24 classic songs with girls' names in the title
From the very moment that people started writing songs, there have been a huge amount dedicated to women, perhaps more than any other subject matter. But what are the greatest songs that have a girl's name in the actual title?
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1. The Rolling Stones - Angie
There were rumours that this song was about David Bowie's first wife Angela, Keith Richards' newborn daughter Dandelion Angela, the actress Angie Dickinson, and others. In 2010, Richards said that it was not based on any particular person.
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2. John Denver - Annie's Song
This classic ballad was written as an ode to Denver's wife at the time, Annie Martell Denver.
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3. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Jackson said this song was based on girls who made claims about his brothers having fathered their kids. However, others have theorized that it is based on Jackson's own experience with a crazed fan.
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4. Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia
Paul Simon has said that this song refers to St Cecilia, patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition.
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5. Dexys Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen
Although often thought to have been inspired by Kevin Rowland's childhood friend and ex-girlfriend there was actually no real Eileen. "In fact she was composite, to make a point about Catholic repression."
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6. Tom Jones - Delilah
Co-writer Barry Mason once said that he based the song on a girl he met on vacation in Blackpool when he was 15. However, his former wife Sylvan later said that there was no Delilah in real life.
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7. The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby
Paul McCartney said he came up with the name Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron, who had starred with the Beatles in the film Help!. 'Rigby' came from the name of a store in Bristol, 'Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers'. It has also been pointed out that the graveyard of St Peter's Church in Liverpool, where John Lennon and McCartney first met, also contains the gravestone of a person called Eleanor Rigby.
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8. Laura Branigan - Gloria
This was an English language cover version of an Italian song by Umberto Tozzi.
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9. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
The name 'Iris' was inspired by a country singer named Iris DeMent, whose name singer Johnny Rzeznik came across while reading a magazine.
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10. Joshua Kadison - Jessie
The person named Jessie in this song was rumoured to be actress Sarah Jessica Parker, with whom Kadison was involved at the time.
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11. Dolly Parton - Jolene
According to Dolly, the song was inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who flirted with her husband Carl Dean at their local branch around the time they were newly married. She has also said that Jolene's name and appearance are based on a young fan who came on stage for her autograph.
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12. Marillion - Kayleigh
Lead singer Fish wrote this about his ex-girlfriend Kay, whose middle name was Lee, and their painful breakup.
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13. The Kinks - Lola
Ray Davies has claimed that he was inspired to write this song after Kinks manager Robert Wace spent a night in Paris dancing with a transgender woman.
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14. Rod Stewart - Maggie May
The song was based on a real woman, with Rod saying: "Maggie May was more or less a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the 1961 Beaulieu Jazz Festival." The woman's name was not Maggie May, but was taken from the title of a different folk song.
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15. Barry Manilow - Mandy
This song was originally called 'Brandy' by singer Scott English. It was rumoured for years that English wrote the song about a favorite dog. He later said that a reporter called him early one morning asking who 'Brandy' was, and an irritated English made up the dog story.
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16. The Knack - My Sharona
Singer Doug Fieger met Sharona Alperin when he was 25, and she inspired a two-month-long run of songwriting, as well as becoming Fieger's girlfriend for four years.
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17. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary
In the beginning, this song had nothing to do with a riverboat. Instead, writer John Fogerty saw it as the story of a woman who works as a maid for rich people. "She gets off the bus every morning and goes to work and holds their lives together," he explained. "Then she has to go home."
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18. Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon
Stevie Nicks discovered the name 'Rhiannon' through a novel called 'Triad', by Mary Bartlet Leader. The novel is about a woman named Branwen, who is possessed by another woman named Rhiannon.
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19. Toto - Rosanna
Writer David Paich said that the song is based on numerous girls he had known. As a joke, the band played along with the assumption that it based on actress Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time.
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20. The Police - Roxanne
Sting chose the name Roxanne as it has a rich history behind it. Roxanne was the name of Alexander The Great's wife and Cyrano de Bergerac's girlfriend.
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21. Hall & Oates - Sara Smile
This was written about Daryl Hall's then-girlfriend, Sara Allen. The couple were together for almost 30 years before breaking up in 2001.
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22. Leonard Cohen - Suzanne
'Suzanne' was inspired by Cohen's platonic relationship with Suzanne Verdal, the then-girlfriend of sculptor Armand Vaillancourt.
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23. Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline
In 2007, Diamond said the inspiration for this song was John F Kennedy's daughter, Caroline, who was 11 years old at the time. He sang the song to her at her 50th birthday celebration in 2007.
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24. Steve Winwood - Valerie
Steve once said: "Valerie is a real person, whose identity I will not reveal. She was almost at the top of the world in her profession and let it slip away from her. She was a dear friend and this was my tribute to her."
