Nice stories about the 45 iconic hit, in the authors opinion that changed music. He talked to the songwriters, singers, band members, studio musicians, and producers to get stories about these songs and how they came to be. Starting with Lady Miss Clawdy, by Lloyd Price in April of 1952 up to Losing My Religion by R.E.M. in February of 1991. ( )

I loved the looks into the creative process: the songwriting and the recording, Some of the recording details went over my head. I'm not surprised that I liked that part. The aspect of the book that surprised me was the historical essay that placed each song in context. This book really did tell a history of pop music. I look forward to reading the sequel. I'd love to read books like this about other genres of music, especially country. ( )

Many of my favorite songs from the '50s - '80s appear in this nifty collection from 2016. The author interviews performers, songwriters, and producers to recount their stories of how these gems were created - and each sausage is made differently! Sometimes a band member has a tune they can't forget. Other times a singer writes down a line or two (Steven Tyler wrote "Walk This Way" after seeing the movie Young Frankenstein, and when he couldn't find any paper, he scribbled some of the lyrics on a stairwell wall!). Or a producer plunks down a string quartet right in the middle of the studio, much to the band's surprise. Or a technician erases an entire lead vocal track, oops, when he was supposed to be sweetening it with strings. The title proclaims that the 45 (the number chosen to match those li'l records) songs changed rock, R&B, and pop. I'm not sure, and there are some very obvious omissions (Beatles, Aretha, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Dylan, The Band, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Simon and Garfunkel - I could go on), but it's possible that those contacts were not available. What's here is marvelous and there's a fascinating tale behind every tune. The author’s criteria is that the songs he chooses have to had twenty five years of staying power, and the sequel, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, will be out 12/6/22, so maybe the some of the blanks will be filled in.

Quote: “New Wave, upgraded post-punk bands were artfully camp in their jittery nerdiness and jaded sophistication. Their music was also more accessible and less taunting than punk, making the shift from gothic bleakness to art rock.” ( )

The subtitle promises a bit more than it delivers. It would be more accurate to say "The oral history of 45 songs, most of which were hits, and some of which changed rock, R&B and pop."

It's a fun read though, with plenty of interesting anecdotes from the making of popular music. ( )

A wonderful book about how forty-five popular songs came to be. The writing and recording techniques are diverse, and show that creativity has many routes and forms. From Steely Dan’s painstaking recording process to Merle Haggard talking about writing “Big City” with his tour bus driver and playing the finished recording for him back on the bus an hour later.

There’s an intriguing interview with Joni Mitchell about her song “Carey,” and then one with the song’s subject, whose name she misspelled. Grace Slick on writing a now-classic: “I think White Rabbit is a very good song. I’m not a genius, but I don’t suck.” Another tidbit: Tammy Wynette kept her hairdresser’s license active in Mississippi throughout her life, just in case the music business didn’t work out. Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” is covered in both the original version and the later collaboration with Run-D.M.C.

An inside look at the processes behind some groundbreaking music. ( )