Stevie Wonder also paid tribute to MLK (“a man who died for good”) in “Happy Birthday.”
And of course U2 in “Pride (In The Name Of Love)”. And am I right right that most people miss the point of the OP to only bring examples of non-fictional heroes?
In the eyes of Barry Sadler, everyone in “The Ballad of the Green Berets.”
Sink the Bismark by Johnny Horton refers to Churchill and an unnamed Admiral (perhaps Sir Dudley Pound).
More of a country song than rock and roll, but otherwise fits the bill
I looked up the lyrics for Foreigner’s Juke Box Hero. But I don’t understand why he’s a hero.
Stevie Wonder also paid tribute to a lot of people in Black Man from Songs in the Key of Life.
A sample:
Who was the first man to set foot on the North Pole?
Matthew Henson, a black man
Who was the first American to show the Pilgrims at Plymouth the secrets of survival in the new world?
Squanto, a red man
Who was the soldier of Company G who won high honors for extraordinary heroism in World War 1?
Sing Kee, a yellow man
Who was the leader of united farm workers and helped farm workers maintain dignity and respect?
Caesar Chavez, a brown man
Who was the founder of blood plasma and the director of the Red Cross blood bank?
Dr. Charles Drew, a black man
How about Rosemary from “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”?
I think I could make a case that Big Jim needed killing.
Harold Land from the first album by Yes.
Was Major Tom really a hero? I feel the point of Bowie’s song was how mundane space exploration had become. So much so that Major Tom was driven insane by the boredom of it.
So let’s substitute a different Tom; Tommy aka Yellow from “Coward Of The County”. He took on all three Gatlin boys after they attacked Becky.
In his dreams.Three experienced brawlers against little Tommy? They wiped the floor with him. They killed him, and the song is his dying dream.
Not to junior mod, but I thought this thread was supposed to be real people?
A good real-life example: Melissa Etheridge’s song “Tuesday Morning,” an elegy for Mark Bingham, hero of Flight 93 - a gay man.
Jimmy Dean’s salute to John F. Kennedy’s military service: “PT-109”
Well, unlikely heroes I suppose, but for standing up to the British Establishment I say Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice Davies are heroes.
Nothing Has Been Proved by Dusty Springfield & Pet Shop Boys
j
ETA, just in case
Well…
ISTM that there’s a certain lack in reading the entire OP, or maybe even beyond the thread title. But If it’s OK with @iiandyiiii, who am I to complain.
What about the [non-fictional] sailors in Empire of the Clouds? Were they heroes for going on a suicide mission, or cowards who let themselves be pressured into it?
Yeah, my preference is for real people, and even better real non-famous people (like Funky Claude from “Smoke on the Water”). What I’m really thinking of is “heroes” whose primary claim to fame is being mentioned in a song for their heroism. People who, if the song didn’t mention them, probably wouldn’t be known for their heroism beyond their own communities.
To add to the above – this occurred to me (not surprisingly) after listening to “Smoke on the Water”, then reading about Funky Claude, and wondering about other people made famous by songs due to their heroism.
Just a small nitpick, but I think it’s debatable if he isn’t famous. Everybody who has seen a few of the Montreux Jazz Festival concerts knows him. He was not only the organizer, but also always the stage announcer, and it’s one of the most important music festivals in the world.
Okay, that’s fair. But his heroism probably wouldn’t have been widely known if it weren’t for the song. That’s what I mean.
As opposed to, say, Capt. Sullenberger, who is obviously well known for his heroic acts alone, not for a mention in a song.
That’s certainly true. I didn’t know about his role in the fire before I first read about the meaning of “Smoke on The Water”.