Behind The Song

We here at American Songwriter are obsessed with uncovering the meaning behind our favorite songs. Below, you’ll find deep dives into big hits, deep cuts, and everything in between.

Behind The Song

01.02.26

The Fine Young Cannibals Hit That Nearly Involved Prince (and It’s a Bummer It Didn’t Happen)

By Jim Beviglia
Behind The Song

01.01.26

The Allman Brothers Band Classic That Came to Life After Breaking Into a Studio at Night

By Jim Beviglia
Behind The Song

01.01.26

Bette Midler Gained Her First US Hit by Taking It Slow on an Uptempo Classic

By Jim Beviglia
Behind The Song

01.01.26

Neil Diamond Originally Wrote This Song for a Norman Lear TV Sitcom Before Recording It With Barbra Streisand and Hitting No. 1

By Tina Benitez-Eves
Behind The Song

01.01.26

The Classic Rock Evergreen Tune That Greg Lake Unearthed From His Childhood

By Jim Beviglia
Behind The Song

01.01.26

Behind the Song: George Harrison Scored a Solo Hit While Celebrating Change and the New Year With “Ding Dong, Ding Dong”

By Matt Friedlander
Behind The Song

01.01.26

How AC/DC Scored Their First Big US Hit Single After a Devastating Tragedy

By Jim Beviglia
Behind The Song

12.31.25

How Stephen Stills Scored a Big Hit Thanks to a Billy Preston Phrase

By Jim Beviglia
Behind The Song

12.31.25

The Meaning Behind “Talk To You” by Sam Fender and Elton John, and How Fender’s Past Is Pushing Him Forward

By Thom Donovan
Behind The Song

12.31.25

The Pre-“Auld Lang Syne” New Year’s Eve Sing-Along Covered Centuries Later by Sinéad O-Connor, The Pogues, and More That Inspired a Bob Dylan Song

By Tina Benitez-Eves
Behind The Song

12.30.25

The 1984 Beatles Remake Ringo Starr Refused to Play on (And the Touching Way Paul McCartney Copied John Lennon)

By Melanie Davis
Behind The Song

12.30.25

Paul McCartney’s One and Only Hit on the Country Charts, A Nashville-Inspired B-Side

By Alex Hopper

Latest

American blues musician Bonnie Raitt performs onstage at the Verizon Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, August 1, 1991. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

Behind The Song

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Anne Murray’s Producers Wouldn’t Let Her Record What Became One of Bonnie Raitt’s Biggest Hits
American singer and actress Nancy Sinatra, 1966. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The List

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4 Unforgettable 1966 Smash Hits From Female Solo Acts
Chet Atkins

On This Day

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25 Years Ago Today, We Lost the Elite Guitarist Who Recorded With Legends and Helped Shape the Nashville Sound
Scottish singer, songwriter and musician Donovan prepares for a television appearance on the pop programme 'Ready Steady Go!', 21st January 1965. His guitar bears the slogan 'This Machine Kills', a reference to Woody Guthrie's guitar slogan 'This Machine Kills Fascists'. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Features

2 hours ago

How a Cowboy Movie and a Scotch Whiskey Bribe Got This 1960s Music Icon His Name Before He Was Born