9 famous songs that were written in a matter of minutes
Have you ever wondered how long it takes to write a hit song? Considering how many millions of dollars all of the songs on this list have gone on to make, it’s quite amazing that they only took minutes to write.
But while these songs may have taken just a few minutes to put together, you can’t deny that the talent of these artist entails a lifetime of nurturing skill that goes into the preparation and the inspiration behind these music moments.
Here’s a list of nine famous songs that took less than 15 minutes to write.
1. “What’d I Say” by Ray Charles
At a 1958 gig in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, he found himself 12 minutes short of material, and with an expectant audience waiting to dance, he turned to the Wurlitzer electric piano he brought with him and he pounded out an insistent four-note riff, set to a rhumba beat, and began jamming boogie-woogie licks over the top of it.
2. “American Woman” by The Guess Who
American Woman came from a live jam in front of a paying audience. Lead guitarist, Randy Bachman, broke a string when he found himself playing a neat circular riff trying to tune it back in, which rather caught his ear. So he turned his guitar up and played it again, and the rest of the band joined in, with singer Burton Cummings making up the lyrics on the spot.
3. “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran was messing about with loops on the laptop. Within minutes he had the basics of one of his biggest hit singles.
4. “Hometown Glory” by Adele
After a long discussion with her mum about whether she should leave West Norwood and head for university, she huffed off to her room. As words started to form about home, before 10 minutes was up she'd written her very first song.
5. “Yesterday” by The Beatles
The melody of Yesterday tumbled into Paul McCartney's head fully formed during a dream, which he then had to capture in chords and words as soon as he woke up.
6. “Ohio” by Neil Young Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
When Crosby showed Young a copy of Life magazine with the cover story of the Kent State Shootings. Young left with the magazine and his guitar and wrote this song within a few hours.
7. “Oasis” by Supersonic
Noel Gallagher has said the music was written during a 10-minute jam session.
8. “My Sharona” by The Knack
Singer Doug Fieger once claimed in an interview that the track had been written in 15 minutes.
9. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses
A hit song for many years now, Slash says the riff was put together in a mere five minutes.