I hear violins! ABC

... 'Beeswing' thread recently, Anne Briggs has the rare honour of two (terrific) songs about her: RT's 'Beeswing' and Sandy Denny's 'The Pond & the Stream'. There have been several (minor-league-ish) songs about Sandy Denny too...

Off the cuff, David Gates' mid 90s 'Sweet Baby James' was about (yes, you've guessed it...) James Taylor

Ralph McTell's mid 70s 'When Maddy Dances' was about (yes, you've guessed it again..) Maddy Prior

Sandie Shaw's 'Steven You Don't Eat Meat' (Morrissey)

Mark Knopfler's 'Calling Elvis'...

I've sure there's a million more (and about half of them probably about Elvis) and I'm sure I'll be trying to think of some of them in the next hour instead of going to sleep...

Nils Lofgren's 'Keith Don't Go' definitely doesn't qualify, nor does Roger Daltrey's 'Under A Raging Moon' (have you HEARD the subjects' singing qualities????)

by Deacon Blue was also written about Ms. McKee.

'Killing Me Softly With His Song' - a paean to the 'American Pie' hitmaker (and I don't mean Madonna!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Me_Softly_with_His_Song

Van the Man - 'Jackie Wilson Said'

Dexys - as above, also 'Geno'

Danny Mirror - 'I Remember Elvis Presley' (ok, I'm leaving the building...)

life's a highway,
too many roads bypass my way
or they never begin...

The Late Great Johnny Ace by Paul Simon. Written about blues singer Johnny Ace and John Lennon.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5ach2WWI5RD1FOjDArNlRh

Fantastic song, and the best Lennon tribute, for my money.

On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas tide
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I'd heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played
Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace...

that's 'Retha Franklin...

by John Martyn, about Nick Drake.

Incomparable.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3IPPLsv91VCNLUUapzGL94

My favourite song from one of my favourite albums:
http://open.spotify.com/track/5TJ9jPCuBfRwu90Jxhx9RG

And here in a live version:

He's the Keeper by Weller, about Lane.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0dhcWqsmVi4LyXDehB46df

...but "children by the million sing for Alex Chilton," according to The Replacements.

by American Music Club.

The Divine Comedy did a lovely orchestral cover years ago.

Not quite so good is Sandie Shaw's "Stephen (You Don't Eat Meat)" - can you tell who it's about yet?

Song for Dylan...........

- I heard old Neil he put us down
Well I hope Neil Young will remember
Southern Man is a possum-fucking racist clown"

something like that anyway

The sublime: Sweet Gene Vincent by Ian Dury.
The ridiculous: All I want for Christmas is a Beatle by Dora Bryan.

"Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me and I want you only"

with his Beatles and his Stones..
..I need TV when I got T.Rex

Ben Folds's "Late" is a lovely tribute to Eliott Smith.

And then of course there was Billy Bragg's homage "I dreamed I saw Phil Ochs last night" about ... well, Phil Ochs, obviously.

Yer blues by you know who
"i feel so suicidal just like dylans mr jones."

Ron Sexsmith – In A Flash: http://open.spotify.com/track/4tsct8jEKtHoosGSTAImMO

From his 1999 album 'Whereabouts' - worth a listen - a brilliant record.

...people thought an apparently self-referencing singer was in fact cunningly, yet pointlessly, misdirecting their audience away from the role being, in fact, occupied by another singer. Except that it wasn't. (Was it?):

Glass Onion by the Beatles in which Lennon claims '...the Walrus was Paul...'

Not, I suspect, a category into which we will find many other songs falling.

Likewise, songs about 'Pete Best'-esque members of your band/future bass players in it who are otherwise unknown, at that point, to your bemused millions of followers - as was the case when Jethro Tull in their first flush of success recorded several songs involving Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond:

A Song For Jeffrey
Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square
For Michael Collins, Jeffrey & Me
Inside ('invite your friends round for tea in the evening - and Jeffrey makes three')

Again, surely not a widely populated category?

...you crazy diamond

...Rich...

...Bo Diddley 'Bring It to Jerome'

Now, SURELY there can't be any others in THIS category?

on 'Blow Away' from Never For Ever sang 'Hello Minnie, Moony, Vicious, Vicious, Buddy Holly, Sandy Denny' before adding 'Bolan and Moony are heading the show tonight'.

P.F.Sloan.
Wikepedia he say: While Sloan helped Webb get started on his career, it was because of a personal dispute with him that Webb denied the existence of "P.F. Sloan" when asked about the song's title character during an article interview, saying that he had made the name up. Ironically, this led Eugene Landy, the controversial psychologist, to lay claim to being the real P.F. Sloan when he was asked by reporters why he considered himself able to direct Beach Boys lead singer Brian Wilson's musical career.

Who was The Girl In the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk?

by some Australian teenager about Evan Dando.

Real Live Bleeding Fingers by Lucinda Williams about Paul Westerberg.

Drunken Angel by Lucinda Williams about Blaze Foley.

Fort Worth Blues by Steve Earle about Townes Van Zandt.

Wild As The Wind by Steve Forbert is about Rick Danko.

Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole by Martha Wainwright about old Loudo.

Blossom Dearie - Dusty Springfield
Alabama 3 - Sister Rosetta
Asleep At The Wheel - Bob Wills Is Still The King
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly - Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley - The Story of Bo Diddley
Bad Company - Bad Company
The Beatles - The Ballad Of John and Yoko
Arlo Guthrie - Victor Jara
Cosmic Rough Riders - Laura Nyro
Phonograph - Parsons White

was, allegedly, about Paul Kossoff

Doesn't mention him by name though

On his album Home, he sings about Marvin Gaye in a song titled of that name.
Eileen Rose sings Tom Waits Crooning on her Long Shot Novena album.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss tell us that Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us on Raising Sand.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings sing about how Elvis shook his stuff on Elvis Presley Blues.

