Encore: The Stories Behind The Songs You Love

Originally founded by current members Singer and Rhythm Guitarist James Hetfiled and Drummer Lars Ulrich, alongside Bassist Ron McGovney and Lead Guitarist Dave Mustaine, Metallica actually parted ways with both McGovney and Mustaine due to various personal and professional conflicts before recording and releasing their 1983 debut album, controversially titled ‘Kill ‘Em All’.

McGovney was quickly replaced by revered Bassist, the now-late Cliff Burton, while Mustaine was replaced by legendary member-to-this-day, solo-master Kirk Hammett.

Still an incredibly rough-around-the-edges Thrash Metal band, Cliff Burton would have a massive influence on the maturing of Metallica for their second album, Ride The Lightning.

Metallica would follow Ride The Lightning up with 1986’s Master of Puppets 

No longer just making music for the underground metalheads of the world, ‘Puppets’ marked Metallica’s Major Label debut with Elektra Records. 

The album was roundly received as one of - if not the greatest metal album of the time, with critics noting how much Burton’s influence in particular had progressed the band’s sound. 

Tragedy would strike Metallica in September of 1986 - mere months after MOP’s release, as Cliff Burton would die in a bus accident in Sweden, while on tour promoting the record. 

By 1987, Metallica would find their necessary replacement for Burton - Bassist Jason Newsted. 

With Newsted in the band - Metallica geared up to release their final album of the 80s, called …And Justice For All. 

Tragedy would strike Metallica in September of 1986 - mere months after MOP’s release, as Cliff Burton would die in a bus accident in Sweden, while on tour promoting the record. 

Burton was only 24 years old when he was ejected from the window of Metallica’s tour bus as it skidded off the road suddenly, while the band members slept. The bus would land on top of him, killing him instantly.

While the fault of the crash was hotly (and legally) debated at the time, ultimately Metallica’s tour bus driver was found not to be at fault for the freak accident.

By 1987, Metallica would find their necessary replacement for Burton - Bassist Jason Newsted. 

Years later, Newsted would tell VH1’s That Metal Show that he secured the gig by stealthily finding a Metallica setlist, learning all the songs on it to note perfection, and demo-ing them out for Ulrich, who hired him two days later.

YOUTUBE CLIP VH1 1

With Newsted in the band - Metallica geared up to release their final album of the 80s, called …And Justice For All. 

By this point, Metallica had very much made a name for themselves as the premiere Metal band, and Justice would prove it; peaking at number 6 on the Billboard album charts, going double platinum across its album cycle.

Mainstream critical success would also soon follow for the band; although they would lose out on winning the first (and only) ever Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental GRAMMY Award to very-much-not-a-metal-band Jethro Tull’s very-much-not-a-metal album Crest of a Knave in 1989, Metallica’s song One would snag them the inaugural Best Metal Performance award in retribution at the following year’s ceremony.

Eventually - …And Justice For All would follow in the footsteps of its pivotal predecessor, going more than 8x platinum to date.

Now, you may be thinking by this point that this is truly unprecedented success for a metal band. 

Of course, there’s always a place in music for aggressive, heavy tunes, but as the 80s turned to the 90s - you would be forgiven for assuming that the roughly 4 to 5 million records sold in America across 4 monster albums, was about as good as it could get for any metal band, and perhaps they’d finally hit their glass ceiling.

But Metallica, simply put - were not just any metal band, and were ready to change the way the world perceived heavy metal forever.

For the first time ever, the band understood that they didn’t know everything there was about not only composing music - but producing it, and they were going to need someone to help guide them through the process, if they were going to do it right.

So what did they do, you ask?

Call in a Canadian, Naturally.

This is the story of Metallica's Epic -' Nothing Else Matters' with newly unearthed footage from the band themselves - including interviews live from the studio while recording the iconic Metallica (Black Album).

One of the biggest music stories every year is the battle to see which artist releases the “song of the summer.” But rarely is the winner clear-cut and decisive. For example in 2024, which song would you say best repped the summer: Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso? Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s I Had Some Help? Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Tipsy)? Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe?

Debating the candidates of songs of the summer is an annual tradition for music fans, but there is one song that I feel will always be the song of any and every summer: “Steal My Sunshine” by Len. Yes, despite its release way back in 1999 there isn’t one person on Earth who can convince me that there is a song better suited for radiating summertime vibes than “Steal My Sunshine.” To me and likely many millions of people, Len’s hit song better exemplifies the summer season than any other song.

