The Story Behind The Song

Judy Collins is a music icon, plain and simple. Collins' storied career, first inspired by folk legends Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, is now in its seventh decade and touches much of American music royalty. (Songwriting legend Leonard Cohen is just one such icon she elevated.) Her musical journey continues this month with the release of Spellbound – surprisingly, her first-ever full album of...

Punk rock in the mid-to-late '70s and early '80s meant different things to different people, depending on which city you were in. For Los Angeles, it was the band X that helped define the sound from their Venice home. (The band sits at #13 on  Consequence 's own list of the Best Punk Bands of All Time .) X’s most iconic song happens to be the title track of their debut LP, Los Angeles...

Crowded House ’s "Don't Dream It's Over" is one of the most memorable tunes of the '80s, and the band's Neil Finn explores that lasting legacy on the latest edition of  The Story Behind the Song . Crowded House helped launch a new post-New Wave era in pop music in 1986, creating beautifully simple, earthy melodies driven by guitars rather than synths. Lead singer, guitarist...

Blondie are, without question, one of the most successful, iconic, and influential bands in rock and roll history. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 15 years ago, the Debbie Harry -fronted group has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and continues to release new music. But the “rock and roll” label doesn’t do justice to the group’s genre-bending music. What started as a punk band i...

Tears for Fears ruled the pop charts for much of the 1980s with their unique mix of instantly catchy synth sounds, irresistible hooks, and confessional lyrics. Like everybody in music, the duo of singer/songwriter/guitarist Roland Orzabal and singer/bassist Curt Smith wanted to rule the world, and they certainly achieved that with a string of hits spanning several albums. It all began with their 1...

In this third episode of The Story Behind the Song podcast, host Peter Csathy interviews Buckingham about the song “Tusk," diving into its inspiration, its meaning, its production, and its impact. In keeping with TSBTS ’s mission, the guest musician also reveals the story behind one of their personal favorite tracks from their own catalog. In this case, Buckingham chose “On the Wrong Side,” hi...

Iconic UK new wave artist Gary Numan ushered in an entirely new form of electronic synth music with 1979's "Cars." While the sound would go on to define much of the next decade, the breakout smash came to Numan in mere minutes -- after nearly being attacked by thugs in his own vehicle. Yet Newman's artistic and personal journey has not been for the faint of heart, characterized by...

The Story Behind the Song finds host Peter Csathy digging into some of the most iconic songs of all time with the artists who made them. Others may scratch the surface, but we go deeper than anyone into the musician’s fascinating creative journey of how their most lasting songs came to be – and the moment that sparked their inspiration. For episode 1, Peter sits with Men At Work frontman Colin Hay...