Singers Who Mention Their Own Names in Songs

I recently watched an episode of Biography about the band Queen and singer Freddie Mercury on the A & E network. As I watched several clips of their famous videos, I noticed something quite unusual in the song, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. In the chorus, Mercury's first name is mentioned in the backing vocals. Mercury sings, "Take a long ride on my motorbike until I'm ready." The backing vocalists then say, "Ready Freddie," then Mercury sings the title line.

I found it amusing that the band mentioned Mercury's first name in the song, and I began to wonder how many other recording artists used their first names in their own songs. I immediately thought of the Beatles, since they had Ringo's Theme (Act Naturally) and would not be averse to using their own names in songs. John Lennon classic Glass Onion, from the White Album, does mention that "The walrus was Paul," but there are no Fab Four songs where the singer mentions his own name.

Lennon as a solo artist does make the list, though, of the best ten songs on which the artist or singer mentions himself.

10. Hiroshima (B B B Benny Bangs His Head) by Ben Folds: This delightful tune from Way to Normal shows Folds laughing about the serious fall he took from the piano while playing in Japan. He even includes a piano piece and chorus paying tribute to Elton John's Bennie and the Jets.

9. Super Dave by The Screaming Mimes: The Cincinnati band's singer and songwriter, Dave Storm, admits that he feels like a superhero ("Super Dave will come and save you now") when it comes to helping the girl he loves in this track from the album Tragedy Comic.

8. The Doctor by Loudon Wainwright: According to this track from History, when this folk singer visited his physician, he was told, "Loud, you've got to stop hanging out with that old crowd."

7. Piano Man by Billy Joel: This autobiographical tune was the title track from Joel's first album to chart. He gives a first person account of his experience playing piano in bars and describes the various clients who frequent them, including the bartender, who says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."

6. #9 Dream by John Lennon: In this beautiful song from Walls and Bridges, Lennon recalls the dream. He sings, "I heard somebody calling my name, (John) as it started to rain."

5. Teenage Wildlife by David Bowie: This musically appealing hit from Scary Monsters is about being displaced by the "Same old thing in brand new drag." Bowie addresses the paranoia by asking himself, "David, what shall I do, They wait for me in hallways?"

4. I Shall Be Free by Bob Dylan: On one of the lighter tracks used to complement Freewheelin' political assaults such as Masters of War, Dylan discusses his dream about President Kennedy. He asks, "My friend Bob, what do we need to make the country grow? I said my friend, John, Bridgette Bardot, Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren, Country'll grow."

3. Family Tradition by Hank Williams Jr.: The title track from one of Hank's most popular albums is highlighted by the chorus, where the famous son is asked, "Hank, why do you drink? And Hank, why do you roll smoke? And why must you live out the songs that you wrote?"

2. Taxi by Harry Chapin: The late singer-songwriter penned this title track about a cabbie who meets a childhood sweetheart, now a wealthy middle-aged woman. She asks him, "How are you, Harry?" and later, after giving him a twenty, says, "Harry, keep the change."

1. The Great Compromise by John Prine: The cheating woman in this heart-wrenching folk song from Diamonds in the Rough says to Prine at the drive-in, "John, won't you get some popcorn?" While he's gone, he says, "She hopped into a foreign sports car."