...by the Drive By Truckers

Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
Barenaked Ladies - Brian Wilson
Christopher Rainbow - Dear Brian
Endrick Brothers - The Ballad For A Film (Dylan To Mcguinn)
Emmylou Harris - The Boy From Tupelo
Emmylou Harris - Boulder To Birmingham - about Gram
Eddie Floyd - Big Bird - about Otis
Drive By Truckers - Ronnie And Neil
Mark Knopfler - Donegan's Gone

"How Long" by Ace is about the group's bass player Tex Comer, who was thinking of joining the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. I don't think Tex ever sang, though.

I remember one of their songs (but not the title) namechecked Ramones "Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee good times"...something like that.

Sparks
"When do I get to sing My Way, when do I get to feel like Sid Vicious did?"

Lush tribute to Brian by John Cale. Nice Beach Boys pastiche

Isn't You're So Vain reputed to be about Jagger,while the very same bellows away on backing vocals?

And of course, that blast of Macca-basing vitriol, John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep".

You're So Vain was allegedly about Warren Beatty, although the mystery apparently lingers on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_So_Vain

Bob Dylan Blues - Syd Barrett
Faron Young - Prefab Sprout
Where Did My Life Go - Bert Jansch ( about Sandy Denny )
Solo - Sandy Denny ( about Pete Townsend, allegedly )
Al Bowlly's In Heaven - Richard Thompson

I think of Steely Dan's Showbiz Kids: "They got the Steely Dan T-shirts (little musical twiddly 'ta-dah' bit)"

Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin) - Scritti Politti
The Night Hank Williams came to town - Johnny Cash
(First time I heard Johnny Cash sing)I Walk The Line - Roddy Crowell
The Day I saw Bo Diddley in Washington Square - Willie Nile
I'm Being followed by the Rolling Stones - Murray Lachlan Young
Beatles and the Stones - The House of Love
She's Madonna - Robbie Williams

By Camera Obscura.

References both the singer & the song. Good work.

An excuse to post this too...

"Tar Baby and the Great White Wonder talking over a glass of rum ..." is Joni's elliptical comment on Dylan's Rolling Thunder Tour on 'Dreamland'.

'Pure Smokey' by George Harrison about Mr. Robinson.

Dylan namechecks Neil Young in 'Highlands'

And on a self referential note George Harrison's 'Living In The Material World' ..."Met them all here in the material world, John & Paul in the material world, and though we started out quite poor - we got Ritchie on a tour". Of course the HjH's were always singing about each other after 1970.

And my own personal favourite, The Smithereens shout to Bill Wyman on "Behind A Wall of Sleep". They could have been huge, if only the singer had owned a hat ....

by Nick Cave is about Johnny Cash.

Will Kimbrough - Anita O'Day
Teenage Fanclub - Gene Clark. This sounds nothing like Gene Clark. In fact it sounds exactly like Neil Young. They also did a song called Neil Jung of course but that doesn't seem to be about Neil Young!
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke. There's Basie, Miller, Satchmo and the king of all Sir Duke. Ella gets a mention too.
Steely Dan - Parker's Band.
Joe Cocker - Delta Lady - about Rita Coolidge.

My favourite Spearmint song is called Scottish Pop - a great little tune which namechecks a load of people about half of whom I've heard. The Secret Goldfish, Edwyn C, Nectarine No 9, Bobby G, Stephen Pastel, Raymond McGinley, Adventures In Stereo, Emma P, Stuart Murdoch, Douglas T.

...by Oasis is about Richard Ashcroft.
I Heard Ramona Sing-Frank Black is about The Ramones
For The Love Of Ivy-The Gun Club is about Poison Ivy (The Cramps)
Free Arthur Lee - The Make Up is about well you know who!
Stuck in a Moment - U2 is about Michael Hutchence (i think)
The Free Design - Stereolab is about The Free Design !

as a tribute to Buddy Holly apparently. Hence the reference to 'words of love' in it.

Other songs written about Gram Parsons (apart from Boulder To Birmingham mentioned above) My Man by the Eagles and Crazy Eyes by Poco. Gram wrote In My Hour Of Darkness partly at least about Clarence White.

Madness - The Prince.

June and the Exit Wounds - Cathy Dennis.

Commodores - Nightshift. About Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson.

Robert Forster on his late, great partner in rhyme, Grant McLennan:

'It was a head trip, it was a friendship, he picked me up when I might have slipped and not done a thing;
A sly grin, that played to win, we will not see his kind again anymore'

From the song It Ain't Easy from The Evangelist.

Kasey Chambers - Pony.

When I grow up I want a baby
I'm gonna name it after Ralph Stanley.

Joni Mitchell - Furry Sings The Blues about bluesman Furry Lewis. According to Wiki Furry wasn't at all amused and demanded that Joni pay him royalties.

Jayhawks - Miss Williams Guitar. Presumably about Victoria Williams.

Posies - Grant Hart.

Lol Coxhill on 'For Free' and Charles Mingus on (er...) 'Mingus'

When Smokey Sings - ABC. Brilliant badda bah bahs, especially on the 12" mix

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Kevin Ayers. As charmingly bonkers as you'd expect.