Naming of names

Off the top of my head, I can only think of one Beatles song where a
member of the band is mentioned by name: Glass Onion ("the walrus was
Paul").

Adam Grinter...

Other real people mentioned in Beatles songs:

Elmore James (For You Blue)
BB King, Doris Day, Matt Busby (Dig It)
Julian's school friend Lucy (LITSWD)
Julia Lennon (Julia)
Eleanor Rigby
Peter Brown (The Ballad of J&Y)
Edgar Allen Poe (I Am The Walrus)
Queen Elizabeth II (Mean Mr Mustard, Penny Lane, Her Majesty)

I think the Queen wins.

Now I'm sure someone will chastise me pretty quickly for any that I've
forgotten, but what I'm wondering is: how many songs that namecheck a)
their own band members, b) individual Beatles, or c) other top rock
stars are out there?

a)
I can immediately think of Angel Delight by Fairport Convention;

Jay Novello...

"Show Biz Kids" by Steely Dan. One of my faves. "They've got the Steely Dan
T-shirt".

b)
There's probably a lot of these but I can't think of any off the top of
my head :-]

c)
Walking In Memphis (Marc Cohn) mentions Elvis, so does Elvis Lives On
The Moon (Lindisfarne), There's A Guy Down Our Chipshop Swears He's
Elvis (Kirsty McColl) and I'm sure many others

Contribute your lists if you so wish, but what I'm looking for are the
classiest mentions.

Rocket Scientist...

None of the respones have mentioned the Paul Simon song:

A Simple Desultory Philippic
(Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)

I been Norman Mailered, Maxwell Taylored.
I been John O'Hara'd, McNamara'd.
I been Rolling Stoned and Beatled till I'm blind.
I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded
Communist, 'cause I'm left-handed.
That's the hand I use, well, never mind!

I been Phil Spectored, resurrected.
I been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered.
Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay.
And I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce,
And all my wealth won't buy me health,
So I smoke a pint of tea a day.

I knew a man, his brain was so small,
He couldn't think of nothing at all.
He's not the same as you and me.
He doesn't dig poetry. He's so unhip that
When you say Dylan, he thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas,
Whoever he was.
The man ain't got no culture,
But it's alright, ma,
Everybody must get stoned.

I been Mick Jaggered, silver daggered.
Andy Warhol, won't you please come home?
I been mothered, fathered, aunt and uncled,
Been Roy Haleed and Art Garfunkeled.
I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone.

Chris Jepson...

Well, "Smoke on the Water" tells the story of the burning of Frank Zappa
and the Mothers' studio, IIRC.

You want classy? How about "Debbie Gibson is Pregnant with My
Two-Headed Love Child" or "Don Henley Must Die" (Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper)?

David Allan Coe mentions himself in one song, I forget which.

teranewsguy...

You Never Even Called Me By My Name. Also mentions John Prine.

There's a whole lot of songs that are basically about musicians
(American Pie, Rock & Roll Heaven, On the Night Shift, etc.)

Donovan's "The Fat Angel" has the lyric "Fly Jefferson Airplane, gets
you there on time" (also "Fly Trans-Love Airways", which may be a
reference to the band Love).

The Animals' "Story of Bo Diddley" is all about you know who. Bo
referred to himself from time to time, as I recall...

The song "Moulty" by the Barbarians is about their drummer.

Then of course there's "Creeque Alley" by the Mamas & the Papas.

And David Bowie's "Song for Bob Dylan", which I suppose might have been
sort of an answer to Dylan's "Song for Woody Guthrie"...

Tom Paxton did a song called "Fare Thee Well, Cisco" which was about
Cisco Houston.

Chris Jepson

abe slaney...

Everybody Wang Chung tonight.
The rest is dross.

Runnnerr...

You can mention anyone you want to but The Animals are in a league of
their own when it comes to mentioning people in their songs. I can
think of at least three or four of their songs that do so. As much as I
love the band, I've never thought much of their song writing. Their
covers are excellent, but Eric Burdon (I presume) left a lot to be
desired regarding his songwriting.

mdspiro...

Does "Honey Don't" count, where Ringo says "Alright, George ..." just
before the guitar solo?

DayTripper1966...

Yes, and "Ringo" also (allright George, rock it on one time for Ringo)

also, "You Ain't Going Nowhere" mentions McGuinn

Neil Young's "Borrowed Tune" mentions "Rolling Stones"

How about "Papa was a Rolling Stone" (written by Brian Jones' son)?

The "Beatles" are named by many other groups in their songs. The first
one that comes to mind is the song "Rock & Roll Music" by Peter Paul &
Mary ("and when The Beatles tell you ...")

How about John Lennon's "God" ("I don't believe in Beatles ...")