Top 20 Famous Songs About Famous People

Fame makes for a catchy tune. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for those famous tunes that you maybe didn’t know were talking about some famous people. Our countdown of famous songs about famous people includes “Uptown Girl”, “All of Me”, "Hurricane", “Go Your Own Way”, and more! Did any of these songs’ subjects surprise you? Let us know in the comments.
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#Songs
#Music
#Famous
#Bands
#Musician
#Fame
#Pop
#Rock
#TheBeatles
#Elton John

[@WatchMojo]

Did any of these songs’ subjects surprise you? Let us know in the comments. For more content like this, click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roOTp5eDfZ14pbs Play our Daily Point Battles to earn MojoPoints and qualify for CASH BATTLES! Check it out: WatchMojo.com/play

[@l-wolverine2211]

Eminem dissing his ungrateful mother; “Cleaning Out My Closet!”

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Surprisingly, "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar nor "Sorry (Beyonce's song about Jay-Z's infidelity)" didn't get a mention.

[@orchidtreasure1484]

So gross🤮🤮🤮She was like 14 years old at the time!!!

[@karawigley6231]

The story behind Hey Jude is heartbreaking as Lennon actually abandoned the son Paul wrote it for. It’s sad that despite Lennon being a part of that song & it being a reminder of the love & compassion his band mate had for Julian he still continued to have nothing to do with him. People praise Lennon but he wasn’t all peace & love he left his son to suffer & their relationship traumatized him.

[@filthybonnet]

People also forget Lennon also abused his first wife. I'm not here to diss The Beatles, they were and will forever be amazing and changed music forever, but they can still be that and flawed, complex humans.

[@candice_ecidnac]

He was also a wife beater. And Yoko was always around because he forced her to be.

[@kirstenn1577]

@@candice_ecidnac Is this actually accurate though? I ask this because I thought Yoko Ono was the controlling one of John?That's what the rest of the Beatles alluded to over the years. I'm also pretty sure Yoko Ono was married and a had a child as well that she left for John Lennon so both parties weren't completely innocent at all. Their children did suffer though which is unfortunate :(

[@NYChica23]

@@candice_ecidnac I heard it was the other way around...that the rest of the band didn't like how much influence Yoko had on John

[@chloemchll3774]

The saddest part of the story is that when John first heard Hey Jude, he thought he was Jude, and that the song was Paul’s way of supporting his pursuing a relationship with Yoko. Never occurred to the ego-maniac that was John Lennon that the song might have been about his son and not him (side note- I wonder if John would have missed the actual meaning if Paul stuck to the original title of “Hey Jules”).

[@randyhamm3862]

Well the fact that the original Candle in the Wind starts off with the words Norma Jean which was Marilyn Monroe's real name it's kind of hard to argue the fact that the song was written about her

[@mshilah]

You're forgetting one important thing. A lot of people are really really dumb

[@pbcoop62]

She was only a baby at the time, but "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton is about her daughter Maya Rudolph. Also, Don McLean's follow up to "American Pie" is about Vincent VanGogh.

[@MrQ12elve]

"Making love to you...is all I want to do" you sure it's about her daughter?

[@scottalan5282]

Vincent is discussed in this video

[@TheVitamin421]

"dude looks like a lady" and Vince Neil is hilarious!

[@IanSkeete-lj1mq]

What about Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughta Know' about Dave Coulier?

[@Mystress1980]

It's not about Dave Coulier. The actual person is still unknown. All she ever said was "he knows who he is, and he hasn't said anything about it". That confirmed it was NOT about Dave.

[@alliekat85]

​@Mystress1980 good info. Thinking it was dave is kind of mind blowing and doesn't match up lol

[@elizmac5419]

Yeah, an angry ballad between 2 sub rated "celebrities". Scathing....

[@user-cc5bi4fv1q]

@@Mystress1980Dave even said he was pretty sure the song was about him. A lot of the references Alanis made in the song fit their relationship.

