My Favorite Songs That Mention Celebrities (Part One)

“Buddy Holly” is a 1994 song by Weezer, written by frontman Rivers Cuomo, and released as the second single from their debut album, Weezer (The Blue Album); the track blends power pop and alternative rock with playful lyrics that reference pop culture, most notably name-dropping 1950s rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly and actress Mary Tyler Moore,

contrasting the innocence of those figures with the narrator’s defense of his girlfriend against ridicule (“what’s with these homies, dissing my girl?”). The song’s meaning has been interpreted as a celebration of individuality and loyalty in relationships, while simultaneously poking fun at cultural stereotyping.

Though Cuomo initially resisted including it on the album, producer Ric Ocasek convinced him otherwise, and the song became one of Weezer’s signature hits, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and ranking highly in various retrospectives,

including Rolling Stone’s and Pitchfork’s best-of-the-1990s lists. The iconic Spike Jonze–directed music video, which placed the band inside Happy Days through clever editing, further cemented its legacy, winning four MTV Video Music Awards and a Grammy nomination.

“Vogue” is a 1990 dance-pop/house single by Madonna, written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, and released as the lead single from the I’m Breathless soundtrack inspired by the film Dick Tracy; blending deep house beats with glamorous imagery, the song popularized “voguing,” a dance style originating in New York’s Black and Latino LGBTQ ballroom

scene, turning an underground art form into a global phenomenon. Lyrically, the track celebrates escapism, freedom, and self-expression through dance and fashion, with Madonna encouraging listeners to “strike a pose” while name-dropping a roll call of Hollywood Golden Age icons including Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe,

Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner, Bette Davis, Rita Hayworth, and Ginger Rogers, elevating the song into a tribute to timeless celebrity glamour. Multiple versions exist, including the original single, the 12-inch version, the Bette Davis Dub, and remixes featured on later collections such as

The Immaculate Collection and Celebration. The song became one of Madonna’s biggest hits, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and charts in over 30 countries, and has been ranked among her greatest works by Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Slant, while also being hailed as a defining track of the 1990s both musically and culturally.

“Werewolves of London” is a 1978 rock song by Warren Zevon, co-written with LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel, and released as the lead single from his album Excitable Boy; built on a rollicking piano riff played by John McVie of Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood on drums, the track pairs tongue-in-cheek horror imagery with dry humor,

narrating the exploits of a debonair werewolf prowling London. The song’s meaning has been interpreted as a satire on excess, violence, and vanity, with its werewolf protagonist functioning as both a monstrous figure and a metaphor for predatory behavior in modern life. Zevon peppers the lyrics with cultural references,

including celebrities Lon Chaney Sr. and Jr.—famous for their classic monster roles—and Hollywood hot spots like Trader Vic’s and Kent’s, where the werewolf is imagined “drinking a piña colada.” Though originally conceived as a joke, it became Zevon’s biggest hit, peaking at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and later achieved cult status,

ranking among the great novelty-rock tracks of the 1970s, with enduring popularity on classic rock radio and in film and TV soundtracks. Cover versions have been recorded by acts such as Adam Sandler, the Grateful Dead, and Kid Rock (who interpolated it in “All Summer Long”), keeping the song in popular circulation.

“I Am the Walrus” is a 1967 psychedelic rock song by The Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon (though credited to Lennon–McCartney), and released as the B-side to “Hello, Goodbye” and on the Magical Mystery Tour album; it is considered one of the band’s most daring studio experiments, blending surreal lyrics,

orchestral arrangements by George Martin, tape effects, and a live BBC broadcast of Shakespeare’s King Lear in its coda. Lennon composed the song partly to confound those who analyzed Beatles lyrics, deliberately filling it with absurdist and dreamlike imagery inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, nursery rhymes, and his own wordplay,

yet it still reflects a satirical critique of authority and pop culture. The track includes several pointed references: “Semolina pilchard” is widely interpreted as a jab at British drug squad officer Norman Pilcher; “elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna” parodies the spread of Eastern spirituality, with some suggesting a veiled swipe at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi;

and “kicking Edgar Allan Poe” directly name-drops the American literary icon, embedding him in Lennon’s hallucinatory vision. Multiple mixes exist, including U.K. mono and U.S. single versions with different edits, and later remixes on Anthology and Love. Though released as a B-side, it became one of The Beatles’ most celebrated tracks, praised by Rolling Stone, Mojo, and AllMusic as a peak of Lennon’s songwriting and a defining moment of psychedelic rock.

“Message of Love” is a 1981 song by The Pretenders, written by Chrissie Hynde, and first released on the EP Extended Play before appearing on their second studio album Pretenders II; powered by James Honeyman-Scott’s jagged guitar and Hynde’s commanding vocals, the track exemplifies the band’s fusion of punk attitude and new wave polish.

Lyrically, it delivers both toughness and optimism, celebrating love as a force of resilience while threading in Hynde’s wry sense of humor and cultural references. Most famously, she nods to French screen icon Brigitte Bardot and quotes Oscar Wilde’s line “We are all of us in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars,”

intertwining pop culture and philosophy into the song’s swagger. While it didn’t match the chart-topping success of “Brass in Pocket,” the single reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart and earned critical acclaim as one of the standouts of Pretenders II, with Rolling Stone and AllMusic praising its vitality and songwriting craft. Multiple versions exist, including the EP single, the album recording, and live renditions featured on compilations such as The Isle of View.

“I’m Henry VIII, I Am” is a 1965 hit single by Herman’s Hermits, adapted from a British music hall song originally written in 1910 by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston; while the original version was performed in a traditional vaudeville style, Herman’s Hermits reimagined it as a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek pop tune, notable for Peter Noone’s

cheeky vocal delivery and its repeated chorus structure. The lyrics humorously take on the persona of Henry VIII, England’s notorious Tudor monarch, with the narrator boasting about being the king’s “second wife,” a wink at Henry’s famous marital history, making Henry himself the central celebrity reference in the song.

The band’s recording, running under two minutes, was a commercial smash in the U.S., topping the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in August 1965, though it was never released as a single in the U.K. and was often dismissed by critics as a novelty compared to the group’s other work. Over time, however, it has endured as one of Herman’s Hermits’ signature songs, regularly featured in 1960s pop retrospectives and remembered as one of the shortest No. 1 hits in Billboard history.