2017
Classic Tracks: Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again”
Armin Steiner can’t say enough good things about Dolly Parton.He had never worked with her before she came to L.A. to record this month’s...
Classic-Tracks
2017
Classic Tracks: Camper Van Beethoven’s “Pictures of Matchstick Men”
Camper Van Beethoven formed in the founding members’ hometown of Redlands, Calif., but it was in their college days, at the University of California...
2017
Classic Tracks: Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie”
The band decided to create "Kyrie" part by part, yet endeavor to make it sound live, keeping that objective throughout the entire process.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Jennifer Warnes’ “Right Time Of The Night”
“Right Time of the Night,” released in 1976, was all about firsts. It was the first hit by songwriter Peter McCann. It was artist...
2016
Classic Tracks: Rockpile’s “Teacher Teacher”
Rockpile—Nick Lowe (lead vocals, bass), Dave Edmunds (lead vocals, guitar), Billy Bremner (backing vocals, guitar), and Terry Williams (drums)—had a classic track on their...
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)”
Recording JT's version of the Motown hit
2016
Classic Tracks: The Emotions’ “Best of My Love”
If The Emotions’ hit single “Best of My Love” sounds like a female version of Earth, Wind & Fire, that’s because it almost is....
2016
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...
2016
Classic Tracks: Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself”
The completed track was seven and a half minutes long, with a piano interlude that changed keys four times...how to cut it for radio?
2016
Classic Tracks: k.d. lang’s “Trail of Broken Hearts”
Greg Penny and k.d. lang originally bonded over an Indian lunch. Producer/engineer Penny and his engineering colleague Joe Seta had signed on for some...
2016
Classic Tracks: Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”
When stars align and the right producer hears an artist, gets excited and shares a vision—even helps shape that vision—magic is often the result....
2016
Classic Tracks: Journey’s “Open Arms”
VH-1 named it the greatest power ballad of all time, and even though it only went to Number 2 on the Billboard charts in...
2016
Classic Tracks: REO Speedwagon’s “Roll With the Changes”
“Roll With the Changes” continues to be an REO Speedwagon fan favorite and a Midwestern mainstay—here's how it came into existence.
2016
Classic Tracks: Elton John’s “Honky Cat”
“Honky Cat” proved that John’s decision to record with his live band—bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone—was a good one.
2016
Classic Tracks: Elvis Costello’s “Veronica”
“We said, ‘Let’s do everything we can to make it undeniably great and infectious’; every decision was made to maximize that impact."
2015
Classic Tracks: Herb Alpert’s “Rise”
This is the story of a song that grew from the notion of Herb Alpert cutting his own disco record, but ended up being...
2015
Classic Tracks: Mary Hopkin’s “Those Were the Days”
Who could possibly predict that a five-minute recording of a Russian romance song composed in the early 1900s with English lyrics written in the...
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind”
“Ride Like the Wind,” and Christopher Cross’s Grammy history-making debut album, might not have happened if Cross hadn’t discovered in time that Michael Omartian...
2015
Classic Tracks: Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy”
By the time 1974 rolled around, it had been five years since Glen Campbell had had a hit....
2015
Classic Tracks: Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Junior’s Farm”
Mix’s May 2015 issue included a feature story on the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit titled “Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville...
2015
Classic Tracks: Faith No More’s “Epic”
In early 1989, Matt Wallace almost quit being an engineer/producer. Nearly in tears, he called his mom to ask how to get into real...
2015
Classic Tracks: The Zombies’ “She’s Not There”
If one of the defining characteristics of a Classic Track is its immediate recognition, then The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” is as classic as...
2015
Classic Tracks: The Young Rascals’ “Groovin’”
“You’re creating a place for that song to exist,” Cavaliere says. “I mentioned that to Paul McCartney when I saw him after that and...
2015
Classic Tracks: The Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over”
"If we went through three takes and didn’t get it, we would just stop and go down to the pub for a beer, and...
2015
Classic Tracks: Smokey Robinson’s “Being With You”
“It was probably around 4 o’clock in the afternoon on a Friday when George talked Smokey into recording the song.”
2015
Classic Tracks: Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”
“That’s a song that you can sing in the car. Those are the best ones. They come fast."
2014
Classic Tracks: LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue”
The story of the recording of “Blue” by LeAnn Rimes is one with many twists and turns, and has now become part of country...
2014
Classic Tracks: The Ramones’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”
"We borrowed Joan Jett’s Les Paul for power chords."
2014
Classic Tracks: Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good”
Linda Ronstadt, producer Peter Asher, engineer Val Garay, session player Paul Stallworth and more recall the rollercoaster process of recording her trademark hit.
2014
Classic Tracks: “I Scare Myself,” Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
One of the most interesting and engaging groups to burst onto the pop music scene in the early 1970s was a San Francisco Bay...
2014
Classic Tracks: “Life in a Northern Town,” Dream Academy
Every once in a while a song comes totally out of left field, far away from the mainstream, and for some inexplicable reason becomes...
2014
Classic Tracks: ‘So Into You,’ Atlanta Rhythm Section
Success is measured in all kinds of ways, but it’s probably fair to say that when “sidemen” take the spotlight, the results are mixed;...
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Big Star’s “September Gurls”
Big Star never had anything close to a hit record, yet here we are writing about them in Classic Tracks. Why?
2014
Classic Track – New Riders of the Purple Sage, ‘Dirty Business’
After psychedelic music had its heyday in the late 1960s, many musicians decided to take a trip sideways down country roads. The Flying Burrito...
2013
Classic Track – Lou Reed, “Dirty Boulevard”
Few songwriters have captured the spirit of New York City better than the late, truly great Lou Reed. Okay, it wasn’t always the most...
2013
Classic Track: “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied),” Aretha Franklin
“It was all because of fishing,” says engineer/producer Howard Albert about the genesis of the legendary alliance between Atlantic Records and Criteria Studios. It...
2013
Classic Tracks: “My Life,” Billy Joel
'The Stranger' was Billy Joel's breakthrough album, but it was the follow-up, '52nd Street,' which kicks off with "My Life" that cemented his...
2013
Classic Track: ‘Even Flow,’ Pearl Jam
"Grunge" was still just a noun meaning “dirt” when the newly formed band Pearl Jam made their smash debut, Ten. But the vibrant Seattle...
2013
Classic Tracks: Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl”
Whether you label it power-pop, rock or AOR, Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" is a classic mix of a memorable hook, taut storytelling and producer...
2013
Classic Track: “King of the Road,” Roger Miller
It’s hard to remember back to a time when Nashville’s vaunted Music Row was really just a couple of studios and music publishing houses...
2013
Classic Track: The Chambers Brothers, “Time Has Come Today”
Not too many people these days know about the Chamber Brothers, but when their first Columbia album, The Time Has Come, was released in...
2012
Classic Tracks: INXS’s “Need You Tonight”
With "Need You Tonight," INXS wrote a hit, and had the help of an all-star production team with Chris Thomas and Bob Clearmountain to...