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Books / BY SCOTT YANOW
A Story Benind Every Song
Back in the early 20th century,
a composer’s melody
was wedded to a lyricist’s
words to create a new song.
Their collaboration was usually
written for a theatrical
show, film, radio, or a specific
band or singer. The song’s
success was ultimately measured
by whether it caught
on as a standard and was
adopted by many other performers.
The 45 tunes colorfully
and definitively discussed in
Marc Myers’ Anatomy Of
A Song (Grove Press) date
from 1952–’91, with all but
eight being from 1961–’79.
By that period, the main goal
of a new song was to result
in a hit record. In addition to
the melody and lyrics, important
consideration had
to be given to the recording’s
tempo, arrangement,
instrumentation, balance,
sound quality and rhythm.
Every moment of a recorded performance,
particularly during the era of the 3-minute
45 r.p.m. record, counted in pop music.
Born in Myers’ Wall Street Journal column
of the same name, these short stories
(generally five to seven pages long) each
begin with an introduction that sums up
the time period in pop history and how the
hit song fit into the trend of the time. The
remainder of each chapter consists of excerpts
taken from interviews with writers,
musicians, engineers and others who were
intimately involved in the process of creating
and recording the song.
Myers knows the history of pop music
extremely well and is expert at discussing
exactly what trends were significant
during a particular year. The only historical
error that pops up is minor, when Myers
referred to the “Western-swing tradition
pioneered in the 1940s by Jimmie Rodgers,
Hank Williams, Milton Brown and Bob
Wills.” More accurately, Western swing was
founded in the 1930s by Brown (who died
in 1935) and Wills.
The interview excerpts are informative
and enthusiastic. Along the way, one hears
from such notables as Dion, Smokey Robinson,
Robby Krieger, Grace Slick (who is quite
humorous), Linda Ronstadt, Loretta Lynn,
Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger,
Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Mavis Staples,
Stevie Wonder, Debbie Harry, Elvis Costello,
Merle Haggard, Cyndi Lauper and Bonnie
Raitt, plus many others who played a
part in one of these tunes.
The 45 songs, which are discussed in
chronological order, are drawn from the
worlds of rock, pop, doo-wop, country
and r&b. Jazz is occasionally mentioned
in passing when it influenced the birth of
a particular piece, but is otherwise not included.
Among the songs covered are “Lawdy
Miss Clawdy,” “My Girl,” “White Rabbit,”
“Light My Fire,” “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of
The Bay,” “Proud Mary,” “Another Brick
In The Wall” and “Time After Time.” Even
when one is not familiar with or enamored
by a particular song, the stories behind
them often prove intriguing and surprising
enough as to generate a very human
connection.
To mention one, Haggard’s lifelong
friend and bus driver Dean Holloway was
once heard by the guitarist complaining
about Los Angeles. Within an hour,
Haggard had not only written a hit song
based on the comments (“Big City”) but
had made its recording. He listed his friend
as co-composer, resulting in Holloway
making a half-million dollars in royalties—
which changed his life for the better. DB
Ordering info: groveatlantic.com
Nick Sanders &
Logan Strosahl
Janus
SUNNYSIDE 1469
The heralded Roman god who lends his name
to the title (and image to the packaging) of
pianist Nick Sanders and saxophonist Logan
Strosahl’s debut duo recording provides listeners
with some guidance as to what they can
expect from this impressive album. The longtime
friends and collaborators and former New
England Conservatory classmates reflect Janus’
deific seniority and stature by drawing on
source material that spans eight centuries.
Written by Guillaume de Machaut in the
mid-1300s, “Rose, Liz, Printemps, Verdure”
rolls out with a requisite discipline before passing
through modern improvisational territory
and then resolving back into Renaissance era
tranquility. The alternately flowing and jolting
“Sigma,” composed by Sanders, refers to
a villain in the Mega Man video game franchise.
The playful, Strosahl-penned title track
showcases the pair’s locked-in playing style
and instinctive, almost sibling-like ability to
respond to one another throughout the piece.
Janus was an incorporeal gatekeeper and
the symbol of beginnings, so it’s appropriate
that Strosahl and Sanders tackle a couple
of standards that embody the Great American
Songbook: There’s an uplifting lightness of step
in Strosahl’s tone on “Old Folks” that is further
supported by Sanders’ crisp accompaniment
and solo. “Stardust” is refreshed by the impressive
rapport and natural pathos that the two
enjoy. And with its hooks and twists, Monk’s
“Thelonious” serves as a natural outlet for the
duo’s give-and-take partnership.
—Yoshi Kato
Janus: Sigma; Allemande, Thelonious; R.P.D.; Mazurka; Old Folks;
Be-Bop Tune; Rose, Liz, Printemps, Verdure; Selections From Vingt
Regards Sur L’Enfant-Jesus; Janus; Stardust; Les Amusemens.
(41:48)
Personnel: Nick Sanders, piano; Logan Strosahl, alto saxophone,
tenor saxophone.
Ordering info: sunnysidezone.com
82 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2017