The Drop is More Famous than the Name

A couple of different things got me wondering about something - Delvin's recent name dropping setlist, and my acquisition of Shake the Foundations, Cherry Red's new post-punk funk compilation, which features a track by the Higsons.

I suspect that way more people have heard Robyn Hitchcock's "Listening to the Higsons" than have ever heard the Higsons themselves. I further suspect that - in America, at least - the Hitchcock song was the first time most people had even heard of the Higsons. I know it was for me.

Are there any other bands that are more famous for being referred to in someone else's song than they are for their own work?I

I'd pondered whether Alex Chilton fit the bill - even though the Replacements never sold boatloads of any album, I would bet that they still sold more than Big Star ever did, but not enough to give them a wide enough margin of recognition over Chilton to fit the bill for this question. There's also the fact that way, way more people know an Alex Chilton song than any Replacements song, even if they don't know it's an Alex Chilton song. Not talking about "The Letter," which Chilton didn't write anyhow, but the theme for That 70's Show. I don't know what the average weekly viewership for that show was, but I'm sure it was a few million souls. And "a few million" is a number of albums the Replacements never sold. (I'm not worrying about whether or not Chris Bell may have been the primary songwriter for that song.) So anyway, I pondered Chilton and pretty quickly ruled him out.

"Smoke on the Water" is way more famous than any Frank Zappa song (except maybe "Valley Girl," but does anyone actually remember that song outside of 80s trivia nights?), but no way is Frank Zappa's main claim to fame being referenced in "Smoke on the Water."

And I have no doubt that there's a decent number of 90s kids who only know of the Del Fuegos because of Juliana Hatfield, but again, I don't feel like "My Sister" overshadows them to the extent that "Listening to the Higsons" does the Higsons. (Of course, it's entirely possible I feel that way because I was familiar with the Del Fuegos before the Hatfield song, unlike the Higsons prior to Hitchcock. If I'd been some 15 year old jasper in 1993 crushing on Juliana Hatfield on 120 Minutes, I'm sure the Del Fuegos would've been the obscurest of the obscure to me. So maybe they work, depending on the age of the listener)

Anyhow, I babble. Any other bands who are exponentially more famous because of someone else's song than they are for their own work?

"Me and You and Jackie Mittoo" by Superchunk?
[www.youtube.com]

“ come on Eileen” starts out with the phrase ‘poor old Johnny Ray’.... who I came to learn after the fact was a singer of some acclaim in years past. I gotta believe more people know the Dexy’s song than him.

... maybe not the best example. Hitchcock and the Higsons shared the same temporal space.

I actually discovered Johnny Ray a few years back when I was doing a deep dive on early 50s singles that paved the way for Rock and Roll. I had no idea until you just mentioned it that the Dexy's intro was referencing him but it makes total sense. He was a closeted gay man who was kind of a proto Elvis, at least in his performance antics if not his actual music, which was closer to Dean Martin. The single "Cry" is frequently sited as a proto Rock N Roll single. He had a stalled career in the states but found a second career in the UK not unlike another Dexy's referenced artist Geno Washington.

The Pixies’ “Surfer Rosa” probly did ok, tho I doubt any videos from it (if there were any) racked up as many views as the one for a song that mentions it, Ok Go’s
"Here It Goes Again".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2021 11:47PM by MrFab.

In Robbie Robertson's song "Somewhere Down the Crazy River," the singer reminisces about "listening to Little Willie John."

Although Little Willie John charted quite a few times in the '50s, I still suspect more music fans are familiar with Robbie Robertson (at least through his work with The Band) than with the R&B singer.

“Mr Bojangles”!

Madness “The Prince” (about Prince Buster)

Led Zeppelin “Hats Off to (Roy) Harper”



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2021 03:18AM by MrFab.

So synchronous! Just yesterday I was listening to The Higsons on "Checkered Past: The 2-Tone Singles" and liking their light funk in the vein of APB that seemed to be at odds with the 2-Tone aesthetic [though horns were involved] and wouldn't you know it, Madness' "The Prince" was also in there!

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2021 05:55AM by Post-Punk Monk.

i dont suppose the Freshies' song about The Teardrop Explodes qualifies...

I always enjoyed the Teenage Fanclub song The Concept and the Status Quo name drop. And since I never have really listened to the Status Quo what does denim have to do with it?

upper90 Wrote:
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> I always enjoyed the Teenage Fanclub song The
> Concept and the Status Quo name drop. And since I
> never have really listened to the Status Quo what
> does denim have to do with it?






About a thousand photos like these. It's known in the UK as "Quo Formation," by the way…

Holy cow, now I get it!! That is hilarious. I will have to check them out some time.

What happens if you don't know there's even a reference to another artist? I'm thinking of "Sowing the Seeds of Love" and the line "kick out The Style bring back The Jam." I'm guessing quite a few heard that and didn't even know it was a reference to Paul Weller's bands. At least with some of the other examples, it's clear that the song is referring to another band/artists.

As for Robbie Robertson, The Band also had the line about "Spike Jones on the box" in "Up on Cripple Creek." I always assumed he was an old musician or singer, but have never bothered to look him up.

RHCP referenced a few bands in the song "Good Time Boys" from 1989--Fishbone, firehose, and Thelonious Monster. I was already a fan of the first two when I heard that song, but wasn't familiar with Thelonious Monster. In the song, they're just referred to as "the monsters." Back in 1989, it took a little effort to figure out who they were talking about, but identifying "the Monsters" was as far as I got. To this day I can't tell you anything about them or what their music sounds like.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2021 11:14PM by That One Guy.

Spike Jones was the bandleader of a screwball musical parody act in the '40s & '50s, probably best known for the tune Der Fuehrer's Face (which Disney used in a cartoon). Spike played percussion with a set up that included everything from washboards & spittoons to car horns & prop guns. Guess he was kinda the Weird Al of the swing era.

uhwelluh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spike Jones was the bandleader of a screwball
> musical parody act in the '40s & '50s, probably
> best known for the tune Der Fuehrer's Face (which
> Disney used in a cartoon). Spike played
> percussion with a set up that included everything
> from washboards & spittoons to car horns & prop
> guns. Guess he was kinda the Weird Al of the
> swing era.

"Weird Al" of the Swing era nails it! And it also goes to show how that punk kid who sent in home recorded tapes to Dr. Demento turned out to be the David Bowie of Novelty Music. Is that the right simile?

An example.

Warning: (very) dated humor.

Spike also inspired the name of an Elvis Costello album. Getting somewhat back on topic.
Spike's one of my musical heroes. Any Bonzos fan should dig him and his cast of loonies.

Thelonious Monster were great! Better as a shambolic live band a la The Replacements, but still made great records. "Stormy Weather" is excellent college slacker rock. Which, granted, doesn't sound like a very appetizing description, hehe. Think of it as their
"Pleased to Meet Me."

I thought of one that fits the bill, breno...

Richard Thompson - "Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Shand

Not to mention "Al Bowlly's in Heaven."

The Clash, and ‘Delroy Wilson, cool operator.’

I don't know if Spike Jones really compares accurately to Weird Al -- not that the comparison does either artist any disservice. But he did do parody renditions of well-known songs, drawing from a variety of genres. His takes on The 1812 Overture and Pagliacci ("Pal-Yat-Chee") are hilarious. And it's a rare artist, in any era, who would record a duet for violin and garbage disposal.

Check out the albums Spike Jones Is Murdering the Classics and Dinner Music for People Who Aren't Very Hungry. Definitely not a musician who's hard to appreciate or enjoy.