Songs that name other bands/artists

In electronic music:

LA Style "James Brown is Dead" - James Brown

Red Neck Woman, co-written and performed by Gretchen Wilson

In the first verse: I've got posters on my wall of Skynard, Kid (Rock) and (George) Strait

In the first choirs: And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song

In the second choirs: And I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song

In the third choirs: And I know all the words to every Ol' Bocephus song. (Bocephus is Hank Williams Jr.’s nickname. It was given to him by his father)

hmm. I thought I posted something last night.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Californication" (Kurt Cobain)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Give It Away" (Bob Marley)
Jay-Z + Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind" (Bob Marley)
Lauryn Hill - "Every Ghetto Every City" (Biz Markie)
The Cranberries - "I Just Shot John Lennon" (John Lennon)
Lil Kim + TLC + Missy Elliot - "Ladies Night" (Patti LaBelle)
Weezer - "Heart Songs" (Springsteen, Pat Benatar, Gordon Lightfoot, etc.)
Lil Kim + Sisqo - "How Many Licks" (Biggie Smalls)
Amy Winehouse - "Me & Mr. Jones" (Slick Rick)
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab" (Ray Charles + Donny Hathaway)
Eminem - "My Name Is" (Primus, Nine Inch Nails)
P!nk - "So What" (Jessica Simpson)
Missy Elliot - "Work It" (Lil Kim)

whacko said:

... Pet Shop Boys... Che Guevera and Debussy with a disco beat.... Naturally, I can't remember the song.

Click to expand...

"Left To My Own Devices"

--

The Bloodhound Gang mention many others on quite a few songs from their album; the intellectual and philosophical masterpiece; "Hooray for Boobies".

The Bad Touch
"Sweat baby sweat baby sex is a Texas drought
Me and you do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about"

(It Don’t Matter Who’s in Austin) Bob Wills is Still the King – Waylon Jennings

The song also mentions: The Texas Playboys, Tommy Duncan, and Willie Nelson.

Pledge Allegiance To The 'Hag- Eric Church (the whole song is dedicated to Merle Haggard)

Five O'Clock Somewhere- Alan Jackson (mentions and features for a brief moment, Jimmy Buffet)

My Life's Been A Country Song- Chris Cagle (Allusions to Haggard, George Strait, and George Jones)

Love Your Love The Most- Eric Church (George Strait reference)

All Summer Long- Kid Rock (mentions Sweet Home Alabama)

Lotta Boot Left To Fill- Eric Church (references to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings)

Johnny Cash- Jason Aldean

Better Than This- Brad Paisley (Haggard and Willie Nelson references)

Tim McGraw- Taylor Swift

Sylvia Plath- Ryan Adams (i consider her to be an artist, at least)

It's America- Rodney Atkins (reference to Springsteen)

My Name Is- Eminem (Spice Girls)

Marshall Mathers- Eminem (Insane Clown Posse, Notorious BIG, and Tupac Shakur )

Real Slim Shady- Eminem (Will Smith, Brittany Spears, Christina Agulera, and Fred Durst)

I'm Back- Eminem (Jennifer Lopez, NSYNC, Puff Daddy, and Christina Agulera are called out)

gabbleandhiss said:

Eminem - "My Name Is" (Primus, Nine Inch Nails)

Click to expand...

I wouldn't exactly say that he's referencing the band Nine Inch Nails. The line:

Wanna see me stick nine inch nails
Through each one of my eyelids
Try 'cid and get fucked worse then my life is?

Speaking of Merle Haggard:

He’s the title character in, I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle, by the Pure Prairie League.

You Never Even Call Me By My Name mentions Merle, as well as Waylon Jennings, Charlie Pride, Steve Goodman (co-writer), and David Allen Coe.

cletus said:

Surrender by Cheap Trick...."Rolling numbers, rock and rolling, got my Kiss records out"

Click to expand...

I was checking for this one!!!!

There's also a song called "Call Paul Stanley" from a band called Bad City.

http://kissfansite.yuku.com/reply/517974/t/Re-Call-Paul-Stanley-New-Tune-from-Bad-City-clip-.html

Great song too!

cmi0616 said:

I wouldn't exactly say that he's referencing the band Nine Inch Nails. The line:

Wanna see me stick nine inch nails
Through each one of my eyelids
Try 'cid and get fucked worse then my life is?

