Songs wherein the singer refers to other band members.

i was certain we'd done this. i'm sure someone will tell me we have now but i can't find it if so!

anyway what i'm after is stuff like The Supremes' 'Back In My Arms Again' where Diana Ross sings
"How can Mary tell me what to do
When she lost her love so true?
And Flo, she don't know
Cause the boy she loves is a Romeo"

the obvious one is "The walrus was Paul" i suppose.

any other ones?

"Smokin' In the Boys' Room" by Brownsville Station/Mötley Crüe

"Are you ready, Steve?
Andy?
Mick?..."

uh Mister ROCKET!

Poison "Talk Dirty To Me"

Are you ready Jay?
Uh-huh
Malory?
OK
Joe?
I don't know
Well alright fellas -let's go!

Rolling Stones "Jigsaw Puzzle"

you're looking for something more more than just exhortations from the singer to the guitarist to start his solo, right?

a la
"Stop dreamin' and start drivin', Stevie!" - David Lee Roth, Knucklebones

"Glass Onion."

"Me and my buddy Jay
Watched bad cover bands play
Got little drinks for free
Kept betting on 23"

Too much Joy, Thanksgiving in Reno

"Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" ("and the Big Man joined the band")

"McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass."

Creeque Alley

Peter Hammill, "German Overalls". Actually a solo song but refers to other members of Van der Graaf Generator who were also his band for solo work at the time.

"Hugh spends his last mark on coffee and cheese...
David takes to travelling in the van,
he knows that we all can understand."

The Ballad of Mott:

Buffin lost his child-like dreams
And Mick lost his guitar
And Verden grew a line or two
And Overend's just a rock'n'roll star

Current 93, "A Song For Douglas After He's Dead"

Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven ("Rock me, Joe")

"Bun E.'s all right,
Tommy's all right,
Robin's all right,
Rick's all right,
We're all all right."

Me and Mike Watt, playing guitar.

"Take it from our drummer, Puff, being good it gets you stuff"

Faith No More - Cuckoo For Caca

xiu xiu - homonculus ("oh, yvonne, it's true/but i promised not to say/what went down")

On A Highway - Animal Collective

On a highway
I'm sick from too much reading
Jealous of noah's dreaming
Can't help my brain from thinking

"Glass Onion."

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, August 5, 2011 12:29 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

That's the big one imo

surely tighten up owns this thread

"Gordon knew the moment when the stars all turned around"

Phish, Roggae

matching mole - o caroline ("david's on piano, and i may play on a drum")

The Chameleons' version of "John, I'm Only Dancing"

Minutemen to thread

Also ween.

The Fall - "Stephen Song?" "Craigness?"

They Might Be Giants:

This is Dan
And that's Dan
And that's Marty on the drums
To complete the band

And I'm John
And he is also John
And all of us are wondering
When you're gonna die

The Monks - Monk Time

Capt. Beefheart - Big Eyed Beans from Venus ("Mister Zoot Horn Rollo, hit that long lunar note, and let it float.")

^^^ good one

More Beefheart: "Pena"

"That's right, The Mascara Snake..."

"Westie Can Drum". "Dance to the Music".

Replacements: "Shutup," "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out"

Cornershop - "Funky Days are Back Again"

Ben, you just show them how funky it can get when funky days are back en vogue again

"Andy, hold back the rain"

Duran Duran - Hold Back The Rain

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers - Morning of our Lives

Leonard Cohen, "A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes":

"I sing this for the Army"

Refers not to a real army but to his backing band who went by that name.

This is Dan and that's Dan
And there's Marty on the drums to complete the band
And I'm John and he is also John and all of us are wondering
When you're going to die

OH FFS ^^^

adam & the ants, ant rap - "marco, merrick, terry lee, gary tibbs and yours truly"

am sure that there is a bauhaus one. crut?

"Hey Tommy!"

"What Vince?"...-Motley Crue: "Girls Girls Girls"

adam & the ants, ant rap - "marco, merrick, terry lee, gary tibbs and yours truly"

much playground hilarity resulted from substituting "terry lee" with "dairy lea"

Norman, Winston, Johnny, Joey, Dee-dee, good times!
-The Human League

Gram Parsons' nod to James Burton, "Medley Live From Northern Quebec."

practically every song on the meadowlands

"Janet! Carrie! Can you feel it?"

Sleater-Kinney - Step Aside

Came on to post Whiney's FNM one.

cheating coz it's live, but it is so lol:

'edge . . . play the blues'

Belle & Sebastian - "This Is Just a Modern Rock Song"

Promise Ring - "Things Just Getting Good"

fairport convention - angel delight ("dave the drum" "pegg on the bass" etc)
return of the grevious angel - gram parsons ("pick it for me james")

Me and G.B. We ain't never gonna confess we cheated at the math test

Alice Cooper "Public Animal #9" (G.B. being Glen Buxton.)

