Of course, these are just the tunes that came to my mind as I was writing this. There are many other examples out there. Leave a comment and remind me of some of the great songs I've missed.
Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes
This song, which references T. Rex, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, is considered an anthem of the glam rock era. It was written for the band by David Bowie, who was a fan and had heard they were on the verge of a split. The tune catapulted Mott the Hoople to stardom; the band subsequently repaid Bowie’s faith in them by never recording another hit and quickly breaking up.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
This song was written in response to two Neil Young songs in which he is critical of Southern slavery and racism – “Southern Man” and “Alabama.” While the lyric “Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her/Well I heard old Neil put her down/Well I hope Neil Young will remember/A southern man don’t need him around anyhow” is commonly interpreted as Skynyrd telling Neil Young to mind his own business, singer Ronnie Van Zant has said the song’s been misinterpreted and that it’s actually agreeing with Young’s criticisms of southern racism.
Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel #2
Okay, so Leonard doesn’t make a direct reference to another musician in this tune. But the woman about whom Cohen sings “You told me again you prefer handsome men/But for me you would make an exception” was long understood to be Janis Joplin. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that Cohen finally admitted the song was referencing his brief relationship with Joplin. In a 1994 BBC interview, he expressed regret over using personal stories in the song, calling it “the sole indiscretion in my professional life.”
Bob Dylan - Song to Woody
This song, from Dylan’s eponymous 1962 album, is his tribute to folk legend Woody Guthrie. By the time Dylan wrote this song, Guthrie’s career was in rapid decline – he was suffering from Huntington’s Disease, his first wife had left him, and a campfire accident left him unable to play the guitar. Dylan eventually met his idol when Guthrie was hospitalized in Brooklyn the early 1960s, and would play for him.
Wilco - the Late Greats
Since – if history is indeed our greatest teacher – I’m virtually incapable of posting anything these days without a reference to Wilco, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to see this here. I’m also cheating a bit with this one, as it doesn’t actually reference a real band. But outside of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and everything on the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack, this has to be the best song about a fictional band ever. (Actually, a band called The Late Greats does exist, though they took their name from the title of this song).
Veruca Salt - Volcano Girls
This song actually contains three separate musical references. The lyric “I told you about the Seether before/You know the one that’s neither or nor/Well here’s another clue if you please/The Seether’s Louise” reference’s the band’s only other hit single, “Seether,” as well as Veruca Salt member Louise Post. The third musical reference in the song comes from the structure of this lyric, which is a Beatles reference, as it mimics a lyric in the song “Glass Onion”: “I told you about the walrus and me, man/You know that we’re as close as can be, man/Well here’s another clue for you all/The walrus was Paul” (that lyric, of course, references both Paul McCartney and another Beatles Song, “I am the Walrus.”)
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke
This song, from Stevie Wonder’s 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life, was written as a tribute to Duke Ellington, who had recently died. In the lyrics, Stevie name-checks other greats of the Big Band era, too: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Glenn Miller.
