Music Production
Classic Tracks: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ “Rag Doll”
The song, inspired by a experience during an excruciatingly long traffic light at New York City's Eleventh Avenue, became a crucial hit for The...
Classic Tracks
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Jennifer Warnes’ “First We Take Manhattan”
Jennifer Warnes, bassist Roscoe Beck and engineer Billy Youdelman share how the unlikely Leonard Cohen cover—and the album around it—came to be a hit.
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Classic Tracks: Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors”
“To me, those Charlie Rich sessions were so special,” recalls engineer Lou Bradley.
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Classic Tracks: The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”
“You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'” was one of the most perfectly realized examples of the “Wall of Sound” technique that Phil Spector refined.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy”
The sublime studio concoction of "She Drives Me Crazy" involved a trip to Minneapolis, that signature falsetto and an unmistakable snare hit known to...
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Classic Tracks: Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
Whitney Houston’s First Platinum Single, Produced by Narada Michael Walden
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Classic Tracks: Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes”
Honoring an undisputed classic and the Original Cat alike, herein lies the tale of how “Blue Suede Shoes” came to be.
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Classic Tracks: X’s “The New World”
"We were in a different city every night for six weeks, and we saw all of the United States." Then they wrote a record.
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Classic Tracks: Stan Ridgway’s “Goin’ Southbound”
Stan Ridgway’s Noir-Style, Lo-Fi, High-End Sound
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Classic Tracks: The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”
Decades later, it's difficult to put into words just how bold and fresh and affecting those opening lines were in 1969.
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Classic Tracks: Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”
The amazing story of how a Hollywood Hills house party turned a Stevie Wonder loop into one of hip hop’s biggest hits.
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Classic Tracks: Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like The Wolf”
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes and legendary producer David Kershenbaum share how they hot-rodded "Hungry Like The Wolf"—and half the 'Rio' album—to appeal to American...
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Classic Tracks: Steve Earle’s “This City”
Steve Earle’s ode to the city of New Orleans had a surprising start, as engineer Jason Wormer shares.
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Classic Tracks: Al Stewart, “Year of the Cat”
Folk singer Al Stewart reinvented his sound when he met producer Alan Parsons, resulting in the classic "Year of the Cat."
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Classic Tracks: Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues”
“You know, Eddie, there’s never been a blues song written about the summertime. Let’s write a song called ‘Summertime Blues.’"
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Classic Tracks: Martina McBride’s “Independence Day”
How Martina McBride recorded her passionate, powerful, CMA-winning anthem.
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Classic Tracks: Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
Blue Oyster Cult talks about recording "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," keeping the vibe of the original demo...and that SNL "More Cowbell" skit.
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Classic Tracks: Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters”
You know the movie and you know the classic track, but do you know how the song really came to be?
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Classic Tracks: Oingo Boingo’s “Just Another Day”
Oingo Boingo's new wave classic “Just Another Day” turns out to be more timeless than one might have imagined in 1985.
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Classic Tracks: Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”
While it started as a songwriting exercise inspired by Alice Cooper, "Psycho Killer" became the New Wave standard-bearers' calling card.
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Classic Tracks: Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy”
Bow Wow Wow's cover of "I Want Candy" centers around the Burundi Beat and explosive bass, but the secret ingredient behind its guitar...
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Classic Tracks: The Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein”
Edgar Winter bought a new ARP 2600 at Manny's Music in New York City so he could be more mobile onstage; what happened next...
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Classic Tracks: Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”
When Warren Zevon emerged in the midst of L.A.'s vibrant singer/songwriter scene in the mid-'70s, he was like a breath of...well, strange air.
Classic-Tracks
Classic Tracks: Tower of Power’s “What Is Hip”
Tower of Power was a funky downtown combination of soul, jazz and rock powered by a virtuoso rhythm section, and "What Is Hip" was...
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Classic Tracks: Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen”
It’s a simple song with a simple message, but thanks to Travis’ pitch-perfect, unmistakable voice delivering the clever lyrics and easy melody, it was...
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Classic Tracks: Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)”
Take a deep dive into the 1970 recording sessions that produced Three Dog Night's breakthrough hit, “Mama Told Me (Not to Come.)”
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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."
2014
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...
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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.
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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...
Classic-Tracks
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.
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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....
Classic-Tracks
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...
2014
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.