Songs about famous people

[troot28]

Please help - I am trying to compile a list of songs about famous people. E.g:-

He's misstra know it all - Richard Nixon - Stevie Wonder
Cars and Girls -Bruce springsteen - Prefab Sprout
tramp the dirt down - Margaret Thatcher - Elvis Costello

Thanks

[dotjhawkes]

Also from Garden Party:

People came from miles around, everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air
'n' over in the corner, much to my surprise
Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise

[dotjhawkes]

The Ballad of Jesse James - Lonnie Dennigan

[dotjhawkes]

I'm Henry The Eighth I am - Hermans Hermits

[dotjhawkes]

Hayzee Fantayzee - John Wayne is Big Leggee

Dame Edna- Everybody wants a boy like Elton

[henneth]

It's intresting that you mentioned Al Stewart, Starmack, apart from Warren Harding there's alot more.

Nostradamus, Josephine Baker, Ernst Rohm and Adolf Hitler (the night of the long knives), Merlin, Lord Richard Grenville, Napoleon, Loius Armstrong, Sir Thomas More, Charlotte Corday (Marat's assasin), Edward Lear and plenty of name dropping in songs like "Manuscript", "the Palace of Versailles" and "Post World War II Blues".

I recently heard a song by Mark Knopfler about Ray Kroc called "Boom, like that" all to do with the history of McDonald's.

[Quizmonkey]

Michael Caine - Madness
Robert De Niro's Waiting - Bananarama
Geno - Dexy's
American Pie - Don Maclean (about Buddy Holly)
Matchstalk Men - Brian and Michael (about Lowry)
Maggie's Farm - Specials
Margaret on the Guillotine - Morrissey
Cemetry Gates - The Smiths (loads of people!)
I Feel Like Buddy Holly - Alvin Stardust

[Quizmonkey]

If you go through Half Man Half Biscuit's discography you'll find songs about LOADS of people: Nerys Hughes, Fred Titmus, Jim Reeves, Dickie Davies, Albert Hammond etc.

[BriWrite]

Hurricane - Bob Dylan about Ruben Carter the number one contender for the middleweight boxing title, who went to prison for a crime he said he didnt commit, very interesting story.

[delboy3]

Strictly speaking, Quizmonkey, 'Michael Caine' was not about the man himself, it was the first name that came into the head of a terrorist suspect under interrogation. But Mr Caine did lend his voice to the record.

'Nelson Mandela' - The Special AKA

'Stand Down Margaret' - The Beat (Mrs Thatcher, of course)

[OBonio]

Kevin Carter by The Manic Street Preachers... about a photographer called Kevin Carter who killed himself.

Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton... about Conor Clapton, his son who died.

Rasputin by Boney M... about Rasputin from Siberia.. Russia's greatest love machine by all accounts.. who was murdered.

Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs by Brian and Michael... About the artist Lowry

[Luceononuro]

'Hey Jude' by The Beatles.

Written for Julian Lennon apparently.

[Kay Dee]

Stuck in a moment that you can't get out of by U2 is about Michael Hutchinson.

[james412]

Edie (Ciao Baby) - The Cult.

Drug casualty Edie Sedgwick was one of Andy Warhol's actresses (played by Sienna Miller in upcoming movie "Factory Girl").

[mudbug162]

A band called Blueline, not very popular sang a song called James Earle Jones. Pretty good

[dotjhawkes]

I was Kaiser Bill's Batman- I think it was Whistleing Jack Smith.

[evenstar]

Kevin Carter - Manic Street Preachers
S.Y.M.M. (peter sutcliffe) - Manic Street Preachers

[wannaknowit]

Id rather jack, Reynolds girls

Golden oldies, rolling stones, we dont want them back

Id rather jack!!! Than fleetwood Mac!!

haha, crap I know but there's more haha.

Also there's a song by mylo out in the last year that is just a dance track with a man saying dozens of eighties famous people to it!!

ooh also Vogue, Madonna!!!!!! Obvious one that!!

[Luceononuro]

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd - basically it's them telling Neil Young to sling his hook 'cos he wrote a song about Alabama not being the nicest of States, to put it mildly.

Man In The Moon by REM is about Andy Kaufman

[sten102]

Some more:-

Roseanna by Toto, about the actress Roseanna Arquette.

My Love by Paul McCartney & Wings, about Linda McCartney.

Rock Me Amadeus by Falco, about Mozart.

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel, about model Christie Brinkley.

Oh Carol by Neil Sedaka, about Carole King.

Nightshift by the Commodores, about Jackie Wilson & Marvin Gaye.

Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus.

Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin), by Scritti Politti.

James Dean by The Eagles.

Marlon Brando by Elton John.

River by Natalie Merchant, about the late actor River Phoenix.

Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks, about Terence Stamp & Julie Christie.

Diamonds & Rust by Joan Baez, about Bob Dylan.

Walking In Memphis by Marc Cohn, about Elvis.

Angie by the Rolling Stones, about Angela Bowie.

Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack, about Don McLean.

Graceland by Paul Simon, about Elvis.

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton, about Patti Boyd.

Something by the Beatles, about Patti Boyd.

Layla by Derek & the Dominoes, about Patti Boyd.

[woofgang]

Diana by Neil Sedaka about Diana Ayoub, his baby sitter