U.S. Place names in pop music

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Philadelphia Freedom, by Elton John

Tim

Doesn't he yell "Detroit!" somewhere in "Heart of Rock N Roll", also?

Hmmm... let's see:
"Man From Milwaukee" by Hanson (I like them in 6th grade, okay??) lol
"Walking in Memphis"
"Queen of New Orleans" by Jon Bon Jovi
"Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chilli Peppers- (The City of Angels= L.A.)
"Allentown" by Billy Joel (I think... where is Allentown?)

Detroit Rock City!
Dirty Water by the Standells (It's the one with "Oh Boston you're my town)
For Boston by the Dropkick Murphys
There's a couple of good references in "Me and Bobby McGee" (Busted flat in Baton Rouge...From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun...)

There's millions more, but I can't think of them right now

What about "Rock'n Me" - Steve Miller Band? One of the lines in the song goes "I went from Phoenix Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, LA. Northern California, where the girls are warmer..."

Also, "New York To LA" - Patsy Gallant.

And there is a reference to a brother in St Paul in the Dan Fogelberg song "Leader Of The Band".

Others are "Arizona" - Mark Lindsay, "Sausalito Summernight" - Diesel, "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" - Charlie Daniels Band, "Blue Hawaii" - Elvis Presley, "Memphis Tennessee" - Johnny Rivers (other versions too), "Green River" - Creedence Clearwater Revival, "St Louis Blues" - Andre Kostalanetz (1940's), "Arkansas Grass" - Axiom, "Detroit Girls" - Starz and "Foxy Girls in Oakland" - Rodger Collins.

The Little River Band had a song called "Home On A Monday" which included a line "I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the man from Memphis".

Some more:

"Wheelin' West Virginia" - Neil Sedaka

"Albuquerque" - Weird Al Yankovic.

"NY You Got Me Dancing" - Andrea True Connection.

"New York Groove" - Ace Frehley.

"Do You Know The Way to San Jose" - Dionne Warwick.

"Is This The Way To Amarillo" - Tony Christie.

"Last Train to Clarksville" - The Monkees.

"Desert Moon" - Denis De Young

"Kansas City" - The Beatles.

"California Dreaming" - Mamas & Papas/ Beach Boys.

"California Soul" - Brenda & The Tabulations/ Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

"Pasadena" - John Paul Young/ Ted Mulry.

"St Louis" - Easybeats.

"Red River Rock" - Duane Eddy.

"Sweet Home Chicago" - Spencer Davis Group.

"Ventura Highway" - America.

"San Franciscan Nights" - Eric Burdon & The Animals.

"King Of Hollywood" - The Eagles.

"Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)" - Everclear.

"Pennsylvania Polka" - Frankie Yankovic (no relative to Weird Al)

"New Orleans" - Gary U.S. Bonds.

"Viva Las Vegas" - Elvis Presley/ ZZ Top.

"First We Take Manhattan" - Jennifer Warnes.

"Rocky Mountain Way" - Joe Walsh.

"New York Mining Disaster 1941" - Bee Gees.

"Midnight Train To Georgia" - Gladys Knight & The Pips.

"Nights on Broadway" - Bee Gees.

"On Broadway" - George Benson.

"Atlanta Lady" - Marty Balin.

"New York Minute" - The Eagles.

"Kentucky Rain" - Elvis Presley.

"Harlem Slalom" - Rick Wakeman.

"The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" - Vicki Lawrence.

"California Day" - Strawberry Alarm Clock.

"It Never Rains In Southern California" - Albert Hammond.

"Two Miles Out Of Georgia" - Suzi Quatro.

"Nut Bush City Limits" - Tina Turner.

"To Live And Die In L.A." - Wang Chung.

"Statue Of Liberty" - Little River Band/ XTC (two completely different songs).

"California Day" - Starland Vocal Band.

"Arizona Sky" - China Crisis.

"Seattle/Washington/Prague 00/68/Chicago/Nixon/Reagan Circle-Fighting Machine" by 1-Speed Bike, "Jordan Minnesota" by Big Black, "The Night the Phantom Went to Graceland" by The Young Werewolves, "Flames Over Nebraska" by Pere Ubu, "You're My Miss Washington, D.C." by Nation of Ulysses, "Bullet Train To Vegas" by Drive Like Jehu, "Kansas Storm" by Buckethead, "Death Valley" by Boris.

By the way, would "Release the Bats" by The Birthday Party count? There's a Goth club on the West Coast going by that name.

Oh yeah, and:

"Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" ('I left my home in Georgia')

and one of my all-time favourites! "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which mentions Wisconsin and Whitefish Bay (which is in Wisconsin).

God Bless the USA, by Lee Greenwood

"from Detroit to Houston, from New York to L.A."

"from the Lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee, across the plains of Texas,..."

(Yes, I know Lee Greenwood is a country singer, but this song is considered mainstream"

Tim

Rammstein:

"We're all living in America, America, 'tis wonderfall...
We're all living in America, America, America...
We're all living in America, Coca Cola, Wanderbra...
We're all living in America, America, America..."

There's a trope for that. My favorites are the theme for "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" and "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66".

"Cleveland Rocks" Ian Hunter
"I Love L.A. " Randy Newman
"Straight Outta Compton" N.W.A.
"New York State of Mind" Billy Joel
"The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" Billy Joel (Wheeling, West Virginia, Rio Grande, Colorado, Oyster Bay, Long Island)
"I Left My Heart In San Francisco" Tony Bennett
"My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)" Frank Sinatra
"Dirty Water" The Standells (Boston, Charles River)
"(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66", Bobby Troup covered by many
"California Dreaming" Mammas and Pappas
"Hollywood" Marina and the Diamonds
"San Francisco Nights" The Animals
"Monterey" The Animals
"Born To Run" Bruce Springsteen (NJ Route 9 referred to as "Highway 9")
"Seattle" Public Image Limited
"Rockaway Beach" Ramones

"California" Phantom Planet
"Ohio is for Lovers" Hawthorne Heights

BTW, talk about a necrobump

"In America" Charlie Daniels (Tennessee, "From The Sound up in Long Island
Out to San Francisco Bay")
"Sweet Home Alabama" Lynyrd Skynyrd (mentions Muscle Shoals)
(The two above are not country but Southern Rock)
"Woodstock" Joni Mitchell covered by many

"Look out Cleveland" by The Band.

Mentions Cleveland and Houston.