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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN COULDN’T FINISH “BECAUSE THE NIGHT.” JIMMY IOVINE PUT THE DEMO IN PATTI SMITH’S HANDS — AND SHE TURNED IT INTO THE BIGGEST HIT OF HER CAREER. In 1977, Bruce Springsteen was working on Darkness on the Edge of Town when he recorded an unfinished song called “Because the Night.” The music was there. So was the chorus. But Bruce struggled with the verses and eventually decided he wasn’t going to finish it. Jimmy Iovine was engineering Bruce’s sessions while also producing Patti Smith’s next album. He heard something in the unfinished song and brought the recording to Patti. She took it home and wrote her own lyrics around what Bruce had started. Patti Smith Group recorded “Because the Night,” with both Smith and Springsteen credited as writers. Released in 1978, it climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 in Britain — the biggest hit of Patti’s career. Bruce couldn’t find the words to finish it. Patti Smith did.

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How Bruce Springsteen’s Unfinished Song Became Patti Smith’s Signature Hit In 1977, Bruce Springsteen was deep in the work that…

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TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT LOST THE POCO JOB TO RANDY MEISNER. A YEAR LATER, HE REPLACED HIM. EIGHT YEARS AFTER THAT, IT HAPPENED AGAIN — THIS TIME WITH THE EAGLES. In 1968, Timothy B. Schmit auditioned for a new country-rock band called Poco. He didn’t get the job. The bass position went to Randy Meisner instead. But Randy left Poco the following year, and Timothy was called back. In 1969, he finally joined the band he had wanted so badly to be part of. For the next eight years, Timothy built his career with Poco while Randy went on to become a founding member of the Eagles. Then, in 1977, Randy left the Eagles. Once again, Timothy B. Schmit was the man chosen to take his place. This time, the opportunity changed his life. With the Eagles, Timothy would co-write and sing “I Can’t Tell You Why,” one of the defining songs of The Long Run. The first time Randy Meisner got the job Timothy wanted. The next two times Randy left, Timothy was the man who followed him.

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Timothy B. Schmit, Randy Meisner, and the Strange Way a Career Finds Its Shape Sometimes the music business feels less…

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JOE WALSH LOST HIS DAUGHTER WEEKS BEFORE HER THIRD BIRTHDAY. HE WROTE HER A SONG — THEN PUT SOMETHING IN HER FAVORITE PARK FOR EVERY CHILD TOO SMALL TO REACH. On April 1, 1974, Joe Walsh’s daughter Emma Kristen was riding with her mother on the way to nursery school when another car ran a stop sign and struck them head-on. Emma died from her injuries. She was only two years old, just weeks away from turning three. Joe was devastated. Later that year, he closed his album So What with “Song for Emma,” a quiet goodbye to the little girl he had barely been given time to know. But the song was not his only memorial. At North Boulder Park in Colorado, where Emma had played, Joe had a small drinking fountain installed in her memory — low enough for little children to reach. Years later, he took Stevie Nicks there and told her about Emma. Stevie went home deeply moved and wrote “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” for Joe. Joe had written a song for his daughter. Years later, someone wrote one for the father who never stopped missing her.

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Joe Walsh, Emma Kristen, and the Song That Refused to Let Go Some stories in music are about success, and…

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THE CROWD THOUGHT THEY WERE WATCHING THE END OF A TOUR. THEY WERE ACTUALLY WATCHING GLENN FREY’S LAST PUBLIC SHOW WITH THE EAGLES. 173 DAYS LATER, HE WAS GONE. On July 29, 2015, the Eagles walked onto the stage at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, for the final night of their History of the Eagles tour. Glenn Frey was 66. There was no farewell speech. No announcement that this would be the last time. To everyone in the arena, it was simply another night with the band they had loved for decades. They played through the songs that had built their history: “Tequila Sunrise,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take It Easy,” “Hotel California.” The final song of the night was “Desperado,” the classic Frey had written with Don Henley more than forty years earlier. Then Glenn walked offstage. Nobody in that crowd knew they had just watched his final public Eagles performance. On January 18, 2016, only 173 days later, Glenn Frey died at 67 after complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia. What looked like the end of a tour had quietly become the end of an era.

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The Night the Crowd Thought It Was Only the End of a Tour On July 29, 2015, the Eagles stepped…

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AS A LITTLE BOY, JACK REID OFFERED TO PAY HIS COUSIN DAVIS TO STAND BESIDE HIM AT A SCHOOL TALENT SHOW. DAVIS SAID NO. YEARS LATER, THEY WERE PLAYING NEARLY 90 SHOWS TOGETHER. Jack did not want to face the stage alone. Music was already part of his life. His father, Wil Reid, had taught him guitar when he was six, and his grandfather was Harold Reid, the deep voice of The Statler Brothers. Davis came from the same family tradition. He was the son of Langdon Reid and the grandson of Don Reid. But as a child, he was not ready to perform, even when Jack offered him money. That changed when Davis was 13. After hearing the piano in Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park,” he began teaching himself to play. His father later helped him improve. The two cousins eventually became Jack and Davis Reid Music. By 2023, they were performing close to 90 shows in a single year. The little boy Jack could not persuade to join him for one school talent show had finally taken the stage beside him — carrying The Statler Brothers’ family harmony into a third generation.