[@filthybonnet]

@@user-cc5bi4fv1q Yep. It's pretty much canon at this point, like Carley Simon confirming the one verse in "You're So Vain" is about Warren Beatty. They even did a Dave Coulier joke in "How I Met Your Mother" with the Robin's Robin Sparkles singing career which was based on Alanis. They were trying to figure out who hurt her so much that she went from a Debbie Gibson mall singing pop star to an angry grunge girl singing a song about a man who wronged her. They actually had Dave on a fake program on the show that was a spoof of VH1's behind the music and he was like "Why does everyone always think it's me?"

[@Jeremiah_Rivers76]

Elle McPherson was the titular “Uptown Girl” before it was about Christine Brinkley? Mind blown!

[@scottalan5282]

Yeah, poor Billy, must have been rough for the guy. 😂

[@lostnthenoise]

There is also "Killing Me Softly With His Song" written about Don McLean and "Our House" that Graham Nash wrote about his relationship with Joni Mitchell.

[@NYChica23]

Speaking of CSN, there's Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, written by Stephen Stills about his relationship with Judy Collins

[@1024laf]

Also songs Like Missing You by Diana Ross about Marvin Gaye; Angel of Harlem by U2 about Billie Holiday; Black Velvet by Alannah Myles about Elvis Presley and they say it is just a rumor, I don't know but I will still list it, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond about Caroline Kennedy.

[@UnderappreciatedFemaleArtists]

An honorable mentioned would be Call Me When You’re Sober by Evanescence, written about Amy Lee’s ex and lead singer of Seether Shaun Morgan.

[@MichaelPop72]

ALL 80’s glam metal stars “looked like ladies.” 😂

[@PoxeBlack]

And "You oughta know" from Alanis Morissette, about her relationship with Dave Coulier

[@louisejohnson6057]

She has repeatedly said that the song isn't about him. Yes they dated, but she didn't write the song about him. He claimed it was about him after the song rocketed her to international superstardom.

[@beautifulmidnight]

Yeah, I read an interview where he asked her if she was okay if he said it was about him and she said yeah.

[@anthonymonteverde4391]

2 other songs from Eric Clapton sang and wrote about people.... 1) "Tears In Heaven"...dedicated 2 his young son Conner who sadly passed away after a horrific tragedy 2) "In My Father's Eyes"....about his biological father he never met(also about Conner as well).

[@b.bennett3]

He met his biological father. Lived in Edmonton, Alberta during his teens.

[@craiggrossman9182]

Disappointed that this list didn't include the Toto song Rosanna, about Rosanna Arquette. The song was a huge hit and was nominated for Song and Record of the Year at the 25th Grammys. It won for Record of the Year.

[@scottalan5282]

Yep, I just posted the same right before reading your comment. Rosanna is also a master class in musicianship.

[@cassandraerdman7144]

They also wrote "99" about actress Barbara Feldon's character from Get Smart.

[@josi4251]

Many people don't know that John Lennon and Paul McCartney were visiting in NYC when George Harrison appeared on SNL; producer Lorne Michaels hilariously offered George $3,000 "for you guys to get back together" on the show. John and Paul actually talked about going to the studio and doing it, but they apparently didn't want to upstage George. Of course, they'd have caused untold chaos, but it would have been off-the-charts amazing!

[@anthonydaniel1727]

"Diamonds And Rust" is Joan Baez' chronicle of her relationship with Bob Dylan. Oddly, this deeply personal Baez song was covered by Judas Priest.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

Hey Jude had an unintended consequence from the name: " In 1968, The Beatles put the title to their upcoming single, “Hey Jude,” on the front of their record label’s boutique store in London. The idea was to intrigue passersby before the release, Paul McCartney told GQ in a new interview. However, the song’s name didn’t go over well with everyone. McCartney said a furious Jewish man called him up about the name (because this was the ’60s, when celebrities were apparently reachable by phone) and threatened to send his son over to beat the Beatle up. The word “jude” (Jewish in German) conjured up bad memories in the post-Nazi era, and Jews in London had enough to deal with, the man fumed. “I said ‘hey baby, let’s cool it down, nothing to do with that,’” McCartney said. “You’ll hear when you hear the record, it’s just a name in a song and it’s all cool.” The man relented."

