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- Casablanca Records
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Many artists and creatives draw inspiration for their art from their personal lives, and musicians are certainly no exception. In many cases, some of their biggest hits were written about other people, who become immortalized in song, whether they like it or not. Sometimes the person turned inspiration is another celebrity, like in the case of Eric Clapton's song “Layla.” In other instances, the famous name from a song, like Sharona of “My Sharona,” is a regular person who leads an otherwise normal life.
When singing along to many of these name-filled songs, we often don't even realize they are about actual people. From the love stories, to the humorous tales, to the darker inspirations, the people behind these songs turned out to be surprisingly real.
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While Sharona may not be a very common name, the Sharona in the hit song by the Knack is a very real person. Sharona Alperin dated the band’s lead singer, Doug Fieger, for about three years and toured with them during that time. The sleeve of the single features an actual picture of Alperin; according to her, the photo shoot took a mere 10 minutes:
[T]hat’s just what I would walk around in, a t-shirt and Levis… I guess it was considered raunchy since you can see my nipples through the shirt. Nowadays, that outfit would be considered tame.
Alperin has shared that she has had an overwhelmingly positive experience being the inspiration behind the song.The song spent six weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart in 1976. It was the song of that year's summer, and later got another popularity boost after it was featured in the 1994 film Reality Bites. Alperin said that while she did reach a point where she had to turn it off when it came on the radio, she now always keeps it on:
How many people have a song written about them?… I mean, who would I be to say “it’s too much”? I don’t tire of it…
About 70 percent of the people I meet, as soon as I introduce myself as Sharona, they say “My Sharona"… And another 20 percent, you can tell, they’re thinking it in their heads. It’s so funny.
In a stroke of marketing genius, Alperin, who is now a real estate agent in West Los Angeles, has used both the song and lyrics for her real estate website mysharona.com. So if you’re in the market for a home, maybe Sharona Alperin could be your Sharona.
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The Plain White T’s released “Hey There Delilah” in 2006, and it became a smash hit the following year. With that success came the question of who Delilah really was.
The muse behind the song turned out to be Delilah DiCrescenzo, a student at Columbia University that singer and guitarist Tom Higgenson met through a mutual friend. He and Delilah never dated, despite the lyrics insinuating a long distance relationship:
A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes, and trains, and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
And we'll just laugh along because
We know that none of them have felt this wayNot only did Higgenson never date DiCrescenzo, but she was also reportedly in a relationship at the time that they met. Higgenson has since stated that he wrote the song as a sign of romantic interest, but DiCrescenzo apparently never reciprocated these feelings. It seems DiCrescenzo didn't mind all the fanfare surrounding her name, however, as she accepted an invitation to attend the 2008 Grammys with the band.
In addition to her “Hey There Delilah” fame, DiCrescenzo has also had an impressive athletic career as a distance runner.
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- Ueli Frey
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Often dubbed a “one-hit wonder,” Dexys Midnight Runners found international success with their 1982 song, “Come On Eileen.” The popular tune was written by lead singer Kevin Rowland, trombone player Jim Paterson, and guitarist Al Archer.
The song was based on a real girl, Eileen, whom Rowland had grown up with and had a relationship with while they were teenagers. The pair grew up in a very strict Catholic community and attended church together. The song touches on the conflicting feelings that teenagers encounter when they face Catholic shame and guilt along with a burgeoning sense of sexuality. Rowland explained to Melody Maker:
It’s absolutely true all the way. I was about 14 or 15 and sex came into it and our relationship had always been so clean. It seemed at the time to get dirty and that’s what it’s about. I was really trying to capture that atmosphere.
The song was the only American No. 1 hit for the group and is considered an '80s classic despite not having any of the typical sounds or instruments of the era's hits.
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4‘Jolene’ Was Written About A Woman Who Flirted With Dolly Parton’s Husband
Dolly Parton released the song “Jolene” in 1973 and it became an instant classic that would be covered by many artists in years to come. Many women couldn’t help but sympathize with Parton's song, as she pleads with another woman not to take her man “just because you can.”
