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Some songs are not given away because they fail.

They are given away because the writer knows exactly what they are.

In this episode of Who Ordered the Pie?, we explore a different kind of authorship. These are the moments when writers recognize that a song belongs somewhere else and make that decision deliberately.

This is Borrowed Voices, Part One: When the Writer Let Go.

We begin with Prince and “Manic Monday,” a song he did not hand off after the fact, but wrote intentionally for The Bangles. When it was released in 1986, it reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, held out of the top spot only by Prince himself with “Kiss.”

From there, we look at distance as authorship through Mark Knopfler’s “Private Dancer.” Written from observation rather than confession, the song needed a voice with lived authority. When Tina Turner recorded it, the lyric did not change. The weight behind it did. Her version reached the Billboard Top Ten in 1984 and became a cornerstone of her career defining comeback.

Next is certainty. Paul McCartney recorded a fully formed demo of “Come and Get It” and handed it intact to Badfinger. Tempo, arrangement, harmonies. Nothing was meant to change. The song became a Top Ten hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom in 1970, launching the band into the mainstream almost overnight.

We close with momentum. John Lennon and Paul McCartney finished “I Wanna Be Your Man” in the room for The Rolling Stones. The Stones released it in 1963, giving them their first charting hit in the United Kingdom at exactly the moment they needed it. What people often read as rivalry was, in this case, support.

Across these stories, the common thread is not generosity or competition.

It is clarity.

Because sometimes the most confident thing a writer can do is let a song go exactly where it belongs.

Cocktail: Shared Fire

For this episode, the drink reflects transition rather than resolution. Shared Fire is a rum based cocktail built on contrast and balance, finished with a controlled flame. The full recipe and flame technique are available online.

Until next time, here’s to loud riffs, quiet sips, and the stories in between.

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Who Ordered the Pie? a music history podcast with custom cocktail pairings.
Show notes, recipes, and extras: WhoOrderedThePie.com
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Most pop hits are written in major keys because they feel resolved, comfortable, and familiar.

But some of the most influential songs in music history break that rule.

This episode explores major hits written in minor keys that refuse to slow down. These songs move forward with confidence, groove, and momentum, even while the harmony underneath never fully settles.

We start with “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, then move into the bold swagger of “Venus” by Shocking Blue. From there, the tension shifts to the dance floor with “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees and the endurance groove of “Good Times” by Chic.

Next comes the cool, mechanical glide of “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, followed by the modern blueprint of minor key pop in “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. We also trace a key influence on that feel through “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” by Hall and Oates.

Finally, we close with “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell, and how their version reshaped the emotional tone of the original by Gloria Jones.

These are not sad songs.
They are unsettled songs.

Once pop music learned that tension could move, it never forgot it.

This week’s cocktail reflects that same idea. A familiar structure with restrained sweetness and just enough friction to keep it from fully resolving. The full recipe and story behind the drink are available at:

whoorderedthepie.com

Until next time, here’s to loud riffs, quiet sips, and the stories in between.

Support the show

Who Ordered the Pie? a music history podcast with custom cocktail pairings.
Show notes, recipes, and extras: WhoOrderedThePie.com
Follow: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube • Instagram

Send us a text

Not all rain feels the same.

Last time, we stayed with the kind of rain that falls at night. The kind that slows you down and changes how you listen.

This episode moves into what comes after.

These are songs about rain that does not trap you inside.
Rain that carries momentum.
Rain that clears the air and makes the world look different than it did before.

We begin with Stevie Nicks stepping forward in “Outside in the Rain,” built on the restless drive of the Heartbreakers, where rain becomes motion instead of reflection. From there, Albert Hammond reminds us that sunshine is not a guarantee in “It Never Rains in Southern California,” while Johnny Rivers’ “Summer Rain” treats weather as a settled detail inside a memory rather than the event itself.

As the episode unfolds, the rain softens. The Lovin’ Spoonful find closeness instead of urgency in “Rain on the Roof.” Supertramp return to familiar feelings with recognition rather than panic in “It’s Raining Again.” And Eurythmics give us rain viewed through glass in “Here Comes the Rain Again,” persistent, urban, and observed rather than absorbed.

From there, the clouds begin to thin. Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” does not revisit the storm at all. It assumes it already passed. Gordon Lightfoot’s “Rainy Day People” reminds us who stays when the weather turns. And two songs sharing the same title, “Save It for a Rainy Day,” show how intent matters more than words, first as light emotional restraint with Stephen Bishop, then as quiet, outward-facing care with The Jayhawks.

Because sometimes the most important moment is not the rain itself. It is realizing you are still standing once it passes.

We close at the bar with The Silver Lining, a light and balanced highball built with London dry gin, elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon, honey syrup, club soda, and a dash of orange bitters. Something bright and restrained for the moment just after the storm.

For the full recipe, please visit our website at whoorderedpie.com.

Support the show

Who Ordered the Pie? a music history podcast with custom cocktail pairings.
Show notes, recipes, and extras: WhoOrderedThePie.com
Follow: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube • Instagram