An artist writing a song about another artist is a widespread occurrence in the music industry. The human mind can use even the most insignificant data it generates about another figure as material for art. All the feelings and thoughts they have about others, especially other artists, can be reflected in their songs.
Some musicians base their songs on their personal relationships, like marriage. Hayley Williams, for example, wrote ‘Dead Horse’ about her ex-husband Chad Gilbert and their relationship. But sometimes, songwriters write songs based solely on the influence another artist has had on them, with no personal connections.
We can take Elvis Presley as an example of these artists who influenced several songs. The legend of the 20th century did not only impact the style of the musicians that came after him, but he also affected them with his image. The image he adopted received different reactions, and while some of these have been negative, he also positively impacted many artists. Two of those he inspired were Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner.
The band recorded a song called ‘Dirty White Boy’ written by Gramm and Jones about Elvis Presley in 1979. As soon as it was released, the song became an obstacle to its own success. Since the song’s true subject was unknown by people at the time, many interpretations regarding its meaning were made. Thus, the song’s content raised a lot of controversies.
Some people interpreted the lyrics as a racist statement, and the repetition of the words ‘white boy,’ of course, did not help the situation. Others found the lyrics inappropriate enough to ban the song. In addition to the controversies, there was also the question of who the ‘Dirty White Boy’ was, which Mick Jones answered in an interview with Songfacts in 2009.
He stated that Elvis Presley made a big impact on music and influenced many musicians that came after him. Indeed, the way Elvis performed his music and used different styles and genres to create a unique sound significantly changed the music industry. Besides this, Jones also claimed that Mick Jagger, who followed Presley, was also a ‘dirty white boy.’
When he was asked the question, Jones said:
“For me, it was Elvis Presley. To me, he always was that dirty white boy who changed the shape of music completely. It was talking about the kind of heritage that he left, and I think that had an effect on all the musicians that came after, like Mick Jagger – he was also a dirty white boy. Elvis paved the way for all that.”
Presley was a controversial figure of his time, and it is not surprising that he was the subject of a controversial song. His rather sexual performative style and the way he was influenced by African-American music were disapproved by many people. However, despite all the controversies, Elvis stayed on top of the industry with his music.
Like many others, Mick Jones saw him as an influential figure. He respected Presley’s heritage and wanted to pay tribute to it with a song. Like Presley, the song left different kinds of impact on people, but unlike him, it did not achieve much success when it was released. Still, Jones and Gramm’s work served Elvis’ memory right.
