Rock ballads about murder always have this mysterious, convicting energy about them. Country and western music once cornered that particular market, but there’s something about rock ballads involving such crimes that just captivate the listener. Let’s look at just a few of the most famous examples, shall we?
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1. “Riders On The Storm” by The Doors
This iconic tune from The Doors is probably the most well-known entry on our list of rock ballads about murder. Jim Morrison wrote this song about a hitchhiker killer named Billy Cook, who killed several people in 1950 and 1951, plus a family dog. He even abducted a deputy sheriff during his killing spree, which lasted 22 days from Missouri to California. Eventually, Cook was apprehended after crossing the border into Mexico, and his motive was determined to be robbery and the elimination of witnesses. He was later executed.
2. “I Just Shot John Lennon” by The Cranberries
This 1993 song by The Cranberries refers to the sudden and tragic death of The Beatles’ John Lennon, who was killed by a gunshot wound from a deranged fan in 1980. The title, specifically, is a quote from murderer Mark David Chapman, who uttered “I just shot John Lennon” before being arrested.
3. “Suffer Little Children” by The Smiths
This Morrissey classic explores the awful Moors murders. For the unaware, the Moors murders were committed by a couple in the mid-1960s and involved in the kidnapping and murder of five children in England, specifically in The Smiths’ hometown of Manchester. The abductions led to widespread paranoia in the area, and that paranoia affected a young Morrissey profoundly.
4. “Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen
“Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen explores a bizarre and tragic little piece of American history. In the late 1950s, one Charles Starkweather went on a killing spree with his teenage girlfriend in tow. He killed her parents, her sister, and then 11 additional victims during the spree. He eventually surrendered to the police. Springsteen captures the darkness of the act quite eloquently.
5. “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine” by The Killers
This entry on this particular list of murder-themed rock ballads is on the younger side. Still, “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine” by The Killers matches the energy of its classic rock predecessors. Brandon Flowers said that Morrissey inspired him to write this tune, and there are some similarities in theme between “Suffer Little Children” and “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine”.
This Killers track, though, follows the tragic story of Jennifer Levin, who was found dead in Central Park in 1986. Her alleged killer was caught, but the jury couldn’t find enough evidence to convict him. He got away with manslaughter and quite famously said that Jenny “was a friend of mine.” Though, the case was obviously more complicated than that.
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