Famous people (living or dead) whose deaths are mentioned in a song

[Oly]

“My mother cried when president Kennedy died” - Police - Born in the 50’s

“We all know that Elvis died fat” - English Beat - Spar Wid Me

Night Shift by the Commadores - more of a tribute song

[Cazzle]

Guns N Roses - Civil War

D’you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said “Peace could last forever”
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy

[Peter_Morris]

We Didn’t Start The Fire
“JFK
Blown away
What else do I have to say?”
Candle In The Wind.

[njtt]

American Pie alludes to the death of Buddy Holly. It does not say it directly, but I think everybody knows by now.

All Those Years Ago - John Lennon (by the rest of the Beatles, but mainly George).

[njtt]

Sympathy for the Devil, by the Stones: the Kennedys, the Tsar, his ministers, and Anastasia.

[RealityChuck]

“James Dean” by the Eagles.

“Abraham, Martin, and John” by Dion

“Rock and Roll Heaven” by the Righteous Brothers.

[RitterSport]

“Dr. Dre said…nothing you idiot. Dr. Dre’s dead, he’s locked in my basement.”

–Eminem (as Slim Shady)

[Sampiro]

@Spoke

Well, Maggie Thatcher merited a couple more death songs: Tramp the Dirt Down by Elvis Costello and Margaret on the Guillotine by Morrisey.

So that’s at least three songs mentioning her death long before she died. That must be a record for somebody who was never wanted for war crimes.

[Loach]

@sinjin

“Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?”

Well he certainly wasn’t dead at the time. He died 30 years later. And it wasn’t about his death.

References in the last verse to Joe DiMaggio are perhaps the most discussed. Paul Simon, a fan of Mickey Mantle, was asked during an intermission on The Dick Cavett Show why Mantle wasn’t mentioned in the song instead of DiMaggio. Simon replied, “It’s about syllables, Dick. It’s about how many beats there are.”[8] For himself, DiMaggio initially complained that he had not gone anywhere, but soon dropped his complaints after a cordial meeting with Paul Simon when he explained what the lines meant. In a New York Times op-ed in March 1999,[9] shortly after DiMaggio’s death, Simon discussed this meeting and explained that the line was meant as a sincere tribute to DiMaggio’s unpretentious heroic stature, in a time when popular culture magnifies and distorts how we perceive our heroes. He further reflected: “In these days of Presidential transgressions and apologies and prime-time interviews about private sexual matters, we grieve for Joe DiMaggio and mourn the loss of his grace and dignity, his fierce sense of privacy, his fidelity to the memory of his wife and the power of his silence.” Simon subsequently performed “Mrs. Robinson” at Yankee Stadium in DiMaggio’s honor the month after his death.

[MacCat]

@Loach

Well he certainly wasn’t dead at the time. He died 30 years later. And it wasn’t about his death.

Excellent catch!

[Ponch8]

Michael Jackson in “All of the Lights” by Kanye West (“MJ gone…our n*** dead”)

[Chefguy]

Brendan Behan

[Meltdown]

Warren Zevon referenced his own upcoming death (from inoperable lung cancer) all over his last album, probably most clearly in Keep Me In Your Heart:

Shadows are falling and I’m running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for a while
If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for a while

[Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension]

Gary Gilmore’s Eyes - The Adverts

[cjepson]

Lots of folk/protest songs. Just from Bob Dylan:

“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”
“The Death of Emmett Till”
“George Jackson”
“Only a Pawn in Their Game” (Medgar Evers)
Others…

The Byrds’ version of “He Was A Friend of Mine” (JFK)
“Joe Hill”
“Michael, Andrew and James” by Richard & Mimi Farina (OK, they themselves weren’t famous, but their cause was)

[Rain_Soaked]

Peter Gabriel’s Biko about Steve Biko.

[Chefguy]

Rock and Roll Heaven, The Righteous Brothers, mentions

Jimmy Hendrix
Janis Joplin
Otis Redding
Jim Morrison
Jim Croce
Bobby Darrin

Jimmy gave us rainbows
And Janis took a piece of our hearts
And Otis brought us all to the dock of a bay
Sing a song to light my fire
Remember Jim that way
They’ve all found another place
Another place to play

[Duke_of_Rat]

@njtt

American Pie alludes to the death of Buddy Holly. It does not say it directly, but I think everybody knows by now.

It does mention James Dean - “…in a coat he borrowed from James Dean”

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

Man, I wanted to mention Bela Lugosi’s Dead!

I’ll settle for Guy Fawkes: while he’s not mentioned in the most common couplet, Wikipedia offers a slightly longer song

The fifth of November, since I can remember,
Was Guy Faux, Poke him in the eye,
Shove him up the chimney-pot, and there let him die.
A stick and a stake, for King George’s sake,
If you don’t give me one, I’ll take two,
The better for me, and the worse for you,
Ricket-a-racket your hedges shall go.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

And then, a bit of a cheater, is a song like Weird Al’s I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead. Mentions his own death before he dies. TMBG have a similar song, and I’m sure plenty of other musicians do as well.

Edie Brickell did a song, Little Miss S., about Edie Sedgwick, in which her death is mentioned.