Samuel,

I am with you on inspiration. Although I know of quite a few songs that were very formula written that became classics, 8 Days a Week or Help, being two of those. They were just written by the writers on assignement. In country one of the most well known was "I Can't Help If If I'm Still IN Love With You" which was a title given Hank Sr. by Wesley Rose, just to see what he would do with it. Part inspiration, a lot persperation. Writing to a title or an idea, is all part of the musical journey. Sometimes the formula works well.

As far as the riff on Pretty Woman, I would imagine that was Roy's melody and an idea taken by the guitarist on that session, and magic happens. Again, the forumla. Sometimes it can be very simple, like Robert White, of the Funk Brothers, the Motown backup band, and his riff on "My Girl."

Session players insert their own kind of magic. The Wrecking Crew, the LA based backing band on most everything from the Beach Boys on in the 60's and 70's, to some of the big hitmakers in New York, they are part of the magic as well.

Our version is the "A Team" which are usually the ten or so players that make up the majority of Nashville session players. Those develop over the years with one player turning over the reins to another player. Floyd Cramer was the big piano player through the 50's and he turned it over to Larry Butler, my bud in the 60's who took it into the 70's where he moved more into a producer mode.

A fun thing to do with Larry when I have been lucky enough to perform with him, is hear him do a medely of the songs he had something to do with. Like that piano twirls on Grand Tour, Piano on "He Stopped Loving Her Today" all the way to the hand claps and "When to fold em'" vocal parts on "The Gambler" and of course his own "HEY WON'T YOU PLAY, ANOTHER SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG" (try to get a title like that done today)
and hear the stories that go with them.
That is a blast.

All of this, from writing, to performing, finding the perfect artist, the perfect take on a subject is all what makes up the magic in music. Very hard to get it and very hard to duplicate.

On this particular song, I don't know if there is any magic there. Maybe a little black magic. LOL!

MAB