List of songs about Birmingham
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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:
1900s – 1930s
- "Birmingham Blues" (1921) by Edith Wilson
- "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
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