Thursday Thirteen #11

#11 Thirteen Songs About a Girl 1. Hey There Delilah – Plain White T’s. Tom Higgenson met Delilah and in a “line” said he had written a song about her. I guess he felt bad because then he actually did write the song but it took him a year. They never actually dated. 2. Layla – Eric Clapton/Derek and the Dominoes. This song was written for Pattie Boyd – George Harrison’s wife – this song worked – as she then divorced George and married Eric. 3. Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) – Looking Glass. 4. Mandy – Barry Manilow. When this song was first released in the UK it was also titled Brandy and it was a flop in the states. They reworked it and changed the girl’s name to Mandy and the rest is history. 5. Cecilia – Simon & Garfunkel. Possibly written about St. Cecilia the patron saint of music. I had a student named Cecilia and, of course, could not resist singing a bit of this song when I read her name on the roll the first day of class. She looked up and said “WHY DO ALL YOU TEACHERS KEEP SINGING THAT?” 6. Rosanna – Toto. This is about actress Rosanna Arquette. She was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time, but Porcaro didn't write it. It was written by Toto leader David Paich. He decided to write it about Arquette when he saw how supportive she was of Porcaro. Arquette often came by the studio and brought the band food. 7. Amanda – Boston. This was their only #1 hit. 8. Oh Sherrie – Steve Perry of Journey fame. He wrote this about his real life girlfriend Sherrie. 9. Gloria – Laura Branigan. This was originally an Italian pop song. 10. Help Me, Rhonda – The Beach Boys. 11. Donna – Richie Valens. If you’ve seen La Bamba you know the story behind this song. 12. Veronica – Elvis Costello. He wrote this with Paul McCartney – it sort of has that Eleanor Rigby feel to it. 13. Ruby – The Kaiser Chiefs. They didn’t write this song about anybody – but they say if you know someone with the name – it’s written for them. #14 is an added bonus because we can’t leave out Jenny (867-5309) – Tommy Tutone. This song is also not written about anybody – just something the song writer came up with sitting in his backyard.