Songs That Reference Other Songs

First one I can think of not already mentioned is Waylon Jennings - Luckenbach, Texas

Wilson Pickett’s Land of 1000 Dances refers to The Twist, Long Tall Sally, and several other songs.

In Bowie’s Young Americans they sing the line “I read the news today, oh boy” in a clear call back to a A Day in the Life bu The Beatles

Men at Work referenced “The Kookaburra Song” in a flute riff of the song “Down Under”.

Years later they were sued by the copyright owners of the song and lost leading to an interesting explanation of why it was in there and a probable contribution to the death of the flutist who added the riff as an improvisation during recording.

Down Under Wiki

That would, of course, be Tom Waits’s Tom Traubert’s Blues.

Eric Carmen’s Make Me Lose Control mentions Be My Baby, Back In My Arms Again, Uptown, and Stand By Me.

It would? “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” was written by Eric Bogle; I know it mainly from the June Tabor version, which predates the Pogues one by nine years.

The Bangles’ song “Glitter Years” references/quotes Bowie:

Garden Party” by Ricky Nelson references “I Am the Walrus,” “Johnny B. Goode”,* and his own "“Hello Mary Lou” (and possibly others I am missing).

Peggy Sue Got Married”, by Buddy Holly references his own “Peggy Sue” (and got made into a film). Although “Peggy Sue” was hid big hit, IMHO “Peggy Sue Got Married” is the better song, by some distance.

John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep” references several songs by McCartney: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Yesterday,” and “Another Day” (and, again possibly more that I am missing).

Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” references his “Space Oddity.”

Mott the Hoople’s “The Saturday Gigs” references their (and Bowie’s) “All the Young Dudes.”

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*I have a feeling that there are shitload of songs that reference “Johnny B. Goode”, but I cant think of any more right now.

Redlight King samples and builds (beautifully, IMHO) on Neil Young’s “Old Man” in their song of the same name.

The Kinks song “One of the Survivors” mentions a number of 1950s rock songs and artists (e.g. “Hound Dog, Oh Boy, and Great Balls of Fire”).

Not to mentioned that the “Johnny Thunder” character in that song first appeared in an earlier Kinks song by that name.

Oh, and The Who’s “5.15” references their “My Generation”.

The Spirit of Radio (Rush) and The Sounds of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel).

The Beatles’ “Yer Blues:” “Feel so suicidal, just like Dylan’s Mr. Jones” (“Ballad of a Thin Man”)

In The Kinks’ song “Destroyer”, the song opens with the singer meeting a girl named Lola (and the song’s riff is borrowed from their own “All Day and All of the Night”).

The Ramones’ “Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?” mentions a number of artists (John Lennon, T. Rex), music TV shows (Ed Sullivan, Hullabaloo) and disc jockeys (Murray the K, Alan Freed).

Van Morrison’s “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)” references Wilson’s “Reet-Petite” (and almost certainly several other songs by Jackie, but I don’t know his oeuvre well enough to identify them).

I think Morrison’s “Saint Dominic’s Preview” alludes to Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,” but it is confusing, because he also mentions Hank Williams (but not Dylan, directly) in the same line.

Greg Lake’s “I Believe in Father Christmas” mentions “Silent Night” (as well as sampling Prokofiev).

Pretty much everything Steve Miller did referenced at least one of his earlier songs.

And The Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen”, of course, refers to the British National Anthem of the same title.

These keep popping into my head - Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life” references “I Got a Woman”, “Be-Bop-A-Lula”, “What’d I Say”, “My Sweet Lovin’ Woman”, and “Mack the Knife.”