Namecheck!: Songs That Mention TV & Movie Stars in Their Lyrics

[Rick Kitchen]

Both Bruno Mars's "Uptown Funk" and Vance Joy's "Riptide" mention Michelle Pfeiffer.

[mansonlamps]

Fallout Boy's Uma Thurman not only mentions Uma Thurman (duh) but also features the music from the Munsters theme song.

[TaraS1]

Lucy Liu also gets a shout-out in Outkast's "Hey Ya"!

[Fisher King]

Paula Cole also mentions John Wayne in "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone."

(Oops - Kromm noted it first.)

 

REM sings about Maria Callas --- wherever she is...

 

Bertie Higgins' has Bogie and Bacall in "Key Largo."

 

"Puttin' On the Ritz" has Gary Cooper.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Fisher King

[turnitwayup]

Pentatonix mentions James Dean in Rose Gold.

[roamyn]

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming from 'Kent, Ohio' by Neil Young.

There's also a song that tells Neil basically to STFU, but for the life of me, I can't think of it.

[shoregirl]

'Sweet Home Alabama' by lynyrd skynyrd says"

"Well I heard Mister Young sing about her

Well I heard ole Neil put her down

Well, I hope Neil Young will remember

A southern man don't need him around any how"

Edited October 27, 2015 by shoregirl

[ParadoxLost]

You know what I learned today?  Don't google because you can't think of anything to contribute.

 

Now I've heard "General Hospi-tale" by Afternoon Delight. 

 

Damn this thread straight to hell.

[Demented Daisy]

Since we seem to be including musicians, Gym Class Heroes' "Taxi Driver" namechecks approximately 25 bands.

 

If you haven't heard

, you should do so.  Immediately.  ;-)

[ChaseMCP]

Lady Gaga's "Dance in the Dark" mentions a few random names, like Marilyn (Monroe), Judy (Garland), and (Stanley) Kubrick.

[HalcyonDays]

Love this thread - and reminds me of so many songs I used to listen too and totally forgot about.

 

Our Lady Peace's Innocent - mentions Cobain and Lennon.

Red Hot Chili' Peppers - Californication - Cobain mention

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Freefall' - Elvis Presley is mentioned

[Eucrid]

Public Enemy have the line "So let's make our own movies like Spike Lee" in the song Burn Hollywood Burn.

[Sandman87]

Resuscitating this thread with several songs. These are just the ones I can think of offhand.

Alice Cooper's "King of the Silver Screen" is a tribute to old movies, and it mentions: Fred Astaire, Rudolph Valentino, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Errol Flynn, Greta Garbo, and several movie characters.

Stretching the concept slightly to include Broadway actors: The Billie Holiday song "My Mother's Son-In-Law" has a line that goes "You don't have to sing like Bledsoe", which refers to Jules Bledsoe. He was the first actor to portray Joe in Showboat, and popularized the song "Old Man River."

Did anyone mention Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" yet? If not, now we have.

Blue Öyster Cult's "Joan Crawford" refers to...well, guess who it refers to. :)

And of course, who could forget Iron Prostate's tender ballad "Bring Me the Head of Jerry Garcia", which rhymed Garcia with diarrhea?

Lemon Demon's "Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" has lots and lots of name dropping of both real people and characters. Video here:

[BW Manilowe]

On 1/21/2015 at 1:58 PM, Snow Apple said:

If we can do athletes, Mrs. Robinson mentions Joe DiMaggio.

 

Elton John's Goodbye Norma Jean is of course about Marilyn Monroe.

 

How about historical figures?

In Don McLean's American Pie, "Lenin read a book on Marx." and his Vincent (Starry Starry Night) is about Vincent Van Gogh.

 

(Sorry if this thread should only be about TV and Movie stars)

Sorry for the way late response. I had forgotten about the thread until it got moved.

Anyway... at least some of the online lyrics sites reference "Lennon (as in John) read a book on Marx"; others say "Lenin (the Russian Communist Leader) read a book on Marx". 

Also, James Dean is mentioned 2 verses(?) above the Lenin/Lennon & Marx mention, at/near the beginning of the part about the king & the jester. The line/line fragment is, "in a coat he borrowed from James Dean".

[BW Manilowe]

On 1/16/2015 at 9:42 PM, GreekGeek said:

Dion's "Donna the Prima Donna" rhymes "girl next door" with "Zsa Zsa Gabor."

 

David Bowie's "China Girl" mentions Marlon Brando.

 

Brigitte Bardot gets a line in Elton John's "I think I'm gonna kill myself."

 

There's a funny song by Sunspot on "Scott Bakula" that rhymes his last name with "smackula," "dracula," and "crackula."

 

ETA: Here's a list from Songfacts: http://www.songfacts.com/category-songs_inspired_by_actors.php

 

Me. Bardot is also mentioned in Elton John's 1985 hit song, Wrap Her Up. So are the Mona Lisa & actress Marlene Dietrich, both in the body of the song. Kiki Dee (Elton's duet partner on Don't Go Breaking My Heart) is also mentioned; I think it was kinda half in the song & half as it was beginning to fade out. As it's fading out, Elton (& sometimes the late George Michael--whom I didn't even know was on this song until writing this post) names a number of famous women, with each name followed by "Wrap her up!", until the song finally fades to where you can't hear it anymore.

Edited June 19, 2018 by BW Manilowe
To change a word.

[Sandman87]

Brigitte Bardot is also mentioned briefly in the Pretenders' "Message of Love."

