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Song Stories

“What You Want”

Evanescence | 2011

After taking a well-deserved break from music to enjoy married life, Amy Lee reconvened with her bandmates to write the follow-up to 2007 The Open Door. What became the title track and first single from their third album was written with bassist Tim McCord and guitarist Terry Balsamo at Lee's house in New York. "I was just doodling around on the piano and the guys were like, 'Do that. Whatever you just did, that's an awesome melody,'" she said, adding that the song is about freedom. Beck's father, David Campbell, did the string arrangement.

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“Here Comes the Rain Again”
Eurythmics | 1983
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“More Than Words”
Extreme | 1990

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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