Behind the Hits

BEHIND THE HITS  written by
Bob Shannon
and John Javna

is the original and definitive presentation of the inside stories behind many of the biggest hits of all-time, as told by the people who made the music: the artists, songwriters, producers and musicians.
Since its publication in 1986 the book has inspired numerous "borrowed" versions of the concept, starting with VH1's Behind The Music. The Food Network is offering Behind the Bash and Behind The Eats.   Telecharge.com has Behind The Curtain while Heroes Behind The Hits is a Nashville-based show heard on XM Satellite. Countless others are also featuring "Behind the..." and "inside stories" but it all began with the authentic BEHIND THE HITS.

 

Behind The Hits Specials

MORE


Beatles/Monkees Mashup
   
"Paperback Believer"
Original radio commercial (1967)
   
Sgt. Pepper LP (Scott Regan)
Stax Records 50th Anniversary
  
 Official Blog
Times Square Records
  
Tribute site
   Order book and CD
Second Hand Songs
  
Cover songs data base
Dick Rosemont's Originals Project
  
Oldest versions of hit songs

Click for Book Club
Featuring Sounds Like Teen Spirit by Timothy
English
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Behind The Hits Videos



Elvis Presley
 Let Yourself Go
 **************

From the 1968 movie Speedway, which co-starred Nancy Sinatra and Bill Bixby. Set in the world of racing and the Charlotte Speedway, it also featured  many popular NASCAR drivers of the day playing themselves. The movie was filmed in 1967 but not released in sequence, so the studio version of this song was recorded the following year and differs in arrangement and tempo from the film version.
►BUY Speedway DVD


Dick Cavett interviews
 John Lennon and Yoko Ono
 **************

The first interview given by John Lennon in 1971 following the breakup of the Beatles. John and Yoko established a rapport with Cavett that lead to two subsequent appearances on his show.
►BUY The Dick Cavett Show - John Lennon & Yoko Ono DVD

  

 




THE STORY BEHIND BEHIND THE HITS.

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, May 2008

























 

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