Songs dedicated to women. Part 2
Содержание
Today we will remember about the compositions that great rock musicians dedicated to the beautiful half of humanity - women. It is an interesting fact that about 30% of all superhits that you know are dedicated to girls and women. В previous article we've only remembered a small fraction of these songs, so today we're going to continue to explore them. So, songs to women, part 2. Let's continue our list...
Aerosmith - Janie's Got a Gun (1989)
The composition with the loud and even frightening title "Jenny's Got a Gun" became one of the most successful and most sensational Aerosmith creations. And it's not just about the original arrangement. The meaning of the lyrics is what really sets this song apart from the rest of the band's repertoire. The track unfolds before the listener the story of a girl who shoots her father for... violence. This is how the author of the hit, Steven Tyler, explained his thought:
"This song is about a girl who was raped and morally robbed by her father. This happens to a lot of children and it's a gross parental crime... It's actually very scary. After countless news broadcasts about such cases, I realised I had a duty to sing about it. I was also inspired by Liv - my daughter. She is a precious child of God. Of course, every father sees in his little girl a part of the girl he married. But there are ways to love a child without making love to them. I wrote a song about Jenny about all fathers who know no boundaries and no difference in love."
The song peaked on the US charts in February 1990, a week before the band performed it on Saturday Night Live. The music video for "Janie's Got a Gun" was voted one of the most cinematic spots on MTV. It features a girl allegedly killing her father and the subsequent crime scene.
Ritchie Valens - Donna (1958)
Donna is the first and last true love of American-Mexican rock 'n' roll legend Richie Valens. The couple met at one of the parties in a garage where Ritchie was playing. As a result, they shared two and a half years of happy memories together... A very tender and heartfelt composition written by the musician in honour of his beloved was released in October 1959, three months before Valens' tragic death.
https://youtu.be/IC9zULGSMyA
The first time the girl heard this touching thing was on the radio in her car. Then - she couldn't believe her ears. Her friends went crazy when the DJ played the track over and over again. Here's what the mastermind behind the inspiration later recounted:
"Richie was my first true love and my first experience of losing a loved one... He was a very nice guy: kind, sensitive and always polite. He loved to dress well and always looked good. I still remember his Old Spice aftershave. Richie loved his family very much and talked about them often. He wanted to buy his mum a house. His mum and I became very close. She made me feel like I was part of their family. The Ritchie family has impacted me and my life. They have shown me that with the love and support of loved ones you can overcome anything. They are a blessing to me and my family...".
The Rolling Stones - Angie (1973)
The acoustic ballad by the legendary Rolling Stones has been causing a lot of controversy and questions for over forty years. Who is this mysterious Angie - still remains a mystery... The whole problem is that people who had something to do with the recording of the track are reluctant to reveal completely different data. And there is not much confidence in their words. Perhaps the real prototype of the heroine simply did not exist. Well, or her person will forever remain a mystery, which the authors of the ballad are not going to disclose, for reasons unknown to us.
The lyrical composition is dedicated to a love that has passed away. The depth of the performance is truly mesmerising, suggesting that the heroine who inspired Jagger and Richards to create such an enchanting piece was real. Immediately after its release, the single soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. To this day, the track is still considered the centrepiece of the legendary band's repertoire.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mary Jane's Last Dance (1993)
The heroine of the song about the Indiana girl Mary Jane, like Rolling Stone's Angie, is shrouded in mystery. Tom Petty never divulged what or "who" he composed the song about. Many believe that the song was dedicated to the musician's ex-wife Jane, with whom Tom separated exactly a year before writing the track. Mike Campbell, a friend and colleague of the celebrated performer, regards his mate's immortal creation as follows:
"It could be anything you'd like to believe. A lot of people think it's a drug, and that could very well be true. But nobody rules out the fact that this song could be a farewell reference to a faded love."
The music video for the song was very interesting and slightly comical. In it, Petty played the role of an undertaker who fell in love with the corpse of a beautiful woman. The latter, by the way, was played by the famous actress Kim Basinger. The clip was recognised as the Best Male Video at the Video Music Awards.
Adriano Celentano - Susanna (1983)
Listeners are used to the fact that, mostly, the legendary Adriano Celentano performs his own songs. But his most successful hit about Susanna was an exception. Borrowed from VOF de Kunst, the composition about the mysterious beauty remains the loudest single in Celentano's song bank. Whether the author of the track had a real Susanna in his life is unknown. Or perhaps the musician simply followed in the footsteps of many fellow musicians, labelling his love with a beautiful female name. But most likely, the flirtatious seductress existed. In any case, now it will remain a mystery for many fans of the single.
Curiously, the soul version performed by Celentano is so beloved by listeners that few people remember the original creators of the hit. The composition became the leader of the Single Top 100 in the Netherlands. Its motif and lyrics are clear without further explanation. "Susanna" tells the story of a man madly in love, from whom his beloved constantly slips away, but he does not lose hope to find her again....
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (1983)
The legendary "Billie Jean" is one of the most famous and commercially successful creations of the King of Pop, whose popularity in his time went far beyond what was possible. Jackson himself admitted that he wrote his best composition under the influence of personal experiences. Billie Jean is not any particular person, but the cumulative image of the crazy groupies, who in the sixties were called, briefly and understandably, "groupies". Michael Jackson:
"For a long time I was stalked by an insane woman who claimed I was the father of her child. She bombarded me with letters, and afterwards her behaviour went beyond all limits. She sent me a parcel containing a gun and a note telling me to shoot myself. She vowed to do the same to herself so we could be together again after her death. As far as I know, she later ended up in a psychiatric hospital".
One way or another, the song became a megahit. Released in the winter of 1983, "Billie Jean" instantly topped the charts in several countries, becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide. The song was honoured with two Grammys and several other prestigious awards. Today, the track about crazy fans is included in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
