50 songs in which a white English pop star namechecks a black American soul singer

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1. "Listening to Marvin all night long" - Spandau Ballet

― fred shed, Friday, 17 September 2004 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

2. "When Smokey sings" - ABC

― fred shed, Friday, 17 September 2004 12:09 (twenty-one years ago)

3. "Pray like Aretha Franklin" - Scritti Politti

― Fred Shed, Friday, 17 September 2004 12:11 (twenty-one years ago)

4. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Da, da, da, da, da,
Jackie Wilson said
It was "Reet-Petite"
Kinda love you got
Knock me off my feet
Let it all hang out
Oh, let it all hang out.
And you know
I'm so wired-up
Don't need no coffee in my cup
Let it all hang out
Let it all hang out.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

oh wait, van is irish, not english. sorry.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Levi Stubbs Tears- Billy Bragg

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Scott: Dexy's did it too, so you can count it.

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Whoever it was that did that song 'Mahalia'. The Bible mebbe?

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Mary Wilson and Kym Mazelle are both mentioned in 'Hello' by the Beloved. But then again, so is Vince Hilaire. Check out some of these *priceless* rhymes:

little richard, little nell
willy wonka and william tell
salman rushdie and kym mazelle
hello, hello, hello, hello...

and

billy corkhill, vince hilaire
freddie flintstone, fred astaire
desmond tutu, steve and claire
hello, hello, hello, hello...

There's worse still to come!

sir bufton tufton, jean paul sartre
zippy, bungle, jeffrey archer
andre previn and the lso
hello, hello, hello, hello...

Is this the crassest song ever?

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know about crassest, but it doesn't beat:

FM, AM, hits are clickin' while the clock is tock-a-tickin'
Friends and Romans, salutations, Brenda and the Tabulations
Carly Simon, I behold her, Rolling Stones and centerfoldin'
Johnny Cash and Johnny Rivers, can't stop now, I got the shivers
Mungo Jerry, Peter Peter Paul and Paul and Mary Mary
Dr. John the nightly tripper, Doris Day and Jack the Ripper
Gotta go Sir, gotta swelter, Leon Russell, Gimme Shelter
Miracles in smokey places, slide guitars and Fender basses
Mushroom omelet, Bonnie Bramlett, Wilson Pickett, stop and kick it

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow, that's poetry man!

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)

"Talking about Frankie Lymon / Tell me WHY!?"

- The Fall, "No Xmas For John Quays"

(This is #10 or so.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 17 September 2004 12:54 (twenty-one years ago)

elvis costello did a thing where he talked about ray charles, does that count?

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Friday, 17 September 2004 13:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Van the man is from Northern Ireland, and many from NI consider themselves British and not Irish... I don't know Van's view.

― Steve WC (Steve WC), Friday, 17 September 2004 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

But it was Four Tops all night with encores from stage right
Charging from the bass knives to the treble
But onstage they ain't got no roots rock rebel
Onstage they ain't got no...roots rock rebel
- the Clash

Also maybe Lep Zep "Rock and Roll" if quoting the Monotones counts.

― chuck, Friday, 17 September 2004 15:20 (twenty-one years ago)

"Jackie Wilson Said" - Van Morrison (if being Irish counts)

― chuck, Friday, 17 September 2004 15:21 (twenty-one years ago)

oh wait, i didn't see the many van m. mentions above, sorry

― chuck, Friday, 17 September 2004 15:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Steve - very true (I'm from NI and consider myself both FWIW) but the thread title is about "English pop stars". Ha!

― Crackity (Crackity Jones), Friday, 17 September 2004 18:17 (twenty-one years ago)

"You don't have to be Prince if you want to dance..."

Sheffield's The Age Of Chance take on Minneapolis brutally.

― darren (darren), Friday, 17 September 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Paul Young apparently did a song called "Now I Know Why Otis Turned Blue". Or something.

And Macca references Michael Jackson in "The Girl Is Mine". Obviously.

― NickB (NickB), Friday, 17 September 2004 19:17 (twenty-one years ago)

"Just like the Four Tops, I can't help myself"

(Orange Juice - 'I Can't Help Myself')

― Alba (Alba), Saturday, 18 September 2004 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

(Scottish, yes, but I doubt Fred meant to exclude Scots)

― Alba (Alba), Saturday, 18 September 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

If "obscure indie band singer" counts as "pop star", then --

[The Band of] Holy Joy: "Marvin in Ostende"
The Chrysanthemums: "I Wish Marvin Gaye's Father Had Shot Me Instead"

― OleM (OleM), Saturday, 18 September 2004 18:40 (twenty-one years ago)

'We got John Coltrane and A Love Supreme/ Miles, and she wants to be an angel"
Bono (Irish of course) in 'Angel of Harlem' by U2

― Star Cauliflower (Star Cauliflower), Saturday, 18 September 2004 19:08 (twenty-one years ago)

"Night Shift" by the Commodores ...

"Marvin! (echoes) Marvin, Marvin ..."

― Chris O., Saturday, 18 September 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Um, yeah, occurs to me now that the Commodores ain;t British. Nor are they white!

― Chris O., Saturday, 18 September 2004 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Seems like Lennon might have a reference or two in his catalog, though one escapes me at the moment ... unless you wanna count the cover of Roll Over Beethoven he did on the Mike Douglas Show ...

― Chris O., Saturday, 18 September 2004 19:43 (twenty-one years ago)

OT: Has a soul/r&b singer ever namechecked any brits?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Saturday, 18 September 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Wasn't there a line in "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley "shout out to Chad & Jeremy now!" No, wait...

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Saturday, 18 September 2004 20:11 (twenty-one years ago)

...in "Unity" by James Brown & Afrika Bambaataa there's a point where JB grunts out "Punk rock! New Wave!"

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Saturday, 18 September 2004 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

That Rod Stewart track about Motown: "put the speakers in the window and we'll go on the roof and listen to the Miracles..." something-er-other

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Saturday, 18 September 2004 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Could we count "Genius of Love" by Tom TOm Club where they go "James Browwwwwnnnn, James Browwwwnnnn" ?

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Saturday, 18 September 2004 23:13 (twenty-one years ago)

wait, they're american.. sorry

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Saturday, 18 September 2004 23:13 (twenty-one years ago)

more dexys: there are references to stevie wonder and jimmy ruffin in reminisce pt. 1 and 2, respectively.

― scott pl. (scott pl.), Sunday, 19 September 2004 03:10 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost

Lennon shouted out B.B. King in "Dig It" from Let It Be.

― jim wentworth (wench), Sunday, 19 September 2004 03:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Well if we're allowing blues then there's also "Elmore James got nothing on this baby" in the same album's 'For You Blue'.

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 19 September 2004 10:43 (twenty-one years ago)

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