How I Wrote..."Someday, Someway"

Marshall Crenshaw reveals Gene Vincent's role in his 1982 signature hit.

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"I CAN KNOCK certain songs of mine for one reason or another, but not this one," Marshall Crenshaw says of "Someday, Someway," the irresistibly catchy 1982 pop-rock gem that launched the Detroit-born musician's career and is now considered his signature song by fans and critics alike. "It sounded good when I released it, and it still sounds good today. People want me to play it at every show, which is fine, because I happen to love it and I'm really proud of it."

PHONY BEATLEMANIA In February 1980, Crenshaw was in Boston for a four-week run of Beatlemania, the musical revue in which he'd portrayed John Lennon for three long years. "One night, the stage manager gave me a warning: 'You've got to try harder. Look like you're enjoying it," he recalls.

"I quit the show the next day." While in Boston, Crenshaw began writing songs in earnest, a creative binge that was sparked by listening to the city's FM rock station, WBCN. "They played a lot of punk and new wave tunes, and I found them very exciting and inspiring," he says. "I was in my hotel room and I heard the Clash's 'London Calling for the first time. Those words 'phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust' spoke to me.