Rock and Roll artist allusions

[bcdoc]

I heard “Mr. Jones” by Counting Crows, and the reference to Bob Dylan. I started wondering, who is alluded to more in song: Bob Dylan or The Beatles?

Dylan: “The Seeker” by The Who, and “Bob Dylan’s

49th Beard” by Wilco;

The Beatles have “Life in a Northern Town” by the Dream Academy, “The Seeker” (The Who), and “Ballad of John and Yoko.”

I know there are more but my procrastination to avoid work got the best of me. I know of other allusions - “Frank Zappa and the Mother’s” is in Deep Purple’s

“Smoke on the Water.”

Any help?

[Beltmann]

Brian Fallon alludes to the Beatles in "Forget Me Not": And bring a football top and a play that you wrote / And an English song by a band that you love / Here comes the sun, little darling

 

The joyous music video, it could be argued, also alludes to the Beatles playing at the Cavern Club.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jf4qiIs2AU

[tinnitus photography]

House of Love - "Beatles and the Stones" (also Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes")

 

 

 

the best one, however no references to Dylan here. ("It's a new generation of electric white boy blues!")

Sebadoh - Gimme Indie Rock (Dinosaur Jr, VU, Stooges, Pussy Galore, Thurston Moore, Husker Du)
 

[Chez]

Drive-By Truckers are the champions.  Much of the classic double album "Southern Rock Opera" tracks the rise and fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd and includes a song partly about Neil Young ("Ronnie and Neil"), another which name checks Mollie Hatchet, Blue Oyster Cult and AC/DC ("Let There Be Rock") and a third ("Factory") which references The Who.  They also wrote songs about GG Allin ("The Night GG Allin Came To Town"), George Jones ("George Jones Talkin" Cell Phone Blues") and Sam Phillips, Carl Perkins, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis ("Carl Perkins' Cadillac").  

 

Lynyrd Skynyrd responded to Neil Young's "Southern Man" in "Sweet Home Alabama."

 

The Waco Brothers have a song ("The Death of Country Music")  which name checks many of the late great country stars.

 

Ian Drury has "Sweet Gene Vincent."'

 

The Replacements have "Alex Chilton."

 

Weezer has "Just Like Buddy Holly."

 

Oh, and then there's Don McLean's American Pie.  

[tinnitus photography]

Minutemen - Tour Spiel "i dreamed I was e bloom

but I woke up joe bouchard"

 

Minutemen - History Lesson pt 2

Our band could be your life
Real names'd be proof
Me and mike watt played for years
Punk rock changed our lives

We learned punk rock in Hollywood
Drove up from Pedro
We were fucking corn dogs
We'd go drink and pogo

Mr. Narrator
This is Bob Dylan to me
My story could be his songs
I'm his soldier child

Our band is scientist rock
But I was E. Bloom and Richard Hell
Joe Strummer, and John Doe
Me and Mike Watt, playing guitar

[Chez]

^^^ Love that Minutemen song!  Good choice.

[bcdoc]

House of Love - "Beatles and the Stones" (also Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes")

 

 And then mentions T Rex :

“Television man is crazy saying we're juvenile delinquent wrecks

Oh, Man, I need TV when I've got T.Rex”

 

[tinnitus photography]

^^^ Love that Minutemen song!  Good choice.

i have met more than a few musicians in my time, but i can't think of anyone more genuine than Mike Watt. 

[Chez]

A couple more that came to me this morning:

 

Richard Thompson's "Guitar Heroes" is an homage to Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, Chuck Berry, James Burton and Cliff Richard & The Shadows.

 

X mentions a host of punk bands on " I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" (Minutemen, Flesh Eaters, DOA, Big Boys and Black Flag). 

[jff]

John Lennon references Dylan (and foreshadows the Counting Crows) in Yer Blues.  "I feel so suicidal just like Dylan's Mr. Jones."

 

I'm not sure if this counts, but Hendrix tossed Beatles guitar riffs into his guitar playing a lot.  

 

And, of course, incorporating Hendrix's Third Stone From the Sun riff into a blues jam has become as cliche as yelling Freebird.

 

Red Hot Chili Peppers name checked MIke Watt and Firehose in one of the songs on Mother's Milk.

