Behind The Song

By The Drive | Hubbard Radio

What's Behind The Song about?

Dig into the lyrics of classic rock songs and the storytellers that created them in "Behind The Song," a podcast of essays by The Drive's Janda Lane. Hear what was happening behind the scenes while some of the most iconic songs in rock history were being written.

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Behind The Song episodes:

04.24.2024
The year John Mellencamp took control
By 1983, John Mellencamp had finally gotten the upper hand on his career. After the success of his breakthrough album, 1982’s American Fool, he had all the cards in his deck to change the game when it came to his...
04.03.2024
The timeless appeal of Pink Floyd’s “Time”
The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd stands alone in many ways. By dealing with the uncomfortable concepts of life, death, greed, and mental illness, this body of work chimes with the human experience on a real level,...
03.13.2024
The ELO song scientifically proven to make you happy
ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” is one of the best examples of Jeff Lynne’s particularly bouncy brand of symphonic rock, a song that holds several surprises and reveals itself more and more with each repeated listen...including the very last line of...
02.21.2024
The inspiration behind Pete Townshend’s biggest hit
The song is the biggest hit of Pete Townshend’s solo career, an infectious tune that the songwriter behind The Who has called “just a little ditty.” It’s a Hollywood favorite, used in charming romantic scenes in movies and TV shows....
01.31.2024
The midas touch of Pat Benatar and “We Belong”
When Pat Benatar’s Tropico album was released in 1984, she was on top of the world: an established superstar talent with a string of chart-toppers, and she and her husband and musical partner Neil Giraldo were about to become first-time...
01.10.2024
The Rolling Stones’ hit song that almost never happened
By 1981, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were barely talking, having differing opinions on the direction of The Rolling Stones. Making new music together seemed out of the question, but they were booked on a world tour, and needed an...
11.29.2023
John Lennon’s message of peace at Christmas
He was the first former Beatle to release a Christmas single after the band broke up, and he found a way to make a Christmas song carry a message of peace and unity without being overly saccharine. But then again,...
11.01.2023
The mystery of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl”
Neil Young’s second solo album, 1969’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, marked the first time he made an album with Crazy Horse as his backing band. Created in a rush of musical output from Young, concurrent with his work with...
10.11.2023
How “Devil Inside” helped make INXS rock gods
By the time INXS released their sixth album, 1987’s Kick, the band were perched on the edge of international superstardom, a gig that the late Michael Hutchence seemed born for. Kick turned out to be their biggest success, but it...
09.20.2023
How Bachman Turner Overdrive’s inside joke became a hit song
By the time Bachman Turner Overdrive were ready to record their third album, Not Fragile, Randy Bachman had sent demo tapes to almost two dozen record labels, all met with rejection letters. Finally, a twist of fate led to inking...
08.30.2023
The awesome story of Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike"
Temple Of The Dog’s short-lived status as a Seattle rock supergroup got its start as a tribute project for the late Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, and ended up yielding one self-titled album that became a platinum seller. The...
08.09.2023
Blondie’s hit song inspired by a stalker
“One Way Or Another” by Blondie is based on an experience frontwoman Debbie Harry had with a stalker ex-boyfriend. In an incredible turnabout of power, the song ended up being one of the major hits on the band’s commercial breakthrough...
07.19.2023
How Paul McCartney landed the title theme for a James Bond film
“Live And Let Die” marked some important firsts for the James Bond film franchise. It was the first 007 film to star Roger Moore as James Bond, and when it came to the music, it had a little help from...
06.28.2023
How Eddie Money’s Rock and Roll Dream Came True
Eddie Money seemed to burst onto the national music scene fully formed when his self-titled debut album was released in 1977 and “Two Tickets To Paradise” climbed up the charts, but he had already traveled a long and unlikely road...
06.07.2023
The long strange history of “Casey Jones” by the Grateful Dead
A favorite among Dead fans and casual listeners alike, “Casey Jones” has a super catchy melody and an origin story that goes back to early 1900’s Americana. It all started with a real-life train engineer whose heroic act inspired a...
05.17.2023
How Tom Petty punched back at the music biz with “Refugee”
By the time Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers set out to record their third album, Damn The Torpedoes, they were in a legal mess with MCA Records over a contract sale which resulted in Petty losing all of his publishing...
04.26.2023
How "On The Dark Side" became a surprise hit
Without the music, the 1983 cult classic film Eddie & The Cruisers just wouldn’t be the same. And without the film, the real-life bar band band who wrote many of the songs for its multi-platinum soundtrack wouldn’t have recorded the...
04.05.2023
The inspiration behind David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie”
By the time David Bowie wrote the songs for his Aladdin Sane album, which was released in April of 1973, it was his first time writing as an actual rock star. Inspired by the people and places he saw in...
03.15.2023
How “One” unified U2
By the time U2 recorded their seventh album, 1991’s Achtung Baby, they were exhausted from nonstop touring, going through personal struggles at home in Ireland, and were at odds with each other about which direction to take musically. So, they...
02.22.2023
The spellbinding story of “Black Magic Woman”
The late Peter Green was one of the early guitar heroes in England, alongside names like Eric Clapton. He formed Fleetwood Mac in 1967, and their early records during his time leading the band yielded songs that were transcendent, psychedelic,...
02.08.2023
The love song that started it all for Styx
“Lady” was the first of several hit Styx songs that Dennis DeYoung wrote for his longtime wife, Suzanne. It became the first hit song for the band, and it is largely held to be the very first power ballad in...
01.25.2023
How Joe Walsh’s “In The City” went from Warriors to Eagles
“In The City” is best known as an album cut on 1979’s The Long Run, an album the Eagles cobbled together after many months and on the heels of their epic Hotel California album and tour. But it was first...
01.11.2023
Why Van Halen took their time with “Right Now”
"Right Now” by Van Halen is an inspirational song about living in the moment, but it took a long time to come together. Released on 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, their third after Sammy Hagar joined as frontman, it was...
12.14.2022
When Billy Squier Rocked Christmas on MTV
In 1981, the launch of MTV coincided with the rise of Billy Squier, and the two were a match made in pop culture heaven. The year ended with a singalong performance of his holiday single, “Christmas Is The Time to...
11.30.2022
How Joan Jett embraced her "Bad Reputation"
“Bad Reputation” is a song Joan Jett wrote while being rejected over and over by people in the music business, after realizing that she herself had gotten a bad reputation simply by being in her scandalously young former band, The...
11.16.2022
Supertramp’s singalong hit about the ideal gift
“Give A Little Bit,” the opening track on Supertramp’s 1977 album, Even In The Quietest Moments….is a song that appeals to our better angels, with an idealistic message of unity and generosity. Written by Roger Hodgson when he was still...
11.02.2022
The country song that became Def Leppard’s only US #1 hit
When you think about Def Leppard, country music is probably the last thing that comes to mind. This band helped usher in the second wave of British heavy metal and made it appealing to the masses with a polished, pop...
10.12.2022
When Sting became the "King Of Pain"
When The Police recorded their final album, 1983’s Synchronicity, they were the biggest band in the world, but they were on the brink of disintegrating Personal conflicts with each other and drama in their personal lives would play a part...
09.28.2022
How Pink Floyd and Bob Ezrin built The Wall
Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album, The Wall, stands tall as a body of work. A true rock opera, it tells a tale of a war orphan who grew up to become a jaded rock star, growing increasingly isolated behind a...
09.14.2022
David Bowie’s mad, marvelous Moonage Daydream
When David Bowie wrote “Moonage Daydream,” he didn’t actually write it for himself. Yet, the song became the pivotal hinge on which the rest of his ingenious album, 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars'...
08.31.2022
All Apologies: interpreting Nirvana’s last goodbye
“All Apologies” by Nirvana is the last song on the band that rocked a generation’s third and last album, In Utero. If the last song on an album is an indication of what might come next in musical terms from...
08.17.2022
Who is "Angie" by The Rolling Stones about?
The song "Angie," released on The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup album in 1973, has been the subject of much debate over the years. Is there an actual "Angie" and if so, who is she? Unravel the many rumors about...
08.03.2022
How “Killer Queen” set the stage for Queen to grab the crown
When the band Queen set out to make Sheer Heart Attack, their third album, much was at stake. They were embroiled in a battle over royalties with their management, and guitarist Brian May had become extremely ill while on tour...
07.20.2022
Down Under by Men At Work: the song that made vegemite famous
When Men At Work wrote their 1982 hit, "Down Under," little did they know that it would become a worldwide smash. They were the first Australian band to have a simultaneous number one song on both the Billboard album and...
07.06.2022
Bruce Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for who?
When Bruce Springsteen decided to double up on songs for his 1980 album, The River, he also decided to keep its biggest hit for himself instead of giving it to the punk rock band he originally wrote it for. With...
06.22.2022
How “Sweet Emotion” helped put Aerosmith on the Mount Rushmore of Rock
They’re not exactly as wholesome as apple pie, but they have been anointed “America’s Greatest Rock Band” for good reason. Aerosmith have sold more hard rock albums than any other American band, and they went from being an opening act...
06.22.2022
How “Sweet Emotion” helped put Aerosmith on the Mount Rushmore of Rock
They’re not exactly as wholesome as apple pie, but they have been anointed “America’s Greatest Rock Band” for good reason. Aerosmith have sold more hard rock albums than any other American band, and they went from being an opening act...
06.08.2022
The Bob Dylan song that Jimi Hendrix made his own
Bob Dylan wrote “All Along The Watchtower” for his 1967 album, John Wesley Harding, after realizing he was getting swindled by his own management and record label. Jimi Hendrix immediately covered the song for his final album, Electric Ladyland, and...
05.25.2022
How The Romantics went from Motor City Rockers to MTV darlings
Straight out of Detroit Rock City, The Romantics made their first entry into the Billboard chart with a high-energy tune sung by their drummer. That song, “What I Like About You,” later became the subject of a high-profile lawsuit when...
05.11.2022
Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight:" Metal Gods riding the razor’s edge of British Steel
When Judas Priest released their classic British Steel album in 1980, it paved the way for metal music to really hit the mainstream, and is one of the reasons the band were finally given the Rock & Roll Hall Of...
04.27.2022
Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”: from punk rocker to pop star
“Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol is now a classic for good reason. It showcases his unique ability to put a hard edge on a pop song, and it was one of the reasons his 1983 Rebel Yell album went double...
04.13.2022
The Cars’ biggest hit was a pop oddity
“Drive” by The Cars was their biggest hit, with a video that sparked a long marriage for Ric Ocasek and supermodel Paulina Porizkova, but the song touches on unusual questions. Cruise through the history of this classic tune in the...
03.30.2022
The Thrill Ride of Van Halen's "Panama"
Van Halen’s rip-roaring “Panama” from their classic album 1984 is a song about a car, and a girl, and it represents a joyful, pedal-to-the-metal breakout moment for the band just before frontman David Lee Roth left to find his own...
03.09.2022
Investigating Elvis Costello’s “Watching The Detectives”
Elvis Costello’s first song to chart in the US was “Watching The Detectives,” a song born out of a night spent listening to The Clash with lyrics that tell two tales. Find out all about it in this episode of...
02.23.2022
How Deep Purple’s classic song was born out of flames
“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple is a true account of a horrific fire that the band witnessed in Switzerland while waiting to record the Machine Head album in 1971. Find out the insane story of how the band’s...
02.09.2022
The J. Geils Band’s hit song about love gone wrong
The new episode of the Behind The Song podcast is about the lyrics and history of “Love Stinks” by The J. Geils Band. An anti-Valentine’s tune that we can all sing along to, it was written just after singer Peter...
01.26.2022
The song Simple Minds didn’t want to record for The Breakfast Club soundtrack
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” made its debut in the opening and closing credits for the 1985 movie that it was written specifically for, The Breakfast Club, and it has since made its way permanently into popular culture by being...
01.12.2022
The story behind Paul Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years”
In 1975, Paul Simon released his fourth solo album. The title track, “Still Crazy After All These Years,” was inspired while Simon was going through a rocky period in his life the year before, and it ended up being a...
12.22.2021
A Look Back At 2021: Revelatory Moments in Classic Rock from Behind The Song
Over the past year, the Behind The Song podcast has explored some of the most interesting backstories and lyrics in classic rock. From Tom Scholz’s fantastic caper in making Boston’s debut album to the accidental lyrics in Guns N’ Roses’...
12.08.2021
“Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney: the $15 million song
Written in less time than it takes to light up the yule log, Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” continues to be played around the world during the holiday season more than 40 years after it was released. It’s a song that...

