When it comes to homages of Broadway musicals, I have two words (and a link) for you: Forbidden Broadway. It does not get any better than that.
Exactly what I came in to say.
Straight forward tribute for sure: Wilson Pickett. Cole, Cooke and Redding. (And even his own self. Come on in Pickett!)
Kiss - “Hard Luck Woman”: depending on the telling it was written by Paul Stanley either with the intention of offering it to Rod Stewart to record, or just with Rod Stewart in mind. At any rate it’s very reminiscent of “Maggie May” and “You Wear It Well”.
I’m not sure if you’d call it a tribute or an homage or something else, but Freddie Mercury wrote “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” to honor Elvis.
I’m listening to Pink Floyd’s “Whish You Were Here”, and of course it has the great tribute to their former band mate Syd Barret, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”. One of the greatest tributes ever, and of course it has the spooky back story of when Syd walked into the Abbey Road studios when the Floyd were recording that track, a shell of his former self (a very swollen one with shaved eyebrows), and nobody recognized him at first and everybody was shattered after having seen him in this state after years.
I still don’t see (hear) it, but supposedly Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville was a song by song homage to the Stones’ Exile on Main Street.
mmm
The Chain Gang of 1974 makes homage to the eighties sounds of bands like Simple Minds and Tears For Fears.
This track below is a collaboration but you can get the basic idea.
“Well I want to say a thing or two, regarding Jimi Hendrix
Seems to be a case of accidental suicide”
John Mayall - Accidental Suicide
Tame Impala’s “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” is indisputably the best John Lennon song of 2012.
Willie Nelsons song “He won’t ever be gone” is about Merle Haggard.
There’s about 20 songs about Hank, Sr.
Another by Pete Townshend: God Speaks of Marty Robbins
In that case, a different Billy Bragg song definitely counts.* New England *'s opening lines (“I was 21 years when I wrote this song/I’m 22 now, but I won’t be for long”) are the same as Simon&Garfunkle’s Leaves That Are Green, and Billy has said the homage was intentional, even though the songs are otherwise not much alike.
R.E.M’s At My Most Beautiful is an homage to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.
Story I read in the Detroit paper at the time said that Bob Seger wrote Night Moves after hearing Springsteen’s Jungleland and telling his band “I’ve got a story to tell, to. I’m going to write my own Jungleland”.
ETA: Eh, that’s more “Inspired by”…
Jet’s “Look What You’ve Done” is an homage to the Beatles’ “Sexy Sadie.” I vaguely remember them doing other homages, but that’s the one I remember.
Madonna’s “Cherish” was an homage to the Association’s song of the same name.
Blink 182’s “Adam’s Song” was an homage to Kurt Cobain.
If these aren’t it, I may not understand the question.