Jack Canfield - Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story behind the Song: The Exclusive Personal Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Songs

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story behind the Song

The Exclusive Personal Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Songs

Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jo-Ann Geffen. Foreword by Lamont Dozier

Published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC www.chickensoup.com

Copyright 2009 by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC . All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

CSS, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its Logo and Marks are trademarks of Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing LLC .

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the many publishers and individuals who granted Chicken Soup for the Soul permission to reprint the cited material.

Front and back cover illustration courtesy of iStockphoto.com/Maliketh and / A-Digit. Interior illustration courtesy of iStockphoto.com/dra_schwartz

Cover and Interior Design & Layout by Pneuma Books, LLC

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Distributed to the booktrade by Simon & Schuster. SAN: 200-2442

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group)

Chicken soup for the soul : the story behind the song : the exclusive personal stories behind 101 of your favorite songs / [compiled by] Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jo-Ann Geffen ; foreword by Lamont Dozier.

p. : ill. ; cm.

ISBN: 978-1-935096-40-5

ISBN 13: 978-1-6115-9143-9 (eBook)

1. Lyric writing (Popular music)--Literary collections. 2. Lyric writing (Popular music)--Anecdotes. 3. Lyric writing (Popular music)--History and criticism. 4. Popular music--Writing and publishing--History and criticism. I. Canfield, Jack, 1944- II. Hansen, Mark Victor. III. Geffen, Jo-Ann. IV. Dozier, Lamont.

PN6071.M87 C45 2009

810.8/02/0357 2009935760

To my son, Jeremy, who has always been my reason to get up in the morning and of late, has given me tremendous inspiration.

I couldnt have done this without him.

~Jo-Ann Geffen

A songwriter has many reasons why he or she writes a song. Sometimes the idea for the song comes to you in a melody, or sometimes the idea comes to you in a lyric. Many times songwriters collaborate on their songs, which then involves two or more songwriters contributing to the art of the song.

Many times you hear someone speaking and if youre a good listener, you can pick up on a great title or story and run with the idea. I always refer to my ideas as coming to me from my Muses.

I have used the above-mentioned ways throughout my life, and then of course there are those songs that come from personal experiences. And sometimes I believe that those are the best songs that Ive written.

Many of my own songs have come out of my memory bank where first impressions and feelings have been stored for years. A simple touch or softly spoken word can trigger my feelings and then a new song begins for me. I can remember special events by songs Ive heard in my life. I believe that a song marks history just as much as a political event or birthday celebration. Why is it that we can hear a song and remember exactly where we were at the time we first heard the song and the feelings we were experiencing at the time, or see a face from the past? A song can evoke all of these memories and feelings in each and every one of us and that stays with us all forever.

When Jo-Ann Geffen told me her idea for writing this book, I was instantly excited that the Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers were going to publish a book that would give insight into the songs that have shaped all of our lives in one way or another.

I was thrilled to add my little stories to this impressive group of songs and authors whom Jo-Ann has assembled with such grace. The stories behind the songs are often just as poetic as the songs themselves.

The music industry is one that is filled with so many ups and downs, so much rejection and so much hope. When a songwriter finally decides on joining the melodies and the lyrics together to form a new song, not only does the marriage have to be perfect for the feeling of the song to stick with the listener, but also the art of expressing oneself in this manner takes courage and faith. Each new song and songwriter has at one time felt these feelings and expressed them to someone. The songwriter has exposed a little of their own individual soul each time they write a song, and allowed their emotions and feelings to leak out for public consumption and very possibly rejection. Rejection from a person they really love or from an artist who does not want to sing the song happens all the time. But this intellectual property, as a song is often referred to, is already alive. It is too late for the songwriter to take back the song as it has happened already.

The one hundred and one songs that are included in this book are written by some of the worlds greatest songwriters of contemporary times. I am a fan of each and every song and songwriter you will read about.

Jo-Ann Geffen is the perfect author to be able to convince the songwriters to give their own personal stories about the songs they have written, thus the story behind the song is a private insight into each contributors life experience.

I am honored to be included in this book, and honored that my good friend for so many years, Jo-Ann Geffen has asked me to write this foreword to a book that I know will be special to everyone who reads it.

~Lamont Dozier

Written by Christina Aguilera and Scott Storch
Recorded by Christina Aguilera

I wrote this for my sophomore album, Stripped, and I was very determined for it to reflect who I was. The first record was what the label wanted and created. There was a huge pop explosion at the time and I was part of that wave. I felt stifled. I was thankful that the early success allowed me the freedom to write what I wanted for the next one.

I was 21 and I had a lot on my mind. I had been performing in front of an audience since I was 6, helping to make a living for my family. I grew up in a very chaotic and abusive home where I didnt feel very safe. I started writing music, both melodies and lyrics, when I was 15. In retrospect, I realize I used it as a release, a therapeutic outlet. It was the way I found my voice. I connected with the music and escaped from my home life. In school, I was picked on and alienated because of my passion for music. So I harbored a little personal pain but the seemingly negative things made me smarter and stronger. I took notice early of the people all around me in the business who were there for the wrong reasons.