As it turns out, Jolene, with her auburn hair and eyes of emerald green, was a real woman, a red-headed bank teller, who Parton knew was flirting with her husband Carl Thomas Dean. Parton told NPR:
She got this terrible crush on my husband… And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us - when I was saying, “Hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money.”
Parton wrote the song to speak to a universal sense of inadequacy that even she's fallen prey to:
She had everything I didn't, like legs - you know, she was about 6 feet tall. And had all that stuff that some little short, sawed-off honky like me don't have… So no matter how beautiful a woman might be, you're always threatened by certain... You're always threatened by other women, period.
It seems Parton had nothing to worry about with the real Jolene, however, as she and Dean have been happily married since 1966. And though the bank teller inspired the character of the song, there's a sweeter inspiration behind the name “Jolene.” Parton recalled:
One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl - she was probably 8 years old at the time… And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. I said, “Well, you're the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?” And she said, “Jolene.” And I said, “Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.” I said, “That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that.”
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Rick Springfield is an Australian artist most famous for his classic rock tune, “Jessie’s Girl.” Despite having been released over 40 years ago, it remains a popular sing-along song. Perhaps it’s the theme (the song revolves around a guy who's in love with his best friend's girl) that still resonates. It’s a timeless tale and one that Springfield found himself in in the 1970s.
The inspiration came from his younger days, where, as Springfield describes, “I was always girl-obsessed but unbelievably shy. I didn’t get a whole lot of satisfaction, so to speak.”
While taking an art class, Springfield befriended a guy named Gary (not Jessie) who was dating a girl that Springfield secretly had a crush on. Springfield never made his feelings known, nor even spoke to the girl he was “panting over from afar.” He eventually lost touch with the couple, but Springfield didn’t forget Gary's girl or the feelings the situation evoked in him. The result? A Grammy-winning pop song that charted at No. 1 the same week it was released.
Many today can still relate to the following chorus:
…Jessie's girl
I wish that I had Jessie's girl
Where can I find a woman like that?
Of the cheery tune's subject matter, Springfield said, “It’s a bubbly and vivacious song, but it’s dark. It’s also covetous, which a lot of my music is.”
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When you hear “Stacy's Mom,” it's hard not to mouth along the words “has got it going on.” The 2003 hit was nominated for a Grammy and reached No. 1 on the iTunes Most Downloaded Chart. Fountains of Wayne singer Adam Schlesinger wrote the song, and described getting inspiration after one of his friends was attracted to Schlesinger’s grandmother:
Well, one of my best friends told me that he thought my grandmother was really hot, that added a little bit to the song. That’s a true story. And my grandmother was pretty hot.
Schlesinger also pulled inspiration from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.”
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- Hotstar90
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While the song “Barbara Ann” by the Regents may not sound familiar to more recent generations, it was a big hit when it was released in 1961. Unfortunately for the Regents, the version of the song most likely to come to mind today is probably the cover released by the Beach Boys in 1965.
Perhaps more surprising than the Beach Boys version being a cover is the story behind “Barbara Ann.” The song was written by Fred Fassert, and its titular inspiration was actually Fassert's younger sister, Barbara Ann. This makes the lyrics, about a guy going to a dance and becoming smitten with a girl named Barbara Ann, a bit awkward to say the least. But Fred Fassert wasn't singing the song. He gave it to the Regents because his brother, Charles, was a member of the band. This left Charles Fassert singing the song named after his sister, written by his brother.
Then again, when you can make that catchy of a chorus out of one name, who cares who it belongs to?
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With an exceptional guitar intro and an even more memorable chorus, “Layla” is a rock classic. Eric Clapton bares his soul as he sings out:
Layla, you've got me on my knees
Layla, I'm begging, darling please
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind
While these are easily some of the most recognizable lyrics in rock ‘n’ roll history, it may come as a surprise that “Layla” is actually a stand-in for Pattie Boyd. Boyd was an English model who was married to Beatles member George Harrison. Harrison and Clapton were friends, but this didn’t stop Clapton from falling madly in love with Boyd.