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How Jack Reid and Davis Reid Turned a Family “No” Into a Stage Partnership As a little boy, Jack Reid…

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THE STATLER BROTHERS COULD HAVE ENDED THEIR TELEVISION SHOW WITH THEIR BIGGEST HIT. INSTEAD, EVERY WEEK THEY SAVED THE LAST SONG FOR GOD. “The Statler Brothers Show” brought country stars, comedy and familiar songs into American homes. It became one of the most successful programs on The Nashville Network. But when each episode reached its final minutes, the laughter stopped. Bill Walker sat at the piano, and Don, Harold, Phil and Jimmy gathered for a gospel song. It was not reserved for Christmas or Easter. It was how they closed the show every time. The Statlers had begun singing gospel music long before “Flowers on the Wall,” the awards and the packed concert halls. Television made them bigger stars, but success never made them hide where they came from. For seven seasons, they entertained the country. Then, before saying goodnight, four voices came together and returned to the faith that had started it all.

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The Statler Brothers and the Song They Saved for God The Statler Brothers brought laughter, harmony, and a familiar kind…

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THE STATLER BROTHERS HAD ALREADY WON GRAMMYS AND SPENT YEARS SINGING BESIDE JOHNNY CASH. BUT IT TOOK THEM 13 YEARS TO REACH NO. 1. “Flowers on the Wall” made them famous in 1965. After that came packed concerts, major awards and a long list of songs country fans still remember. Yet one thing remained missing. The Statler Brothers had never placed a single at the top of the country chart. That finally changed in 1978 with “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine,” written by brothers Don and Harold Reid. The song told of a singer who notices a woman in the audience asking him to perform “You Are My Sunshine.” She disappears before he can find her, leaving him to search every crowd for her face. The record became the Statlers’ first No. 1. They had not arrived overnight. They had stayed together through 13 years of highways, changing radio tastes and songs that stopped just short of the top. When No. 1 finally came, it was written by two brothers who had been standing beside each other from the beginning.

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The Statler Brothers Waited 13 Years for Their First No. 1 By the time The Statler Brothers reached the top…

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JIMMY FORTUNE HAD NEVER WRITTEN A SONG. HAROLD REID SAID THE STATLERS WOULD RECORD IT ONLY “IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH.” “ELIZABETH” WENT TO NO. 1. Jimmy was still the new tenor in The Statler Brothers when he asked Harold whether the group would record a song if he wrote one. Harold gave him an honest answer: “Well, little buddy, if it’s good enough.” Jimmy already had a melody, but no words. Then the name Elizabeth seemed to follow him everywhere. At a grocery store, he heard a mother call out to her daughter, Elizabeth. On the tour bus, the Statlers showed him “Giant”, starring Elizabeth Taylor. After a concert in Oklahoma, a young woman reached toward the stage, took his hand and said, “I’m Elizabeth.” That night, Jimmy returned to his hotel room and wrote the song into a small recorder. The next day, he played it for the group on the bus. They immediately agreed to record it. “Elizabeth” became Jimmy’s first song, his first lead vocal on a Statler Brothers No. 1 hit and the record that proved Harold’s challenge had been answered. It was more than good enough.

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How Jimmy Fortune Turned a Passing Name Into a Country No. 1 Jimmy Fortune was still the new tenor in…

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THE WORLD REMEMBERED HAROLD REID FOR MAKING MILLIONS LAUGH. DON REMEMBERED THE 17-YEAR-OLD WHO CAME HOME AT 3 A.M. AND READ 176 BIBLE VERSES TO KEEP A PROMISE TO GOD. In 1957, Harold was afraid he did not have enough credits to graduate from high school. He prayed and made a promise: if he received his diploma, he would come home that night and read all of Psalm 119—the longest chapter in the Bible—before going to sleep. Harold graduated. His classmates stood and applauded as he crossed the stage. He stopped, lifted his gown and gave them a playful curtsy. Even then, he could make a room laugh. He arrived home around 3 a.m. Don, six years younger, shared the bedroom with him. He watched Harold sit on the bed, switch on the lamp and read all 176 verses. The brothers did not mention that night for more than 60 years. When Don finally told Harold he still remembered, the phone went quiet. “I didn’t think you even remembered that,” Harold said. Through tears, Don answered, “How could I ever forget?”

