What do you really want to know about the music artists you love most? American Songwriter has the latest news on popular music’s most fascinating figures, of course. But let’s go deeper. Let’s pick through the inner-workings of a smash hit. Or learn about songs you may think you know well, but most certainly do not know the famous artists who wrote them.
Is a rising star you’ve only kinda-sorta heard about playing the Grammys? We’ll have interesting articles with backstory galore on what makes them tick as songwriters and musicians. Perhaps the singer you saw live the other night name-checked a legendary influence you’re not familiar with. American Songwriter will familiarize you with the source of your favorite artist’s inspiration.
The unique angles from which we approach music history are just about endless. Your path to music wisdom just got a whole lot shorter.
Don McLean, amerikanischer Sänger, Liedermacher und Gitarrist, TV Auftritt, Deutschland, circa 1971. (Photo by kpa/United Archives via Getty Images)
British musician Christine McVie, of the group Fleetwood Mac, performs onstage at the Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, Wisconsin, July 19, 1978. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
1986: British pop rock group Mike and the Mechanics (Paul Carrack, Adrian Lee, Mike Rutherford, Peter van Hooke, Paul Young) (Photo by BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE – MARCH 1: Portrait of Kenny Rogers for the CBS television special 'The Kenny Rogers Special,' Nashville, Tennessee, March 1979. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Portrait of Kenny Rogers for the CBS television special 'The Kenny Rogers Special,' Nashville, Tennessee, March 1979. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 29: Elvis Costello performs at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 29, 1984. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
(MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Roger Waters, Nick Mason, David Gilmour, Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, group portrait off stage at Hakone Aphrodite, Japan, 6th August 1971. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 30: The group 'Los del Rio' attends to the media during the photocall prior to the Men of the Year awards gala, at the Pabellon Satelite de la Casa de Campo in Madrid, on 30 November, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. This edition of the gala is film-inspired and features prominent personalities from fashion, music, sports and social life, in a celebration of innovation, diversity and culture. This year's GQ Awards are lined up in their different editions around the world, taking place in different capitals. The GQ Awards will be held in Madrid, Spain. (Photo By A. Perez Meca/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Freddie Mercury, lead singer of rock group Queen, delighted a packed audience. The concert took place at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, 31st August 1984. (Photo by John Potter/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
