Ghostwriting Song Lyrics: Writing for a Voice That Isn’t Yours
Ghostwriting song lyrics is a large, invisible industry. The craft is writing words for a voice and a melody that are not yours.
Tag: music
Musicians and bands on the working life behind the stage, told by people who lived it.
2010sOnly Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Not the thrill of immortality, not the hunt, not the gothic romance. What it offers instead is two ancient lovers, the crumbling cities they haunt, and the slow pleasure of their company.
2020sSinners (2025)
Ryan Coogler's Jim Crow-era vampire film uses the genre to explore Black art and cultural memory. It establishes the stakes of everything that follows.
1950sWhite Christmas (1954)
White Christmas is Michael Curtiz's 1954 American musical depicting two World War II Army veterans turned singing act, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who follow a sister act to a Vermont inn and discover the inn belongs to their former…
1940sMeet Me in St. Louis (1944)
An American family in 1903 St. Louis faces upheaval when the father announces a move to New York, with Christmas as the season of crisis. Meet Me in St. Louis is Vincente Minnelli's 1944 American musical depicting the upper-middle-class Smith…
1940sHoliday Inn (1942)
A singer retires to a Connecticut farm and converts it into an inn that only opens on holidays, leading to a rivalry with his former dance partner. Holiday Inn is Mark Sandrich's 1942 American musical depicting Jim Hardy, a singer…
1960sA Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Charlie Brown directs the Peanuts gang in a Nativity pageant after rejecting the commercialism of the season. A Charlie Brown Christmas is Bill Melendez's 1965 American animated television special depicting Charlie Brown's depression at the commercialization of the Christmas season…
2010sBohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Bryan Singer's 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic. Queen's Live Aid recreation.
2000sWalk the Line (2005)
James Mangold's 2005 Johnny Cash biopic. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Cash and June Carter.
2010sLa La Land (2016)
Damien Chazelle's 2016 Hollywood musical. Almost won Best Picture before envelope correction.
1970sAmerican Graffiti (1973)
George Lucas's 1973 1962 California teen ensemble. Soundtrack establishes nostalgia template.
1960sMary Poppins (1964)
Disney's 1964 Travers adaptation. Julie Andrews flying with umbrella, Dick Van Dyke as cockney chimney sweep.