[@anthonydaniel1727]

Crosby, Stills & Nash's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is about Judy Collins. But there are so many songs from the collective catalog of the supergroup and it's members solo recordings, including Neil Young, that were written about Joni Mitchell - and Mitchell's own catalog has songs she wrote about the various members of the group as well. It's an extensive list worth the research.

[@user-nc3ig2mf7p]

Mitchell’s Free Man in Paris is about David Geffen…they took a getaway trip to Paris together before he was openly gay but Joni was his close friend & knew, she appreciated that he could be himself with her.

[@stephanfenton4352]

An even more savage Fleetwood Mac song is Silver Springs, written by Stevie Nicks about Lyndsey Buckingham. In the live video they are staring at each other while singing truly hateful lyrics.

[@TheMCzorro]

How the fuck did this band even survive? Not just survive, live long enough to see the 80's and have a reunion in 2000's

[@theresecallahan8548]

How could you leave Abraham, Martin, and John off this list?

[@Benjifan2000]

Dude Looks Like A Lady's music video is still extremely funny to me

[@donaldwilson2620]

Even though she was a young child back then, Lionel Richie's song Ballerina Girl is written about his daughter, who would later become famous in her own right, Nicole Richie.

[@DKS225]

Uptown Girl certainly did as i didn't know about Elle McPherson until the early 90's.

[@jeremywilliams5141]

Honorable mentions: 1. Flowers (Miley Cyrus) Liam Hemsworth 2. Bad Blood (Taylor Swift) Katy Perry 3. Missing You (Diana Ross) Marvin Gaye 4. Like That (Kendrick Lamar) Drake 5. Push Ups (Drake) Kendrick Lamar 6. Famous (Kanye West) Taylor Swift

[@BethMDowney]

Another song about Marvin Gaye (plus Jackie Wilson) was "Nightshift" by the Commodores.

[@ronnieeilert8491]

7 things (Miley Cyrus) Nick Jonas

[@AJ-xc4qe]

@@BethMDowneyI dedicated an entire playlist for R&B songs that aren’t romance, sex or breakups. I could only find 6 and that song was one of them.

[@rejachemno]

You really included the Drake and Kendrick songs because it's topical. It doesn't make sense in a list like this one

[@TheBlueExiles]

So like 4 of the most iconic songs I. History were about patty Boyd. Talk about bragging rights 😂😂😂😂

[@krissyturner88]

Great list- thanks! xoxo

[@jimbullard441]

Pattie Boyd has probably had more hit songs written about her than any woman in modern rock history. Something, by the Beatles, was all about her too.

[@sabregunner1]

i love how the section about cry me a river is titled crimea river

[@mauricioalanveloz5658]

Fleetwood Mac's Dreams was the Stevie response to Lindsey song

[@spiritus_iris]

When I saw the name of the video I started thinking about Brandon Lee by The 69 Eyes immediately 😅

[@livy9169]

Yes!! All those years ago is so good makes me cry

[@user-jg6pi2si8v]

Eric Clapton also wrote Tears in Heaven about his son who died in my opinion the saddest song ever

[@user-fn5hx9bs4y]

his son was not a celeb 👎👎 death isnt fame.

[@EpicGrantz]

Superman started Mariah’s hate towards Eminem. He exposed there relationship on the song lol

[@blackmesacake5361]

Yup, and The Warning finished it! Hard for her to keeping lying when he used real audio of her 😂

[@tylergoodman3560]

Candle in the wind is dedicated to all who've gone too soon. 😢🎉

[@kennethferrari5232]

Clouds by Joni Mitchell is about Saul Bellow and a book he wrote. Slayer's Angel of Death is about Joseph Mengele, one of the most horrifying real life monsters ever. Finally The Show Must Go On by Queen is an autobiographical song about Freddie Mercury's impending death. He barely finished it when he died.

