Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song: The Exclusive Personal Stories Behind Your Favorite Songs [Paperback]

Jack Canfield (Author), Mark Victor Hansen (Author), Jo-Ann Geffen (Author), Lamont Dozier (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2009

Readers will get an inside look at the personal stories behind their favorite songs as songwriters get up close and personal with exclusive stories about how and why they wrote them.

Songs tell a story, and now popular singers and songwriters are sharing more of the story!  These artists reveal the inspiration, influence, and background, and when and why they wrote their most famous songs, in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song.  Book includes great photos of the songwriters and lyrics of many of the songs.

Songs, with personal stories behind them, many of which are being told for the first time, include:

Storyteller/Songwriter                  Song Title_________________

Aaron Lewis, Staind                     Outside

Aaron Neville                               Yellow Moon

Aaron Tippin                                Kiss This

Amanda McBroom                       The Rose

Angélique Kidjo                           Batonga

Ann Wilson, Heart                       Dog and Butterfly

Barry Manilow                             One Voice

Billy Bob Thornton                       The Poor House

Billy Steinberg                             True Colors

Brenda Russell                            Get Here

Carly Simon                                Let the River Run

Carol Connors                             With You I’m Born Again

Carole Bayer Sager                     That’s What Friends Are For

Christina Aguilera                        Fighter

Chynna Phillips                            Hold On

Clint Black                                  When I Said I Do

Corey Taylor (Slipknot)                Duality

Darius Rucker                             It Won’t Be Like This For Long

Daryl Hall                                   Sara Smile

David Cassidy                             Stand and Be Proud

Diane Warren                             Because You Loved Me

Diane Warren                             I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing

Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly)            In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies)   Easy

Eddie Money                               Two Tickets To Paradise

Enrique Iglesias                           Be With You

Art Alexakis (Everclear)              Father Of Mine

Gavin Rossdale                            Love Remains the Same

Greg Camp (Smash Mouth)         All Star

Hal David                                   What the World Needs Now Is Love

Howard Hewett                           Say Amen

Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys)  What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful)

 Huey Lewis                                 The Heart Of Rock n’ Roll

Iggy Pop                                      Lust For Life

Jack Tempchin                            Peaceful Easy Feeling

Janis Ian                                      At Seventeen

Jeff Barry                                   Walkin’ In the Sun

Jeff Barry                                   Tell Laura I Love Her

Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains)     Rooster

Jewel                                          Hands

Jim Croce (by Ingrid Croce)        Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

Jim Croce (by Ingrid Croce)        Operator

Jim Peterik (Survivor)                  Eye Of the Tiger

Joan Jett                                     Bad Reputation

John Legend                               Ordinary People

John Oates                                  She’s Gone

John Sebastian (Lovin’ Spoonful)   Do You Believe In Magic

John Sebastian (Lovin’ Spoonful)   Daydream

Kanye West                                 Welcome To Heartbreak

Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger)           Midnight Madness

Kenny Loggins                             Moose ‘n Me

Kim Carnes                            &nb...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chicken Soup for the Soul is a favorite publisher of books about family with many bestselling books about family and personal dynamics.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are co-founders of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Chicken Soup for the Soul; 1 edition (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935096400
• ISBN-13: 978-1935096405
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, which includes 40 New York Times bestsellers, and coauthor with Gay Hendricks of You've GOT to Read This Book! An internationally renowned corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and popular radio and TV talk show guest, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#37 in Books > Self-Help

#96 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#37 in Books > Self-Help

#96 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars wonderful version of chicken soup August 13, 2010

By CozyReadersCorner

Format:Paperback

The Story behind the Song is a compilation of one hundred and one classic and popular well known songs. Spanning across decades of music, each chapter gives the artist or writers story along with the full lyrics. The book is packed full of interesting information and emotions attached to some of our favorite songs. If you have ever wondered how a song came to be, or if the lyrics mean anything personal to the artist, this installment of Chicken Soup for the Soul is for you.

The book is divided into chapters by each individual song. Each chapter has the artist picture, name and song title, followed by the written by and recorded by details. From here the narrative starts on how the song came to be or the story behind the development of the song. Immediately following the artists' comments are the full lyrics to the song. There is no doubt that you will want to go find your old forgotten CDs or your new and favorite CDs to hear these songs. If you don't have the songs on CD you will probably end up finding yourself on the internet like I did, searching for the song so that you can listen to it and be reminded of its' tune and passion while you read this book. I also used the internet to search for the songs I was not as familiar with or had not heard before, though they were few and far between. It was amazing to hear the song after learning more about how it came to be.