What's Behind The Song about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Behind The Song episodes:

The year John Mellencamp took control

The timeless appeal of Pink Floyd’s “Time”

The ELO song scientifically proven to make you happy

The inspiration behind Pete Townshend’s biggest hit

The midas touch of Pat Benatar and “We Belong”

The Rolling Stones’ hit song that almost never happened

John Lennon’s message of peace at Christmas

The mystery of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl”

How “Devil Inside” helped make INXS rock gods

How Bachman Turner Overdrive’s inside joke became a hit song

The awesome story of Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike"

Blondie’s hit song inspired by a stalker

How Paul McCartney landed the title theme for a James Bond film

How Eddie Money’s Rock and Roll Dream Came True

The long strange history of “Casey Jones” by the Grateful Dead

How Tom Petty punched back at the music biz with “Refugee”

How "On The Dark Side" became a surprise hit

The inspiration behind David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie”

How “One” unified U2

The spellbinding story of “Black Magic Woman”

The love song that started it all for Styx

How Joe Walsh’s “In The City” went from Warriors to Eagles

Why Van Halen took their time with “Right Now”

When Billy Squier Rocked Christmas on MTV

How Joan Jett embraced her "Bad Reputation"

Supertramp’s singalong hit about the ideal gift

The country song that became Def Leppard’s only US #1 hit

When Sting became the "King Of Pain"

How Pink Floyd and Bob Ezrin built The Wall

David Bowie’s mad, marvelous Moonage Daydream

All Apologies: interpreting Nirvana’s last goodbye

Who is "Angie" by The Rolling Stones about?

How “Killer Queen” set the stage for Queen to grab the crown

Down Under by Men At Work: the song that made vegemite famous

Bruce Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for who?

How “Sweet Emotion” helped put Aerosmith on the Mount Rushmore of Rock

How “Sweet Emotion” helped put Aerosmith on the Mount Rushmore of Rock

The Bob Dylan song that Jimi Hendrix made his own

How The Romantics went from Motor City Rockers to MTV darlings

Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight:" Metal Gods riding the razor’s edge of British Steel

Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”: from punk rocker to pop star

The Cars’ biggest hit was a pop oddity

The Thrill Ride of Van Halen's "Panama"

Investigating Elvis Costello’s “Watching The Detectives”

How Deep Purple’s classic song was born out of flames

The J. Geils Band’s hit song about love gone wrong

The song Simple Minds didn’t want to record for The Breakfast Club soundtrack

The story behind Paul Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years”

A Look Back At 2021: Revelatory Moments in Classic Rock from Behind The Song

“Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney: the $15 million song