From 'Empty Garden' to 'Night Shift', via 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond' and 'Beryl', we play some of the greatest tribute songs, as suggested by RNZ listeners. Some you'll recognise, others you might not!
Sir Elton John in concert in 2016. Photo: AFP
1. The Commodores - Nightshift
This Grammy winning song is a tribute to two people, singers Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye. Both died in 1984, a year before this song was released by the Commodores .
The song features numerous references to the hits of both singers and imagines Wilson and Gaye working the nightshift in heaven, playing some "sweet sounds".
'Nightshift' went to #1 on the USA R&B chart, where it stayed for four weeks. The song it replaced, 'Missing You' by Diana Ross, was also a tribute to Marvin Gaye, written by former Commodore Lionel Richie.
2. R.E.M - Man on the Moon
'Man On The Moon' is R.E.M's tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman, who died of cancer in 1984 aged 35.
The songs lyrics are a collection of vignettes and images and often reference Kaufman's love of Elvis Presley and wrestling. There are also mentions of the conspiracy theories around the moon landings as well as nods to the theories that both Elvis and Kaufman faked their own deaths. These references were directly inspired by Kaufman's style of comedy, which often had audiences questioning what was real and what was part of the act.
The song also lent its title to the 1999 biopic of Kaufman starring Jim Carrey.
3. The Front Lawn - Andy
'Andy' is Don McGlashan's song remembering his older brother, who died when McGlashan was about 15 years old, as he walks along Takapuna Beach.
In 2001 'Andy' was listed in APRA's top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time.
4. Cat Power - I Don't Blame You
Sometimes it's not immediately clear that a song is a tribute. One example is 'I Don't Blame You' by Chan Marshall (AKA Cat Power) from her 2003 album You Are Free.
It's the story of a rock star who's destroyed by fame. Critics theorised who it was about but Marshall refused to say, until 2012 when she revealed the subject's identity an interview with the Guardian.
"I've never told anybody this.. but that is about Kurt Cobain. It's about him blowing his head off."
5. Elton John - Empty Garden
There are some figures for whom multiple tribute songs have been written - none more so it seems than John Lennon
Lennon tribute songs have been released by Bob Dylan, Oasis, and of course his fellow Beatles Paul McCartney and George Harrison. But the one most people suggested, and one that consistently gets picked by music writers as the best of the John Lennon tribute songs is Elton John's 'Empty Garden'.
The "garden" in the title is Madison Square Garden in New York, where Lennon joined John on stage for three songs on Thanksgiving Day of 1974. It was Lennon's last live performance before his murder in 1980.
6. Paul Simon - The Late Great Johnny Ace
Lennon is also mentioned in a tribute song by Paul Simon 'The Late Great Johnny Ace', about the rhythm and blues singer Johnny Ace, who reportedly shot himself in a game of Russian roulette.
The song also mentions the deaths of several other famous Johns including Lennon and Kennedy.
7. Don McLean - American Pie
McLean's most enduring song is famously about "the day the music died", which refers to the 1959 plane crash in which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were all killed.
The nostalgic theme of the song reflects on American life during the 50s and 60s. In 2015 McLean said "Basically in American Pie things are heading in the wrong direction. ... It [life] is becoming less idyllic. I don't know whether you consider that wrong or right but it is a morality song in a sense."
In 2017 the song was preserved by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant"
8. Sun Kil Moon - Carissa
Written about the death of songwriter Mark Kozelek's second cousin in an accident at the age of 35, 'Carissa' is taken from Sun Kil Moon's critically acclaimed 2014 album Benji.
Written in Kozelek's unique "diary entry" style, the song covers Carissa's life and her death in an eerily similar manner to that of her grandfather.
9. The Fun Loving Criminals - Love Unlimited
Released in 1998 'Love Unlimited' is a tribute to Barry White and his backing vocalists. Formed in 1969 Love Unlimited included Barry White's future wife, Glodean James, her sister, Linda James, and their cousin Diane Taylor (who sadly died of cancer at age 38).
10. Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Pink Floyd's epic 26 minute tribute to former band member Syd Barrett who left the band 7 years earlier in 1968 after his mental health deteriorated and his use of psychoactive drugs spiraled out of control.
Barrett reportedly arrived unannounced at the recording sessions for Shine On You Crazy Diamond. He was by that time overweight and had shaved his head and eyebrows, changing his appearance so dramatically that it took the band almost an hour to realise who he was.
This would be the last time the band would see Barrett. He became a recluse, living with his mother in Cambridge and retiring from music and public life entirely by 1978. He died aged 60 in 2006.
In his book Twilight of the Gods, music journalist Steven Hyden said of Barrett "Pink Floyd's most popular work drew on the power of what Barrett signified. Even after he was no longer in the band, his spirit haunted its records."
