3 Artists Who Wrote Their Signature Hits in Less Than an Hour

Sometimes inspiration hits like a lightning bolt. Sometimes you have to run into your living room, grab a pen, and start jotting down ideas, song lyrics, whatever it is that’s jumping into your mind at the moment.

And that’s just what we wanted to highlight here below. We wanted to explore three occasions when inspiration struck just like that. Indeed, these are three artists who wrote their signature hits in less than an hour.

“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley from ‘St. Elsewhere’ (2006)

When it comes to songwriting partnerships, Gnarls Barkley proved they had real chemistry in the 2000s. More specifically, the band’s track “Crazy” was seemingly ubiquitous when it was released in 2006. Everywhere you went, from shopping malls to grocery stores, the song was playing on the overhead speakers. We were all wondering if we were going a little mad. But the history of the popular tune is rather amazing. After producer Danger Mouse played the song’s beat for singer CeeLo Green, Green went into the recording booth, and he wrote and recorded the lyrics in a single take.

“My Sharona” by The Knack from ‘Get The Knack’ (1979)

Sometimes with the right inspiration, you can’t help but let a song rush out of you. And that’s just what happened with Doug Fieger when he met Sharona. The beautiful young woman inspired Fieger, and he wrote his classic rock ode to her in a matter of minutes, he said. Indeed, the propulsive 1979 tune, “My Sharona”, was written about a love interest and it was penned in less than 15 minutes, according to the frontman. Who would doubt him? Sometimes when you’re in love, the music is everywhere.

“Just Dance” by Lady Gaga from ‘The Fame’ (2008)

They say we are all born with a song in us. We just have to access it. And when it comes to pop star Lady Gaga, that song was clearly “Let’s Dance”. She wrote the tune in a matter of minutes—indeed, it just came out of her, she says. Gaga fans know. She clearly put herself in the music. It’s a mesmerizing song. It’s encouraging. And it’s somehow a little depraved. Those adjectives could sum up Gaga well, too. No wonder it took such a short time to pen.

Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage