List of songs about Birmingham: Difference between revisions

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This is a '''list of songs written about the city of Birmingham'''. [[Birmingham]] and specific locations within the city have been referenced in numerous popular songs, of which the following represent but a sample:
__NOTOC__
===1900s–1910s===
[[Image:If I Ever Get Back to Birmingham.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Sheet music for "If I Ever Get Back to Birmingham" (1916)]]
* "[[If I Ever Get Back to Birmingham]] (to the Girl who Waits for Me)" (1916) by James Brennan & Chick Story
 
===1920s===
* "[[Birmingham Blues (1921)|Birmingham Blues]]" (1921) by Edith Wilson
* "[[Mining Camp Blues]]" (1925) by Trixie Smith
* "[[Birmingham Breakdown]]" (1926) by Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra
* "[[Birmingham Boys]]" (1926) by the [[Birmingham Jubilee Singers]]
* "[[Jefferson County (song)|Jefferson County]]" (1926) by Sid Harris, recorded by Priscilla Stewart, Bo Weavil Jackson
* "[[Pratt City Blues]]" (1926) by Bertha "Chippie" Hill, re-recorded 1932 by [[Jabo Williams]]
* "[[Birmingham Black Bottom]]" (1927) by Charlie Johnson’s Paradise Ten
* "[[Birmingham Jail (song)|Birmingham Jail]]" (1927) by Darby and Tarlton
* "[[Birmingham Rag]]" (1927) by Darby and Tarlton
* "[[Birmingham Town]]" (1927) by Darby and Tarlton
* "[[Fourth Avenue Stomp]]" (1927) by [[Frank Bunch]] & His [[Frank Bunch & His Fuzzy Wuzzies|Fuzzy Wuzzies]]
* "[[New Birmingham Jail]]" (1927) by Jimmie Tarlton
* "[[Snatch It Back Blues]]" (1927) by Buddy Boy Hawkins
* "[[Third Alley Blues]]" (1927) by Ivy Smith & [[Cow Cow Davenport]]
* "[[Birmingham Jail No. 2]]" (1928) by Darby and Tarlton
* "[[Frisco Leaving Birmingham]]" (1928) by George "Bullet" Williams
* "[[Keep Your Man Out of Birmingham]]" (1928) by William Harris
* "[[Big Rock Jail]]" (1929) by Barefoot Bill
* "[[Birmingham Bertha]]" by Ethel Waters (1929) (from ''On with the Show!'')


This is a '''list of songs written about the city of Birmingham''':
===1930s===
* "[[Birmingham Blues (1930)|Birmingham Blues]]" by the [[Birmingham Jug Band]]
* "[[Birmingham Daddy]]" (1931) by Gene Autry
* "[[Seventh Street Alley Strut]]" (1931) by Marshall Owens
* "[[45 Pistol Blues]]" (1935) by [[Walter Roland]]
* "[[Sam the Hot Dog Man]]" (1936) by Lil Johnson
* "[[Eighth Avenue Blues]]" (1937) by Peanut the Kidnapper
* "[[I Got a Man in a 'Bama Mine]]"  (1937) by Merline Johnson
* "[[Fifteen Miles from Birmingham]]" (1938) by the [[Delmore Brothers]]
* "[[Tuxedo Junction]]" (1939) by [[Erskine Hawkins]] with Buddy Feyne, William Johnson and Julian Dash, a jazz standard set to the tune of "[[Alabama Jubilee]]"