[BW Manilowe]

On 1/30/2015 at 12:10 AM, ParadoxLost said:

So give you ID card to the border guard
Your alias says you Captain John Luke Picard
Of the United Federation of Planets

 

Refreshments -Banditos
 

The character's name is actually "Captain Jean-Luc Picard". I know you probably spelled it the way the site you used did; that's cool. I just thought his accurate name should get in here too. Captain Picard is an Englishman with a French name.

Edited June 19, 2018 by BW Manilowe
To change a punctuation mark.

[GreekGeek]

1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

Sorry for the way late response. I had forgotten about the thread until it got moved.

Anyway... at least some of the online lyrics sites reference "Lennon (as in John) read a book on Marx"; others say "Lenin (the Russian Communist Leader) read a book on Marx". 

Also, James Dean is mentioned 2 verses(?) above the Lenin/Lennon & Marx mention, at/near the beginning of the part about the king & the jester. The line/line fragment is, "in a coat he borrowed from James Dean".

As "American Pie" is about the late 50's and the 60's, it would make more sense in context for it to be John Lennon, with maybe a pun on "Lenin." If we count musicians and others who aren't mentioned explicitly, the song is full of allusions: "his widowed bride" is Jackie Kennedy (or maybe Buddy Holly's wife); "the jester" is Bob Dylan; "a girl who sang the blues" is Janis Joplin, etc.

[SVNBob]

On 1/19/2015 at 9:53 AM, ParadoxLost said:

Barenaked Ladies - One Week has the Starsky/Hutch and Dukes of Hazard cars in the video.  The song references X-Files and Sailor Moon.

There's also this song by a band called Catatonia which name-checks the X-Files protagonists...in the title/chorus.

 

And going back to the 80s and name-checking other musicians, there's the opening line of "Come On Eileen" from Dexys Midnight Runners.  "Poor old Johnnie Ray".  Turns out he's name-checked in other songs too; by Billy Idol, Van Morrison, and the cultural reference-laden "We Didn't Start the Fire."

[BW Manilowe]

On 3/19/2015 at 9:06 AM, BW Manilowe said:

Ray Stevens did a parody song called I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow which mentions Barry by name in the title & the chorus, & the verses parodied various things Barry, as a singer, & many of his hits, are known for being/alleged to be, as well as incorporating a number of titles from his hits at the time (the song is from 1979, so sort of early in his career). As a huge Manilow fan (like my screen name doesn't give that away), I can say I'm honestly not embarrassed by, nor do I hate, this parody. And I'm including it--& the song below--'cause Barry has done both TV & movies in his career, so I think it counts.

And Barry himself released a song titled They Dance, which is originally from his 2001 CD Here at the Mayflower, & was subsequently released in a slightly longer "dance" version. The song name checks various stars--some maybe not so obvious--known for their dancing ability:

(Snip)

And they dance

And she feels like Ginger Rogers

They dance!

He's got the flair of Fred Astaire

(Snip)

And they dance!

He's as hot as John Travolta

And they dance!

She's as cool as Janet J. (Janet Jackson)

(Snip)

And they dance!

He's Antonio Banderas

They dance!

She's Ann Miller on the screen

 

Here's I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow by Ray Stevens--The cover art for the single & its sheet music parody the cover for Barry's Barry Manilow II album. The song is originally from Ray's album The Feeling's Not Right Again. The front (see last link) & back covers are parodies of the front &  back covers of Barry's 3rd album, Tryin' To Get The Feeling.

 

And here's They Dance--I somehow forgot the song also name checks Ricky Martin & Britney Spears, as follows:

And they dance!

He's as wild as Ricky Martin

They dance!

And she's Britney (Spears) when she spins

Edited June 19, 2018 by BW Manilowe
To belatedly italicize some things and make other fixes.

[Lugal]

Celtic band Gaelic Storm did a song called "The Night I Punched Russell Crowe"

Here's the live version where they explain the history of the song.

[Sandman87]

Frank Zappa mentions celebrities in numerous songs, especially in live songs. He devoted an entire song to Steve Vai picking up a groupie ("Stevie's Spanking"), and there's one about Nixon called "Dickie's Such an Asshole."  Also "Andy" takes its name from Andy Devine. And then there's "Orrin Hatch on Skis" and "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbeque."

And speaking of Zappa, there's the Nurse With Wound track "Subterranean Zappa Blues", which is basically a cover of "Trouble Every Day."

[catlover79]

Do TV theme songs count? Lee Majors sang the theme song to his 1980s show, The Fall Guy. The theme song is entitled "The Unknown Stuntman". Several celebrities are mentioned, the first of which is Mr. Majors' ex-wife Farrah Fawcett. Another starlet mentioned only by her first name is Bo Derek. Here are the lyrics:

Well, I’m not the kind to kiss and tell, but I’ve been seen with Farrah
I’m never seen with anything less than a nine, so fine.

I’ve been on fire with Sally Field, gone fast with a girl named Bo,
But somehow they just don’t end up as mine.
It’s a death defying life I lead, I take my chances.

I die for a livin’ in the movies and TV.
But the hardest thing I ever do is watch my leading ladies
Kiss some other guy while I’m bandaging my knee.

I might fall from a tall building, I might roll a brand new car.
’Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that made Redford such a star.

I never spend much time in school but I taught ladies plenty.
It’s true I hire my body out for pay, Hey Hey.

I’ve gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch.
But when I end up in the hay it’s only hay, Hey Hey.
I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine.
’Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine.