Behind The Song

“Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol is now a classic for good reason. It showcases his unique ability to put a hard edge on a pop song, and it was one of the reasons his 1983 Rebel Yell album went double platinum. His success paved the way for a mainstream embrace of the aesthetics of punk rock, heralding a turning point in 1980’s music at large. One listen to this song and you want more more more…dig in to the story behind it in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Drive” by The Cars was their biggest hit, with a video that sparked a long marriage for Ric Ocasek and supermodel Paulina Porizkova, but the song touches on unusual questions. Cruise through the history of this classic tune in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Van Halen’s rip-roaring “Panama” from their classic album 1984 is a song about a car, and a girl, and it represents a joyful, pedal-to-the-metal breakout moment for the band just before frontman David Lee Roth left to find his own groove on another track. Take a ride through the history of this song in this episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elvis Costello’s first song to chart in the US was “Watching The Detectives,” a song born out of a night spent listening to The Clash with lyrics that tell two tales. Find out all about it in this episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple is a true account of a horrific fire that the band witnessed in Switzerland while waiting to record the Machine Head album in 1971. Find out the insane story of how the band’s most well-known song came to rise out of those flames in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new episode of the Behind The Song podcast is about the lyrics and history of “Love Stinks” by The J. Geils Band. An anti-Valentine’s tune that we can all sing along to, it was written just after singer Peter Wolf divorced Faye Dunaway, one of the most famous actresses in the world. It has just enough swagger to be a fun antidote to love’s downside, and it was their biggest hit in a decade when it was released in 1980. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” made its debut in the opening and closing credits for the 1985 movie that it was written specifically for, The Breakfast Club, and it has since made its way permanently into popular culture by being such a huge part of the classic John Hughes teen drama. It became an instant hit for the band Simple Minds, going all the way to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, but it almost wasn’t recorded by the very reluctant band at all. Find out how Jim Kerr and the rest of Simple Minds were finally convinced to do it, and the surprising number of other artists who passed entirely on recording this bonafide hit, in this episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode and subscribe to the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1975, Paul Simon released his fourth solo album. The title track, “Still Crazy After All These Years,” was inspired while Simon was going through a rocky period in his life the year before, and it ended up being a song that so perfectly speaks to working through the beginnings and the endings of life that it has been heralded as the “Auld Lang Syne” of popular music. From when he first shared the song while he was still in the process of writing it on the Dick Cavett show, to his famous performance of it on Saturday Night Live dressed in a turkey costume, find out the backstory of this tune by one of music’s most masterful writers in the new episode of the Behind The Song podcast. Watch the video episode on the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past year, the Behind The Song podcast has explored some of the most interesting backstories and lyrics in classic rock. From Tom Scholz’s fantastic caper in making Boston’s debut album to the accidental lyrics in Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” here’s a look back at the most revelatory moments in 2021’s lineup of Behind The Song episodes. Watch the video episode on the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Written in less time than it takes to light up the yule log, Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” continues to be played around the world during the holiday season more than 40 years after it was released. It’s a song that showcases McCartney’s remarkable talent for creating ear candy, and it earns the former Beatle a surprisingly hefty paycheck every year. Find out all about this festive tune’s origins in the new episode of Behind The Song. Watch the video episode on the Behind The Song Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2DBF4wJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices