- Paperback: 656 pages
- Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc; 2nd Revised edition edition (Oct 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0306807777
- ISBN-13: 978-0306807770
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 10.7 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 427,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"If your bookshelf or wallet can only accommodate one book at this moment, it should be this one."
Product Description
}In these fifty-two interviews, the greatest songwriters of our time go straight to the source of the magic of songwriting by offering their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on their art. Representing almost every genre of popular music, from folk to Tin Pan Alley to jazz, from blues to pop rock, these are the figures who have shaped American music as we know it. Here they share their secrets and personal methods for converting inspiration into song: Robbie Robertson of the Band an Tom Petty talk about working with Bob Dylan; Dylan himself, in his only in-depth interview in more than ten years, says that the world doesnt need any new songs; R.E.M. name their favorite R.E.M. songs; Madonna describes collaborating with Prince; Sammy Cahn talks about writing standards for Sinatra; Pete Seeger recounts hitting the road with Woody Guthrie; Frank Zappa admits to loving Louie Louie; Todd Rundgren explains how he dreams his songs; and, in the books most extensive interview, Paul Simon delves into his opus from The Sound of Silence to Graceland. And almost all of them express delight at being able to talk about the mechanics of music itself, something that they have rarely been asked to discuss. Here expanded with new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Laura Nyro, Yoko Ono, Leonard Cohen, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, and many others, Songwriters on Songwriting is a rare volume: one of the best books on the craft of musicmaking, an informative source for musicians and songwriters, and an invaluable historical record of the popular music of this century. }
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First Sentence
Pete Seeger's songs are some of the most heartfelt a country has heard, songs that seem to have been born with the earth because we grew up not only hearing them but singing them, songs such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "If I Had a Hammer." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Pete Seeger's songs are some of the most heartfelt a country has heard, songs that seem to have been born with the earth because we grew up not only hearing them but singing them, songs such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "If I Had a Hammer." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
By MICHAEL TEARSON
Paul Zollo, himself a singer-songwriter , has assembled a mighty and important book here. He has gathered 52 interviews he conducted for SongTalk. The subjects are a virtual who's who of songwriters. Zollo has an obvious love of song and songmaking and a curiosity about the process that won't quit. These qualities are reflected in his interviewing. So, too, is Zollo's uncanny knack for putting his subjects at ease so they will open up to him and candidly reveal more than they might have expected to. He probes intelligently, asking questions that evoke true responses. I often found myself thinking how good his questioning is. He clearly does his homework so that he can display an encyclopedic knowledge of the artist's full career, often asking specifically about the damnedest, most obscure songs. Two pieces juxtaposed early in the book form a kind of core around which this collection revolves. These are lengthy interviews with first Bob Dylan and then Paul Simon. In each of these, Zollo shows how well he listens and responds in his questioning. Both interviews are tremendously revealing and rewarding. This collection is about just what it is singer-songwriters of all stripes do, plus the how, in the way their various processes work, and the why of their drive to create. Essential questions all. This is compelling, don't-you-dare-miss-it stuff for anybody who writes songs, and equally for anybody else who listens to songs and cares about them.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Predictably, this book starts with several of the better interviews. Old-timers Pete Seeger, Mose Allison and Willie Dixon, for example, have been around a bit, seen a thing or two, and it shows. The unfortunate effect is to encourage the reader to tackle 'Songwriters on Songwriting' as they would any other book and try to read it through from cover to cover. Bad mistake. I got to the Californian hippy witterings of the late Laura Nyro (who, according to Mr Zollo, didn't die in April 1997 but 'departed from this earth'), before I gave up and started the much more rewarding 'dipping in'. There's more than a little of that peculiarly American schmaltz in these interviews, too, contributed in no small measure by the author himself, and UK purchasers who enjoy an after dinner read are strongly advised to allow a reasonable period to elapse before doing so. There is also a marked absence of other than US writers, except for the few who, by a happy coincidence, were resident in the US at the time of interview. There are many regrettable omissions; Tom Waits, Scott Walker, Elvis Costello and the incomparable Joni Mitchell spring to mind, all of whom could have brought some much needed additional intelligence to this collection and perhaps given Mr Zollo a definitive answer to his almost constant pursuit of the 'divine' source of the popular song. Nevertheless, this 640 page tome is well worth the asking price for those who want some background on their CD collection and songwriters will take comfort in learning that even some of the great names struggle sometimes and, on the evidence of this book, talk a load of b******s, too. Three stars, then, for the good bits (look out for Zappa and Cohen for instance) and one extra for being, as far as I know, unique, no matter how flawed. Ian Nicol, UK.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
SONGWRITERS ON SONGWRITING is an excellent new book that rips the lid off the composing process via candid and often revelatory interviews with some of Rock's finest tunesmiths. Written by Paul Zollo, the book provides a superb and compelling portrait of such 20th century heavyweights as Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and many more. Zollo is an outstanding interviewer and his pointed questions unravel the mysteries and magic behind these acclaimed artists' majestic body of work.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Reading
I love this book even though I'd never heard of half of these people before (young and naive that I am).. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jay
Wonderful book and great value
No doubt the main audience for this book is other songwriters and composers. The author's passion for the subject shines through and I spent many a day dipping into the book,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ray
essential reading for songwriters
if you are budding songwriter this is essential reading. legends in the songwriting business talk about the craft and how they go about writing songs. Read more
Published on 22 April 2010 by Nicholas Burns
Review from Dirty Linen magazine
By LAHRI BOND
Paul Zollo has had the good fortune of talking shop with some of the best songwriters from the fields of folk, country, blues, and rock and roll. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 1998
Great collection of songwriting wisdom
By BARNIE HOSKYNS
Paul Zollo probes 52 pop-rock greats on the small miracles and larger torments of songwriting. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 1998
Very favorable review of book from England's VOX magazine.
February, 1998 By GAVIN MARTIN From VOX MAGAZINE Formidable tete-a-tetes with a startling range of tunesmiths -- Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Michael Stipe. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 1998
review by ALLEN FOSTER from songwriter's monthly .
January 1998 By ALLEN FOSTER Songwriter's Monthly As the editor of a magazine that has dealt, so intimately, with songwriting for the past six years, I personally wanted to get... Read more
Published on 24 Sep 1998
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