Even though sometimes the world of music seems large and expansive, the truth is that all industries are small worlds. Everyone knows each other. They pass by one another in the hallways at awards shows, in the green rooms at festivals. They’ve written together, had drinks together, and sometimes even grown up together. Here below, we wanted to explore that very fact and highlight three classic rock songs that name drop other classic rock artists. It’s a close-knit world (even though sometimes there can be rocker beef between acts) and musicians sometimes end up in each other’s songs. Indeed, these are three classic rock songs that shout out other classic rock stars.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd from ‘Second Helping’ (1974)
In the early 1970s, Neil Young released songs like “Southern Man” and “Alabama” that rubbed the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd the wrong way. So, the group released its own track as a response—the 1974 tune “Sweet Home Alabama”—which called out Young in its southland-loving lyrics. Was this the first-ever diss track? Maybe so. But either way, Lynyrd Skynyrd got its message across when lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant sang the following:
“Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard old Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don’t need him around, anyhow
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I’m comin’ home to you.”
“Downtown” by Neil Young from ‘Mirror Ball’ (1995)
Speaking of Neil Young, the Canadian-born artist released his album Mirror Ball in 1995. On the record, he included the track “Downtown”. The song name drops other big-name artists like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. However, it’s not a call-out like the Lynyrd Skynyrd tune above. Instead, it’s a song more like a fantasy, in which Young envisions a perfect night. On it, he sings reverently:
“Downtown
Let’s go downtown
Downtown tonight
Downtown
Hear the band playin’
Downtown all right
Jimi’s playin’ in the back room
Led Zeppelin on stage
There’s a mirror ball twirlin’
And a note from Page
Like a water-washed diamond
In a river of sin
Goin’ down like a whirlpool
When you get sucked in.”
“The Seeker” by The Who from ‘Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy’ (1971)
The brash British rockers known as The Who released their single “The Seeker” in the early 1970s. It’s a song about searching, about going deeper into the world of rock and roll. And on it, lead vocalist Roger Daltrey decides to name drop big-name artists from the era, including The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Indeed, with his coliseum-shaking voice, Daltrey offers:
“They call me The Seeker
I’ve been searching low and high
I won’t get to get what I’m after
Till the day I die
I asked Bobby Dylan
I asked The Beatles
I asked Timothy Leary
But he couldn’t help me either.”
Photo by Daryl Hannah
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