[calvino]

No lyrics, but Miles Davis named check people in song titles --- Willie Nelson, Billy Preston, Mr. Pastorius   - he also used boxer's names - Ali and Sugar Ray 

[jff]

Van Morrison "Jackie Wilson Said"

[i'm only sleeping]

Edwyn Collins - "The Beatles"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-4T0nJlVHI

[jff]

David Bowie:  Song for Bob Dylan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPxnCNRm_nY

Jimi Hendrix "That's Bob Dylan's grandma over there"  (referring to Noel Redding at Monterrey Pop)

[ih8music]

Isn't there an entire genre of hip hop devoted to name dropping and calling out other artists?

[PopTodd]

 

Minutemen - Tour Spiel "i dreamed I was e bloom

but I woke up joe bouchard"

 

Minutemen - History Lesson pt 2

Our band could be your life

Real names'd be proof

Me and mike watt played for years

Punk rock changed our lives

We learned punk rock in Hollywood

Drove up from Pedro

We were fucking corn dogs

We'd go drink and pogo

Mr. Narrator

This is Bob Dylan to me

My story could be his songs

I'm his soldier child

Our band is scientist rock

But I was E. Bloom and Richard Hell

Joe Strummer, and John Doe

Me and Mike Watt, playing guitar

 

The Minutemen - "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"

 

also...

fIREHOSE - "For the Singer of REM"

fIREHOSE - "Song for Elizabeth Cotten"

[tinnitus photography]

The Soft Boys - Mr Kennedy

 

"Coming into Cleveland

Riding in the van with Sebadoh"

[tinnitus photography]

The Minutemen - "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing"

 

also...

fIREHOSE - "For the Singer of REM"

fIREHOSE - "Song for Elizabeth Cotten"

but aside from the titles, those people are never mentioned in the song...

[jff]

Sonic Youth - "Screaming Skull" name checks Superchunk, Pat Smear, Lemonheads, Husker Du, and the record label SST.  And there's a band called Screaming Skull now.

[tinnitus photography]

GBV - Pendulum

 

"Come on over tonight; we'll put on some Cat Butt and do it up right."

[Chez]

A song that haunted me in high school, "The South's Gonna Do it Again" by The Charlie Daniels Band is a who's who of 1970's Southern Rock -- Marshall Tucker Band, Skynyrd, Dickie Betts, Elvin Bishop, ZZ Top, Wet Willie and Barefoot Jerry.  And now I won't be able to get that song out of my head.

[Chez]

Pavement's "Range Life" roasts Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots.

[ih8music]

Frank Turner's "Wherefore Art Thou Gene Simmons" takes quite a good jab at him...

 

 

A mother said, "Beware of boys in bands
And certainly don't let them write you songs
For they will come to you on bended knee and kiss your pretty hands
When the singing's done, and the suns up they'll be gone."
While her mother has a point, I might resent the implication.
That every boy who plays guitar plays women like Gene Simmons.

4600 photographs, stuck into a scrapbook beneath your bed.
4599 broken hearts, and one more you can't get out of your head.
And though you swear you can remember every pair of lips you've kissed
Deep down you're scared there's 1 or 2 you might've missed.

Oh, Chaim Witz, wherefore art though?
Does your mother know who you are now?

Not that I can point a finger, I've been a sinner just the same
Fallen hard in love in motels and by sunrise lost their name.
And I have crept out into cold air in the smallest hours to leave
And in the pockets of my jacket I've kept my last infidelities

A navy coin and a broken plastic compass that someone gave me.
That can't find north anymore. Just like me.

Oh, Gene Simmons, wherefore art though?
I could sure use a hand on my shoulder now.

'Cause when fedelity runs low that theres the moment when you choose
In the life of things you love, some you keep, some you lose.

[Winston Legthigh]

Pavement's "Range Life" roasts Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots.

 

I've never subscribed to the notion that those were roasts.

 

Slow Turning by John Hiatt: "Now I'm in my car, I've got the radio down, and I'm yelling at my kids, because they're banging like Charlie Watts!"

[jw harding]

Dylan:

 

"I'm listening to Neil Young, I gotta turn up the sound. Someone's always yelling, 'turn it down.'" Sometimes he'd change the lyrics to Annie Lenox, others likely.

 

Roll on John was about John Lennon to some extent, don't recall the tune that well. 

 

Have you guys ever heard the tune American Pie by Don McLean? It's awesome.