I said Denis, we’ve also, on a quick glance had Bill, Willy and Carey…
Eddie My Love
Mr. Lee
Ode to Billy Joe
Norman
Oh - and last but not least, Goodbye Earl.
Can you read my mind?
Do you know what it is you do to me?
Does it have to be in the title? Wedding Bell Blues does not have a name in the title, but it is made very plain in the lyrics that the man she wants to marry is called Bill.
I think you may be right, however, to think that love songs by women about men are less likely to mention the loved one’s name (in title or lyrics) than are love songs by men about women. Indeed, Wedding Bell Blues sprung to mind for me, in this context, largely because the repeated mention of Bill’s name in the song has always seemed a bit awkward and jarring to me. I am not sure why, but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that, in our culture, women’s names are usually more inherently melodious (perhaps by being heavier on vowels and liquid consonants).
Incidentally, I don’t think Joni Mitchell’s Carey is really a love song. She is dumping him, albeit very gently.
“Jimmy Mack” by Martha and the Vandellas
Dr. Feelgood? Maybe she called him Doc.
With all the males posting in this thread, I can’t help but think of David Spade and Chris Farley weepily singing along with Karen Carpenter. “Don’t you remember you told me you loved me, baby? You said you’d be coming back this way again, baby?”
(Actually, a lot of her stuff fits – Close To You, and Rainy Days And Mondays, and I Won’t Last A Day Without You, and…)
I’m remembering a bit by IIRC Bill Cosby about how you want to give your child a name with a vowel at the end so when you yell down the street at them you can really stretch it out. I imagine singers like to have some nice vowels to stretch out too, and in English at least there are more women’s names than men’s names that end in a vowel.
Just trying to think of songs with men’s names in the titles (not necessarily love songs) the first few that sprang to mind were Toni Basil’s “Mickey”, ABBA’s “Fernando”, Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro”, and Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee”. Two of these use Spanish men’s names with an “o” on the end and two use diminutive forms of English men’s names with a “y” on the end. But I imagine that some songwriters may hesitate to use these diminutive forms of men’s names in love songs for fear that they’ll sound childish.
I used to joke that anyone who started dating Taylor (will get a song written about him) and then breaks up with her (another song about him) might as well leave the country for a few years, because he’s obviously just a dirtbag who broke that sweet young thing’s heart and all of America knows it. 
One I just recalled that hits the nail right on the head is Catherine Howe’s ‘Harry’. (I am not sure whether that Youtube version is the same as the one that was a UK hit for her).
Another that might seem to is Lesley Duncan’s ‘Sam’, but in fact it is about her son rather than a lover. (I owned a couple of Lesley Duncan albums back in the day, and think she deserved to be a lot better known than she was.)
Some of these have probably already been listed here:
Dionne Warwick
[ul]
[li]I Say a Little Prayer[/li][li]Then Came You[/li][/ul]
Dusty Springfield
[ul]
[li]You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me[/li][li]The Look of Love[/li][li]Son-of-a Preacher Man[/li][/ul]
Bonnie Raitt
[ul]
[li]Something to Talk About[/li][/ul]
Aretha Frankling
[ul]
[li]I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You[/li][li]Baby I Love You[/li][li]A Natural Woman[/li][/ul]
Roberta Flack
[ul]
[li]The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face[/li][li]Feel Like Makin’ Love[/li][/ul]
Carly Simon
[ul]
[li]The Right Thing to Do[/li][li]Nobody Does It Better[/li][li]You Belong to Me[/li][/ul]
The Supremes
[ul]
[li]Stop! In the Name of Love[/li][li]My World Is Empty Without You[/li][li]I’m Gonna Make You Love Me[/li][li]Someday We’ll Be Together[/li][/ul]
Phoebe Snow
[ul]
[li]Poetry Man[/li][/ul]
Then there’s the Tin Pan Alley era, in which there were huge numbers of love songs written for women, or that could be (and were) sung by both men and women. Things like, “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” “Somebody Loves Me,” “From This Moment On,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Let’s Fall in Love,” “That Old Black Magic”. . .
Without even bothering to look for specific examples and being sure that some in my last category will have been listed: tons of traditional tunes, as well as boleros, half of Chabuca Granda’s work, and a ton by that D. Parton person.
Some more with men’s names in the title:
- Stephen - Kesha
- Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home? - several, including Patsy Cline & Della Reese
- Frankie - Sister Sledge
- My Funny Valentine - from Babes in Arms (most people think the song is about someone calling a loved one his/her ‘Valentine,’ but it’s about a girl singing to a guy actually named Valentine!)
- Harry - Catherine Howe
- Jimmie Mack - Martha and the Vandells
- Candy - Big Maybelle (this can be sung by either a woman or man)
- Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares
- Jonathan - Fiona Apple
- Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song) - Kelly Clarkson
- Alfie - Dionne Warwick
- Chuck E’s In Love - Rickie Lee Jones
- Don’t Mess with Bill - The Marvelettes
- Jesse - Carly Simons
…
Roberta Flack
[LIST]
[li]The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face[/li].[/QUOTE
It was written by Ewan McColl for/to Peggy Seeger, wasn’t it? But I suppose it became better known with Roberta Flack.
“What’s New?”
“Never Before and Never Again” (Okay, this is from The Muppet Movie, so it’s technically about a pig’s love for a frog, not a woman’s for a man, but still.)
Point taken [despite the whole ‘mean ole daddy, but… outasight’ bit]. So, scratch Carey and add Michael from Mountains. Boy’s namecheck and everything.
Here’s a few. I think women are far less likely to name the song the guy’s name, though, it’s true.
I Might Be Wrong “Elliott”
Bree Sharp “David Duchovny [why don’t you love me?]”
Anok “Michel”
Poe “Angry Johnny” (okay, it’s hard to tell if she loves or hates him…)
Lamb “Gabriel”
Concrete Blonde “Joey”
What about “Fuck me, Ray Bradbury” by Rachel Bloom? Can’t get clearer than that, and it mentions him by name!