* "[[Birmingham (Drive-By Truckers song)|Birmingham]]" by the [[Drive By Truckers]] ([[2002]])
===1940s–1950s===
* "[[Birmingham, Alabama (song)|Birmingham, Alabama]]" by Harry Belafonte and R. B. Greaves
[[Image:Birmingham Bounce.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Sheet music for "Birmingham Bounce" (1950)]]
* "[[Back to Birmingham]]" (1940) by the [[Delmore Brothers]]
* "[[Birmingham Bus (song)|Birmingham Bus]]" (1945) by Romo Vincent
* "[[Fat Sam from Birmingham]]" (1947) by Louis Jordan
* "[[Birmingham Bounce]]" (1950) by [[Hardrock Gunter]]
* "[[Down South in Birmingham]]" (1952) by Del Thorne
* "[[Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey]] (Going Back to Birmingham)" by "Little Richard" Penniman (1958), covered by The Beatles (1964), 10 Years After (1974), Bob Segar (1989, released 2011), & The Jim Jones Review (2008)
* "[[Birmingham Boogie]]" by Hot Lips Page
* "[[Birmingham Boogie]]" by Hot Lips Page
* "[[Birmingham Bounce]]" by Tommy Dorsey ([[1946]]), [[Hardrock Gunter]], Amos Milburn
* "[[Birmingham Bus Station (song)|Birmingham Bus Station]]" by Charlie Daniels ([[1994]])
* "[[Birmingham Daddy]]" by Gene Autry
* "[[Birmingham Jail (song)|Birmingham Jail]]" by Leadbelly, Roy Acuff, Michael Martin Murphey, Johnny Bond, Roy Drusky
* "[[Birmingham Shadows]]" by Bruce Cockburn ([[1995]])
* "[[Birmingham Sunday]]" by Richard Farina, Joan Baez,


* Blackhawk, "[[Postmarked Birmingham]]"
===1960s–1970s===
* Ani DiFranco, "[[Hello Birmingham]]"
* "[[Washington Heights, Pratt City Special]]" (1962) by Robert McCoy
* Duke Ellington, "[[Birmingham Breakdown]]"
* "[[Alabama (John Coltrane song)|Alabama]]" (1963) by John Coltrane
* Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, the Hollies, others, "[[Boulder to Birmingham]]"
* "[[Birmingham Bull (Didn't He Ramble)]]" (1963) by Ernie Marrs
* [[Erskine Hawkins]], "[[Tuxedo Junction]]"
* "[[Great Day for Me]]" (1963) by [[Carlton Reese]], recorded by the [[Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights]] choir
* Merline Johnson, "[[I Got a Man in a 'Bama Mine]]", [[1937]]
* "[[Birmingham (Junior & the Classics song)|Birmingham]]" (1964) by Junior & the Classics
* Tracy Lawrence, "[[Paint Me A Birmingham]]", [[2004]]
* "[[Birmingham Sunday]]" (1964) by Richard Fariña, recorded by Joan Baez
* Leadbelly,
* "[[Birmingham Blues (John Lee Hooker song)|Birmingham Blues]]" (1965) by John Lee Hooker
* Amanda Marshall, "[[Birmingham (Amanda Marshall song)|Birmingham]]"
* "[[The Magic City (album)|The Magic City]]" (1965) by [[Sun Ra]]
* John Mellencamp, "[[When Jesus Left Birmingham]]", [[1993]]
* "[[Talking Birmingham Jam]]" (1965) by Phil Ochs
* [[Robert Moore]], "[[Sweet Birmingham]]" (first recorded by Taj Mahal)
* "[[Birmingham (Tommy Collins song)|Birmingham]]" (1967) by Tommy Collins
* David Lee Murphy, "[[Breakfast in Birmingham]]"
* "[[Hello L.A., Bye-Bye Birmingham]]" by Mac Davis & Delaney Bramlett, recorded by Nancy Sinatra, Larry Henley, Blue Cheer, Juicy Lucy, Bobby Whitlock, and the Oobleedooblee Band
* Randy Newman, "[[Birmingham (Randy Newman song)|Birmingham]]"
* "[[Birmingham (Movers song)|Birmingham]]" (1968) by the Movers
* Phil Ochs, "[[Talking Birmingham Jam]]", [[1965]]
* "[[Birmingham Bus Station]]" (1968) by Claude King
* Pirates of the Mississippi, "[[Down and Out in Birmingham]]"
* "[[Walkin' Back to Birmingham]]" (1968) by Leon Ashley
* [[Maria Taylor]], "[[Birmingham 1982]]"
* "[[Birmingham, Alabama (song)|Birmingham, Alabama]]" (1969) by Murray MacLeod & Stuart Margolin, recorded by Harry Belafonte and R. B. Greaves
* [[Telluride]], "[[Birmingham Tonight]]"
* "[[Birmingham (Freddy Weller song)|Birmingham]]" (1969) by Freddy Weller
* Keith Whitley, "[[Birmingham Turnaround]]"
* "[[Birmingham Blues (Jack Barlow song)|Birmingham Blues]]" (1969) by Jack Barlow
* Edith Wilson, Fats Waller (and many others) "[[Birmingham Blues]]", 1921
* "[[Backin' to Birmingham]]" (1972) by Lester Flatt
* "[[Birmingham Lucy]]" (1973) by Bobby Goldsboro
* "[[Birmingham Mistake]]" (1973) by Sammi Smith
* "[[Birmingham (Randy Newman song)|Birmingham]]" (1974) by Randy Newman
* "[[Birmingham Blues (1975 song)|Birmingham Blues]]" (1975) by Charlie Daniels and Jeff Lynne, recorded by the Charlie Daniels Band (1975) and Electric Light Orchestra (1977)<sup>1.</sup>
* "[[Boulder to Birmingham]]" (1975) by [[Emmylou Harris]]
* "[[Birmingham Is My Home]]" (1976) by the [[Birmingham Heritage Band]]
* "[[Birmingham Mama]]" (1979) by Tony Conn
 
===1980s–1990s===
* "[[Birmingham Tonight]]" (1980) by [[Telluride]]
* "[[Birmingham Turnaround]]" (1990) by Keith Whitley
* "[[Down and Out in Birmingham]]" (1990) by Pirates of the Mississippi
* "[[Train to Birmingham]]" (1991) by John Hiatt, recorded by Kevin Welch
* "[[When Jesus Left Birmingham]]" by John Mellencamp (1993)
* "[[Birmingham Bus Station (song)|Birmingham Bus Station]]" by Charlie Daniels (1994)
* "[[Birmingham (Amanda Marshall song)|Birmingham]]" (1995) by Amanda Marshall
* "[[Birmingham Shadows]]" by Bruce Cockburn (1995)
* "[[Breakfast in Birmingham]]" (1996) by David Lee Murphy & Kim Tribble
* "[[Postmarked Birmingham]]" (1997) by Phil Vassar, Blackhawk
* "[[Birmingham Road]]" by Jeff Black (1998)
* "[[Wither Vulcan]]" by [[Remy Zero]] (1998)
* "[[Hello Birmingham]]" by Ani DiFranco (1999)
 
===2000s===
* "[[Sweet Birmingham]]" (2000) by [[Robert Moore]], recorded by Taj Mahal
* "[[On a Bus Back to Birmingham]]" (2001) by [[Rusty McHugh]]
* "[[Birmingham (Drive-By Truckers song)|Birmingham]]" (2002) by the [[Drive By Truckers]]
* "[[Leaving You Behind]]" (2003) by [[Emily DeLoach]]
* "[[Sparrows over Birmingham]]" (2003) by Josh Rouse
* "[[Paint Me A Birmingham]]" (2004) by Buck Moore & Gary Duffey. Recorded by Ken Mellons (2003) and Tracy Lawrence
* "[[Birmingham (Katherine McElroy song)|Birmingham]]" (2004) by [[Katherine McElroy]], recorded by [[Snow Machine]]
* "[[Atlanta & Birmingham]] (2005) by Deana Carter
* "[[Birmingham 1982]]" (2005) by [[Maria Taylor]]
* "[[Metropolis (song)|Metropolis]]" (2005) by [[Dan Sartain]]
* "[[Birmingham (The Deaths song)|Birmingham]]" (2006) by The Deaths
* "[[Birmingham Eccentric]]" (2008) by Kelley Stoltz
* "[[Old Iron Hills]]" (2009) by [[Maylene and the Sons of Disaster]]


===2010s–2020s===
* "[[Hills of Birmingham]]" (2010) by Terrible Things
* "[[Birmingham (The Get Up Kids song)|Birmingham]]" (2011) by The Get Up Kids
* "[[Birmingham (Shovels and Rope song)|Birmingham]]" (2012) by Shovels and Rope
* "[[Birmingham (Tony Clark song)|Birmingham]]" (2012) by [[Tony Clark]]
* "[[You Don't Know What I Could Have Been]]" (2012) by [[Kevin P. Turner]]/[[UAB Gospel Choir]]
* "[[Larry Langford (song)|Larry Langford]] (2014) by [[KD]], [[Eskiimo Joe]] and [[Cleeze Purp]]
* "[[The Weeds Downtown]]" (2014) by [[Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires]]
* "[[Birmingham (Zach Bryan song)|Birmingham]]" (2020) by Zach Bryan
* "[[City Federal Building (song)]]" (2023) by [[St Paul & the Broken Bones]]
==Mentions==
Birmingham is also mentioned in the following:
Birmingham is also mentioned in the following:
* Tori Amos, "Playboy Mommy" ([[1998]])
* Chuck Berry, "Promised Land" (later remade as a 1975 hit for Elvis Presley)
* [[Birmingham J]], "Alabama Anthem" ([[2005]])
* Lead Belly, "Black Betty" (early 20th century, made a hit in [[1977]] by Ram Jam)
* [[Drive-By Truckers]], "One of These Days"
* Bruce Hornsby, "Jacob's Ladder" (first recorded by Huey Lewis & the News, 1987)
* Little Richard, "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey"
* Lyle Lovett, "I Can't Love You Anymore"
* Lyle Lovett,  "Her First Mistake"
* Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Sweet Home Alabama"
* Andy Offutt Irwin, "Maribel"
* Frank Perkins/Mitchell Parish, "Stars Fell on Alabama", ([[1934]])
* Rolling Stones, "Rip This Joint", ([[1972]])
* Paul Simon, "Sure Don't Feel Like Love", ([[2006]])
* Tom Waits, "Swordfishtrombone" ([[1983]])


==Source==
* "[[Black Betty]]" by Leadbelly (early 20th century), remade by Ram Jam (1977)
* "Stars Fell on Alabama" by Frank Perkins & Mitchell Parish (1934)
* "Wabash Cannonball" by J. A. Roff, variation recorded by Roy Acuff (1936)
* "Promised Land" by Chuck Berry (1965), recorded by Dave Edmunds (1972), The Band (1973), Elvis Presley (1974), James Taylor (1974), Meat Loaf (1983), and performed frequently by the Grateful Dead (1971-1995)
* "My Elusive Dreams" by Moses & Joshua Dillard (1967)
* "Handsome Johnny" by Richie Havens & Louis Gossett Jr (1969)
* "California Women" by Hoyt Axton (1971)
* "Carry Me" by the Stampeders (1971)
* "Rip This Joint" by the Rolling Stones (1972)
* "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
* "Struttin' My Stuff" by Elvin Bishop (1975)
* "Cities" by Talking Heads (1979)
* "Swordfishtrombone" by Tom Waits (1983)
* "Prisoner of the Highway" by Michael Barry Reid, recorded by Ronnie Milsap (1984)
* "Gun Street Girl" by Tom Waits (1985)
* "Jacob's Ladder" by Bruce Hornsby, first recorded by Huey Lewis & the News (1987)
* "Run, Baby, Run" by Sheryl Crow (1993)
* "True Believer" by John Hiatt, recorded by Ronnie Milsap (1993)
* "In a Waffle House in Alabama" by Steve Goodie (1995)
* "Maribel" by Andy Orfutt Irwin (2005)
* "Her First Mistake" by Lyle Lovett (1996)
* "I Can't Love You Anymore" by Lyle Lovett (1996)
* "Playboy Mommy" by Tori Amos (1998)
* "One of These Days" by the [[Drive-By Truckers]] (1999)
* "Alabama Anthem" by [[Birmingham J]] (2005)
* "Sure Don't Feel Like Love" by Paul Simon (2006)
* "If It Hadn't Been for Love" by Michael Henderson & Christopher Stapleton, recorded by the SteelDrivers (2008), Adele (2010)
* "Lonesome Friends of Science" by John Prine (2018)
* "I Wish Grandpas Never Died" by Riley Green (2019)
* "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" by [[Bob Dylan]] (2020)
* "Southern Hospitality" by Trinity the Tuck (2022)
 
{{expand list}}
 
==Notes==
<small>
# Lynne may just as well have been writing about Birmingham, England, his home town.
</small>
 
==See also==
* [[List of songs about Bessemer]]
* [[List of songs about Tuscaloosa]]
 