Queen - The Invisible Man

stooges "no fun" - c'mon ron tell em how I feel

MC5 "american ruse" - welcome back sonic!

stooges "no fun" - c'mon ron tell em how I feel

MC5 "american ruse" - welcome back sonic!

stooges "no fun" - c'mon ron tell em how I feel

MC5 "american ruse" - welcome back sonic!

in Spin Doctors' "Hungry Hamad's", in the 'skit' part of the song, someone (presumably the 'restaurant employee') says "Get Barron whatever he wants" (lead vocalist = Chris Barron)

that's the first time I've thought of taht song or album in years

sure bro

is it customary to swap in your own band members when covering "surrender"? how is that different from swapping genders?

You've obviously never had to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

does referencing without the actual names in rather douchebaggery low points of the respective songwriting career also count? then

i love my drummer and all the things he plays
i wrote it in half-time just to say thanks
i love my bassist represent the Western states
i think they sent an angel from the old Salt Lake
i love my guitarist his chops from outer space
he can make my three chords sound like eight

jets to brazil - all things good and nice

Jazz Butcher "The Devil Is My Friend"

And Love And Rockets are my friends
Love and Rockets are my friend
David, Kevin, Daniel
Everyone of them round the bend

(D & K are the backing band on this)

There's Prince's reference to "Little girl Wendy" in Kiss.

does he say Wendy in Kiss? wow i never knew. he also does a great "Doctor!" before the good Doctor Fink's keyboard solo on Baby I'm A Star.

James Brown's exhortations to his rhythm section du jour: "Clyde! Bootsy!"

you're looking for something more more than just exhortations from the singer to the guitarist to start his solo, right?

What about exhortations to the keyboard player to start his?

"Ah, boogie now, Dave!" (The Stranglers, Go Buddy Go)

The Who, "Tea and Theatre" (posthumously):

"One of us gone
One of us mad
One of us, me
All of us sad"

immediately thought of that Supremes song in the OP when I saw this thread title.

lol Promise Ring, "Things Just Getting Good":

Davey, o Davey, don't tell me you're crazy
and Jason, O Jason, look now what you've been chasin'
Dan Didier, O Didier, you can't spend all day in your P.J.'s
and Scott Schoenbeck, yeah Scott Schoenbeck; well his head feels like a trainwreck tonight.

Big Star - "Dream Lover":
Play it for me, guitarist

New Edition - "Cool it Now":
But this time I'm gonna make it on my own
So why don't you fellas just leave me alone?
Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike
If I love the girl who cares who you like

i guess it's a stretch to call jefferson holt a member of rem?

I can't live
Beside the spiral staircase
When the money's coming in

"Once I had a singing group
Singing group done gone
Now I got another group
Didn't take too long"

Love "Doggone"

Felt - Ballad Of The Band
in which Lawrence berates band members, then blames himself, then sings about previous Felt songs.
doesn't get more self-referential than that!

am sure that there is a bauhaus one. crut?

― Quantum of Pie (NickB), Friday, August 5, 2011 3:25 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

from "Of Lillies And Remains" during a spoken-word part that I believe is spoken by David J: Running through ghost closet locker rooms, to hide from Peter, who has fallen to the old cold stone floor, wheezing and emitting a seemingly endless flow of ectoplasmic white goo from ears and mouth.

Does this count:

Bill, you know the newly wealthy peasants
With their home bars and hi fis?
- Eh, I'm not sure actually
You know, the ones who parade all their possessions
And put fabulous and super in each sentence
- Oh yeah, I know the ones
Well I don't really like these scumbags
May I be clear on this point. Sure
She's not a bit like that
No, nothing like that
- What's she like?
In time, in time
- Tell me, what's she like?
Bill, I'm trying to tell you
Oh well I'll tell you what she's like
Given half a chance
I will make this clear
Just what she's like

and so on... Dexy's, of course

Me and Mike Watt, playing guitar.

― ≝ (Pleasant Plains), Friday, August 5, 2011 4:51 PM (2 days ago)

this is my favourite ever

the sun comes up
and i'm all washed out
is this what deaner was talkin' about

The Intro and the Outro by the Bonzos includes some real band members, among Adolf Hitler on vibes, etc...

The Stones - "Dance Pt. One"

"Ah, rock on George for Ringo, one time"

The Beatles, Honey Don't.

He wasn't really the singer, but Bob Wills seemed to do this on every Texas Playboys song ever.

What happened to Zeke?
He's dead on Jones, man
How about Dave?
O.D'd on alcohol
Oh, what's Rock doing?
Oh, he's living with his mother
What about James?
He's gone straight