Clapton got the name “Layla” from The Story of Layla and Majnun, a 12th-century tale of a princess who is forced to marry by her father, leaving her true love bereft and mad. Clapton reportedly wrote the 1970 hit as a bid to Boyd to leave Harrison for him. Boyd later said, “With the realization that I had inspired such passion and creativity… the song got the better of me. I could resist no longer.”
While Boyd and Clapton reportedly had a brief affair at this time, she remained married to Harrison until 1974. She allegedly called it quits with Harrison due to his numerous affairs, including one with Ringo Starr's wife. Clapton and Boyd then decided to give marriage a go in 1979. Unfortunately, Clapton’s drug and alcohol use, along with multiple affairs, led to their divorce in 1989.
Despite the messy love triangle, Boyd said the friendship between Harrison and Clapton remained intact:
The first Christmas after I’d left him, in 1974, just as Eric and I were sitting down to lunch, George burst in, uninvited… He had some wine and Christmas pudding with us. I couldn’t believe how friendly he and Eric were towards each other.
Boyd wasn't only an inspiration to Clapton - she also reportedly inspired Harrison to write “Something.”
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- Cecil Stoughton (White House Photographs)
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
Neil Diamond's 1969 song, “Sweet Caroline,” (bum, bum, bum), was long believed to be about President John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Kennedy. It turns out that isn't exactly the case. Diamond dispelled the rumors in 2014 when he told Today:
I was writing a song in Memphis, Tennessee, for a session. I needed a three-syllable name. The song was about my wife at the time - her name was Marsha - and I couldn't get a “Marsha” rhyme.
While this confession seemed to point to the use of “Caroline” for practical reasons, in the past, Diamond has pointed out the Caroline Kennedy connection himself. He performed the song for Kennedy's 50th birthday celebration. He also stated in 2007 that he was inspired by a photo of young Caroline Kennedy:
It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony… It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there.
It seems that Diamond has changed his tune, or perhaps that Marsha inspired the song, while Caroline Kennedy inspired the titular name.
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Global superstar Michael Jackson changed music history. His fans were among some of the most passionate and dedicated a musician could have. But being such a famous figure meant he attracted a lot of attention. Some of this attention became quite problematic and supposedly resulted in Jackson writing one of his most famous songs, “Billie Jean,” about his experience.
Despite its upbeat sound, Jackson allegedly wrote “Billie Jean” about an actual stalker. His biographer, Randy Taraborrelli, claimed a woman began writing Jackson letters in 1981, saying he was the father of her child. The letters escalated and she eventually sent him a package with a gun, which seriously alarmed Jackson. Music producer Quincy Jones, who was behind Michael Jackson's Thriller, also said the song referenced a real stalker: "[Jackson] said it was about a girl who climbed over [his] wall and he woke up one morning and she was laying out by the pool.”
Jackson never confirmed the existence of Billie Jean himself, instead writing in his autobiography that the girl was “a composite of people my brothers have been plagued with over the years.”
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Since its release about 50 years ago, The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” has often been misunderstood. According to lead guitarist Pete Townshend, the song was written about:
[T]he absolute desolation of teenagers at Woodstock, where audience members were strung out on acid, and 20 people had brain damage. The irony was that some listeners took the song to be a teenage celebration: "Teenage Wasteland, yes! We're all wasted!"
Meanwhile, the titular “Baba O’Riley” is actually based on two people, Townshend's main philosophical and musical inspirations at the time: Indian spiritual master Meher Baba and composer Terry Riley. In this case, they influenced the music, rather than the lyrics, as Townshend developed his Lifehouse Method music software. According to Townshend:
For the Lifehouse series of electronic music experiments which involved trying to use statistical information about people to make random music... You put your height and weight and astrological details, the color of your skin and length of your hair, and [away] you go and you get a piece of music out the back... I thought I would start with an experiment based on the statistics of my Indian Master at the time, Meher Baba. When I finished I was amazed to hear that the end results sounded very much like a piece by a guy called Terry Riley, who I was very into at the time. So I called it Baba O’Riley.