==References==
* "List of songs about Birmingham, Alabama." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 Mar 2006, 17:22 UTC. 19 Mar 2006, 19:09 [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_songs_about_Birmingham%2C_Alabama&oldid=44523410].
* "List of songs about Birmingham, Alabama." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 Mar 2006, 17:22 UTC. 19 Mar 2006, 19:09 [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_songs_about_Birmingham%2C_Alabama&oldid=44523410].
* "[http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5234832/Directory-of-African-Appalachian-musicians.html Directory of African-Appalachian musicians]" (March 22, 2004) ''Black Music Research Journal''
* Mathews, Burgin (2011) ''Thirty Birmingham Songs''. Birmingham: Lady Muleskinner Press


{{GFDL}}
[[Category:Lists of songs]]
 
[[Category:Lists|Songs]]
[[Category:Music]]

Latest revision as of 08:37, 20 March 2024

This is a list of songs written about the city of Birmingham. Birmingham and specific locations within the city have been referenced in numerous popular songs, of which the following represent but a sample:

1900s–1910s

Sheet music for "If I Ever Get Back to Birmingham" (1916)

1920s

1930s

1940s–1950s

Sheet music for "Birmingham Bounce" (1950)

1960s–1970s

1980s–1990s

2000s

2010s–2020s

Mentions

Birmingham is also mentioned in the following:

  • "Black Betty" by Leadbelly (early 20th century), remade by Ram Jam (1977)
  • "Stars Fell on Alabama" by Frank Perkins & Mitchell Parish (1934)
  • "Wabash Cannonball" by J. A. Roff, variation recorded by Roy Acuff (1936)
  • "Promised Land" by Chuck Berry (1965), recorded by Dave Edmunds (1972), The Band (1973), Elvis Presley (1974), James Taylor (1974), Meat Loaf (1983), and performed frequently by the Grateful Dead (1971-1995)
  • "My Elusive Dreams" by Moses & Joshua Dillard (1967)
  • "Handsome Johnny" by Richie Havens & Louis Gossett Jr (1969)
  • "California Women" by Hoyt Axton (1971)
  • "Carry Me" by the Stampeders (1971)
  • "Rip This Joint" by the Rolling Stones (1972)
  • "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
  • "Struttin' My Stuff" by Elvin Bishop (1975)
  • "Cities" by Talking Heads (1979)
  • "Swordfishtrombone" by Tom Waits (1983)
  • "Prisoner of the Highway" by Michael Barry Reid, recorded by Ronnie Milsap (1984)
  • "Gun Street Girl" by Tom Waits (1985)
  • "Jacob's Ladder" by Bruce Hornsby, first recorded by Huey Lewis & the News (1987)
  • "Run, Baby, Run" by Sheryl Crow (1993)
  • "True Believer" by John Hiatt, recorded by Ronnie Milsap (1993)
  • "In a Waffle House in Alabama" by Steve Goodie (1995)
  • "Maribel" by Andy Orfutt Irwin (2005)
  • "Her First Mistake" by Lyle Lovett (1996)
  • "I Can't Love You Anymore" by Lyle Lovett (1996)
  • "Playboy Mommy" by Tori Amos (1998)
  • "One of These Days" by the Drive-By Truckers (1999)
  • "Alabama Anthem" by Birmingham J (2005)
  • "Sure Don't Feel Like Love" by Paul Simon (2006)
  • "If It Hadn't Been for Love" by Michael Henderson & Christopher Stapleton, recorded by the SteelDrivers (2008), Adele (2010)
  • "Lonesome Friends of Science" by John Prine (2018)
  • "I Wish Grandpas Never Died" by Riley Green (2019)
  • "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" by Bob Dylan (2020)
  • "Southern Hospitality" by Trinity the Tuck (2022)

This list is incomplete and may never satisfy any subjective standard for completeness. You can help Bhamwiki by expanding it.

Notes

  1. Lynne may just as well have been writing about Birmingham, England, his home town.

See also

References

  • "List of songs about Birmingham, Alabama." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 Mar 2006, 17:22 UTC. 19 Mar 2006, 19:09 [1].
  • "Directory of African-Appalachian musicians" (March 22, 2004) Black Music Research Journal
  • Mathews, Burgin (2011) Thirty Birmingham Songs. Birmingham: Lady Muleskinner Press
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