[@2244ntho66]

In 1984 no one would write a song like "Pride" for Ronald Reagan.

[@sarahramsey9454]

a lot taylor swifts discography has to do with other celebs like katy perry for one bad blood but her exes have a lot more

[@LaurelRawson]

They could do a whole video of just Taylor's songs about other people.

[@filthybonnet]

@@LaurelRawson I love her but yeah. And not just her exs. Katy Perry, Kayne and Kim, I'm sure there's one in there about Scooter. But I mean when it comes to Kayne and Kim she won, they did that to themselves. When you hear her songs about them you're just like, "Oh yeah that happened. That was just the beginning of them being stupid."

[@Ka_tja]

What about "Hey There Delilah"?

[@jaxprid]

I feel like Alfie should be on this list considering how big Lily Allen was at the time.

[@MrEiniweini]

I am pretty surprised that this missed two songs by Simon and Garfunkel. Sound of Silence about the death of JFK and Mrs Robinson about Elenor Roosevelt.

[@just-sayin67]

Thank you - I did not know about those songs!

[@WWAHP]

1. Claudette Robinson, the first wife of Smokey Robinson, was inspiration for the Temptations hit song "My Girl", and The Miracles hit song "More Love." 2. David Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks, tow former lead singers of The Temptations was the inspiration of the Temptations hit song "Superstar, (Do you know who your friends are) it is also considered the first diss song. 3. Lionel Richie's hit song "Ballerina Girl" was about his daughter Nicole Richie.

[@honeybun13]

Stevie Nicks wrote Has Anyone Written Anything For You about the Eagles Joe Walsh, after he told her about how his daughter died.

[@NickCC23]

When Uptown Girl was released, Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley were not married yet.

[@AndreaDoesYoga]

🎵 So interesting to see the stories behind these songs! 🌟

[@anthonygordon9483]

Hurricane was a amazing song. The killer about the song was bob dylan never once mention he was black. He was just a man. PERFECT! Bob Dylan was a great song writer but he was a master in propaganda and inspiring people to be on the right side of history.

[@RadioLaPrincess]

Also Looking For A New Love by Jody Watley was about John Taylor from Duran Duran. At the time she just mentioned it was about a "white rock singer" but later disclosed it was about him.

[@Animeguy300]

Top 20 Song Covers by Other Musicians

[@scottalan5282]

Your most obvious oversight: Toto's "Rosanna" - one of the most iconic videos of the 80s, the '82 Grammy winner for Record of the Year, and considered one of the most masterfully crafted rock or pop songs of all time.

[@RevanLockheart-]

And who was that made for¿

[@fiendishthingy9]

Rosanna Arquette ​@@RevanLockheart-

[@maryfischer875]

George Harrison wrote Something about Patti Boyd also. She is one of the top muses in rock history.

[@snowdenwyatt6276]

That's a logical assumption that many have made (including myself), but George went to his grave insisting that the song wasn't specifically about her. Although he only said that in 1996 and Boyd herself said that he told her he wrote it for her.

[@Wildflower222]

Yes, George stated later that he originally wrote Something thinking about his love for Krishna but changed it to be about a woman so people wouldn’t think it too weird. He later got over those feelings and wrote many more songs about Krishna.

[@l-wolverine2211]

Anytime Eminem disses Mariah Carey is Platinum in my eyes. She’s so full of herself it’s disgusting.

[@CandiceVidito]

Which singer or celebrity isn't these days?

[@l-wolverine2211]

@@CandiceVidito At least Eminem is for real, and isn’t as overrated like Mariah Carey

[@CandiceVidito]

@@l-wolverine2211 Oh ok. Never listened to his music, then again I don't listen to rap in general. Not my cup of tea

[@l-wolverine2211]

@@CandiceViditoPrime Eminem was so good back when he first started. How he dissed Bin Laden & Al Qaeda with “Without Me”, and got death threats from them, that showed how Boss he really is.

[@Reaperguy67]

​@@l-wolverine2211when it comes to him. His songs in the early 2000s were what I liked . You are absolutely right by the way.

[@theMF16-26]

Who doesn’t know Ether is about Jay-Z.Doesn’t Nas say Jay-Z’s name in the song.

[@jeffdavis2648]

Kinda obvious when the first 5 seconds is gunshots followed by Nas saying "F*ck Jay-Z"

[@user-fn5hx9bs4y]

Southern Man ??? hello Neil Young slam 😅😂😂

[@NYChica23]

And Sweet Home Alabama being Lynyrd Skynyrd's way of firing back at Neil Young

[@user-fn5hx9bs4y]

@@NYChica23 thats the ref 😅👍👍

[@shahyadesfandiary7234]

You could have just cited the album rumours as it has many songs about the other members of FM, not just 1

[@kismetsantos1204]

May I kickstart a part two of this video about music made for famous people with two more examples? The first one, very very famous because of Instagram is One Sweet Day, composed by Mariah Carey and song by her and Boyz II Men was made because Mariah wanted to celebrate the life of David Cole from C&C Music Factory) and also made a tribute to everyone who lost someone to AIDS.. The second music is very old, most people nowadays dont know this song (or the person who is about), but still is a famous song about someone famous lol Don Mclean composed and sang "Vincent" as an homage to Vincent Van Gogh. hope this helps to make another list lol

[@CandiceVidito]

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel is a really good song

[@andreamilojevic4740]

Not gonna lie, Mojo isn't the same without that female voice

[@My10centsWorth]

Excellent list, thank you.

[@deveryshepardson3640]

What about the Chris Cornell penned album for Andrew Wood (lead singer of Mother Love Bone) in the band Temple of the Dog

[@raydunn8262]

Thank you. How about? 1. Killing Me Softly with His Song by Roberta Flack is about Don McLean. The original artist claims she helped write it. Roberta's version won the Grammy Record of the Year 2. Vincent by Don McLean is about Vincent Van Gogh.

[@Preyfr60]

Aparently, I am the only one remembering this one: "Bloodhound Gang - The ballad of Chasey Lain.

[@davidnewell3232]

McLean's performance of Vincent is said to be the primary inspiration for Killing Me Softly.

[@SonjaRavn]

I think you forget that Britney Spears actually responded back to the cry me a river song with Always.

[@christopherwesterberg8555]

Hey Jude is My Favorite Song from The Beatles

[@JWReichert]

Pop Goes the Weasel by 3rd Bass was a diss track about Vanilla Ice. They didn't hide it, putting Henry Rollins in the video as Ice. .

[@jessicasmith7224]

The Ex-Factor by Lauryn Hill is about her ex and former group member Wyclef Jean!

[@werthmelissa]

Great list! I didn't see it coming with some of my familiar favourites on this list. Honorable mentions : Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes (its about Bette Davis in the title but it also mentions other actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age and Bette Davis herself accepted the gold and platinum records due to the success of the song), Dear John by Taylor Swift, Mr Perfectly Fine (From The Vault) (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift (alleged to be about Joe Jonas) and Clara Bow by Taylor Swift. I was expecting them to be on this list for sure!

[@amandaholmes4051]

You guys talk about "Go your own way" but not "Silver Springs" or "Dreams"? Most of the Fleetwood Mac discovery is all of the band members talking about eachother.

[@filthybonnet]

They should have just put the whole "Rumors" album at #1. Christie McVie has a couple of zingers on there as well.

[@patrickdare5356]

It is amazing that one of the greatest albums ever recorded was done so by five people going through breakups, four of them with other band members.

