Song: The World's Best Songwriters on Creating the Music that Moves Us [Paperback]

American Songwriter Magazine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2007

The secrets of songwriting from the legends of music

Song is an enthralling compilation of songwriting wisdom from 100 of the biggest names in music. From country to rock to folk to alternative, this genre-spanning collection of interviews captures the anecdotes, history, and wisdom of the best songwriters around - in their words. An entertaining read as well as an indispensable guide to the art and craft of songwriting, Song is a must-have resource for the aspiring, amateur, or professional musician.

Inside, you'll find entertaining and enlightening interviews from great songwriters such as Smokey Robinson, Willie Nelson, Jewel, Kenny Chesney, Cat Stevens, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Ray Charles, Clint Black, Rob Thomas, Dolly Parton, Rufus Wainwright, Bob McDill, Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban, Beck, M. Ward, Lou Reed, Roger Miller, Grant-Lee Phillips, and John Denver.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In these interviews conducted by various scribes for American Songwriter magazine, we learn such vitals as that Dierks Bentley would still write songs even if it weren't his "job," and how Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips descries the differences between a song and a performance and also how audiences do the same (Coyne also notes how Elton John's elegant recording of "Bennie and the Jets" differs in important ways from his performances of the song today). Sheryl Crow is asked if she's religious (she's "spiritual," she says), but Public Enemy's Chuck D isn't. Chuck does, however, deliver excellent background on a few of his songs to produce one of the meatier colloquies herein. Songsmiths as diverse as Lyle Lovett, Ray Charles, Beck, Burt Bacharach, Roger Miller, Fountains of Wayne, and Kenny Chesney make this a broad if not particularly deep survey of how current pop music is devised and an excellent acquisition for pop-music collections. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Founded in 1984, American Songwriter Magazine is a nationally distributed magazine that features interviews with some of America's top songwriters in its mission to ''explore both the art and industry of songwriting.''

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (January 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582974241
• ISBN-13: 978-1582974248
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So Many Great Songwriters... October 17, 2008

By SapphiresNC

Format:Paperback

Fantastic interviews with some of the greatest songwriters/performers of our time. This is the first publication that I've found where you can find interviews with the likes of Keith Urban, Richard Marx, Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty), Robert Lamm (Chicago) Ray Charles & Burt Bacharach all in one place.

Would make a great gift for those on your list who are fans of singer/songwriters.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK! January 10, 2007

By Jack Chandler

Format:Paperback

Lot of diverse interviews. a great book to pick up from time to time to read interviews you're in the mood for!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very valuable information for songwriters February 8, 2011

By Doug DePew

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Song" is a compilation of articles from American Songwriter Magazine. It includes insights from writers in all different genres of music. It is more about the art of songwriting than it is the mechanics, and if you are interested in mechanics, I'd recommend a different book.

Personally, I've always found the magic and the art to be the more difficult parts. This book is invaluable because it gives the views of very diverse writers. Amazingly, many of them approach songwriting in a similar manner. I recommend "Song" highly for aspiring or even accomplished songwriters. We can always learn something from each other.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Song October 18, 2009

By Jacquelyn L. Allen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Nice package. I would have liked more in depth interviews and a greater variety of subjects but that goes with the territory of magazine articles from a primarily folk magazine. I got some good interviews out it of though to share with a songwriting class.

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool book, from teh looks. December 10, 2012

By Aram Isaakian

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I havn't read it yet, but skimmed through it. All pages in tact.
Love the colors on the cover, takes my breath away.