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Song Stories

“Werewolves of London”

Warren Zevon | 1976

After producing Warren Zevon's debut album, Jackson Browne started playing the Zevon-penned but as yet unreleased "Werewolves" in his own shows, so Browne's label assumed he planned to cut it for his next album. "When I told them it was for Zevon's second record, they thought I was crazy, because they believed I could have a hit with it myself," Browne said. "But that was wrong, and you can see it now. I mean, who wants to hear me sing 'Werewolves of London'? Warren spoke to your inner cynic. There was a dialogue that went on inside of him that's going on inside of everybody."

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“Take It Easy”
Eagles | 1972
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“Shaky Town”
Jackson Browne | 1977

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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