1. The Bush song "Glycerine" contains the lyrics, "We live in a wheel, where everyone steals but when we rise it's like Strawberry Fields."
2. On the new album from popular Aussie band Custard, 'Lovearama', there's a song titled 'I Feel Like Ringo'. According to the band, it's about 'the futility of the rock industry.' Hmmm...
3. In the Tori Amos song "Happy Phantom", she sings, "And if I die today, I'll be the happy phantom...I'll wake up in Strawberry Fields everyday.." Thanks Liz!
4. Ricky Nelson's last hit, "Garden Party", is about a big party full of celebrities. One lyric is, "Yoko's brought her walrus".
5. There's a ska band called the Blue Meanies. Thanks Izzy for #4 & 5!
6. The band Veruca Salt has an album entitled "Eight Arms To Hold You," which was also a proposed title for the Beatles movie, "Help!" Thanks Trish!
7. In "Never Been to Spain" by Three Dog Night there's the line "I've never been to England but I kind of like the Beatles."
8. In "The Seeker" by The Who: "I asked Bobby Dylan, I asked the Beatles...."
9. In "All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople (and written by David Bowie) "and my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones, never got enough of that revolution stuff.".
10. In "Ball of Confusion" by The Temptations.. "The Beatles' new record's a gas.".
11. In "Ballrooms of Mars" by T.Rex there's the line "John Lennon knows your name and I've seen his." (from the 1973 album THE SLIDER, photograph cover by Ringo Starr).
12. In The Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio" "Do you remember Jerry Lee, John Lennon, T.Rex and old Moulty."
13. Blondie does a song called "English Boys" which pays tribute to the Beatles.
14. In "London Calling" by The Clash is the line "Don't look to us, phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust" (almost exactly what John Lennon himself said about ten years earlier).
15. In "Joe's Garage" by Frank Zappa, "Got matching suits and Beatle boots".
16. And in "Other Side of Summer" Elvis Costello makes a passing mention to "a millionaire who said Imagine no possessions." Thanks so much to Marty Rotten for #7 to 16!
17. There's an Adelaide-based "cyber pop group" called, Juju Eyeballs. (Possibly from "Come Together... "he got, juju eyeball, he one, holy roller...)
18. The Peter, Paul, and Mary song "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" says "and when the Beatles tell you they've got a word love to sell you, they mean exactly what they say".
19. The Animals song "The Story of Bo Diddley" has Eric Burdon singing part of "A Hard Day's Night".
20. In Mick Jagger and David Bowie's cover of "Dancing in the Streets", Mick says suddenly in the middle,"I'm back in the USSR!".
21. The Bad Company song "Shooting Star" says "Johnny was a schoolboy when he heard his first Beatles song. "Love Me Do" I think it was..."
22. In "I Saw it On TV" John Fogerty sings "four guys from England who took us all by the hand". Thanks to Izzy for #18 to 22!
23. A group called Blue Mink had a hit with "Melting Pot", which included a verse about religion, "You've got the Beatles or the sun-gods..."
24. There's a song by the the Lovin' Spoonful about how current music is "offending to my ears...but the kids come over from the Mersey River made us think back to then...." Thanks Fin!
25. In the song "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel, they say "Goo goo g'joob, Mrs. Robinson". Thanks to stoops222 and Ashley!
26. In "Life in A Northern Town" by Dream Academy... "In winter 1963/ it felt like the world would freeze/ with John F. Kennedy/ and the Beatles". [followed by Beatlemanic screaming!]
27. The Mamas and the Papas' version of "I Call Your Name" was Mama Cass' tribute to John. She whispers, "John... John..." during the instrumental break. Thanks to Trish for #26-27!
28.
And how could we forget "American Pie", by
Don McLean!
a)
"And
while Lennon
read a book on Marx" (possible wordplay on Lenin/ Lennon)
b)
The
quartet
practised in the park" Possibly referring to the Candlestick Park concert.
Thanks
Matt for 28.b)!
c)
"Helter
Skelter in a summer swelter"
d)
"While
sergeants
played a marching tune/ We all got up to dance/ Oh, but we never got the
chance" (Before they settled into the studio to create Sgt
Pepper in 1967, the
Beatles gave their final [official] concert
at Candlestick Park in 1966. It lasted 35 minutes, and no one could have
heard much of the music over the deafening roar of the crowd.)
e)
"Cause
the players tried to take the field/ The marching
band refused to yield." (Astute commentary
on the Beatles'
place at the pinnacle of popularity, innovation, and record sales!) Thanks
Clare! :)
29. The rock band Veruca Salt named their latest album "Resolver" after the Beatles album Revolver. Thanks Jenny!
30.
