Today (August 1st in Australia) marks 20 YEARS since the release of Debbie Kruger’s Songwriters Speak, a collection of 45 in-depth interviews with many of Australia’s creative powerhouses and sits right up there with Lillian Roxon’s pioneering Rock Encyclopedia as an important historical document written by an Australian music scribe.
First released in 2005, author Debbie Kruger’s 600+ page tome Songwriters Speak (Conversations about creating music) is available worldwide. For budding songwriters, it’s a must-have, a peek into the minds of some of our finest creative minds. For music fans, it’s simply a fascinating read, jam-packed with amazing anecdotes and featuring little nuggets of knowledge gold.
In SONGWRITERS SPEAK, Debbie Kruger interviewed 45 songwriters from Australia and New Zealand whose work in rock, pop and country music has left an indelible imprint on the cultural landscape and whose songs have left an enduring impression on Australia’s – and in some cases the world’s – psyche. This book gets inside the hearts and minds of some of our greatest musical poets and asks questions about how inspiration is sparked, whether songwriters are born or made, and where, ultimately, songs come from.
In candid face-to-face interviews, these tunesmiths discuss their successful careers, share thoughts on tapping into the creative source and tell the stories behind classic songs including “Friday on My Mind”, “The Real Thing”, “Eagle Rock”, “Khe Sanh”, “Deep Water”, “Hopelessly Devoted To You”, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”, “Down Under”, “Age of Reason”, “Beds Are Burning”, and “Truly Madly Deeply”.
SONGWRITERS SPEAK features conversations with Harry Vanda & George Young, Ross Wilson, John Williamson, Glenn Shorrock, Richard Clapton, Tim Finn, Steve Kipner, Neil Finn, Nick Cave, Christina Amphlett, Paul Kelly, Deborah Conway, Archie Roach, Daniel Johns, Kasey Chambers and many more. Included are key members from legendary bands The Seekers, The Twilights, Masters Apprentices, Axiom, Sherbet, Little River Band, Cold Chisel, Dragon, Sports, Midnight Oil, Mental As Anything, Australian Crawl, Icehouse, INXS, Men At Work, Hunters & Collectors and Savage Garden.
In this interview from 2023, the author Debbie Kruger chatted with Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips about the creation of the book
“The book is available via Amazon, Booktopia, Angus & Robertson, Barnes & Noble et al,” says Deb. “If you already own it and love it, buy one for a friend. It’s a good book. It’s a big book. There are interviews in there that you will never find anywhere else, interviews with songwriters no longer with us, interviews with songwriters who opened up for the first time with me, even if they have opened up to other since.”
There are some links to online booksellers here: https://www.debbiekruger.com/songwritersspeak/buy.html