popular music of the past several decades。I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Grove Atlantic， Grove Press via NetGalley。 Thank you！ 。。。more
Reading_ Tamishly
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Absofreakinglutely love this book！History of fifty five iconic songs！ It's inspirational to be more creative you know。There's songs by Elton John， Beach Boys， Black Sabbath， Keith Richards， Blondie， Al Stewart and lots more。 You name it。 It's here！ And the real pictures。 I wasn't ready for this！ Amazing content I say。If you are someone who's really into the most classic iconic songs， just grab this book。 It's so worth it。Thank you， Grove Atlantic， for the advance review copy。 Absofreakinglutely love this book！History of fifty five iconic songs！ It's inspirational to be more creative you know。There's songs by Elton John， Beach Boys， Black Sabbath， Keith Richards， Blondie， Al Stewart and lots more。 You name it。 It's here！ And the real pictures。 I wasn't ready for this！ Amazing content I say。If you are someone who's really into the most classic iconic songs， just grab this book。 It's so worth it。Thank you， Grove Atlantic， for the advance review copy。 。。。more
Martin Maenza
，
This sequel to Myers' 2106 Anatomy of a Song will be released on December 6， 2022。 The publisher Grove Atlantic provided me an early galley in exchange for an honest review。I first became familiar with Myers' work when he would come on to the Sirius XM music-talk channel Volume and its morning show Feedback。 There， he would spend an hour going over his latest column with hosts Nik Carter and Lori Majewski， supplementing the pieces with music clips and more。 I found I really enjoyed his in-depth This sequel to Myers' 2106 Anatomy of a Song will be released on December 6， 2022。 The publisher Grove Atlantic provided me an early galley in exchange for an honest review。I first became familiar with Myers' work when he would come on to the Sirius XM music-talk channel Volume and its morning show Feedback。 There， he would spend an hour going over his latest column with hosts Nik Carter and Lori Majewski， supplementing the pieces with music clips and more。 I found I really enjoyed his in-depth analysis of these pop and rock classics。I was born in the mid-60's and grew up on first AM radio and then FM too。 As such， so many of the songs that are discussed in this collection are part of the musical tapestry that make up the soundtrack of my life。 They are ingrained in my psyche and memories; I know every beat， every note， every lyric。 What I enjoyed about this book is that now， through Myers' interviews， I could learn the stories behind the making of each of these fifty-five songs。Hearing the stories from the writers and artists is important to me。 Too often of late the news comes with the passing of another music industry legend。 This collection of articles by Myers really captures those moments while the creators are still here to tell us about them。If you're a music fanatic like myself， this is definitely one that you will want to check out。 Each chapter is a digestible segment in and among itself。 Together， they create a larger study of the musical landscape from the 60's through the 90's。 。。。more
J Earl
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Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers is a fun and informative trip through many of the hits of the rock era， though not limited to the genre of rock。As a history （not 'the' history， his subtitles to both volumes are hyperbolic） this volume takes us from songwriters writing for factories （think Motown and Brill building as examples） to the singer/songwriters and right into the recent （must be at least 25 years old） ways of creating songs。 From wonderful studio information about overlaying track Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers is a fun and informative trip through many of the hits of the rock era， though not limited to the genre of rock。As a history （not 'the' history， his subtitles to both volumes are hyperbolic） this volume takes us from songwriters writing for factories （think Motown and Brill building as examples） to the singer/songwriters and right into the recent （must be at least 25 years old） ways of creating songs。 From wonderful studio information about overlaying tracks to background information on the inspiration for the songs， this book has something for every music lover。For those in my age group this is also a great trip down memory lane， as was his Anatomy of a Song several years ago。 While you will probably be able to hear the song in your mind when you are about to start a chapter， I'd recommend listening to it so you can pick up on any details they might mention。 I could play most from my own records collection but what I didn't have was readily available online。 I have to admit to going off on tangents when I would put an album on for one song and end up listening to the whole thing， or at least one side。As for the writing of the book， most consists of what those involved in the music had to say， so it varies depending on how each person spoke。 The brief contextualization Myers writes for each is clear， helpful， and to the point。 This is the fourth book of his I have read and have yet to be disappointed。 In addition to the two Anatomy volumes his Rock Concert was another excellent oral history type of book and I was particularly impressed with his Why Jazz Happened book because it did more than just offer a musical history， it offers a cultural and sociological history as well。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
AnnieM
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I have been a fan of Marc Myers from his column "Anatomy of a Song" in the Wall Street Journal and also had the opportunity to read his book "Rock Concert" that came out late last year and gave that five stars。 This book is a compilation of his columns and focus on iconic songs from 1964-1996。 Each of the 55 songs starts with a photo， an introduction setting the context of the genre followed by interviews with those who played a key role in the creation of the song （artists， composers， producers I have been a fan of Marc Myers from his column "Anatomy of a Song" in the Wall Street Journal and also had the opportunity to read his book "Rock Concert" that came out late last year and gave that five stars。 This book is a compilation of his columns and focus on iconic songs from 1964-1996。 Each of the 55 songs starts with a photo， an introduction setting the context of the genre followed by interviews with those who played a key role in the creation of the song （artists， composers， producers， musicians）。 As I read the book， I would pause and play the song so I could have a full experience。 I also learned little known facts --who knew Al Stewart's song was originally going to be called "Horse of the Year，" or that Carly Simon mistakenly thought Marvin Hamlisch was her tax attorney。 We learn the significance of the 21st day of September （from the song "September" by Earth Wind and Fire）， that the original name of a famous band was 'Pud" and that for over 35 years I had misheard the lyrics of "Rapture" to be more explicit than they are！ This is such a fun book and I want to go create a playlist and go back and experience it all again。 Did I mention that this is the second of two volumes？ How did I miss the first one -- time to go read that one now！ Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC in exchange for my honest review。 I highly recommend this well researched and very fun read！ 。。。more
Jg
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I enjoyed and read the Anatomy of 55 more songs in one evening。 If you’re of a certain age…which I am…you’ll remember the first time you heard these songs on the radio， and knowing the back stories is very interesting。 I got a kick out of one of my all time favorites， Todd Rundgren， as he tells the story of Hello It’s Me， and how it came to be。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Anatomy of 55 More Songs
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Anatomy of 55 More Songs&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft