The Smiley Smile Message Board

I feel a Spotify playlist coming on.... I want to hear songwriters writing about other songwriters! Complimentary is the gist, I suppose - I nearly put Randy Newman's song about ELO in this post but it's apparent he hates them. So we want songs repping for the subject, and pretty explicitly too where possible. Covers don't count, btw.

Todd Rundgren - Baby Let's Swing (about Laura Nyro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqYNJXr15u4

George Harrison - Pure Smokey (about Smokey Robinson) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5lctwyDb68

Ringo Starr - Harry's Song (About Harry Nilsson) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzCjo4vvxFo


*Caveat - I know we all know a tonne of songs by musicians of varying fame and worth about BW, but I don't want this thread to devolve into 'my mates band on youtube wrote a song about how Brian should get out of bed cos it's like tragic.' I'd bet my aunt we have a thread like that already. So lets not make it all about Brian.

Not at all. He hired Jeff Lynne to produce him just a few years later. It's a bit of fun, but not meant to be mean-spirited.

And you do have to include John Cale's Mr. Wilson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UuyRvoITY4

Jimmy Webb - PF Sloan
Lindsay Buckingham - DW Suite
Carole King - Oh, Neil
Neil Sedaka - Oh, Carol
Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
Joan Baez - Diamonds & Rust
Beach Boys - Stevie (lol)

David Bowie - Song For Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan - Song For Woody

Replacements - Alex Chilton

Syd Barrett - Bob Dylan Blues!
Pink Floyd - Shine On Your Crazy Diamond

They do it a lot in Country music. 

for instance.  Bob Wills invented "western swing' way back in the 30's, and after he died there were a TON of tribute songs.

My favorite is "They're taking Bob Back to Tulsa", never heard who sings it.  Very hard to find, I just heard it on an XM radio station a few times.  Bob Wills wrote a song called "Take me Back to Tulsa".

Waylon Jennings wrote one called "Bob Wills is Still the King", etc.  Just about every famous country singer has tributed him in smoe way.

Also there's a long line of songs that pay tribute to other songs, for instance Ernest Tubb had a famous song called "Walking the Floor" that's great.  Vern Gosdin had a big hit called "Set 'Em up Joe (and play walking the floor)" about being at a bar and playing Ernest Tubb's song until he wears it out every night. 

"All my Neon Neighbors, they like what I play... 'cuz they've heard it every night since you walked away.  Yeah Everyday they replace that 'ol B-24... 'cuz every night I run the needle through Walkin' The Floor.... Everynight I run the needle through Walkin' the Floor"

Both great songs.

Another one Bob Wills recorded was called "Faded Love", a really huge song back in the day.  The Oakridge boys wrote "The Yall Come Back Saloon" about it... an old cowboy gets drunk in a saloon every night, and asks the singer there to sing him "Faded Love" every night.

"In a Voice soft and trembling, she'd sing her song to Cowboy... as a smokey halo circled 'round her raven hair.  All the bars Fallen Angels, and the pinball playin' rounders, would stop the games that they'd been playin' for the Losers evening prayer.     Faded Love.  Faded Memories, how they linger in a mind!  Miles and years played the cowboy like an Old Melody; out of tune.... and out of time"

DEAR BRIAN - Chris Rainbow

nice song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDnLqiJCyvk

A couple more Country ones I thought of.  Hank Williams Jr. mentions his father or one of his friends in about half the songs he ever wrote.  I don't think I've ever heard anybody else do that, that much besides Snoop Dogg.  "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" is probably the best. 

George Jones sang a MOTHERFUCKER about all kinds of peple called "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" that I'm sure most people have heard.  He released it shortly after Waylon Jennings passed away. 

"You know this whole world Is full of singers, But just a few are chosen
To tear your heart out, When they sing
Imagine life without 'em...All your radio heroes
Like the outlaw Who walks through Jesse's dreams"

Waylon Jennings was known as "The Outlaw", he eventually met a country singer named Jesse Coulter, they married and he calmed down a lot and became a homebody. 

"No there'll never be another Red headed stranger, a man in black And Folsom Prison Blues,
The Okie from Maskogee, and Hello Darlin
Lord i wonder Who's gonna fill their shoes"

The Red Headed Stranger is Willie Nelson, the Man in Black is Johnny Cash, The Okie From Maskogee is Merle Haggard, and "Hello Darlin'  was a famous song by Conway Twitty.

"Who's gonna fill their shoes
Who's gonna stand that tall
Who's gonna play in the opry,
And the wombash cannon ball,
Who's gonna give their heart and soul
To get to me and you
Lord i wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes

God bless the boys from memphis, Blue suede shoes and Elvis
Much to soon he left this world in tears
They tore up the 50's ol' Jerry lee and Charlie
And Go Cat, Go! Still echoes through the years"

Charlie would be Carl Perkins I suppose. 

"You know the heart of country music
Still beats in Luke the Drifter
You could tell it when he sang I Saw the Light"

Luke the Drifter was a pseudonym Hank Williams wrote and recorded Gospel songs under.  Chilling.

"Ol' Marty, Hank, and Lefty
Why i can feel 'em right here with me
On this silver eagle rolling through the night"

Marty Robbins, Hank Wililams, and Lefty Frizzel

On top of that, add George Jones' unbelievable twang and it makes it a really amazing song. 

Perhaps the most obvious one:

Traveling Wilburys (specifically Bob Dylan & Tom Petty): "Tweeter & The Monkey Man" (Springsteen)

Also (and some of these are flat out tributes):

Traveling Wilburys: "You Took My Breath Away" (Roy Orbison)
Paul McCartney: "Dear Friend" & "Here Today" (John Lennon)
George Harrison: "All Those Years Ago" (John Lennon)
Paul Simon: "The Late Great Johnny Ace" (Johnny Ace / John Lennon)
Mike Love: "Brian's Back" (Brian Wilson)
Barenaked Ladies: "Brian Wilson" (Brian Wilson)
Ringo Starr: "Never Without You" (George Harrison)
Carl Wilson: "Heaven" (Dennis Wilson) / Brian Wilson later covered the song dedicating it to Carl.
Tom Petty: "Room At The Top" (Carl Wilson)

oh hell yes....

and I'll raise you Left of the Dial by the Replacements for REM!

I can't believe I didn't recognise half of these! Especially Alex Chilton. Bah!

Wirestone, I guess I was thinking in terms of the rest of that Randy Newman album, which isn't exactly nice to anyone. Plus, why write a really straight song about ELO? It's bizarre.

John Lennon  - How Do You Sleep? (Paul McCartney)
Flaming Lips - Thank You Jack White For the Fiber Optic Jesus That You Gave Me (Jack and Meg White)
Elton John - Empty Garden (John Lennon)

Alan Carvell - every Wilson tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2FD8ktWpy4
Stonewall Jackson - washed my hands in Muddy Water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-n7tBHw_o
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlryei9U3sg (Lloyd Cole (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mZ39dn_P4s))

I'll check Winamp.

Did you mean re-release? Because that song was out long before Waylon died.


Kris Kristofferson wrote some stuff about Johnny Cash:

- The Pilgrim (also inspired by Dennis Hopper a.o.)
- Good Morning John

Pink Floyd - Poles Apart - On the 1994 album The Division Bell - Written about both Syd Barrett and Roger Waters

Found via the song vid via the song vid etc.:

Wavves - I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6jurpYpXUo

ABC----"When  Smokey [Robinson] Sings"
Joni Mitchell----"Furry [Lewis] Sings The Blues"
Ian Dury and the Blockheads----"Sweet Gene Vincent"

Some French singer named France Gall had a hit with Ella Elle L'a: Ella Fitzgerald (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUPxwKso_pQ)

Not to forget the Fatima Mansions song "Gary Numan's Porsche":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFqf8HRPHEw