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Songfacts

Songfacts

Songfacts is a searchable database of song information.

31 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

Janis Ian: An interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 14 March 2003

JANIS IAN released her first song, 'Society's Child', in 1967 when she was 15. The famous record producer Shadow Morton wasn't interested until Janis set ...

Kurtis Blow on 'The Breaks', the evolution of sampling, and 'Sun City'

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 4 October 2003

KURTIS BLOW gets a lot more airplay these days than he did in the '80s. That's because back in the day – when the long-term ...

Devo and 'Whip It'

Retrospective and Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 16 December 2003

WHAT WOULD YOU DO if the National Guard came to your school and shot your friends? That's the question Neil Young posed in his song ...

Grand Funk Railroad's Don Brewer (2004)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 2004

Grand Funk sticksman Don Brewer talks about mega-hit 'We're An American Band', choosing cover versions, and being produced by Todd Rundgren and Frank Zappa.

File format: mp3; file size: 10.2mb, interview length: 22' 11" sound quality: * (phoner)

Bill Withers (2004)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 2 January 2004

A masterclass in songwriting from a master songwriter: how his songs came into being, collaborations with others and how his life experiences are reflected in his lyrics.

File format: mp3; file size: 27.4mb, interview length: 29' 59" sound quality: ** (phone)

Tower of Power's Emilio Castillo: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 11 October 2004

The Tower Of Power horn section is one of the best in the business. The group not only performs as a solo act, but is ...

War: The War Story: An Interview with War's Original Drummer Harold Brown

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 20 March 2007

AS DRUMMER FOR THE BAND WAR, Harold Brown was part of the vibrant music scene of the late-'60s and early-'70s that included Jim Morrison, Jimi ...

Elvin Bishop: An Interview with Elvin Bishop

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 13 September 2007

HOW DO YOU write a blues song? Elvin Bishop, a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band before launching a successful solo career, is ...

The Go-Go's, Jane Wiedlin: Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 22 October 2007

THE GO-GO'S emerged from the late '70s Los Angeles punk/New Wave scene to become pop sensations and MTV darlings. They write their own songs, which ...

Dave Stewart: The Songfacts Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 20 November 2008

THE HALF OF Eurythmics that is not Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart has written hits with Tom Petty, No Doubt, Jon Bon Jovi, Bono, Mick Jagger ...

Procol Harum's Keith Reid (2009)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 2 April 2009

Procol Harum lyricist Reid looks back at the writing of such classics as 'Whiter Shade of Pale', and brings us up to date with his current projects.

File format: mp3; file size: 19.7mb; Interview length: 42' 59"; sound quality: ***

Arrows, Laura Nyro, Vodka Collins: Alan Merrill: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 1 August 2009

THE SON OF jazz musicians Aaron Sachs and Helen Merrill, Alan moved from New York to Japan when he was still a teenager, becoming the ...

Doobie Brothers, Tom Johnston: Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 8 October 2009

AS A GUITARIST and vocalist with The Doobie Brothers, Tom Johnston wrote the kind of joyful rock that is truly classic: 'Listen To The Music', 'China ...

Foreigner's Mick Jones (2009)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 23 October 2009

On songwriting, production and working with stepson Mark Ronson: the Englishman in New York fills in the gaps.

File format: mp3; file size: 34.2mb; Interview length: 37' 21"; sound quality: ***

Millie Jackson: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, May 2010

"LET WHITE FOLKS cross over to me..." An R&B star with a stunning voice, Millie Jackson was close to breaking into the mainstream like her ...

Procol Harum: Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 14 October 2010

PUTTING MUSIC TO THE words of Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid, Gary Brooker created a rich, classical sound without compromise. Revered by legions of fans ...

The Yardbirds' Jim McCarty (2010)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 3 November 2010

Yardbird Jim looks back at the halcyon days of 'Shape of Things' – the songwriting, the guitarists Clapton, Beck and Page and much more.

File format: mp3; file size: 12mb, total interview length: 26' 15" sound quality: * (phoner)

Benny Mardones and 'Into the Night'

Retrospective and Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, March 2011

YOU STILL HEAR 'Into the Night' on just about every Adult Contemporary radio station – it's the song that starts, "She's just 16 years old, ...

Donald Fagen

Report and Interview by Bruce Pollock, Songfacts, 7 November 2012

AT THE KEYBOARDS, Donald Fagen was the smoky voice and songwriting co-conspirator (with Walter Becker) on all of Steely Dan's classic hits, from 'Reelin' In ...

Wishbone Ash: Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 2013

IT WAS 1971 when Wishbone Ash, touring in America as opening act for The Who, got news that two music magazines back home in England ...

Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula…"

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 11 April 2013

IN 1972, JETHRO TULL released Thick As A Brick, an entire album comprised of one song. Critics hated it. "You can listen to it, but ...

Greg Lake (2013)

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 17 April 2013

The late progster talks about writing songs for ELP and King Crimson; writing methods; writing with Pete Sinfield; the pleasure of playing live, and one particularly hairy gig with ELP in Bologna, Italy.

File format: mp3; file size: 33.7mb, interview length: 36' 50" sound quality: *** (phoner)

Petula Clark: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 4 July 2013

PETULA CLARK WAS 80 years old when she released her 2013 album Lost In You, an elegant and contemporary set produced by John Williams – ...

Todd Rundgren: Songwriter Interviews: Todd Rundgren

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 2 April 2015

'I SAW THE LIGHT' came a little too easy for Todd Rundgren. The song took him maybe 20 minutes to write, just going up and ...

Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Jeff Lynne, Rockpile, The Stray Cats: Dave Edmunds: An Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 24 June 2015

IT TOOK Dave Edmunds about four months to deconstruct ten famous songs – 'God Only Knows', 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' and 'Your Song' among ...

Joan Armatrading

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 16 September 2015

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in 'Drop the Pilot' ...

Paula Cole: The Songfacts Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 22 December 2016

PAULA COLE NEVER watched the Grammys, which made it a little weird when she won the award for Best New Artist in 1997 (also weird, ...

Rickie Lee Jones

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 27 February 2017

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump. ...

Chris Rea

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 19 September 2017

'FOOL (IF YOU Think It's Over)' got Chris Rea out of debt, but it put him in a kind of musical prison that took seven ...

Rick Astley

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 3 August 2018

Rick Astley on 'Never Gonna Give You Up', 'Cry For Help' and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album. ...

Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons: The Songfacts Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 31 August 2018

Billy Gibbons on his solo album The Big Bad Blues, the hidden gem in the ZZ Top catalog, and how he feels about having a ...

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