Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Luther Vandross’ “Here and Now”
“When Luther played me the demo," says Marcus Miller, "it was obvious that it was already a hit.”
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Classic Tracks: The Turtles’ “Happy Together”
If Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, then Happy Together is the happiest song on Earth.
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Classic Tracks: The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back”
“Those kids were amazing!” says producer Richard Gottehrer. “We decided to get them into the studio as quickly as possible."
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Classic Tracks: The Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town”
Every once in a while, a song comes totally out of left field, far away from the mainstream, and for some inexplicable reason becomes...
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Don McLean’s “American Pie”
Maybe you had to be there. But in the summer and fall of 1971, it seems that everyone was talking about Don McLean's...
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Classic Tracks: Radiohead’s “Creep”
The unplanned Radiohead hit that went down in one take, full stop, launching one of the Nineties' most enduring bands.
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Classic Tracks: Boz Scaggs’ “Lowdown”
Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown" was the unexpected breakout hit that changed the game for both the singer and engineer in 1976.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”
In the fall of 1970, Black Sabbath mounted an aural assault on the music world with the release of their second album, Paranoid. Creating...
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Classic Tracks: Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time”
Recording "If I Could Turn Back Time" was going great. There was just one problem: "Cher said, ‘I’m leaving. I hate this song.’”
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Classic Tracks: Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”
No one could touch her. Her voice was one of the most ravishing instruments ever recorded.
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Classic Tracks: Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You”
What's the secret sauce of the classic ballad? Bird song.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield”
“If we would have been making that record today...I maybe would have screwed that all up. It would never have been the same record.”
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Classic Tracks: Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”
"We recorded all these songs that were pretty good, but I didn't hear any hits," Kolotkin remembers.
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Classic Tracks: Rickie Lee Jones’ “Chuck E.’s In Love”
In the spring of 1979, Rickie Lee Jones' "Chuck E.'s in Love" appeared like an oasis in a desert of disco and arena rock....
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Classic Tracks: Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind”
Michael Omartian first encountered Cross’s music at a Wednesday morning A&R meeting, where all the Warner Bros. producers sat around a table, listened and...
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Classic Tracks: The Ramones’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”
Did Phil Spector really hold The Ramones at gunpoint in the studio? Ed Stasium sets the record straight.
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Classic Tracks: Mötley Crüe’s “Girls, Girls, Girls”
"I knew 'Girls, Girls, Girls'—the song—was a hit from the first time I heard it," says producer Tom Werman.
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Classic Tracks: Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”
“The second day we were going to have a meeting,” says David Kershenbaum. “She said, ‘I have this new song I want to show...
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Classic Tracks: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “An American Dream”
The story behind “An American Dream," which put the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band back on pop radio after 10 years, was nothing less than...
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Classic Tracks: Elvis Presley, ‘Burning Love’
It's one of Elvis' best-known songs, but "Burning Love" nearly wasn't recorded by The King.
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Classic Tracks: Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried”
Country music legend Merle Haggard recounts how he came to record the massive hit, "Mama Tried."
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Classic Tracks: Jennifer Warnes’ “Right Time Of The Night”
“Right Time of the Night,” released in 1976, was all about firsts—and it was no easy gig for producer Jim Ed Norman.
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Classic Tracks: The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm”
“When we first recorded ‘Riders on the Storm,’ it was a nice, light song—but when we got into mixing it is when it all...
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Classic Tracks: The Cars’ “Just What I Needed”
The Cars' self-titled album is a quintessential new wave classic, taking the sound of the 50s and making it modern and new.
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Classic Tracks: The Fireballs’ “Sugar Shack”
In August 1958, George Tomsco was facing a dilemma that many high school graduates face: what should he do with the rest of his...
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Classic Tracks: Arlo Guthrie’s “City of New Orleans”
Sometimes, a so-called "career record" can affect more than one career.
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Classic Tracks: k.d. lang’s “Constant Craving”
Nashville still had the door closed for us in country, so we figured, ‘What the hell, we’ll do exactly what we want,’ says producer...
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Classic Tracks: Waylon Jennings’ “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”
“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” is on Waylon Jennings’ Dreaming My Dreams, the only record he made with legendary engineer/producer Cowboy...
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Classic Tracks: The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic”
Fortunately, nice guys don't always finish last. Sometimes they reach the top of the hill and stay there for quite some time.
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Classic Tracks: Suzanne Vega’s “Luka”
There was life before "Luka" and there was life after "Luka," engineer/producer Steve Addabbo says of the impact that the 1987 Suzanne Vega hit...
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Classic Tracks: Steve Perry’s “Oh Sherrie”
Steve Perry was on top of the world with Journey when he quietly started recording what would become his first solo hit.
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Classic Tracks: The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb”
Kim Fowley and the Runaways recorded “Cherry Bomb” in a store room on purpose—or so he said.
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Classic Tracks: Big Brother & The Holding Company’s “Piece of My Heart”
Janis Joplin got her start in folk music, surprisingly enough.
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Classic Tracks: John Fogerty’s “Centerfield”
John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” is the only song formally “inducted” into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.—it plays there ’round the clock.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Mudhoney’s “Touch Me I’m Sick”
Jack Endino jumpstarted his producing career with EPs for Soundgarden, Green River and Mudhoney, and its debut single, “Touch Me I’m Sick."
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Classic Tracks: John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Watching the Wheels”
John Lennon's top-10 hit, “Watching the Wheels,” was among producer Jack Douglas' favorite songs on 'Double Fantasy.'
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Classic Tracks: Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle”
Posthumously released, Jim Croce's “Time in a Bottle” reached the top slot on the pop charts in December 1973.
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Classic Tracks: R.E.M.’s “So. Central Rain”
Mix takes a deep dive into the recording of R.E.M.'s 'So. Central Rain' with producer Mitch Easter.
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Classic Tracks: Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy”
Although Steve Winwood was just shy of 19 when he formed the group Traffic in the spring of 1967, he was already a veteran...
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Classic Tracks: The Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey”
In the summer of 1987, the Grateful Dead made it into the Top 10 with the only hit single of their 30-year career: “Touch...
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Classic Tracks: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio”
When the National Guard was deployed against US citizens, killing four and injured nine others protesting at Kent State in 1970, CSN&Y's swift response...
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Classic Tracks: Jackson Browne’s “Late For The Sky”
Browne and the late legendary engineer Al Schmitt look back at the masterful title track of 1974's "Late For The Sky."