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Top 10 Songs About Other Musicians

When you make music your life, it's only natural that you'd look at the people around you doing the same and find someone who just moistens the muse's panties. What we've tried to put together here is a list of those best efforts.

Bear in mind, with one notable exception we've steered clear of fellow/former bandmates, and omitted rap entirely as a dis list alone would fill many pages. When it comes to the world of pop and rock, though, here's the cream of the crop.

10. The Smithereens, "Behind the Wall of Sleep"

We'll let Smithereens front man Pat DiNizio tell it himself.

There's a lot of pop imagery in the lyrics (references to the Stones' Bill Wyman and '60s model/icon Jeannie Shrimpton) which I didn't give a lot of thought to at the time but seemed to create a certain interest later on. A true story, the words are about a girl named Kim from an all-girl group out of Boston called The Bristols.

9. The Rolling Stones, "Wild Horses"

It's been said that this song was written by Mick Jagger about Marianne Faithfull, who awoke from a coma to her him say those words. This is pretty much bullshit, but hell, it's our favorite Stones tune and a good story to boot. When in doubt, print the legend.

8. Dolly Parton, "I Will Always Love You"

If someone even thinks the name Whitney Houston then please prepare for a shoryuken right in the empty place where your musical taste is supposed to reside. Parton wrote this song about her mentor and partner Porter Wagoner, with whom she was having a rather bitter business dispute at the time.

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Jef Rouner (not cis, he/him) is a contributing writer who covers politics, pop culture, social justice, video games, and online behavior. He is often a professional annoyance to the ignorant and hurtful.
Contact: Jef Rouner