Jay Mcdowell

New York songwriter Bert Berns moved to Cuba and fell in love with the music. When the revolution there occurred in 1959, Americans had to return home. He saw that the market was demanding “twist” songs, and he leaned on the Afro-Cuban rhythms he enjoyed so much. Berns teamed up with Phil Medley, and the result was one of the biggest hits of the 1960s. Let's take a look at the story behind “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles.

Songwriters Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard met in California and began collaborating. Cochran came up with a title, and the two set about writing the song. Howard's wife Jan recorded a demo at Pamper Music just outside of Nashville, and the songwriters pitched the song to producer Owen Bradley. Brenda Lee turned down the song as she felt it was "too country." Bradley then approached Roy Drusky, who thought it was not a man's song. Patsy Cline overheard the conversation and asked if she could record the song. The rest is history. Let's take a look at the story behind "I Fall To Pieces" by Patsy Cline.

John Graham Mellor had been using the nickname “Woody” for a few years before taking on a whole new moniker while singing and playing guitar in the pub rock band The 101ers.

Brian Wilson has been interviewed countless times and asked the same questions over and over. Through the years, it is interesting to compare his answers to see where the lines have blurred. The fact that his songs are strong enough to still be talked about is a testament to his contributions to the musical landscape of our past. It's understandable when memories twist and turn in our minds over the course of our lifetime. Let's look at the conflicting stories behind “Surfer Girl” by The Beach Boys.

From the beaches of Kingston, Jamaica, to the East Village of New York City, to the green parks of Gothenburg, Sweden, to the port city of Liverpool, England. A song can have multiple lives and travel around the world. Let's look at the story behind "The Tide Is High" by The Paragons, Blondie, Papa Dee, and Atomic Kitten.

When Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley met at the Bolton Institute of Technology in Manchester, England, they were looking to put a band together. After witnessing a Sex Pistols concert, they recruited bassist Steve Diggle and drummer John Maher. They christened themselves Buzzcocks and opened the second Sex Pistols appearance in Manchester. They went on to be a part of the ill-fated

By the time The Beatles recorded their sixth album Rubber Soul , they were pivoting more to the folk sounds of Bob Dylan, and Lennon wanted to write a song about his life and where he came from, though the memories of the two songwriters differ a bit. Let's look at the story behind “In My Life” by The Beatles.

When The Rolling Stones began recording, they performed songs by their blues heroes. Inspired by The Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began trying their hand at songwriting. If they deemed a composition to have been written by the full band, they would credit the song to a pseudonym rather than list each band member's name. Nanker Phelge was the fictitious name representing Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham. In the early days, it also included keyboardist Ian Stewart.

David Bowie began his career as Davie Jones when he released a single in 1964 with the King Bees. He went on to release a record under the name Davy Jones before changing it due to the emergence of The Monkees and its singer of the same name. He reinvented himself as David Bowie and continued to release songs with little success.

In April 1962, Dylan began recording his sophomore album at Columbia Studio A in New York City. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan took 12 months to record and gave us some of the best songs from the emerging folk scene. Where Dylan's' first album largely consisted of songs that were not original, his follow-up contained mostly self-composed material. The subject matter varied from political commentary straight from the headlines to biting, satirical humor to love songs. Soon after, people started calling Dylan the “Spokesman of a Generation,” a label the folk singer often renounced. Let's look at the story behind “Don't Think Twice, It's All Right” by Bob Dylan.