The Song Machine: How to Make a Hit

“Shack Up,” a song by Banbarra,

“My Prerogative.”

“Dreamlover” by Mariah Carey).

“What’s My Name” (“Oh, na-na-na, what’s my name?”), and for two Nicki Minaj smashes, “Super Bass”

Al Jolson’s ivories

writer, Jerry Wexler—later a partner in Atlantic Records—to replace the derogatory trade name “race music.” (He later regretted he hadn’t called the music “R&G,” for rhythm and gospel, instead; such R&B staples as falsetto singing and hand claps derived from gospel music.) R&B was, as Stuart Goosman points out in his 2005 book Group Har

According to a 2011 research project based on a fMRI study of people listening to music, familiarity with a song reflexively causes emotional engagement; it doesn’t

“Rude Boy”

“cultural technology.” In a 2011 address at Stanford Business School,