Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song

Musicians love to say that every song tells a story, but they are usually tight-lipped about the story behind the song. Was it really scribbled on a napkin? What love interest was the real inspiration? If we knew the real story behind our favorite songs, would we ever listen to them the same way again?

Chicken Soup for the Soul(R) has partnered with veteran Hollywood publicist, talent manager, and celebrity booker Jo-Ann Geffen for the first all-celebrity book from the top-selling brand. Geffen peels back the curtain on 101 songs, songwriters, and artists with the upcoming release of Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song (Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, November 10, 2009, 978-1-935096-40-5, $14.95). Jo-Ann Geffen is credited as editor along with Chicken Soup for the Soul co-founders Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. The foreword is by Lamont Dozier, who is credited as an architect of the Motown sound.

The book reflects on many of our favorite songs that trace our lives through all genres of music. Some of those who tell their very personal stories include hitmakers Richie Sambora, Christina Aguilera, Melissa Etheridge, John Legend, the Backstreet Boys' Howie Dorough, Kanye West, Jewel and classic rock performer/songwriters like Chicago's Robert Lamm, Foreigner's Mick Jones, and Daryl Hall and John Oates; and alternative rockers Aaron Lewis of Staind and Corey Taylor of Slipknot. Readers will learn the story behind pop classics by Barry Manilow, Hal David, Diane Warren, and Paul Anka, rockers Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains and Joan Jett, as well as from R&B songmasters including Nathan Morris on the Boyz II Men/Mariah Carey hit "One Sweet Day," Walter Orange of the Commodores, Smokey Robinson, and Earth Wind and Fire's Philip Bailey and country singer/songwriters Tracy Lawrence, Ray Stevens, and Pam Tillis.

Some bring laughter, others bring tears, but all are insightful and great reading for music fans, aficionados or people who just like a good story. Each of the tales is accompanied by a photo and the lyrics for the song that is discussed.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, publishes all the latest titles in the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, which are distributed through Simon and Schuster, Inc. Since 1993, books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series have sold more than 112 million copies, with titles translated into more than 40 languages. Website: http://www.chickensoup.com/