Not to mention Washington, Buffalo Bill, Godiva, Grover Whalen and Nijinsky.
The Rolling Stones: “Rip This Joint”
Whoa, yeah!
Mister President, Mister Immigration Man
Let me in, sweetie to your fair land
I’m Tampa bound and Memphis too
Short Fat Fanny is on the loose
Dig that sound on the radio
Then slip it right across into Buffalo
Dick and Pat in ole DC
Well they’re gonna hold some shit for me
The Rolling Stones: “Star Star” aka “Starfucker”
Yeah, Ali McGraw got mad with you
For givin’ head to Steve McQueen
Yeah, you and me we made a pretty pair
Fallin’ through the silver screen
Honey, I’m open to anythin’
I don’t know where to draw the line
Yeah, I’m makin’ bets that you gonna get
John Wayne before he dies
Before my time, but Mr. Sandman
Mr. Sandman (Yes?) bring us a dream
Give him a pair of eyes with a “come-hither” gleam
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace
Another Elvis Costello: Oliver’s Army.
The title and chorus refers to Oliver Cromwell. Plus the line:
“With just a word in Mr. Churchill’s ear”
Refers to Winston Churchill, the grandson not the original. A hardliner in Parliament on N. Ireland.
(Although sources differ.)
Leonard Cohen’s Last Years Man mentions Joan of Arc, Jesus and Cain.
Dylan’s Desolation Row has a boatload:
Bette Davis, Cain, Abel, Einstein, Nero, Ezra Pound, and T.S. Eliot.
You reminded me of the Kinks song “Mr. Churchill Says,” which also mentions Mr. Beaverbrook, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Mountbatten, and Vera Lynn.
From the same album, “She’s Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina” mentions “He’s bought a hat like Anthony Eden’s.”
And, more Kinks, now that I’m thinking of them:
From “20th Century Man”:
“One of the Survivors” is about an aging rock fan who
In the autobiographical “The Road,” Ray reminisces:
and
So much in passing, that a lot of people don’t realize it…
“And Cobain can you hear the spheres singing songs off station to station?”
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
In Joan Osborne’s new title track “Trouble and Strife” there’s a fellow musician name check:
We had a little cat got stuck in a tree
So we played him a record by Peggy Lee
He said, "Who is that woman? Gotta make her my wife
Give her ten long years of trouble and strife"
Carl Perkin’s Cadillac mentions him, Elvis and Mr. Phillips. Wonder how I missed this the first time around? Oh, yeah…
Lotte Lenya in Mack the Knife.