.

Song Stories

“Window Seat”

Erykah Badu | 2010

Erykah Badu recorded this song about escapism and a longing for a lover’s attention in the shower. “I wanted it to sound like I was in a tunnel,” she told Rolling Stone. Two weeks after that interview‘s publication, her gentle soul tune became controversial when Badu filmed the “guerrilla-style” video, featuring her stripping before a surprised crowd as she walked through Dallas’ Dealey Plaza — the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. “I tied it in a way that compared that assassination to the character assassination one would go through after showing his or herself completely,” she said.

prev
Song Stories Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »