“Take, Take Take” by the White Stripes is about Rita Hayworth.
They also wrote a song called “The Union Forever” about Charles Foster (Citizen) Kane. Not a real celebrity, but pretty close.
Pink Floyd’s “The Post War Dream” was also about Thatcher. And she was mentioned again later in the same album in “The Fletcher Memorial Home”.
George Harrison’s “All Those Years Ago” was another John Lennon tribute.
You’re right, of course. I listed the artist who performed them.
You could also include “Joe DiMaggio’s Done It Again,” by the same set of writer and artists.
I can’t believe I have so many that aren’t posted.
The Circle Game, by Joni Mitchell, is about Neil Young, and the club he sings about in Sugar Mountain.
On the Bootleg album Dylan has Catfish, about Catfish Hunter, and on Desire, Joey, about Joey Gallo. More interesting, Queen Jane Approximately is about Joan Baez.
Tom Lehrer also has Alma, about Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel.
Julia is about John Lennon’s mother. Martha My Dear is about Paul’s dog. (Does that count?) Dear Prudence is about Mia Farrow’s sister, and Sexy Sadie is about the Marahishi.
I don’t think the Fool on the Hill is LBJ, but brother Bill in Tombstone Blues is William McNamara. (Or so my interpretation of that song as the ultimate anti-Vietnam War song goes.)
And on Amarok, Mike Oldfield has a nice little code homage to Richard Branson.
Pink Floyd also included a song called “Vera” on The Wall. It’s a refernce to Vera Lynn, most famous for the song “We’ll Meet Again.”
“Song to Woody” by Bob Dylan. (From Dylan’s very first album)
Hey hey Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song
‘Bout a funny old world that’s a-comin’ along
Seems sick an’ it’s hungry, it’s tired an’ it’s torn,
It looks like it’s a-dyin’ an’ it’s hardly been born.
“Bob Dylan” by David Bowie.
Good call on “Diamonds and Rust,” Annie-Xmas!
Poor de Chirico by 10,000 Maniacs is about surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico (and is one of the most thesaurus-intensive songs ever written).
Alex Chilton by The Replacements is about the former leader of the bands Box Tops and Big Star whose name escapes me at the moment.
We’ve missed some of the bigger hits about celebrities.
The Commodores “Nightshift” is about Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke.
ABC’s “When Smokey Sings” is about Smokey Robinson.
Also:
“James Dean” by the Eagles.
“King of New Orleans” (Better Than Ezra) is about former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial. Not a national celebrity, of course.
Moody Blues Legend of a Mind mentions Timothy Leary
then there’s I feel for You, Chaka khan, by Rufus
Melissa Manchester’s Funny That Way mentions Laura Niro & Joni Mitchell
*All My Lovin’ * was for Cynthia Lennon
and I almost forgot, Neil Young’s Cowgirl in the Sands was also for guess who?
Wonder if Joni racked up the most songs written to one woman in the 70s.
Jan & Dean’s “Linda” was about little Linda Eastman (later to become Linda McCartney).
“I’m Looking Through You” was about McCartney’s ex, Jane Asher.
“You’re in My Heat, You’re in my Soul” was about Rod’s ex, Britt Eckland.
“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is about Stephen Still’s ex, Judy Collins.
Loudon Wainwright’s “Saw Your Name in the Paper” and Leonard Cohan’s “I Remember You Well” are both about Janis Joplin. And Wainwright’s “Be Careful, There’s a Baby in the House” is about his newborn son Rufus.
Oh! You reminded me…
Charles Lindbergh has had hundreds of songs written about him, among them most notably “Lucky Lindy”, “Plucky Lindy’s Lucky Day”, “The Eagle of the USA”, and “When Lindy Comes Home”.
Take that Joni Mitchell!
Middle of the road, man it stank!
Let’s run Lionel Richie over with a tank!
–Deathtöngue
“Oh! Carol” was written by Neil Sedanka about his high school girlfriend Carole Klein. She went on to become Carole King and write “Oh! Neil.”
Not only dedicated to, but when he recorded it she was in the studio. This was after they had separated, and they got back together briefly.
Blue, the title track of the Joni Mitchell album, was about David Blue.
Tongue solo!
(I think I still have that floppy 45 around somewhere…not that I have a record player to play it on)
Actually, that’s by Fear Of Pop, a one-off project by FOlds and John Mark Painter. But it’s not a BFF release.
True. And I should have stated as such.
Has anybody here heard “Abraham, Martin, and John” by Dion?
“Pure Smokey” by George Harrison is a tribute to Smokey Robinson.
Paul McCartney made a ditty about Pablo Picasso’s last night on earth.
“John Sinclair” by John Lennon was a protest song to support the White Panthers radical activist who was jailed on a marijuana bust. “John Sinclair, in the stir for breating air.”
“George Jackson” by Bob Dylan was another topical protest song from that era. It was believed that Jackson was murdered during a prison riot for his political views.
The Clash sang about actor Montgomery Clift.