Songs that sell the most copies become hits, but some of those hits transcend commercial value, touching a generation of listeners and altering the direction of music. In Anatomy of a Song, writer and music historian Marc Myers tells the stories behind forty-five rock, pop, R&B, country and reggae hits through intimate interviews with the artists who wrote and recorded them.

Hits range from Lloyd Price’s ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ to Pearl Jam’s ‘Go’ and include oral histories with Mick Jagger, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Loretta Lynn, the Clash, Elvis Costello, Ron Isley, Roger Waters, Jimmy Cliff and many more.