Songwriter

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Songwriter
Terraplane Blues: first song to compare car problems with intimate relationship

Terraplane Blues is the first single released by Robert Johnson—a traveling blues performer deeply revered by many rock…

May 18, 2021
Songwriter
Mambo Italiano: Bob Merrill's meaningless lyrics composed on restaurant napkin

Mambo Italiano is a timeless hit in the mambo genre written by American songwriter Bob Merrill in the 1950s on a…

May 16, 2021
Music Theory
9 Beatles songs that combine harmonic major with Ionian mode

The polyphonic structure of Western classical music distinguishes it from other musical traditions such as Indian…

May 12, 2021
Songwriter
D'yer Mak'er: meaning of Led Zeppelin's most controversial song

D'yer Mak'er, released on Led Zeppelin's 1973 album Houses of the Holy, remains the most controversial track the band…

May 10, 2021
Songwriter
El Farsante and 7 more songs by Ozuna in Dorian and Aeolian modes

Few could have imagined that a career in music could have such an outstanding start as the one of Puerto Rican urbano…

May 3, 2021
Songwriter
Yakety Yak: teenager's answer to household chores in a hit song

Yakety Yak is one of the best-known songs written by American songwriting partners Jerome Leiber and Michael Stoller…

May 1, 2021
Songwriter
I Shot the Sheriff: Burnin' spliff nearly destroyed Bob Marley's original recording

I Shot The Sheriff is one of Bob Marley's best-known songs first released on the 1973 album Burnin' and popularized a…

April 26, 20211 comment
Songwriter
La Cucaracha: the song about a stoned legless cockroach as a ridicule against Mexican dictator

La Cucaracha is a fiery Mexican song in the corrido style, a poetic form of the ballad genre prevalent in Central…

April 23, 20211 comment
Songwriter
Muskrat Love: the polarizing song of America

Muskrat Love is a sweet and slightly strange song about a romantic relationship between two anthropomorphic muskrats,…

April 16, 2021
Songwriter
Seven Seas of Rhye: song of imaginary land brought to life by Ionian and Mixolydian modes

Seven Seas of Rhye first appeared as an instrumental track on Queen's 1973 self-titled debut album and later released…

April 12, 2021
Songwriter
A Dios le Pido: Juanes' Spanish lyrics behind the song success

A Dios le Pido or I beg to God is the best-known track of the Colombian songwriter and guitarist Juanes who made…

April 9, 2021
Songwriter
Makin' Whoopee: cautionary song warning against the trappings of marriage

Makin' Whoopee is an ironic song describing the successive transformation of the relationship between two lovers from…

April 7, 2021
Songwriter
Knights of Cydonia: Dorian-mode refrain boosting best Muse song

Knights of Cydonia by English alternative rock band Muse has been repeatedly placed at the top of many fan-voted charts…

April 3, 2021
Songwriter
Mariposa Traicionera: meaning and flamenco roots of Maná's top hit

Mariposa Traicionera is one of the best-known tracks by Maná, a multi-awarded Mexican quartet whose flexible style…

March 31, 20212 comments
Songwriter
Mexicali Blues: debut song by the Grateful Dead's psychedelic poet

Mexicali Blues was first released by Bob Weir, an acclaimed rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of the…

March 24, 2021
Songwriter
Tumbling Dice: hundred reels of tape for a messy Rolling Stones mix

Tumbling Dice is the lead single from the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. released in 1972, infamous for its…

March 19, 2021
Songwriter
Livin' la Vida Loca: why is Ricky Martin's best song so catchy?

Livin' la Vida Loca is likely one of the best-known tracks in the entire repertoire of the Puerto Rican singer…

March 17, 2021
Songwriter
Three Little Fishies: origin of the cautionary children's song

Three Little Fishies is a well-known novelty song with cautionary tale lyrics that was first recorded by the Hal Kemp…

March 14, 20211 comment
Songwriter
Pancho and Lefty: gangster song that saved Townes Van Zandt from a speeding ticket

Pancho and Lefty is perhaps the best-known song of American songwriter Townes Van Zandt released on his sixth studio…

March 10, 2021
Songwriter
Cali Pachanguero: meaning behind essential Colombian salsa by Jairo Varela

Cali Pachanguero is one of the best-known salsa songs that played a big part in the rising popularity of Colombian…

March 8, 2021
Songwriter
Locomotive Breath: fine groove born from Jethro Tull's studio session

Locomotive Breath is one of the more popular songs written by the British prog-rock band Jethro Tull, first released on…

February 28, 2021
Songwriter
Ferry Cross the Mersey: Merseybeat classic arranged by the Fifth Beatle

Ferry Cross the Mersey is the best-known track of the Liverpool rock band Gerry and the Pacemakers released in the mid…

February 24, 2021
Songwriter
Oye Como Va: meaning and origin of the best-known cha-cha-chá song

Oye Como Va is one of the best-known cha-cha-chá songs, owing its unfading popularity to Carlos Santana who recorded…

February 22, 2021
Songwriter
Ladytron: Roxy Music's lunar landing with mellotron, oboe, and synth

Ladytron is one of Roxy Music's most noteworthy tracks released on their 1972 debut album. One of the song's strongest…

February 19, 2021
Songwriter
La Bamba: meaning and tragedy behind the best-known son jarocho

The widely known La Bamba epitomizes one of the most striking examples of the ways in which an old folk tune could be…

February 12, 2021
Songwriter
Sugaree: Jerry Garcia's song referencing his lyricist's criminal past

Sugaree is a 1972 track that first appeared on Jerry Garcia's debut solo album, the guitarist who is widely regarded as…

February 5, 2021
Songwriter
Lawdy Miss Clawdy: how Lloyd Price's first hit mixes blues and classics

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is a rhythm and blues track that kicked off the career of the prolific New Orleans songwriter Lloyd…

January 31, 2021
Songwriter
Marie Laveau: ballad of the legendary Voodoo Queen

Dedicated to the legendary Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau was composed by award-winning writer Shel…

January 29, 2021
Songwriter
El Manisero: essential rumba song behind Caribbean music world expasion

El Manisero or The Peanut Vendor is an essential rumba song written circa 1928 by the leading Cuban composer Moisés…

January 24, 2021
Songwriter
Caldonia: the song that spawned the term rock and roll

Caldonia is a 1945 song released by Louis Jordan, an American songwriter and saxophonist whose popularity in the 1940s…

January 20, 2021