When I first met John Javna we quickly discovered that we shared two loves: one for pop music and the other for a good story.

We decided to put them together in the form of definitive stories about pop's greatest hits. We also decided that the stories had to be told not by us but by the music makers themselves. There had been up to that point many attempts to chronicle the history of rock and roll, but often the information in even some of the most-read books was inaccurate.

By relying on the artists, songwriters, producers, session musicians and engineers who were actually there when these records were made, we insured that the stories we presented would take the reader behind the hits.

Hmmm...a catchy title for a book, eh?

And so, these many years later, the narratives in that book have withstood the test of time -- and imitation of our original efforts (the sincerest form of flattery but no royalties, sad to say. Our lawyers are working on that).

A sample of the book's stories are here for you to enjoy. We hope to add more -- including new stories of songs that have become hits in the 20 years since the book was written.

The original Behind The Hits brand will move into the future by archiving the  past, and always from the words not of us, but of those who made the hits that keep on comin'.   

--Bob Shannon