Oasis
are quite open about their
Beatle adoration,
as you can see from these numerous references...
a)
Liam
Gallagher, the lead singer, named his first son Lennon.
b)
He
also once said, "We're bigger than Jesus..."
c)
The
song "Be Here Now" on the album of the same name, includes
the lyric,"Sing a song for me one from Let It
Be..."
d)
In
"Do
Ya Know What I Mean", a lyric goes "The
fool on the hill and I feel fine..."
e)
"Fade
In Out" has the lyric,"So get on the Helter
Skelter..."
f)
In
the song "What's The Story Morning Glory" there's a lyric
that goes, "Tomorrow Never Knows what
it dosen't know too soon..."
g)
Another
song lyric, from "Supersonic", "Can I ride with you in your
BMW, you can sail with me in my
Yellow Submarine"
h)
In
"My
Big Mouth"... " I got somethin' in my shoes it's keepin' me from
walkin' down The Long and Winding Road
and backhome to you."
i)
The
song "Don't Look Back In Anger" has a direct quote from John
Lennon... "Gonna start a Revolution from
my bed, 'cos you said the brains I had went to my head." Adds
Nezhead28: The opening keys are almost
exactly the same as those of "Imagine".
j)
From
"Rocking Chair"...
"It's hard enough sittin' there, rockin'
in your rockin' chair, It's All Too Much To
Take when you're not there"
k)
The
video to 'All Around The World" is very Yellow
Submarine-ish.
l)
There's
a song called "Magic Pie" that is a reference to Paul
McCartney's album Flaming Pie.
m)
In
the video to "Don't Go Away" there are a lot of scenes with
people carrying umbrellas... it looks a lot like a scene from "Eleanor
Rigby" in Yellow Submarine. Thanks
a heap to Ewan!
n)
Christoffer
adds.. Their publishing company is called
Helter
Skelter.
31. "British Beatlemania" is one of the things that Billy Joel mentions in "We Didn't Start the Fire".
32. From "Key West Intermezzo" by John Mellencamp: "This loud Cuban band is crucifying John Lennon" . Ta Lois!
33. The Cranberries, have an album titled "To the Faithful Departed" and track no.9 is called "I just shot John Lennon", and is about the night of his death. Thanks TertipesMann!
34. Elton John's song "Empty Garden" is a tribute to John Lennon, also has the words "Hey, Hey Johnny". Thanks Travis!
35. In The Monkees song 'Randy Scouse Git' AKA 'Alternate Title', the line "The four Kings of EMI are sitting stately on the floor" is a reference to the Beatles sitting around while having tea during the reccording of Sgt. Peppers. The author of the song, Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz was with them for a few weeks during that summer. Thanks Penguin MV! Adds Nezhead28: In a concert version of the same song, Micky introduces the song by saying, "Back in 1967, these guys called the Beatles threw us a party. I don't remember much about the party, but I'm told I had a wonderful time."
36. In "It Doesn't Matter" by Wyclef Jean feat. the Rock, they say "Girls scream for me like I was part of The Beatles, but I'm not honey. But I could be your Paul McCartney. An ebony or ivory into my Jacuzzi." Thanks Sarah!
37. A group called SR-71 has made a song called 'Paul McCartney': "We'll take our time / To tell each other's lies / In a world so much brighter / If Paul were still alive).
38. ELO has made a song called "Shangri-La", where they sing: "My Shangri-la has gone away / Faded like the Beatles on Hey Jude."
39. Barenaked Ladies has a song called 'Be My Yoko Ono'. Thanks Anna-Maria for #37-39! Adds Emily: The whole thing is pretty much one huge reference to John and Yoko. It includes the lines, "Barenaked as two virgins hand in hand... / Now that I'm far away it doesn't seem to me to be such a pain / To have you hanging off my ankle like some ball and chain" ; "But I don't like all these people slagging her / For breaking up the Beatles / If I was John and you were Yoko / I would gladly give up musical genius".
40. Johnny Rivers had a song called "Summer Rain" that goes "All summer long we spent groovin in the sand, and the jukebox kept on playing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Thanks Robbi!
41. Ozzy Ozbourne stated in an interview on a news programme that his biggest musical influence was the Beatles. Thanks Greenmyst!
42. Sheryl Crow's song called "Must Be Angels" there is a line that says something like "my sister says she knows Jesus, John Lennon and Cobain personally".
43. And in the Shania Twain song called "When" is has a line that says, "And hear on CNN that Elvis lives again, and that John's back with the Beatles and they're goin' back on tour." Thanks Ashley for #42-3!
44. On the New Radicals album "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too", the song "I Hope I Just Didn't Give Away the Ending" has the line "I burned my Beatles records because she hated Number Nine".
45. On the Dar Williams album "The Green World" there is a song called "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono". The whole song references John And Yoko. Thanks John M. for #44-5!
46.
At the beginning of the video "Sing" by Travis
a woman is throwing sticky darts at a TV screen of the band playing. I
couldn't help but feel like that was directly taken from the beginning
of the film "Help!", when the religious
cult guy is throwing sticky darts at footage of the Beatles
playing! Thanks George!
Have you found any other references??
Email me at kyles223@hotmail.com
and I'll include them here!! Please don't forget to include your
name so that I can credit them to you!
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