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I'll Take "Songs About People" for $200

Truth be told there really was no Maybellene, but Chuck made her sound like a real person when she started doing the things she used to do.  And there was also no Layla, but there clearly was Patty Harrison with the name changed to protect the innocent.  Was there a ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann or even a Caroline to say no to?  I don't know, but I do know that there was a real Prudence of Beatles fame.  And there really was an Elizabeth Reed.  So my question is, what are other songs that feature the name of a person in its lyrics are actually about real people?
onhwy61

Showing 4 responses by larryi

larryi
4,233 posts
 
If you are an outlaw or a killer, you are more likely to be immortalized in song.  Google songs about Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde and the like and you will see.  If you do something really horrific, a nursery rhyme will be written about you: "Lizzy Borden took and axe, gave her mother 40 whacks..."
larryi
4,233 posts
 
Plenty of biographical songs, like Dylan's "Hurricane" (Rubin "Hurricane" Carter) and Joan Baez' "Joe Hill" (labor organizer).  
larryi
4,233 posts
 
The Beatles' "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" refers to McCarney's uncle and to the American Admiral William "Bull" Halsey.

For a somewhat obscure reference, I like the Black Box Recorder song "Lord Lucan is Missing" (a member of the House of Lords that tried to kill his ex wife, murdered the nanny in the same attack and then went missing for the past 42 years--it was widely believed that his connection to people in high places and wealth gave him the means to evade capture).
larryi
4,233 posts
 

Al,

If you google something like the "real girl from Ipanema" you will find pictures of what she now looks like in her 70's--still stunning.  Nothing wrong with being immortalized in song that way.  But, what if you were the inspiration behind those songs whose theme is: she is ugly but I love her anyway (e.g., "My Funny Valentine)?

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