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- Casablanca Records
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12‘Plaster Caster’ By Kiss Is About Groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster, Who Made Plaster Molds Of Musicians’ Genitalia
Kiss is easily one of the most recognizable and influential rock bands of all time. From their show-stopping makeup to their screaming lyrics, Kiss has reached legendary music status. While all their music has backstories, one song specifically, “Plaster Caster,” has a catchy melody and a backstory that would make anyone blush.
The song is based on the work of artist Cynthia Albritton AKA Cynthia Plaster Caster, who created plaster molds of rock 'n' roll musicians' penises. Albritton got started in her unusual line of work as an art student in Chicago. A teacher assigned a project of making plaster casts of “something solid that could retain its shape.” A huge rock 'n' roll groupie, Albritton got the idea for her penis molds.
She was initially turned down by many musicians until Jimi Hendrix came along and agreed to having a mold made. That opened the door, and soon enough, she had music managers and other rock stars reaching out to have their molds made. After that, Albritton, or rather Plaster Caster, became a known name in the rock 'n' roll scene.
Ironically, none of the Kiss members had molds of their penises made, but their song about Albritton’s activities made her story well known to the world. In response, Albritton told Songfacts:
When someone first alerted me to the song “Plaster Caster,” I wasn't too thrilled. It seemed like Gene Simmons wrote the song to make people think that he'd been casted, which he most certainly never was. But years later when Evan Dando's band the Lemonheads covered it, I started to notice how catchy the melody was. Nowadays, I'm all right with the song. Don't LOVE it, but I like it. If it's changed my life, I'm not aware of it.
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13Lady Gaga’s ‘Alejandro’ References Three ‘Boyfriends’
Lady Gaga is a globally successful singer-songwriter and has been breaking onto the acting scene as of late. One of her catchiest singles early on in her musical career was “Alejandro” from her album Fame Monster. All songs on the album tackle Gaga's different “monsters.” In the case of “Alejandro,” the monster is reportedly her fear of men.
The song is supposedly about saying goodbye to past boyfriends, and references three “boyfriends” in the lyrics: Alejandro, Fernando, and Roberto. According to LiveAbout, these names weren't random, but rather references to actual men who hold significance in Gaga's life.
“Alejandro” is supposed to be for fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who passed shortly before the song's release; Gaga was reportedly McQueen's “unofficial muse.” “Fernando” is said to be for Gaga's producer Fernando Garibay, and “Roberto” for former collaborator and producer Rob Fusari, who allegedly dated Gaga and later sued her.
The song's music video became one of her most controversial given that it mixed a lot of religious imagery with sexual innuendo. Gaga told Larry King that the music video is “a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community.”
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Adam Levine’s Ex-Girlfriend Jane Inspired A Line In Every Song On The Album 'Songs About Jane’
Maroon 5’s debut album, Songs About Jane, sold over 10 million copies. The album was a success despite the sad themes that accompanied many of the songs. Some people initially believed Jane was a reference to cannabis, but lead singer Adam Levine cleared that up by explaining that Jane is in fact a real person: his ex-girlfriend Jane Herman. As he told author Gavin Edwards,
Jane is my ex-girlfriend… I wanted to name the record really sincerely—record names are so clever and cute these days. I was eighteen or nineteen when I saw Jane at the gas station, and I fell in love with her. I sweet-talked her, made her fall in love with me, then I got frustrated with her and we parted ways.
When Levine was asked how Herman felt about an album named after her, Levine said, “I actually asked her permission… That was the last time we spoke. She seemed flattered, but I know she disapproves of me and what I do with my life.”
While not every song is specifically about Levine's relationship with Herman, the Maroon 5 frontman did say that “there's at least one line in every song about her… But it also just happens that Jane is such a common name, you know, like Jane Doe.”
One of the album's biggest hits, “This Love” was reportedly written about the day Herman and Levine broke up and she moved away. Levine's then-girlfriend, model Kelly McGee starred in the music video.
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