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Chicken Soup for the Soul - The Story Behind the Song - The Exclusive Personal Stories Behind 101 of Your Favorite Songs
by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Jo-Ann Geffen
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC
ISBN 978-1-935096-40-5
Published November 2009 - Softcover - 432 pages - $14.95

All my life I've loved singing along to songs.  Can't hold a tune but I never let that stop me.  Some songs made me happy, many have made be bawl my eyes out, while others gave me food for thought.  There usually is a story behind a song (often a broken heart, which is why so many of us can connect), and this interesting and enlightening book lets us in on what went into writing some well-known songs.  We rarely think of what went into writing a song, but rather concentrate on how it makes us feel — joyous, sad, want to sing-a-long, want to dance, tap our fingers, recall moments in our lives, etc.  I remember always wanting to know all the words to my favorite songs, and when I sang along, I put my own interpretation into the song, in the privacy of my room of course.  Words and music have always stirred my deepest emotions (I'm crying at this moment just writing this sentence), and so I found reading about actual painful memories, or joyous ones of hope or whatever it was that a particular songwriter was experiencing at the time, makes the songs that more special.  Entertainment industry executive Jo-Ann Geffen has put together a diverse collection of stories, of which some artists and songs I'd never heard.  But, there are many, many I had heard of, and recall their work fondly, and it was these stories I read first.  Some songs came about in unexpected ways ("My Way"), others in a few minutes, others after a learning experience.  Some of the stories behind the songs that I enjoyed reading about include those from Jim Croce's wife, Melissa Etheridge, Janis Ian, Doug Ingle, Jewel (incredible story), Rick Nelson (interesting), Diane Warren, Paul Anka, and a whole lot more.  I'm so glad that so many lyricists are being recognized — you usually associate the singer of the song with the words and music which isn't always the case.
Visit the Chicken Soup website.
Conclusion - A real page-turner full of emotion, love, and moving stories we can relate to.

"This was a very special and often moving experience for me.  I had an opportunity to learn new stories from people I’ve known for a long time and to learn something about those I’d not spoken with before.  What I was reminded of is that we are essentially all the same — we share the same emotions, concerns and, in most cases, priorities.  Although our experiences and backgrounds often vary, we all strive to find happiness and to find a way to survive the negative elements that have entered or passed through our lives.  It is the gift of the songwriter to express those universal themes in a way that we all want to listen to.  Jo-Ann Geffen