Paul Anka

The Story Behind The Song

Songwriters get their inspiration from the most unlikely of sources: songs which purport to talk of love and longing can owe their origins to a random encounter, or a misheard conversation. Now the people who brought us the feel-good book series Chicken Soup for the Soul are delving into The Story Behind the Song. The new book contains tales behind 101 well-loved songs from across the years and genres, and includes a contribution from Paul Anka, who talks about writing “My Way” for Frank Sinatra. “He said he was quitting the business, getting out of the public eye. I couldn’t fathom him not being in our lives.” So Anka typed the now famous lines: “And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain,” and with that, wrote the song that kept Sinatra in the business. Other featured songwriters include Richie Sambora who explains the origins of the Bon Jovi classic “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and Lamont Dozier, one third of the Motown songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, telling of the screaming match in the motel that inspired the famous Supremes hit “Stop in the Name of Love.” As Melissa Etheridge says in the book – writing about the creation of the song “Come To My Window” – “I realized how powerful words are. As I craft songs, I have a responsibility. Words and music go beyond lyrics or thoughts -- they go straight to the soul.”