Out came "lyrics about a riverboat," he recalls. "I didn't really know what those two words meant," he says, "but I liked how they sounded together." Months later, after learning he wasn't being sent to fight in Vietnam, Fogerty felt inspired. In 1967, he wrote down a provisional title: Proud Mary. Greg TotmanĬreedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty had similar results with a different phrase. 'Walk this way,' he says." That night, Perry and singer Steven Tyler started writing Walk This Way, an FM staple ever since.Ĭreedence Clearwater Revival singer and songwriter John Fogerty. They were laughing about Marty Feldman greeting Gene Wilder at the door of the castle and telling him to follow him. Guitarist Joe Perry tells Myers what happened after his bandmates saw Mel Brooks' comedy Young Frankenstein: "They were throwing lines back and forth from the film. Can you hitch your words to an infectious melody? If the answer is yes, you may be getting somewhere. Let it simmer for a bit, then jot down a few makeshift verses.
But according to Myers' interviews with dozens of top songwriters, you may want to try this recipe: start with a crisp phrase - dream it up yourself or borrow it from somebody else. There are, of course, many ways to pen a catchy tune.
That's one of the lessons in Marc Myers' Anatomy of a Song, a winning look at the stories behind 45 pop, punk, folk, soul and country classics. Want to write a timeless rock 'n' roll hit? Come up with a snappy title, and worry about the lyrics later.