Comments on: Songs and their muses

Songs and their muses

rongorongo — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:55:38 -0800

Guardian Journalist Dave Simpson went in search of people who inspired famous pop songs. We have, for example, Holly Woodlawn ('Walk on the Wild Side'), Dave Balfe ('Country House'), Melanie Coe ('She's Leaving Home'), Pattie Boyd ('Something', 'Layla' AND 'Wonderful Tonight') and Suzanne Verdal ('Suzanne' - previously)

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:05:18 -0800

No Sharona Alperin?

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:08:08 -0800

Where's Barbara Ann? Michelle? Charlie Brown? Lydia the Tattooed Lady?

By: AsYouKnow Bob

AsYouKnow Bob — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:15:50 -0800

The Walrus was Paul.

By: amyms

amyms — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:16:48 -0800

Interesting. I never knew that the Holly in "Walk on the Wild Side" was a real person.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:18:54 -0800

And there are some people that inspired great songs that you can't get their opinion about the song because, well, they became the doggie's dinner.

By: jim in austin

jim in austin — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:26:08 -0800

"My Baby Thinks She's A Train" was written by Leroy Preston about his girlfriend, who also happened to be one of my cocktail waitresses back when I tended bar in the 80's. Yep, she was a hand full...

By: anazgnos

anazgnos — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:26:22 -0800

C'mon, you can't throw a rock in NYC without hitting someone who was in Walk on the Wild Side.

By: Sailormom

Sailormom — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:27:05 -0800

How about Crazy Chester and Luke and Young Anna Lee?

By: Jikido

Jikido — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:33:57 -0800

Connie Hamzy, Little Rock fame: We're an American Band Grand Funk Railroad also in Little Rock "What do you think of these? Bill Clinton?

By: czechmate

czechmate — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:36:48 -0800

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and their Stagger Lee (with a twist)

By: weezy

weezy — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:39:22 -0800

man, that Pattie Boyd sure got around...

By: heeeraldo

heeeraldo — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:39:58 -0800

no Dave Coulier?

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:43:50 -0800

Roseanna Arquette? Warning: sooo 1980s. Patti Boyd's site makes me sad.

By: cillit bang

cillit bang — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:45:22 -0800

Sooz ('5 Colours In Her Hair')

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:46:15 -0800

Rosanna Arquette was of course the inspiration for Toto's Rosanna, also for Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:50:20 -0800

I just started reading Patti Boyd's autobiography and, although it might not be the best written book, it has some great stories and is a nice first hand glimpse into the rock world of the 60's and 70's.

By: ethnomethodologist

ethnomethodologist — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:00:13 -0800

What a lazy article. Patti Boyd must have been tough to track down. If the author had bother getting outside his living room he might have bothered to interview somebody really interesting.

By: 0xdeadc0de

0xdeadc0de — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:05:35 -0800

Don't forget Ingrid Schorr!

By: eriko

eriko — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:26:08 -0800

Also, Jane Bainter

By: adamvasco

adamvasco — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:29:59 -0800

Alice Brock

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:31:07 -0800

What about that Greek sculpture student at St Martins College? How many can there have been? Yes, perhaps a crueler subject to expose.

By: Kiablokirk

Kiablokirk — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:56:55 -0800

Man, its a shame he didn't research Kanye West's back catalogue. I'm sure there's a very interesting person (persons?) who inspired most of his songs, but for the life of me, I have no idea who they could be and who like to learn more.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:07:39 -0800

More about the cast of characters from Walk on the Wild Side.

By: penduluum

penduluum — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:08:17 -0800

Just happened to stumble upon this one on Wikipedia today -- it's the girl from Ipanema.

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:11:18 -0800

I never knew that the Holly in "Walk on the Wild Side" was a real person. In fact, you should see the movie Trash. It's basically a John Waters movie, before John Waters was making John Waters movies (the early movies, pre-Hairspray). Holly Woodlawn is not only absolutely hilarious in it, but she is frankly the closest that the Warhol entourage ever came to producing a sleazy New York version of the Hollywood star system.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:54:38 -0800

They're all real people-- the usual cast of Factory superstar misfits. Little Joe was Joe D'ellasandro. Candy was Candy Darling. Sugar Plum Fairy was Joe Campbell. Jackie was Jackie Curtis.

By: SisterHavana

SisterHavana — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:30:18 -0800

Alex Chilton. Renee Fladen.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:46:13 -0800

What, no [ Mick Jagger | Cat Stevens | Warren Beatty | Kris Kristofferson | William Donaldson | James Taylor | Daffy Duck ] and "You're So Vain"? "You're so vain / You probably think this song is about you, don't you? Don't you?" "But the song is about me, isn't it? Otherwise, why are you talking to me via the lyrics?"

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:05:26 -0800

It's bad enough that Orinoco Flow is about someone... broadcasting it to all and sundry is just nastiness.

By: Item

Item — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:22:00 -0800

Walk Away, Real Renee

By: Item

Item — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:23:15 -0800

Doh, SisterHavana. Well, mine has video shot in the actual 1960's.

By: Item

Item — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:27:00 -0800

"But the song is about me, isn't it? Otherwise, why are you talking to me via the lyrics?" That insipid song gets my vote for dumbest lyrics in popular music history. Seriously, Fred Durst or Lenny Kravitz just wish they could write that poorly.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:46:36 -0800

Pendulum: Just happened to stumble upon this one on Wikipedia today -- it's the girl from Ipanema. Fascinating. Scott Vogel from The Washington Post went to meet her. Thanks to all those who added more examples above.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:10:46 -0800

That was fun. Thanks for the post rongorongo.

By: EmpressCallipygos

EmpressCallipygos — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:06:51 -0800

There's also "Sister Christian", which the Nightranger drummer wrote for his little sister Christy. Christy is now married and reportedly always hated the song.

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:20:23 -0800

Still wondering about Jenny, even though I've got her number. Also wondering about Go-cart Mozart, amongst many others from the Boss' œuvre.

By: Manhasset

Manhasset — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:56:58 -0800

A friend of mine dated the woman who inspired two Sloan songs (the best two, imo: Underwhelmed and Deeper Than Beauty). They didn't date that long but he wrote about her as well and I know he was disappointed it didn't work out. I met her once and she was pretty cool.

By: goo

goo — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:15:09 -0800

Another Factory satellite: Patti D'Arbanville, with whom Cat Stevens reportedly fell in love when she was 14.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:12:16 -0800

Thanks goo! So "My Lady D'Arbanville" went on to be a star in lesbian screen icon, a girlfriend of Don Johnson and a queen mermaid. Metafilter earns its keep once again.