Product Description

An expanded edition of a classic collection of interviews with the greatest songwriters of our time.. This expanded fourth edition of Songwriters on Songwriting includes ten new interviews--with Alanis Morissette, Lenny Kravitz, Lou Reed, and others. In these pages, sixty-two of 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 blues to pop to rock, here are the figures that have shaped American music as we know it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103055 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 752 pages

From the Author
Quick description of book
This book is a must for all songwriters and fans of great music -- 52 interviews with the greatest songwriters of our time -- from Sammy Cahn through Bob Dylan through Paul Simon up to and beyond R.E.M. These discussions allow these songwriters to talk seriously and in-depth about their great songs and about the creative process. Many great songwriters who have already passed away are included, such as Frank Zappa, Laura Nyro, Harry Nilsson and others. This book is entertaining, informative and archival. And on the subject of songwriting, I don't think there is any other that is better.

Paul Zollo

Customer Reviews

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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.

Review from SING OUT magazine
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.

Review from ROCK REPORT
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.