The songs
entitled after some name, usually a woman's name, are countless. Today
the column tries to make a primary selection from the endless list...1. Cecilia – Simon And Garfunkel
(Paul Simon)
When Paul Simon wrote this song did he refer to some girl or to Santa Cecilia, the patroness of music according to the Catholic Church? Whatever the answer may be, this rhythmic song reached #4 of the american charts and can be found in Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), the swan song by the popular duet.
2. Roxanne – The Police
(Sting)
Written for a whore in Paris, this song was meant to become a great hit in 1978, when it was released as a single from the album Outlandos D’Amour. Sting borrowed the name from the heroine of Cyrano De Bergerac and initially conceived the song in a boss a nova rhythm; finally it was recorded as a tango, after the intervention of Stewart Copeland.
3. Billy Jean – Michael Jackson
(Michael Jackson)
Another huge success, this time by the recently lost Jackson. It was written, as he declared, for several groupies he had met and had to be mixed 91 (!) times to have the result we know and love so many years later. From the album Thriller (1982).
4. Barbara Ann – The Beach Boys
(Fred Fassert)
This song was initially performed by the group The Regents in 1961 and met quite a success. Still, it is this version by the Beach Boys that made it known all over the world. It is included in the album Beach Boys Party! in 1965.
5. Angie – The Rolling Stones
(Mick Jagger-Keith Richards)
One of the rather few reasons that make Goat Head’s Soup (1973) worth remembering is this single, a classic ballad with a piano, string instruments and acoustic guitars, which was mostly written by Richards.
6. Visions Of Johanna – Bob Dylan
(Bob Dylan)
This mysterious song that lasts seven and a half minutes, is one of many masterpieces included in Blonde On Blonde (1966) and is Dylan's favorite from that album.
7. Lily (My One And Only) – The Smashing Pumpkins
(Billy Corgan)
An unusually for the Smashing Pumpkins, 'light' and bright song from the band's magnum opus, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (1995).
8. Maggie Mae – Rod Stewart
(Rod Stewart-Martin Quittenton)
The topic of this super-successful single from Every Picture Tells A Story (1971) is the relationship of a man with an older woman and is based on Stewart's own experience. It was the first hit of the performer's solo career.
9. Layla – Derek And The Dominos
(Eric Clapton-Jim Gordon)
His secret love for his best friend, George Harrison's wife, made Clapton write this classic rock song, the riff of which is taught to all guitarists to be, ever since. The album Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) by the supergroup Derek And The Dominos was entitled after the song, and several years later Clapton finally won Pattie Boyd χωρίς παράλληλα να χάσει τον φίλο τουwithout losing his friend...
10. My Sharona – The Knack
(Doug Fieger-Berton Averre)
We close with the damned riff and rhythm of the first single by The Knack, which launched them to the top of the american charts. Sharona Alperin, for whom the song was written, also appears on the cover of the single.
* Photos from http://montrealradioguy.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/26names.gif and www.wikipedia.org.
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