Back in the days when the latest films were only shown in movie theaters,
going to the cinema was seemingly more of an event than it is now.
Many of the major movie stars of years gone by are transfixed in
our memories and their names and faces conjure up a very different
entertainment world compared with modern times.
Over the decades, songwriters have celebrated such
movie icons or have made reference to them in a wide range of tunes.
One of the first songs that comes
to mind is BETTE DAVIS EYES,
the Jackie DeShannon/Donna Weiss
composition recorded by Kim Carnes.
Produced by Val Garay on EMI America,
the Grammy-winning single topped the
Billboard Hot 100 in May 1981
and reached the UK Top Ten.
Not only is actress Bette Davis celebrated
but the very first line of the song’s lyric
references another Hollywood legend:
“Her hair is Harlow gold”.
The words further
allude to movie royalty with the line:
“She’s got Greta Garbo’s standoff sighs,
she’s got Bette Davis Eyes”.
Here’s a YouTube link:
Nine years after the success of BETTE DAVIS EYES, Madonna crested the Billlboard chart in 1990 with the song she co-wrote with Shep Pettibone titled VOGUE.
This stylish ballad from her “Like A Prayer” album mentioned not just Bette Davis, Greta Garbo and (Jean) Harlow, but also (Marilyn) Monroe,(Marlene) Dietrich, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean,
Grace Kelly, Gene Kelly
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers,
Rita Hayworth, Lauren (Bacall),
Katharine (Hepburn) & Lana (Turner).
CELLULOID HEROES
(Ray Davies)
by The Kinks
(RCA: 1972)
refers to Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, Bela Lugosi,
Bette Davis, George Sanders, Mickey Rooney, Marilyn (Monroe)
THE CHANUKAH SONG
(Adam Sandler/Ian Maxstone-Graham/Lewis Morton)
by Adam Sandler
(Warner Bros: 1995)
refers to James Caan, Kirk Douglas, Dinah Shore, Paul Newman,
Goldie Hawn, O.J. Simpson, Harrison Ford, The Three Stooges, Tom Cruise
CHINA GIRL
(David Bowie/Iggy Pop)
by David Bowie
(EMI America: 1983)
refers to Marlon Brando
‘I’m feeling tragic like I’m Marlon Brando’
COWBOY HOP
(Ernest Tucker)
by Ernest Tucker
(Jubilee: 1959)
refers to Roy Rogers, Gene Autry
COWBOY MOVIES
(Waylon Jennings)
by Waylon Jennings
(BMG: 1993)
refers to John Wayne, The Muppets
THE CURLY SHUFFFLE
(Peter Quinn)
by Jump ‘N The Saddle
(Atlantic: 1983)
refers to Curly, Moe, Shemp of The Three Stooges
DEAR MR. GABLE
(Roger Edens)
A 12-bar verse written as an intro
to the 1913 song
YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU
(Joseph McCarthy/James V. Monaco).
The intro plus the song were performed by Judy Garland
while gazing at a photo of Clark Gable in the 1937 MGM musical
“Broadway Melody Of 1938”.
DETECTIVE AGENCY
(The Lucksmiths)
by The Lucksmiths
(Candle: 1995)
refers to Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck
DONE TOO SOON
(Neil Diamond)
by Neil Diamond
(Uni: 1970)
refers to Fanny Brice, Humphrey Bogart,
Chico Marx, Buster Keaton
ELECTROLITE
(Michael Stipe/Bill Berry/Peter Buck/Mike Mills)
by R.E.M.
(Warner Bros: 1997)
refers to Martin Sheen, Steve McQueen, Jimmy Dean
GOOD DAY
(Ray Davies)
by The Kinks
(Arista: 1984)
refers to Diana (Dors)
HALLOWEEN PARADE
(Lou Reed)
by Lou Reed
(Sire: 1989)
refers to Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, (Joan) Crawford,
(Bette) Davis, Cary Grant
HECKLE & JECKEL
(Max T. Barnes/Max D. Barnes)
by George Jones
(MCA: 1991)
refers to Laurel & Hardy
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD
(Richard A. Whiting/Johnny Mercer)
1937
refers to Lassie, (Marilyn) Monroe, Donald Duck,
Tyrone Power.
