# Sharing a name with a famous song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023 "2017-02-17T03:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/21 "2017-02-17T14:36:49Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Nitpick: “Oh Sherrie” by Steve Perry solo. (Although Wikipedia tells me that Journey did play it in concert on occasion.) Good to know. Now I can concentrate all the hatred unto him alone instead of spreading it out amongst several band members.🙂 Funny thing is, back when he was still with Journey I was a big fan and had a major crush on SP. I would have died and gone to heaven had that stupid song come out during that time (the song would still suck balls but I would have have convinced myself otherwise). ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/22 "2017-02-17T14:41:29Z")
A friend was briefly dating an Eileen when we were in high school when that song was popular. She was _not_ amused. We’ve got a Brandy/Brandi (not sure of the spelling) starting here next month. Alas, no one gets the joke when I comment “I hear she’s a fine girl.” And, yes, I’ll stop before she starts working here. _No one_ deserves being reminded of Looking Glass songs. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > (_Oh, Sherrie_ by Journey). Technically, only by Steve Perry. ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/23 "2017-02-17T14:51:59Z")
“After all is said and done, there is really only one, Oh Margie, Margie, it’s you!” That song was old even when I was young. I never minded people singing it to me as a child. Now that I am old, I kind of like it. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/24 "2017-02-17T15:25:49Z")
I once knew a [Joanna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsklsxReSe0). Though I don’t recall testing the theory myself, I understood that she was not particularly amused by efforts to woo her through the song. I always rather liked the song, myself… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/25 "2017-02-17T15:27:00Z")
I’ve always wanted to piss on the grave of the guy who wrote: “Open the Door Richard”. Thankfully that song has just about sunk into the obscurity it deserves. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/26 "2017-02-17T15:32:11Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’ve always wanted to piss on the grave of the guy who wrote: “Open the Door Richard”. Thankfully that song has just about sunk into the obscurity it deserves. Not in my house! I and all of my siblings learned to answer to “Richard” if a door needed to be opened. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/27 "2017-02-17T15:35:09Z")
My first name is Michael; my parents were folkies in the 1960s, and were, at least in part, inspired by the song “Michael Row the Boat Ashore.” FWIW, the popularity of that song is believed to be partially responsible for “Michael” being the most popular name for baby boys for much of the 1960s. My last name is fairly uncommon, and nearly no one who sees it in print can figure out how it’s pronounced. But, the Bobbettes (a 1950s R&B “girl group”) had a hit song, “[Mister Lee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ0eoH4l4us)”, which was on the soundtrack to the movie “Stand By Me” in the 1980s. In the song’s chorus, the singers don’t pronounce the “r” in “mister”, making their pronunciation of “Mister Lee” sound exactly like how you pronounce my last name. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/28 "2017-02-17T15:50:59Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’ve always wanted to piss on the grave of the guy who wrote: “Open the Door Richard”. Seems like overkill. You could have told him to just [hit the road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_McVea)… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/29 "2017-02-17T16:06:50Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > My name is Julie, and chances are I do not love you and do not care and am not thinking of you and am planning on leaving the vicinity. Me too! These days I go by Julia, and now they sing a song of love. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/30 "2017-02-17T16:15:03Z")
My favorite niece is named Angie. As in really named Angie, it’s not short for anything. She didn’t remember hearing the Rolling Stones’ song of the same name until she was a teenager, but someone at her high school thought it was a hilarious pun to quote lines from the song to her. She’s 33 now, and despises the song. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/31 "2017-02-17T16:27:59Z")
> [@Magicicada](#): > > Let’s say my name is Diane and I spend a lot of time down at the Tastee Freeze, and now let’s say I start dating a guy named Jack who has a habit of doing James Dean impressions, but because I’ve never heard the song Jack and Diane I can’t figure out why everyone keeps laughing. Except substitute a different set of names, a different set of oddly specific characteristics, and a much, much worse song. Not fun. Not trying to hijack the thread, but as a guy named “Bob”, I absolutely hate it when someone makes a crack saying, “What About Bob?”, referencing the 1991 Bill Murray movie. Sorry, haven’t seen it. Nope, don’t get the joke. Annoyed? Why, yes, actually. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/32 "2017-02-17T16:30:01Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Seems like overkill. You could have told him to just [hit the road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_McVea)… You’re a bad man. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/33 "2017-02-17T16:51:27Z")
Occasionally, when an older (than me) female co-worker greets me with “Hey Paul,” I’ll respond with “Hey, hey, Paula.” Some get it, some don’t. ---
**Author:** ![SUZ\_MAC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@SUZ\_MAC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUZ_MAC)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/34 "2017-02-17T17:08:32Z")
My first name is Susan, but back in Jr. High I went by Sue. I got “A Boy Named Sue” quite a lot. I was a tom boy and fairly flat chested so it wasn’t a big leap to make. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/35 "2017-02-17T17:14:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My first name has two common spellings. I can think of 3 songs off the top of my head which use that name in the title - with the other spelling. > > No, those songs are not about me, mmmmkay? And your name is…Sarah, right? 🙂 I hate that Starship song. Hate hate hate. The Fleetwood Mac one is not bad. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/36 "2017-02-17T17:19:28Z")
I share a name with a woman Bob Dylan wrote about. Can’t say it ever bothered me. She’s “easy to look at and hard to define.” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/37 "2017-02-17T19:17:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I used to have a friend named Barbara Ann. When she was planning her wedding, her fiance wanted the song played as she marched down the aisle. She came close to calling off the wedding. > > My cousin Sherry felt the same way. I was almost named Barbara Ann. The song came out the next year. That’s around the same time “Help Me Rhonda” debuted. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/38 "2017-02-17T19:18:33Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Years ago, I knew someone whose name was Lola… > > That’s when I learned to never make jokes about someone’s name. They know them all and are sick of them? That was my grandmother’s name. She died in 2007, around the time it started rising rapidly in the baby name department. Not sure she ever heard the song. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/39 "2017-02-17T19:19:42Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > And your name is…Sarah, right? 🙂 > > I hate that Starship song. Hate hate hate. The Fleetwood Mac one is not bad. I found out recently that “Sara” is about a baby Stevie Nicks aborted, and regretted doing so. :eek: ☹ There’s also Hall & Oates’ “Sara Smile”. ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/40 "2017-02-17T19:31:34Z")
The head of a company we work with is named Jude. It is practically impossible not to say “Hey Jude” when he calls, even if you aren’t trying to reference the song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023.md?page=3)