Whether you’re submitting lyrics or lyrics AND a performance to our Song Writing Competition, musician and music journalist Michael Lydon has the tips you need to take your entry to the next level! Plus, he gives you the scoop on what it was like touring with the band Rolling Stone and his early days as a co-founder of the magazine Rolling Stone!
Tell us a little bit about co-founding Rolling Stone magazine!
Rolling Stone got started by a young fellow called Jann Wenner. A few other people and I were around helping him get it going. But, the main thing was that it was young people trying to do something. Today you might start a website, or a bunch of kids get together and develop an app, or they might start a band. It was people in their early 20s looking for something to do, looking for something exciting.
We had very little money. I was working for Newsweek magazine then, and I would make some of my long distance phone calls for Rolling Stone on the Newsweek phone to save a little money. So, basically, it was young energetic people trying to make a name for themselves. For instance, at the time, people would say “I want to be the 5th Beatle.” We admired the Beatles so much we wanted to be a Beatle in our own way. That’s how we felt. That’s how I felt.
What are the most important things a young writer should keep in mind when writing song lyrics?
Lyrics convey both feelings and ideas. You can use your lyrics to tell stories, paint pictures, tell jokes, create moods, open memories. If you don’t know what to write, try asking yourself: “What do I want to say?” and then ask again “What do I really want to say?” and finally, ask yourself: “What do I want to say right now?” More often than not, something will rise up—treasure these words and ideas and write them down … they don’t have to be artful at this stage—the important thing is to make the time and space for reflection, so that these ideas for lyrics, for what you want to say, may come to you.
What differentiates songwriting from poetry writing?
Deciding what is a poem and what is a song lyric is a tricky business, and has been tricky since Homer first strummed his lyre—was he singing a song or was he writing a news report on a foreign war? I suggest that you spend little time and effort on the matter—you’ll never find a definitive answer—although you could think of it this way: a poem does not have to conform to any musical structures, whereas lyrics do. I strongly urge you to sing, cry, shout, whisper, laugh, scream your lyrics—not so that you’ll find their one and only tone of voice, but as a way to find their hidden emotional music.
Early in your career, you went on the road with many bands. What was it like touring with the Rolling Stones?
I went on the road with BB King, Johnny Cash, the Grateful Dead, and then the biggest band I toured with was the Rolling Stones for a month. I was really embedded in the tour. I never bought a plane ticket, I never paid for a hotel room. I was just part of the tour. It was very exciting and tons of fun. We were all basically the same age and they were all really interesting people. Mick Jagger was mysterious, Charlie Watts was a really friendly, down to earth guy, and Keith Richards was really challenging, hardworking, and intense. They were very interesting people to talk to and be with.
It was late nights, airplanes and screaming crowds. I was standing right on stage behind the amps. I used to say I knew I was where every hippie in America wanted to be and I loved it.
It was difficult in some ways because the Stones were the stars and everyone else was less important. For instance, in the scramble to get to the cars to go to the hotel, if I ended up with Mick or Keith that was a good day. If I ended up in the equipment truck—that was a bad day. It felt like they were the sun and we were the planets spinning around them and everyone wanted to be closer to them. And it felt like, wait a second, why am I treating these guys so special? They were down to earth, hardworking, pleasant people, but the system made them most important and everyone else, less important. Except for that, it was a ball.
What’s your favorite album, and what do you love about it?
I have a lot of favorites but I’ll mention one of them—Ray Charles’ Volcanic Action of my Soul. It’s not a particularly well-known album but it’s just beautiful, beautiful music. I wrote a biography about Ray Charles. I really think he’s a major artist and a truly important American musician.
Any other advice for songwriters?
First of all, keep writing. Just write. Whether it’s in a diary or in a blog, just keep writing, and once you’ve written, keep revising. Look it over. It seldom comes out perfectly the first time. Keep learning. Keep reading.
Read good books. If you’ve heard of a book and you’ve just heard the title and you’ve never read it, give it a try. The same goes for music! Listen to a range of styles.
Have fun with it. Listen to feedback from friends. If you have strong feelings, speak up through your lyrics. Our democracy depends on everybody speaking their mind in a positive way to improve things. So just be part of that. That’s the main thing.