HOPPY, GENE AND ME
(Snuff Garrett/Steve Dorff/Milton Brown)
by Roy Rogers
(20th Century: 1974)
Singing cowboy movie & TV star Roy Rogers
paying tribute to his fellow western actors
Hopalong Cassidy and Gene Autry
I LOVE BEING HERE WITH YOU
(Bill Schluger/Peggy Lee)
by Peggy Lee
(Capitol: c.1961)
refers to Fred Astaire, (Marlon) Brando,
Yul Brynner, Cary Grant, (Jimmy) Durante
I MAY BE WRONG (But I Think You’re Wonderful)
(Harry Ruskin/Henry Sullivan)
1930
refers to John Barrymore
I SHALL BE FREE
(Bob Dylan)
by Bob Dylan
(Columbia: 1963)
refers to Brigitte Bardot, Anita Ekberg,
Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton
I THINK I’M GONNA KILL MYSELF
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
by Elton John
(Uni: 1972)
refers to Brigitte Bardot
‘Brigitte Bardot gotta come/And see me every night’
THE INTRO AND THE OUTRO
(Vivian Stanshall)
by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
(UK Liberty: 1967)
refers to John Wayne, Robert Morley,
Roy Rogers & Trigger
INVITATION TO THE BLUES
(Doris Fisher/Arthur Gershwin/Allan Roberts)
1944
refers to (James) Cagney, Rita Hayworth
JACK AND DIANE
(John Cougar Mellencamp)
by John Cougar
(Riva: 1982)
refers to James Dean
‘Scratches his head and does his best James Dean’
JAMES CAGNEY
(Nik Kershaw)
by Nik Kershaw
(UK MCA: 1984)
refers to James Cagney, (Rudolph) Valentino
JOHN WAYNE
(Charles Fox/Paul Williams)
by Seals & Crofts
(Warner Bros: 1977)
refers to Gene Kelly, John Wayne
KEY LARGO
(Bertie Higgins/Sonny Limbo)
by Bertie Higgins
(Kat Family: 1981)
refers to Bogie & Bacall
MAN ON THE MOON
(Michael Stipe/Bill Berry/Peter Buck/Mike Mills)
by R.E.M.
(Warner Bros: 1992)
refers to Andy Kaufman, Elvis Presley
ME AND JIMMIE RODGERS
(Shel Silverstein)
by Tom T. Hall
(RCA: 1980)
refers to Audie Murphy, John Wayne, Betty Grable and “High Noon”
MESSAGE OF LOVE
(Chrissie Hynde)
by The Pretenders
(Sire: 1981)
refers to Brigitte Bardot
‘Oh it’s good, good, good/Like Brigitte Bardot’
MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME
(Walter Donaldson/Gus Kahn)
1930; lyric extended c.1957
refers to Liz Taylor, Lana Turner, Liberace
NEVER GONNA DANCE
(Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields)
by Fred Astaire
(Brunswick: 1936)
refers to Groucho Marx, Harpo (Marx)
NEW AGE
(The Velvet Underground)
by The Velvet Underground
(Cotillion: 1970)
refers to Robert Mitchum
‘And when you kissed Robert Mitchum
Gee but I thought you’d never catch him’
(NO MORE) THE SUB-MARINER
(Peter Hamill)
by Peter Hamill
(Charisma: 1974)
refers to Humphrey Bogart, Victor Mature
ONE MORE ARROW
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
by Elton John
(Geffen: 1983)
refers to Robert Mitchum
ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK
(Tim Rice/Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus)
by Murray Head (
RCA: 1984)
refers to Yul Brynner
‘In a show with everything but Yul Brynner’
PAMELA, PAMELA
(Graham Gouldman)
by Wayne Fontana
(MGM: 1967)
refers to Laurel & Hardy
PEDAL PUSHIN' PAPA
(Billy Ward/Rose Marks)
by Billy Ward & His Dominoes
(Federal: 1953)
refers to Gene Autry, Fred Astaire
PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ
(Irving Berlin)
1930
refers to Gary Cooper
‘Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper, super-duper’
THE ROAD TO MOROCCO
(James Van Heusen/Johnny Burke)
by Bing Crosby & Bob Hope
(Decca: 1942)
refers to Dorothy Lamour
ROCK ON
(David Essex)
by David Essex
(Columbia: 1963)
refers to Jimmy (James) Dean
TEACHER I NEED YOU
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
by Elton John
(MCA: 1973)
refers to John Wayne, Errol Flynn
‘I’ve got John Wayne stances/I’ve got Errol Flynn advances’
TEN CENTS A COUP
(Phil Ochs)
by Phil Ochs
(A&M: 1970)
refers to Laurel & Hardy
THERE GOES A TENNER
(Kate Bush)
by Kate Bush
(EMI America: 1982)
refers to (Humphrey) Bogart, George Raft,
(James) Cagney, Edward G. (Robinson)
THESE FOOLISH THINGS (Remind Me Of You)
(Harry Link/Holt Marvell/Jack Strachey)
1936
refers to (Greta) Garbo, (Bing) Crosby
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
(Lou Reed)
by Lou Reed (RCA: 1973)
refers to James Dean
WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE
(Billy Joel)
by Billy Joel
(Columbia: 1989)
refers to Doris Day, radio commentator Walter Winchell,
Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, James Dean,
Elvis Presley, Brigitte Bardot, Grace (Kelly)
WHERE DO YOU GO TO (MY LOVELY)
(Peter Sarstedt)
by Peter Sarstedt
(World Pacific: 1969)
refers to Marlene Dietrich
WHERE HAVE ALL THE COWBOYS GONE
(Paula Cole)
by Paula Cole
(Warner Bros: 1996)
refers to John Wayne
YOU ARE MY LUCKY STAR
(Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown)
1936
refers to (Greta) Garbo, (Norma) Shearer,
(Joan) Crawford, (Katharine) Hepburn, (Jean) Harlow.
As in all my postings, the recordings listed and referenced above are personal
selections and are in no way intended as definitive collections of the genre.
Please send any comments or suggestions to
Rock on.
Alan Warner
© Alan Warner, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Alan Warner with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.