We Found Love, Song by Song - by Annie Zaleski (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Celebrate 100 of the most beloved love songs of all time with this beautiful hardcover keepsake that will make the perfect gift for loved ones at Valentine's Day or any time of year. Award-winning author and music journalist Annie Zaleski's collection offers readers fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories about each love song's everlasting impact"--

Book Synopsis

Love songs are for everybody and so is this book. In We Found Love, Song by Song, award-winning author and music journalist Annie Zaleski delivers a beautifully illustrated keepsake that tells the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories of the 100 most popular and cherished love songs of all time.

Pop the champagne, get the roses ready, and settle down in your favorite armchair. Love is universal to the human experience and love songs bring us joy and remind us of happy moments from our life. We all want it and we all crave it but it's not always easy to find. In this beautifully illustrated volume, We Found Love, Song by Song tells the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes stories of the 100 most popular and cherished love songs of all time and their everlasting impact. From artists such as Fred Astaire and Nat King Cole all the way up to Whitney Houston and Harry Styles, this all-encompassing collection of love songs is sure to ignite the flame and inspire a new favorite playlist.

What moving song did Paul McCartney pen as a love letter to his wife and record in one day? What iconic tune about cheating and piña coladas ends with a relationship being saved? What popular ballad was written from the perspective of Juliet and led to hundreds of in-concert proposals? Spanning musical genres and decades of classics and modern hits, featured songs include: ​

• Etta James, "At Last"
• Elvis Presley, "Can't Help Falling in Love"
• Sonny and Cher, "I Got You Babe"
• Queen, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
• Foreigner, "I Want to Know What Love Is"
• Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
• Tina Turner, "The Best"
• Elton John, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
• Shania Twain, "You're Still the One"
• Rihanna, "We Found Love"
• John Legend, "All of Me"
• Taylor Swift, "Love Story"

And many more!

Including full-color illustrations throughout, this gorgeously packaged companion is the perfect gift for you and your loved ones to cherish any time of year.

Review Quotes

"[Zaleski] intelligently analyzes what makes these tunes so memorable, examining all the elements that made these records hits, ones that endured. The Darling Clementine artists contribute enchanting illustrations to enhance the author's text."
--Pop Culture Classics

"In We Found Love, Song by Song (Running Press, $26, 9780762487004), Annie Zaleski takes a chronological journey through 100 cherished love songs, such as the soulful "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole and the ruminative "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie, often accompanied by delightful illustrations by Darling Clementine. The selections are interspersed with snappily themed top 10 playlists ranging from romantic power ballads to misunderstood love songs. This nostalgic book will make you want to cuddle up."
--BookPage

"An attractive embellished compendium of 100 romantic songs. . . . Conversational and enlightening without being overly analytical, this compilation of the history and anecdotes behind selected English-language popular songs, arranged chronologically and by vocalist, spans from Fred Astaire's rendering of 1936's "The Way You Look Tonight" to Harry Styles's 2019 song "Adore You" and ranges in tone from hopeful to exuberant to heartrending. Each entry (always crediting the songwriters in addition to the performers) is restricted to a manageable few paragraphs, plus partial song lyrics. Topics include romantic affection, friendship, and even human-animal companionship. A bonus to the regular entries is eight "top 10" boxes scattered throughout the text listing the best tunes about romantic power, bad partners, breakup, heartbreak, unrequited love, revenge, and being misunderstood, plus the best songs for a first dance at a wedding. VERDICT These reminders of popular culture melodies covering nearly 100 years will foster wistful reflection."--Library Journal

About the Author

Annie Zaleski is an author, editor, and journalist with a focus on music and pop culture. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including NPR Music, The Guardian, Time, Rolling Stone, Salon, Billboard, The A.V. Club, Vulture, Alternative Press, Stereogum, The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and Cleveland Plain Dealer. She is the author of a 33 1/3 book on Duran Duran's Rio, Lady Gaga: Applause, and Pink: Raise Your Glass, and contributed an essay to Go All the Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop, among others. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Darling Clementine is a duo of designers and illustrators, Ingrid Reithaug & Tonje Holand. Ingrid and Tonje both did their university degrees in the UK, but are now working and living in Oslo. Since launching their independent stationery line in 2006, they have developed a worldwide brand with an extensive assortment, selling everywhere from Tokyo to Helsinki.