It was about a year ago that I started this blog. I didn’t really know what I was doing then, but over the last year, it’s gained some focus. I’ve started to look at what makes different songs tick. The first sheet I posted looked like this. It outlined the first couple of principles of … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Chords that Play Well Together

After a little break, We're rolling into number 476 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.  Do Right Woman - Do right Man is a classic blending soul and gospel. There's so many cool things to look at in this song if you really want to dig in. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/VhdgFfNsst0 The … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Aretha Franklin: Do Right Woman – Do Right Man

"How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths is one of those songs I’d heard dozens of times, but I never knew who wrote it or what its title is. It’s a haunting, tremolo grumble of a song, with airplane like air raid sirens played on slide guitar. To me, it’s one of those songs that … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: The Smiths: How Soon Is Now?

Last Night by the Strokes is probably one of the great songs of the aughts. It also pretty famously poaches its intro from Tom Petty’s “American Girl.” I happen to like “American Girl” better. It doesn’t seem to appear on Rolling Stones’ list of 500 Greatest Songs, (Really!?), so this week I called an audible and … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ “American Girl”

I hear Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” and think “middle school slow dance.” It’s a perfect song to sway to. It also comes in at #479 on Rolling Stone’s list of the Greatest Songs of All Time. Written by guitarist Mick Jones, it is Foreigner’s biggest hit. As a classic power Ballad, … Continue reading Saturday Songwriting: Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is”