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Is the songwriter a gifted being whose inspiration comes from a greater power? Or can anyone craft a successful song if the structure is in place and the tools are available? What are the actual mechanics of putting a song together? How essential is the musical instrument during the act of composing popular music? Does the place a songwriter comes from, or the location of the writer at the time of writing, influence what a song says or the way it sounds? Where, ultimately, do songs come from?
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Songwriters Speak features in-depth conversations with:
Joy McKean
Rolf Harris
Harry Vanda &
George Young
Terry Britten
Johnny Young
Brian Cadd
Jim Keays
Ross Wilson
Billy Thorpe
Russell Morris
John Farrar
John Williamson
Glenn Shorrock
Graeham Goble
Garth Porter
Richard Clapton
Tim Finn
Don Walker
Stephen Cummings
Rob Hirst &
Jim Moginie |
Martin Plaza &
Greedy Smith
James Reyne
Steve Kipner
Sharon O'Neill
Neil Finn
Iva Davies
Andrew Farriss
Colin Hay
Nick Cave
Christina Amphlett
Todd Hunter &
Johanna Pigott
Mark Seymour
Paul Kelly
Deborah Conway
Graeme Connors
Archie Roach
Daniel Johns
Darren Hayes &
Daniel Jones
Kasey Chambers |
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Debbie Kruger spoke at length to these 45 songwriters from Australia and New Zealand whose work in rock, pop and country music has left an indelible imprint on Australia’s cultural landscape. In candid, face-to-face interviews, these great tunesmiths discuss their successful careers, share their thoughts on tapping into the creative source, and tell the stories behind classic songs including:
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Friday on My Mind — The Real Thing — Most People I Know Think That I’m Crazy Lights on the Hill — Khe Sanh — True Blue — Howzat — Deep Water
You're the One That I Want — Down Under — Great Southern Land — Age of Reason What's Love Got to Do with It — Beds Are Burning — Truly Madly Deeply
and many more...
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| Included here are key songwriting members of legendary bands such as The Seekers, The Easybeats, The Twilights, Masters Apprentices, Daddy Cool, Axiom, Little River Band, Sherbet, Split Enz, Cold Chisel, Sports, Midnight Oil, Mental As Anything, Australian Crawl, Crowded House, Icehouse, INXS, Men At Work, Divinyls, Dragon, Silverchair and Savage Garden.
Songwriters interviewed have also written major hits for other artists. Here are the true heroes behind some of the successes of Slim Dusty, Olivia Newton-John, John Farnham, John Paul Young, Cliff Richard, Tina Turner, Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz and others.
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“The whole thing with writing and making music is that when I’m in the moment with it I feel like a different person, I feel like what I’m doing is the greatest thing not only that I have done but that has ever been done. It’s this extraordinary feeling.”
.............................................................................. – Nick Cave
“Sometimes you think that being a songwriter is like a selfish occupation, and who needs another song in the world, there’s enough already, and it’s a vanity. But you only need to get a couple of people come up and say that something helped them through a difficult part of their life and you go, ‘Praise be!’ Couldn’t ask for more.”
.............................................................................. – Neil Finn
“The really big success we had came when, ironically enough, we became more conscious of how to marry simple phrases and simple ideas to simple pieces of music, which anyone around the world can relate to. It’s good to try to keep your songs fairly simple so they can communicate with anyone in the world, anywhere.”
..............................................................................– Andrew Farriss, INXS
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