Anatomy of a Hit
Hit song analysis
View all Anatomy of a Hit Articles

Coming Soon:
Beyonce—Irreplaceable
Corrine Bailey Rae—Put Your Records On
KT Tunstall—Suddenly I See

Nelly Furtado–Promiscuous
Ne-Yo—So Sick
James Blunt—You're Beautiful
Rascal Flatts–What Hurts The Most
Eminem—Lose Yourself

Norah Jones —Don't Know Why
Avril Lavigne —Complicated
Alan Jackson—Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?
Pink—Get the Party Started
Craig David—Fill Me In
Alicia Keys—Fallin'
Train—Drops of Jupiter
Janet Jackson—All For You
Dido—Thank You
Sisqo—Incomplete
Macy Grey—I Try
Faith Hill—Breathe
Destiny's Child—Say My Name
Santana/Rob Thomas—Smooth
Ricky Martin—La Vida Loca

More Anatomy of a Hit Articles...

Classic Songcraft Articles
Reprints from Cat's columns in The Music Connection and LASS/NAS Musepaper

Outside vs. Inside Songwriting
Cat describes the change of opportunities in today's songwriting scene from Outside Songwriting for established artists to Inside Songwriting for original acts.

Grabbers and Shakers
Cat lists many of hue characteristics that make a pop song a hit song including what grabs a listener's attention and what keeps an audience involved all the way through to the end.

A Songwriter's New Year's Resolutions
Cat lists some goals and resolves we as songwriters can make to improve our writing and our careers for the coming year.

Other Classic Articles

The Hispanic Invasion
Today's pop scene has much in common with that of the mid-'60s. American pop music is being invaded by foreigners. Only this time the British aren't coming, it's the Hispanics.

1999: A Year of Retro and Recycling
Cat looks at the year 1999 in pop music and saw a return to recordings with older more melodic writing and more romantic dance styles including latin dance styles. Hot and sexy began to replace alienation and rebellion as the millennium turned.

Guest Columns
Articles and Writing Issues from other Songwriters and Instructors

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THEORETICALLY SPEAKING:

A SONGWRITER'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Reprinted From The LASS Songwriter's Musepaper - January 1993

As we enter a new year full of potential for change and improvement in the political and economic scenes, what can we songwriters do to make this a better one for ourselves and the industry? On a personal level, we all hope this is the year our proverbial ship comes in (or returns) and we get a song or songs out on the charts. Of course, there don't seem to be enough spots to afford each of us that opportunity but we can try, can't we? What would happen if enough of us took the time to hone our songcraft to the point we were consistently flooding the marketplace with bone fide hits. Wouldn't this go nicely with Clinton's economic stimulus plans? Wouldn't a series of quality hit songs (such as in the Motown and Beatle days) rekindle a blase recording buying public burned out by metal, rap, dance and other styles that feature image, production and sound hooks over lyrics, melody and harmony and the finesse of song structure. I'm not knocking these styles but most current recordings have not contained the elements that make for longevity and have not built the excitement the pop music world is capable of.

Word in the industry is that the pendulum is about to swing back to the basics, sort of traditional songwriter family values. Not wishing to sound too much like a conservative (I'm anything but), it is refreshing to hear that record companies are searching for people who can really sing and well written songs to match them. So let's all make some new year's resolutions to write the kind of songs the whole world wants to hear for 1993.

1993 RESOLUTIONS

1. I'm going to spend more time writing and rewriting songs on a consistent basis this year.
2. I'm going to spend more time listening to Top 40 and other pop stations to keep my ears and ideas current and relevant.
3. I'm going to spend more time listening to my instincts which tell me when a song rings true and when it does not.
4. I'm going to write more unique lyrics with more clearly defined premises and story lines in more conversational language than before.
5. I'm going to create more memorable melodies with more distinctive intervals and shapes, more variety in phrasing, and of course more catchy hooks.
6. I'm going to set all my songs in grooves that make my song formattable and radio playable.
7. I'm going to use the appropriate amount and type of harmony, not too simple-minded, but not too complex either.
8. I'm going to write more contrasting sections with more repetition within each section.
9. As for length in my writing and demoing, I will follow "The Gambler's" advice, I'll know when to hold'em and when to fold 'em.
10. I will choose the right demo singer even if it means rerecording.
11. I will be more careful that either I or someone else do the right kind of production job on my song demo.
12. I will ride with the Prosody Patrol and make sure that all elements of my song are saying the same statement at the same time. If they are not, I will see a correctional officer or be one myself.
13. I will rewrite and rewrite until my song is in its final form. Like Paul Masson, none of my wines will be served before its time.
14. I will spend more time cultivating song contacts whether this be with other songwriters, teachers, songwriter's organizations, or industry people themselves, the publishers, producers and managers who make the cuts happen.
15. I will truly enjoy myself as a songwriter this year and feel good about my growth as an artist and craftsperson.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! FROM THE CAT!