Songs about Singers

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: 14fret
Date: 03 Oct 04 - 07:29 PM

'Living Legend' about Bob Gibson by Shel Silverstein.
'Walking in Memphis' about Elvis by Marc Cohn.
'Alive and Well' about Elvis by Jack Hudson.
'Of Missing Persons' about Lowell George by Jackson Browne.

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Margret RoadKnight
Date: 03 Oct 04 - 08:23 PM

"Phil" about Phil Ochs, by Tom Paxton
"Ma Rainey" about the Mpther of the Blues, by Memphis Minnie
"Ain't Never Heard You Sing the Blues" about B.B. King, by Steve Goodman
"Leonard Cohen's Never Gonna Bring My Groceries In" by Nancy White

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST,cookieless celtaddict
Date: 03 Oct 04 - 09:52 PM

Eric Bogle also wrote "Katie in the Dreamtime Land" for Kate Wolf. ("and I sang Cornflower Blue, and thought of you..."
Joe Dady wrote "Man with the Banjo" for Pete Seeger.
Larry Kaplan wrote "Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts" for Stephen Foster.
My husband and I just had this conversation in the car driving home from Mt. Washington tonight.

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 04:26 AM

Your own El Greko has written a song "I Wish I could Have Met You"
which is a tribute to Stan Rogers

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: fat B****rd
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 05:55 AM

John Mayall "J.B. Lenoir" and ABC's "When Smokey Sings"

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 07:48 AM

Bert Jansch wrote Needle of Death for Buck Polly, a UK folkie back in the sixties.

Pete

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 12:51 PM

Crazy Amsterdam {for Colin Scott} by Allan Taylor.

Scotty you're a terrible man
How you do it I don't understand
A sort of rambling gambling Desperate Dan

The older UK folkies will remember Colin, he would sing anything in order to get the audience singing, and it worked every time.
Colin Scott THE cure for apathy, lovely man.
Giok

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST,milk monitor
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 01:58 PM

Sweet Gene Vincent   by Ian Dury.

Elvis Has Just Left the Building    by   Zappa.

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: muppitz
Date: 05 Oct 04 - 05:06 AM

Beth Neilsen-Chapman wrote a lovely song called "Sand and Water", in memory of her husband.
John Wright has covered it, and done a pretty good job, but the original is still the best.

Muppitz x

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 03:45 AM

Let's Think about Livin' - Bob Luman

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: eddie1
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 03:49 AM

On the "Class of 55" album Johnny Cash , Jerry Lee Lewis , Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins did "I remember The King" about Elvis.

Archie Fisher wrote and recorded "Gunsmoke and Whisky" about Edinburgh singer/guitarist Len Partridge.

Iain Mackintosh recorded (and I think wrote) "The Songs That Harry Sang" about Harry Chapin.

Eddie

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Scrump
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 05:45 AM

Harvey Andrews has a song "Too Daniel O'Donnell"

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST,Sheridan
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 06:23 AM

"Bessie Smith" by The Band

"Ramblin' Jack Elliott" by John Herald

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Scrump
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 06:23 AM

A few more songs about Buddy Holly:

Tribute to Buddy Holly by Mike Berry
I Feel Like Buddy Holly by Alvin Stardust

Three Stars by Eddie Cochran was about Buddy, Big Bopper and Richie Valens.

Then there was Just Like Eddie by Heinz (about Eddie Cochran).

And then there was "A Million Housewives Every Day, Pick Up A Can Of Beans And Say, Beanz Meanz Heinz" :-)

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Sugwash
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 06:52 AM

Tom Lewis's song 'Cyril Said It All Before' about Cyril Tawney.

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Scrump
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 06:54 AM

And don't forget "Nice One Cyril" - oops, that wasn't about Cyril Tawney, I'll get me coat :-)

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST,Bainbo at work
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 07:11 AM

The Night Hank Williams Came To Town, by Johnny Cash

When Maddy Dances, by Ralph McTell (about Maddy Prior)

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: mrmoe
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 07:11 AM

how about Neil Sedaka's "Stephen".....a beautiful tribute to Stephen Foster....

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Scrump
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 07:17 AM

When guesting on a Dubliners album, Christy Moore did that tribute song to Luke Kelly.

The original poster asked for Dylan to be excluded, for some reason.

But he has been mentioned above, so: there was also "Bob Dylan's Dream" sung by Dylan himself, and covered by Peter, Paul & Mary. That didn't mention Dylan by name in the song though.

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 09:01 AM

"songs that Harry wrote" (Chapin) was written by Harvey Andrews, who also wrote "Please don't get on the plane" (Holly)

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Scrump
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 09:06 AM

"Tribute to a King" by William Bell was about Otis Redding, written after he died in a plane crash.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE DEATH OF JIMMY MARTIN (Tom Russell)
From: Midchuck
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 09:23 AM

"The Death of Jimmy Martin," by Tom Russell:

(Melody is more or less "Rocky Top.")

There's a hound dog runnin' all alone through the piney woods,
The howling scares the soul out of me.
There's a Jay bird singing up a funeral dirge,
In ragtime harmony.
Barb'ry Allen rolled over in her grave all morning,
There were roses growing out of her head.
Well, God's gonna burn down Nashville tonight.
Jimmy Martin's dead.
The great Jimmy Martin's gone dead.

You got twenty-twenty vision but you're walkin' 'round blind,
You Grand Ole Opry fools.
With your hypocritic judgments and your self-righteous snobbery
And your God damn false-hearted rules.

You scorned Hank Williams and you shunned Jimmy Martin,
Boys who sang with tongues on fire.
Well, God's gonna burn down your Grand Ole Opry,
Hear the screaming of the hypocrites and liars.
They feel safer now that Jimmy has expired....

Run, Pete run, your master's callin' you.
He's waitin on up ahead.
But don't look back, 'cause Nashville's burning down
Jimmy Martin's dead.
The great Jimmy Martin's gone dead.

Subject: RE: Songs about Singers
From: Grab
Date: 16 Mar 07 - 10:04 AM

"Tower of Song" by Leonard Cohen name-checks Hank Williams.

"Calling Elvis" - Dire Straits.

Ry Cooder was on Mike Harding last night with a song called "Three chords and the truth" about Joe Hill, Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger.

Graham.