Anatomy of 55 More Songs, Marc Myers
Anatomy of 55 More Songs, Marc Myers
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Anatomy of 55 More Songs
The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock, Pop and Soul

Author: Marc Myers

Narrator: Michael Butler Murray

Unabridged: 9 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/06/2022

Categories: Nonfiction, Music, Pop Vocal


Synopsis

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.

About Marc Myers

Marc Myers is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, where he writes about music and the arts. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Anatomy of a Song, Why Jazz Happened, and Rock Concert, and posts daily at JazzWax.com, a three-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's award for Jazz Blog of the Year.


Reviews

Goodreads review by *TUDOR^QUEEN* on November 20, 2022

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......more

Goodreads review by Reading_ on May 24, 2022

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! Ama......more

Goodreads review by Brian on January 30, 2023

Fun read, nice to get stories behind many of the songs I’ve loved my whole life. Even more, it got me to listen to songs I’ve somehow missed......more

Goodreads review by Martin on May 10, 2022

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......more

Goodreads review by William (Bill) on December 22, 2022

I really enjoyed this book. I have read many similar to it written by artists themselves or historian types (Questlove’s recent book, for example), but most have fallen well short. This one did not. Written by Wall Street Journal writer Marc Myers who writes about music, has put together a very read......more