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The Night Harold Reid Kept His Promise The world remembered Harold Reid for the laughter he brought to millions. As…

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HE KEPT ONE ANGRY POLAROID OF HIS WIFE PINNED TO THE WALL FOR 30 YEARS. AFTER SHE DIED, GUY CLARK TURNED IT INTO HIS FINAL ALBUM — AND WON THE ONLY GRAMMY OF HIS LIFE. The photograph was not romantic. Susanna Clark stood outside their home with her arms crossed, staring directly into the camera. Guy and Townes Van Zandt had been inside drinking. She had finally had enough and walked out the front door. Someone captured that moment. Guy kept the faded Polaroid on his wall for decades. After Susanna died from cancer on June 27, 2012, it remained there. One day, Guy was writing with Gordie Sampson when he noticed the phrase “My Favorite Picture of You” on a list of song ideas. He turned around, saw Susanna’s photograph and began writing. They finished the song in one day. In 2013, Guy placed himself holding that worn photograph on the cover of his final studio album. The following year, at 72, he won the Grammy for Best Folk Album. It was the only Grammy victory of his career. Guy did not choose Susanna’s prettiest photograph. He chose the one that held their entire marriage — the anger, the forgiveness and the love that remained after 40 years.

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Guy Clark, Susanna Clark, and the Photograph That Became a Final Album Some love stories are remembered for grand gestures.…

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN COULDN’T FINISH “BECAUSE THE NIGHT.” JIMMY IOVINE PUT THE DEMO IN PATTI SMITH’S HANDS — AND SHE TURNED IT INTO THE BIGGEST HIT OF HER CAREER. In 1977, Bruce Springsteen was working on Darkness on the Edge of Town when he recorded an unfinished song called “Because the Night.” The music was there. So was the chorus. But Bruce struggled with the verses and eventually decided he wasn’t going to finish it. Jimmy Iovine was engineering Bruce’s sessions while also producing Patti Smith’s next album. He heard something in the unfinished song and brought the recording to Patti. She took it home and wrote her own lyrics around what Bruce had started. Patti Smith Group recorded “Because the Night,” with both Smith and Springsteen credited as writers. Released in 1978, it climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 in Britain — the biggest hit of Patti’s career. Bruce couldn’t find the words to finish it. Patti Smith did.

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TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT LOST THE POCO JOB TO RANDY MEISNER. A YEAR LATER, HE REPLACED HIM. EIGHT YEARS AFTER THAT, IT HAPPENED AGAIN — THIS TIME WITH THE EAGLES. In 1968, Timothy B. Schmit auditioned for a new country-rock band called Poco. He didn’t get the job. The bass position went to Randy Meisner instead. But Randy left Poco the following year, and Timothy was called back. In 1969, he finally joined the band he had wanted so badly to be part of. For the next eight years, Timothy built his career with Poco while Randy went on to become a founding member of the Eagles. Then, in 1977, Randy left the Eagles. Once again, Timothy B. Schmit was the man chosen to take his place. This time, the opportunity changed his life. With the Eagles, Timothy would co-write and sing “I Can’t Tell You Why,” one of the defining songs of The Long Run. The first time Randy Meisner got the job Timothy wanted. The next two times Randy left, Timothy was the man who followed him.

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JOE WALSH LOST HIS DAUGHTER WEEKS BEFORE HER THIRD BIRTHDAY. HE WROTE HER A SONG — THEN PUT SOMETHING IN HER FAVORITE PARK FOR EVERY CHILD TOO SMALL TO REACH. On April 1, 1974, Joe Walsh’s daughter Emma Kristen was riding with her mother on the way to nursery school when another car ran a stop sign and struck them head-on. Emma died from her injuries. She was only two years old, just weeks away from turning three. Joe was devastated. Later that year, he closed his album So What with “Song for Emma,” a quiet goodbye to the little girl he had barely been given time to know. But the song was not his only memorial. At North Boulder Park in Colorado, where Emma had played, Joe had a small drinking fountain installed in her memory — low enough for little children to reach. Years later, he took Stevie Nicks there and told her about Emma. Stevie went home deeply moved and wrote “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” for Joe. Joe had written a song for his daughter. Years later, someone wrote one for the father who never stopped missing her.

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THE CROWD THOUGHT THEY WERE WATCHING THE END OF A TOUR. THEY WERE ACTUALLY WATCHING GLENN FREY’S LAST PUBLIC SHOW WITH THE EAGLES. 173 DAYS LATER, HE WAS GONE. On July 29, 2015, the Eagles walked onto the stage at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, for the final night of their History of the Eagles tour. Glenn Frey was 66. There was no farewell speech. No announcement that this would be the last time. To everyone in the arena, it was simply another night with the band they had loved for decades. They played through the songs that had built their history: “Tequila Sunrise,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take It Easy,” “Hotel California.” The final song of the night was “Desperado,” the classic Frey had written with Don Henley more than forty years earlier. Then Glenn walked offstage. Nobody in that crowd knew they had just watched his final public Eagles performance. On January 18, 2016, only 173 days later, Glenn Frey died at 67 after complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia. What looked like the end of a tour had quietly become the end of an era.