[@chandravargas3040]

you need to add jennifer juniper by donovan, it’s about patti boyd’s sister

[@user-nc3ig2mf7p]

Who went on to marry Mick Fleetwood, Jenny Boyd

[@ianbabineau5340]

I hate to break it to you, but Carly Simon WAS singing about me.

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

No, me.

[@missdeejay]

How about all those 4 songs from different artists about COURTNEY LOVE?

[@pandemits]

I expected "Black Velvet" of Alannah Miles to be included? Also, "Moonlight Shadow" of Mike Oldfield, (which was about Houdini, not John Lennon, btw).

[@andrewharper1609]

Photograph by Def Leppard was about Marilyn Monroe as well. White Lightning was about Steve Clark their guitarist who died.

[@user-vs7el9wm3d]

What about Julia, about John Lennox’s mother.

[@josh72456]

I know of Uptown Girl, Dude (Looks Like A Lady.), Ms Jackson, Cry Me Like A River, Pride (In The Name Of Love), Hurricane, You're So Vain, Go Your Own Way, Hey Jude, Candle In The Wind and American Pie.

[@Gaila-yp7kh]

mention: only a fool would say that (steely dan-delicated to lennon)

[@abrahammorrison6374]

Forgot The Ballad of Ira Hayes, the Pima Indian who raised the flag on Iwo Jima in Joel Rosenthal's iconic picture.

[@alisterfolson]

You forgot all the songs about the Hole singer. Plus, the songs about Biggie v Tupac, and LL Cool J v Cool Moe Dee

[@catherinewilliams9680]

Who would've thought Pride was about Ronald Reagan? The lyrics specifically mention MLK.

[@anonymousbigshot1775]

Far behind by candlebox, Would by Alice In Chains, Far behind and hunger strike by Temple of the dog. And a couple more all written about Andrew Wood from Mother Love Bone.

[@kylieh123]

There is nothing like a semi existential crisis and man on the moon as a combo

[@TrueCrimeQueen]

Thanks for sharing!

[@patrickdare5356]

It is generally believed that many of the lyrics in the middle of American Pie are references to Bob Dylan.

[@84cleancut]

Michael Jackson dirty Diana?

[@TanakaSigauke]

Thumbnail 😂

[@CourtneyPielok]

Side note, Mariah makes a VERY handsome man tbh.

[@k.popper2620]

'Vincent' by McLean is a masterpiece.

[@Nola5427]

You' re so vain by Carly Simon is about Warren Beatty.

[@labradoriteatheart]

Ella, elle l'a by France Galle is about Ella Fitzgerald. I'm not sure that North Americans are familiar with this song or with France Galle at all, but both are very well known in Europe.

[@joeb.evrythngEclectic5571]

Toto - Rosanna

[@danisteffen-translations]

Really? Everybody around the world knew "In The Name of Love" was about Martin Luther King. I never heard about this Reagan thing.

[@ThePinkDragon]

love all of you ;]

[@Ladyraedior]

Mariah Carey has always been a liar. I love her voice, and music tho, but I believe everything Eminem said

[@G1Grimlock94]

The best song

[@My10centsWorth]

Did I just see Charlie Watts in the Layla video? 😮

[@lansesteiner3563]

Jody by Jermaine Stewart is about Jody Watley

[@jokerisaac41]

After i learned the back story of dude looks like a lady by aerosmith, i just died laughing

[@Blaqsnake]

First of all 🫡Billy Joel for Elle and Christie now I understand his hit pressure. But some of these others on this list like Ether…come on it’s impossible for you to not know that’s about Jay if you listened to it, also Candle in the wind opens with goodbye Norma Jean, come on who doesn’t know these things?!?😂😊

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Billy Joel went from Elle McPherson to Christie Brinkley?

[@PresMan36]

Wow, nothing about the war heroes by Sabaton? Talk about uncultured....

[@extatx0110]

Taylor swift needs a dedicated video in this case