List of songs about Birmingham

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:

1920s – 1930s

• "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" (1926) by Sid Harris, recorded by Priscilla Stewart, Bo Weavil Jackson
• "Pratt City Blues" (1926) by Bertha "Chippie" Hill
• "Birmingham Black Bottom" (1927) by Charlie Johnson’s Paradise Ten
• "Birmingham Jail" (1927) by Darby and Tarlton
• "Snatch It Back Blues" by Buddy Boy Hawkins
• "Third Alley Blues" (1927) by Ivy Smith
• "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 Daddy" (1931) by Gene Autry
• "Seventh Street Alley Strut" (1931) by Marshall Owens
• "Pratt City Blues" (1932) by Jabo Williams
• "45 Pistol Blues" (1935) by Walter Roland
• "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, recorded by Manhattan Transfer and many others

1940s – 1950s

• "Back to Birmingham" (1940) by the Delmore Brothers
• "Birmingham Bus" (1945) by Romo Vincent
• "Fat Sam from Birmingham" (1947) by Louis Jordan
• "Birmingham Bounce" (1950) by Hardrock Gunter
• "Birmingham Boogie" by Hot Lips Page

1960s – 1970s

• "Washington Heights, Pratt City Special" (1962) by Robert McCoy
• "Alabama" (1963) by John Coltrane
• "Birmingham Sunday" (1964) by Richard Fariña, recorded by Joan Baez
• "The Magic City" (1965) by Sun Ra
• "Talking Birmingham Jam" (1965) by Phil Ochs
• "Birmingham, Alabama" (1969) by Murray MacLeod & Stuart Margolin, recorded by Harry Belafonte and R. B. Greaves
• "Backin' to Birmingham" (1972) by Lester Flatt
• "Birmingham Lucy" (1973) by Bobby Goldsboro
• "Birmingham Mistake" (1973) by Sammi Smith
• "Birmingham" (1974) by Randy Newman
• "Boulder to Birmingham" (1975) by Emmylou Harris
• "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" by Charlie Daniels (1994)
• "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
• "Birmingham" by the Drive By Truckers (2002)
• "Leaving You Behind" by Emily DeLoach (2003)
• "Sparrows over Birmingham" by Josh Rouse (2003)
• "Paint Me A Birmingham" by Buck Moore & Gary Duffey. Recorded by Ken Mellons (2003) and Tracy Lawrence (2004)
• "Birmingham" by Katherine McElroy (2004)
• "Birmingham 1982" (2005) by Maria Taylor
• "Hills of Birmingham" by Terrible Things (2010)

Mentions

Birmingham is also mentioned in the following:

• "Alabama Anthem" by Birmingham J (2005)
• "Black Betty" by Leadbelly (early 20th century), remade by Ram Jam (1977)
• "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" by Little Richard
• "Jacob's Ladder" by Bruce Hornsby, first recorded by Huey Lewis & the News (1987)
• "Gun Street Girl" by Tom Waits, (1985)
• "Her First Mistake" by Lyle Lovett
• "I Can't Love You Anymore" by Lyle Lovett
• "Maribel" by Andy Orfutt Irwin
• "One of These Days" by the Drive-By Truckers
• "Playboy Mommy" by Tory Amos (1998)
• "Promised Land" by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley (1975)
• "Rip This Joint" by the Rolling Stones (1972)
• "Stars Fell on Alabama" by Frank Perkins & Mitchell Parish (1934)
• "Sure Don't Feel Like Love" by Paul Simon (2006)
• "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "Swordfishtrombone" by Tom Waits (1983)

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

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