Due to the setup of the chapters, the book leaves the reader with options on how they would prefer to read it. I started off reading cover to cover but quickly switched my tactic. I was finding each entry very intriguing and found myself wanting to read about some of my favorites first. It is very easy to read this book out of order.... After grabbing a pencil and making a small mark next to the chapters I had read, I went through and chose the order I wanted to read in, making sure to mark each chapter on the table of contents page after reading it. One of my favorite stories was from Gavin Rossdale who talks about his song "Love Remains the Same". I found that this story was one that every reader would be able to connect with. It is a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics and an honest story behind it. There were many great stories in this book that it is hard to choose just one favorite. I also really enjoyed Liz Phair's "Divorce Song". I was unfamiliar with this song, but it was great to read and then listen too. It is always great to find new music and new artist.

The Story behind the Song is a delightful look at generations of music and lyrics. It is heart warming and at times comical. The reader is given a glimpse at the blood, sweat and tears along with heartache, pain, enjoyment and pay off that goes into the writing process and success! I would love to see Chicken Soup for the Soul come out with a second installment of this book, or maybe even one about authors and their creative process or story behind their books. It was a fresh and new perspective to the Chicken Soup series.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read - Good to know the stories behind the Songs I Love November 20, 2009

By M. Shell

Format:Paperback

I was given this book as a present last week - To my surprise I loved every minute of reading it. The book is comprised of so many songs that I have loved - hummed and song and now I am able to read the stories behind these songs. I found it quite interesting to read the songwriters thoughts which now gives us a more personal insight into how many of these songs originated. I have just purchased 10 books to give as Xmas gifts.
If you like to listen to music than this is a must read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and Interesting, Too November 17, 2009

By Alain Raineau

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had never read a "Chicken Soup" book before this one. I thought they would be sappy. But not at all. The remembrances in "The Story Behind the Song" are a collection of wonderful history, heartfelt personal tales, and altogether I found myself wanting to read one more and one more...okay...just one more...and before long realized I had read the entire book in one sitting. This would make a really great holiday gift. We all have memories and connectives to many of these songs and the book fills in the backstory beautifully and warmly and respectfully. it is written in a light yet often substantive style that would make it a great read for that long flight to the family at Christmastime...and give you something to talk about, too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Laughed, I Cried, I Fell in Love with most of the artists. December 15, 2009

By Mr. W. A. Mackey III

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

What a great book!! It was so great to read the stories behind the songs. Some were touching like that of Art Alexakis. Makes you realize what a great man he is and just how sweet he seems with his own kids! Then there are stories by Lamont Dozier and others that are HILARIOUS!!! No Tell Motel? Seriously!! hahaha

What's so great about this book is that it is a simple, yet fun read. The stories are concise, well-written and addictive. I think another reviewer wrote this as well, but on two occasions I thought, "Okay, I'm going to read one story before I go to bed." I started at 3 am and 45 minutes later I was still reading, knowing i REALLY needed to get some sleep!

This is one of those things that makes for a great gift, particularly for those people that already have everything. I'm not big on reading, but this is such an easy read that you can read a story or two, or just read it front to back.

Nice work, Chicken Soup. This was the first book I've read from that series and if the rest are like this, you've got a new fan!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart of the song August 11, 2010

By N. Goodrich

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The "Story Behind the Song", related by the writers and/ or performers, adds another dimension to the tunes that created so many memories for us all. It is an education in creation by the masters.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming stories! November 30, 2009

By Rachelle Savannah

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Yet another excellent "Chicken Soup" book. I found myself reading the stories and singing along with the songs in my head as the lyrics to each are inclued. A lot of the stories are very heartwarming and inspirational. A great gift!

4.0 out of 5 stars enlightening and a fun read September 19, 2012

By NRS41

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is enjoyable and sheds light on the lives of the writers/composers at the time that they wrote various 'famous' songs.
I was not familiar with perhaps 25% of the songs but was interested in the 'behind the scenes' stories in any case.
I would recommend this book... especially to music lovers and aspiring writers.

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book! August 31, 2012

By Laura

Format:Paperback

I started your book, and I LOVE it! My hats off to you!
What a great idea... brilliant.
I'm captured by the sincerity of the songwriter's, and by the fact that their artistry can be at long last validated in this way.
I don't know if anyone has ever come up with a book like this before - about the writers who create music. I've never seen anything like this.
I've only started reading it, but I'm captured.
There were a couple of times when I even got teary-eyed.
It's very moving.
Thanks so much.