Songs of true stories that happened to the songwriter(s)

"Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" - Jackson Browne ('76) -

 Written after his wife committed suicide and left their small child.  Lyrics

Fire and rain, James Taylor, 1970

The song follows his reaction to the

suicide of his childhood friend, Suzanne

Schnerr. It also is about his experiences

with drug addiction and fame

"Every Rose Has It's Thorn" - Poison - 1988 - Brett Michaels wrote this about the rose being the growing career of his music and the thorn was the cost of his relationship with Tracy Lewis. He called her while on tour and heard a man's voice in the background. A Dallas country station actually played this before the rock stations did. Was #1 in Pop, Rock and Top 40 Country. Their record label almost didn't let them release it cause they thought it didn't fit the band's image.

1988 Video "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" - Poison

In 2010 Bret Michaels did a country version - Every Rose - (featuring Brad Arnold, Chris Cagle and Mark Willis) on his album Custom Built

"At This Moment" - Billy Vera & The Beaters (81)

Billy Vera (William McCord Jr.) wrote part of the song when dating a girl that had just broken up with a boyfriend and she told the details and he wrote about what he was probably feeling. He couldn't finish the song, he wasn't sure how it ended. Then several months later she broke up with him and he could finish the song. He offered the song to several artists and no one would record it. The group then got a label to record it themselves. It stalled a bit on the charts (#79) and his record label pulled out of the market shortly after. He went into acting. Then an episode of Family Ties tv show featured it on a "break-up episode" and everyone wanted to know who and how to get it. They got another record label (Rhino) and recorded the song. Was number one in 1987.

(81) - single - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkfyqF2NRA0 

(86) - single - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe32FjJYLzg 

(88) - Live (and he relates the story) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO01sRRLKkk 

"Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)" - A Flock of Seagulls (82)

https://www.youtube/watch?v=opkzgLMH5MA 

This song is about a real person. The night before their first trip they ever took to America he (Mike Score) met a girl. After the date, he didn't want to forget her and told her they were going on tour and he'll be back. He wanted a photograph of her. She told him no, because he was going to be famous and he would forget her. He started thinking about it and wrote the song. It wasn't recorded until two years later. Good song.

The band broke up in 86, Mike Score started FLOS up again in 88 with different people in the lineup for years. And he did some solo stuff. The original band got together in 2018 and 2021 to record albums with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Ascension and String Theory.

Here is a 2019 video of a live performance of this song (not the original lineup) 

Miss the hairdo 😊

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6120BIDOJ0 

Avalon, Roxy Music

Brian Ferry stayed up on a Saturday night to

write the lyrics for this song. The recording 

studio in London would let local Haitian Bands 

come in and do demos on slow Sundays. He

was on a coffee break and heard Yanick

Etienne sing and was amazed with her voice.

Her bf/ manager came in and they told him 

what they wanted with the song. She spoke no English. She was told to freestyle it at the end 

and if you’ve heard this song you will be

amazed with her voice. It still gives me chills

to this day. He was so impressed with her

he named the album “Avalon” after the song 🎼💜

"Run-Around" - Blues Traveler - 94

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ousaiByU1ko 

About John Popper having a crush on their at-the-time bass player Felicia Lewis and her not returning his feelings. She went on to become a doctor and Bobby Sheehan took over bass.
The video is interesting, beside a great song. John Popper stands behind a curtain and sings while another guy is on stage mouthing the words. John did this to show how stereotypical looks instead of talent can work in the entertainment industry. ( real life too 🐱 )

Wind Of Change - Scorpions 

Klaus Meine wrote this song in 1989 when Scorpions played at the Moscow Music Peace Festival. The bands were given boat ride on the Moscva River, traveling with fans, press, and Red Guard soldiers. Everyone was having fun, talking, laughing, even the soldiers.

He wrote the song over the next two days. By the the time the song was published in 1991, the Soviet Union had collapsed along with the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. The single sold an estimated 14 million copies world wide, making it one of the best selling singles of all time, and the Scorpions biggest hit. 

Sadly, in light of recent events, the band felt they could no longer play the song that Meine said “romanticized Russia.”  So for this years’ tour, he wrote a new set of lyrics as a song of peace for Ukraine.

The new lyrics are not as well developed as the old ones, but Klaus writes and sings from the heart. Perhaps, one day, he will be able to write new lyrics as a peace anthem for the world. Lord knows, we need one.

Link to article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/31/scorpions-say-they-changed-wind-of-change-lyrics-as-they-romanticised-russia

Link to new song: https://youtu.be/XZKDON-M3-Q

"Please Be Happy" - Tears For Fears - 2022 

Roland Orzabal married Caroline Johnston in 1982. Sometime in the 2010's she was diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia. He took care of her until her death in 2017. During her illness, he wrote this song and others. They are on the new album "The Tipping Point". After her death, he suffered with his own health problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kINUsOD1rk0 

"I'm Just a Singer in a Rock n Roll Band" - Moody Blues

"About how people can think musicians and their songs are more than they seem. One fan held up a sign many days before one of their concerts, that the Moody Blues would save the world. The day after the concert, they were leaving the hotel and the man shouted that they were fakes cause nothing changed. John Lodge shouted back that he was just a singer in a rock and roll band and wrote the song later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_J-hmyAS6c  

Love this song.