Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story behind the Song

By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Jo-Ann Geffen

From the back of the book:

“In Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story behind the Song, many of our greatest songwriters reveal the inspirations behind 101 of the songs that have often become the stories of our lives.”

This has to be one of the best books I’ll ever add to my library. These authors bring the reader exclusive personal stories many of the songs I’ve enjoyed over the years.

I hate to admit it, but this is the first "Chicken Soup" book I've read. Oh, I've given them as gifts, but I never bought one for myself. I didn't realize what I've been missing. These are great books!

There is so much information packed into this book every music lover should definitely read. For example, did you know Huey Lewis (and the News) was inspired to write the song “The Heart of Rock and Roll” when they did their first concert in Cleveland. Lewis had been skeptical about the widespread belief that Cleveland was a great rock and roll town until he was faced with the “fabulous crowd." There really was something about the people in Cleveland and the way they understood the music.”

Well, I could have told him that! I grew up in Akron, which is just south of Cleveland and our upper Midwest state often got to hear new songs before they hit other areas of the country. In fact, our neighbor's niece would visit from Texas during the summer and she loved it that she could go home and tell her friends about the songs that were coming out!

“The Story Behind the Songs” was such a fun trip down memory lane for me. It will fit in well with my other reference books about music, especially rock and roll!