This is the true story of Len's 'Steal My Sunshine' with newly unearthed footage from the band!

Laughing My Freaking Ass Off, or LMFAO as they were more commonly known - were one of the most enigmatic duos in pop music history.

Formed in 2006 by Motown Records’ founder Berry Gordy’s youngest son Stefan Kendal Gordy - AKA Redfoo, and Redfoo’s half-nephew Skyler Austen Gordy - or Sky Blu (with no e, of course)... I would hazard a guess that these hyperactive nepo-babies are the single most successful Uncle-Nephew duo in all of music.

As was the style at the time - Foo and Blu’s club bangers included tracks with influences from contemporary pop, hip hop, synthpop, paving the way for a somewhat mindless wave of EDM that focused on the carefree vibes of nightlife, partying, drinking, and just having a good time.

After gaining a bit of a following and laying down some demos that truly distilled their party-rocking sound, Redfoo decided to show his demos off to his best friend to get his thoughts on the songs.

Now, You may not be surprised to find out that Redfoo’s best friend LOVED the demos; you could even say he had a feelin’ that LMFAO were ready for the big time. 

Of course, I’m burying the lede here. It PROBABLY didn’t hurt that this ‘best friend’ in question, was none other than Will. I . Am.

This is the story of LMFAO's 'Party Rock Anthem' with newly unearthed audio from the group.

How often does a band lose its two founding members, one of whom co-writes all the songs, only to survive and become both better and more successful? This is a rhetorical question, of course. I don’t actually know how many times this has happened. But what I do know is that Paramore is the perfect example of this: a band that experienced some truly challenging circumstances and potential catastrophe, only to rise from the ashes like a golden phoenix to become stronger and better than before. While the band’s saga has been full of drama since its very beginning, Paramore evolved from a scrappy teenage punk band based in Nashville, Tennessee to a stadium-rocking headliner in pop music. As you will hear, it definitely wasn’t easy getting there.

This is the story of Paramore's 'Still Into You' With newly unearthed audio from the band themselves!

Who doesn’t love a good feature track?

There’s something special that happens when two (or more) artists respect each other enough to get into the studio and hash out some music that inspires them - and their respective fanbases - it’s even better when the song becomes a MASSIVE hit!

Now usually, when a collaboration effort is released - it’s because the artists in question are undeniably hot acts in their own right. 

Think of tracks from Maroon 5 and Cardi B, Post Malone and Swae Lee, The Chainsmokers and Halsey, Rihanna and Calvin Harris, or Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes - each artist’s popularity helped bring the other to a whole new level. 

Of course, this makes sense, after all - Pop music is SUPPOSED to be popular, so whether the genre mashups are a match made in heaven, or even a little off the beaten path - the equation is simple - Hot Artist PLUS Hot Artist EQUALS Hit, Baby!

But what if I told you that one of the biggest collab tracks in Billboard history (and the first of the millennium) was made by an old school guitarist who hadn’t released a hit single in over 15 years, and an alt-pop soft rocker who had never actually released music outside of the comforts of his (admittedly quite popular) band?

Let’s Don’t Forget About It! - This is the Story of Santana and Rob Thomas’ ‘Smooth’ with newly unearthed audio from Santana and Rob Thomas himself!

There aren’t many pop artists who are at the top of their game 40 years into their career. Let’s be real here, pop music is often considered a young person’s game, one that generally favours younger artists.

As we’ve witnessed here on Encore with Justin Bieber, Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, Usher and others, careers can start in an artist’s pre-teen years, but they often slow down as the decades go by.

But there are always anomalies, and that’s where Kylie Minogue comes in. Making her first musical appearance back in 1985 at the age of 17, Kylie Minogue - or simply Kylie, sans last name - has officially been in the music industry for 40 years now. Of course, that’s not any kind of record - Tony Bennett had an 85-year career! - but when it comes to consistently maintaining relevance in pop music, Kylie might be in a league of her own.

This is the story of Kylie Minogue's 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' with newly unearthed audio from Kylie Minogue herself. 

Before being known as one of the greatest guitarists of modern times - John Clayton Mayer was just a kid from Connecticut who was obsessed with three things: 

Canadian Actor Michael J. Fox in his Iconic role as Marty McFly in the 80s sci-fi adventure romp Back To The Future.

The Blues.

And of course - the instrument that tied those other two obsessions together - The Guitar.

And, by the way - I don’t use the word obsession lightly - According to John, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill relationship with the instrument that many a teenage boy find themselves enamoured with - John was so single minded with becoming a guitar virtuoso his parents actually took him to be psychologically evaluated over his commitment to guitar playing - it was the only thing he ever wanted to do - like… ever. 

After high school, John Mayer had hoped to skip college completely to become a full time independent musician - but he was convinced by his parents to seek further education, and enrolled in the lauded Berklee College of Music at age 19.

At Berklee, Mayer met eventual Zac Brown Band musician Clay Cook, who swiftly convinced him to… Drop out of Berklee after only two semesters. By 1999, John would package up his 9 best songs for his debut EP Inside Wants Out as a companion record to all of his touring - and by the year 2000 - with the help of a lawyer, he would sign with small label Aware Records, who would fund the original recording of an internet-only release of his debut record Room For Squares.

Although it was originally a bit of a slow-burner, Room For Squares would spend 95 weeks on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, eventually going platinum off of the successes of No Such Thing and Grammy-Award Winning Follow up single ‘Your Body is A Wonderland'.

Just like Room For Squares before it, Mayer’s virtuosity in both guitar playing and songwriting got him over the line with discerning pop music fans; his followup, Heavier Things would debut at Number One on the Billboard 200 - and with the success of single 'Daughters', would beat Squares’ 95 week run with a 98 week sprint on the chart.

But, after three big hits that launched him into the ‘sensitive songwriter guy’ stratosphere, John Mayer was ready to break the space-time Continuum. 

This is the story of John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change, with newly unearthed audio from John Mayer himself.

How do we determine what the biggest song is in an artist’s catalogue? A few decades ago it was generally decided based on sales and airplay, but then along came digital downloads, followed by YouTube views and finally, streams across the various platforms out there. 

A band like Weezer is a good example of this, considering they have had multiple hits throughout multiple decades. But chances are different fans have different ideas of what song is considered their biggest. Is it “Buddy Holly,” their 1994 breakout with the mind-blowing, award-winning music video directed by Spike Jonze? 

Or maybe it’s “Beverly Hills,” the gimmicky earworm that has divided Weezer fans for two decades now? How about their more recent cover of Toto’s “Africa” that became a surprise chart-topper? Or perhaps it is “Island in the Sun,” the laidback jangle pop song that has become a beloved anthem and streaming sensation over time. 

This week, join Myles Galloway as he tells you how Island in the Sun became the most successful tune Weezer has ever written. With newly unearthed interviews with Weezer themselves! 

Formed over 30 Years ago - back in 1993 - Jimmy Eat World was founded by Frontman Jim Adkins and his good friend since toddler-dom, drummer Zach Lind in Mesa, Arizona. The band toiled on the local indie scene as a sort of scrappy skate punk band for the better part of two years, self-releasing and split-releasing their own music with other bands before being discovered by a talent scout from the world famous Capitol Records.

Jimmy Eat World’s Major Label Debut ‘Static Prevails’ was released in July of ‘96  to… mixed results. Despite their limited success - Capitol decided to give Jimmy Eat World another go, and the band would produce their second effort on the label; the album Clarity in February of 1999.If you’re a Jimmy Eat World mega-fan - you are likely aware of Clarity’s retrospective Cult Status as one of the most important emo records of all time, so of course -  within six months of the release of the masterpiece that is Clarity - Jimmy Eat World was dropped by Capitol Records altogether in August of 1999. 

Quite literally back at the drawing board, the band members had to temporarily take part time jobs to keep the dream of Jimmy Eat World alive. Piece-by-painful piece, Jimmy Eat World slowly began working on their followup to Clarity - recording just the minimum viable product for each song idea - not letting a dollar go to waste.

This is the story of Jimmy Eat World's 'The Middle', with newly unearthed audio from the band themselves!

How many songs can you recognize by hearing the very first note?

Just one note, nothing more. Usually when radio stations play that game where they will give you a prize if you can recognize a quick snippet of a song, they give you at least a few notes, even a few seconds. But there is one song out there, and maybe the only one that immediately comes to mind, where if you know that first note, you’d guess it every time. If you’re near a piano or keyboard try playing a G note. What immediately comes to mind?

If you thought of My Chemical Romance's 'Welcome to the Black Parade' - you're in for a treat - because the season finale of Encore is all about their 2006 hit - with newly unearthed audio from MCR!