[Music] Songs in which real people are namechecked in the title or the lyrics

[Bod]

Hello by The Beloved has about 30 names and even manages to rhyme Fred Astaire with Vince Hillair

 

[Icy Gull]

Yul Bryner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc_LRjlbTU

 

[Weststander]

Mentions Jules Rimet, Gazza, Shearer, Psycho (Pearce), Nobby (Stiles) etc.

 

[Stato]

Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Little Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis, James Dean. 'Sugar Plum Fairy' also refers to a real person, but not by his name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KaWSOlASWc

 

[Acker79]

Vogue
Sir Duke

 

[Acker79]

Science Fiction/Double Feature
Hollywood (from stage show Eugenius! - largely references fictional characters, but also George Lucas)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipObSiFHpyY

 

[AmexRuislip]

Pete Tong says "A Tribe Called Quest" in the video.

 

[Weststander]

 

[Stato]

Hello by The Beloved has about 30 names and even manages to rhyme Fred Astaire with Vince Hillair

Tommy Cannon - Bobby Ball. Classic!

And speaking of Palace players, how about Attila's 'Roll Up For The Donkey Derby'?

Nelson Mandela, Gordon Smith, Colin Moynihan (in the original which I can't find on Youtube), Gary O'Reilly, John Pemberton, Alan Pardew, Gary Pallister.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0z9KHY0eUQ

 

[marlowe]

Abraham isn't mentioned in 'Desolation Row'. He is mentioned in 'Highway 61 Revisited'. If biblical characters are accepted as real under your rules, he does mention Cain and Able and Noah, taking 'Desolation Row' to nine. If they're not, it's only six. Robin Hood could take it to ten. There is as much evidence for his existence as there is for any of the Biblical names.

My error. Wasn't sure if Abraham actually existed. Assumed he did. Possibly not. Was pretty certain Cain, Abel and Noah were fictional. The same with Robin Hood who is to my understanding just a legend although he may have been based on a real person.

 

[raymondo]

Wings- Band on the Run: Picasso's Last Words; Mrs Vandebilt
Ian Dury- Reasons to be cheerful, part 3: Buddy Holly [and more, probs...]
Jethro Tull - Errr Jethro Tull; and My God

 

[Weststander]

Written by Ray Davies about a real school mate of his.

 

[Stato]

Kenesaw Mountain Landis, (Real bloke, was commissioner during the Blacksox Scandal) 'Shoe-less'Joe Jackson (the baseball player), Joe Jackson, (the singer songwriter from Portsmouth) The great Elvis Costello

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46f3HTmNDw

 

[marlowe]

Where Do You Go To My Lovely : Peter Starstedt
Namechecks:
Marlene Dietrich, Sacha Distel, Aga Khan, Picasso, Zizi Jeanmaire. Also namechecks the Rolling Stones.

https://youtu.be/L8XQZYIiNgo

 

[Insel affe]

Razor Smith who was a rockabilly early 80s during the usual gang/turf wars when just your fists and the occasional sword was used, he graduated to sawn off shotguns and being a bouncer at the rockin clubs in London, he then started robbing banks and latter wrote a book, which was called “a few kind words & a loaded gun” not a bad read, about the old days and people I knew.


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[Robinjakarta]

 

[Napier]

The rules are:
1. Either the full name, first name or surname must be mentioned in either the title or lyrics.
2. If only the first name or surname is used it must be in reference to an actual person.
3. Songs which are allegedly about a particular person but none of that person's names are used are not permitted. ("You're so Vain" allegedly about Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty is not permitted)
4. All name references must be to an actual person, living or dead, not to a fictional character.

I'll start the ball rolling with an exhaustive list of Bob Dylan songs who evidentally is something of a name dropper. In "Desolation Row" he namechecks seven people and in "I Shall be Free" he mentions eight. Can anyone beat this

Song for Bob Dylan - David Bowie

 

[timbha]

My perfect cousin by the Undertones was about a band member’s cousin called Kevin

 

[Weststander]

 

[Alonso Moseley]

Frank Lloyd Wright - Simon and Garfunkel
John Wayne is Big Leggy - Haysi Fantayzee