Click to expand...

I know the lyric; I simply disagree with your assessment of it.

Getting back to the game.

Elvis is mentioned in Free Fallin' by Tom Petty

I Believe the Impossible, by The Damned - "No more Stranglers dressed in black"

Ready Steady Go, by Generation X - "I was in love with the Beatles - 'ooooo' - I was in love with the Stones - 'no satisfaction'! - I was in love with Bobby Dylan ... because I'm in love with rock 'n' roll"

Me and Bobby D, by Everything but the Girl, a reference to Dylan - "Me and Bobby D don't get along that easily. You told the world, 'be free, live life'. Tell me, is it true you beat your wife? ... "

Just Like Eddie, by Heinz, covered by Silicon Teens - refers to Eddie Cochran

Elvis is Everywhere, by Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper

Neighbourhood of Infinity, by The Fall - "I used to have this thing about Link Wray. I used to play him every Saturday. God bless Saturday."

Ocean Club, by Yello - "What the hell is a girl like Mandy Cooper doing at the lower Manhattan Ocean Club? Looking like a taxi model and with a voice like Mahalia Jackson"

Alex Chilton, by the Replacements - eulogises A.C. and his previous group, Big Star

Reminiscing, by the Little River Band - "Glenn Miller's band was better than before... we yelled and screamed for more"

When Smokey Sings, by ABC - "Luther [Vandross] croons, Sly [Stone]'s the original originator. James [Brown] screams. Marvin [Gaye] was the only innovator. But nothing can compare, nothing can compare when Smokey [Robinson] sings."

The Prince, by Madness, is about Prince Buster

White Punks on Hope, by the Crass - "They said that we were trash. Well, the name is CRASS, not CLASH. They can stuff their punk credentials, 'cos it's them that take the cash."

and...

A Flock of Seagulls took their name from the lyrics to Stranglers song Toiler on the Sea

Doris Day is mentioned in Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham!

Bowling for soup - 1985

She rocked out to Wham
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she’d get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran

Whatever happened to sitcoms, game shows
(on the radio was)

Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV


She hates time make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock?
And when did Ozzy become an actor?

Theres something about Van Halen too but . . you get the point . .

poetinahat said:

Alex Chilton, by the Replacements - eulogises A.C. and his previous group, Big Star

Click to expand...

What, no love for The Boxtops?!?!?!

Bob Dylan is mentioned in Mr. Jones by Counting Crows

SirOtter said:

What, no love for The Boxtops?!?!?!

Click to expand...

Missed that one... must have been while I was reading the letter that my baby she wrote me.

Oh, and:

Cover Band, by Red Cross (they later had to change their name to Redd Kross):

We're a cover band
We like boring songs, as long as they're not long
Listen to Kiss, Top Forty hits
We're a cover band, we're a cover band
We can't write worth shit
'cause we're illiterate
We listen to The Knack
We have Marshall stacks
Weeee cannn't wriiiite worrrrth shiiiiiiiiit

The song I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool (Sung by Barbara Mandrell) mentions Roy Rogers and George Jones.

While we're on the Redd Kross kick, "Howlin' Wolf will never understand Doty Crips, the Bloods or Zeppelin" from Jimmy's Fantasy

BTO, Tracy Lea, and Diana Ross (Miss Ross) are mentioned in Elephant Flares

Shonen Knife is about the band, and Debbie and Kim is about Debbie Gibson and Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth.
Also props for the oblique Moody Blues reference (Days of Future Passed) in 1976.

Love those guys.

Young and In Love by The Pursuit of Happiness references Evan Dando of The Lemonheads.

"His hair was like Evan's it was love at first sight..."

... Little River Band, "Reminiscing." (Glenn Miller.)

For Janis by Country Joe and the Fish was written to Janis Joplin

Not sure if it was meant to be a reference, but the only one I can think of is:

Cradle Of Filth - Tonight In Flames

(Cradle perhaps mentioning the band In Flames? It could potentially be some sort of covert tribute song...)

Poor old Johnny Ray
Sounded sad upon the radio
He moved a million hearts in mono

Click to expand...

Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen

In Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) Neil Young mentions Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) of the Sex Pistols.



(The song is also the source of the line, "it's better to burn out than to fade away," used by Kurt Cobain in his suicide note.)