REAL LIFE MURDERS SUNG ABOUT BY UNEXPECTED BANDS

Article BY LORI BELL - Art by BRYON BURDICK

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Plenty of songs throughout the years have been about real – life murders, and most of the performers are exactly the kinds of people you’d expect to focus on murder. Gritty folk singers, goth rockers, hard core rappers, angry punks, gore – obsessed metalists ---- these are the usual suspects when the subject is somebody who cruelly took lives away for real.

But sometimes the music world throws us a curveball, handling the murder ballad reigns over to some of the gentlest, least threatening acts imaginable. In many cases, you would have no clue the song was so dark unless you actually listened to every word. Even then you probably wouldn’t believe what you were hearing.

 

Hall And Oates “Diddy Doo – Wop” Is About David Berkowitz

David Berkowitz, more popularly known as the Son of Sam, killed six people and injured seven more during a massive crime spree in the late ‘70s. The killings were completely at random, save for Berkowitz’s penchant for murdering brunette women. Also random were his explanations, which included such gems as blaming his dog fir orchestrating the murders.

Also odd was is insistence that Hall and Oates’ soul – pop hit “Rich Girl” helped motivate him to commit murder, despite the fact that the band released the song long after the first batch of murders had taken place. The idea that someone could directly tie their music to a murderer in any way disturbed the band to no end. In response they did the only thing they could think of ----- they wrote a song that directly tied their music to a murderer, but on their terms.

The shockingly jaunty 1981 number “Ditty Doo – Wop (I Hear Voices In My Head)” was clearly influenced by both Berkowitz’s attacks and oddball alibi. Lines such as “Charlie liked the Beatles /Sam he liked rich girls” can’t really be interpreted any other way. Also, the song makes constant mention of voices in the narrator’s head ---- which, dogs and blue – eyed soul aside, was clearly the reason Berkowitz decided shooting a baker’s dozen people , was a really a good idea.

Looking back, Berkowitz said, it was a time in his life when he was “lost,” “tormented,” and confused.” He was heavily into the occult. “I tell you, I felt like I was under demonic control,” he said, “I don’t even recognize that person. ‘Son of Sam’ represents evil and satanic things. That person is like a total stranger to me now. “

 

Belinda Carlisle Sang About Bonnie And Clyde

Most everybody knows the story about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, two young people who both loved long walks on the beach, murder, kidnapping, robberies, leading police on wild interstate manhunts, and puppies. Their reign of terror ended on May 23, 1934, in a hail of gunfire, and their story has inspired many interpretations over the years, from dramatic cinema, to cartoon rabbits robbing carrot patches.

As it turns out, it also inspired romantic ballads sung by that one girl from the Go –Gos. In 2007, former lead singer Belinda Carlisle released Voila, a series of French language songs, including “Bonnie et Clyde.” It’s a very breathy, lush, acoustic – driven take, based on a poem that Bonnie herself had written entitled “The Trails End.” Both the poem and song present the duo in a very positive light, with Bonnie being described by Carlisle as “beautiful” in the latter. That’s quite the interesting term to use when describing a unrepentant murderous outlaw.

Interestingly, this song is a cover of a 1968 original performed by French singer Serge Gainsbourg, and of all the people, actress Brigitte Bardow. That song romanticized Bonnie and Clyde just as much as Carlisle’s version, proving once and for all that few things are better for one’s public image than being dead.

Before dawn on May 23, 1934, a posse composed of police officers from Louisiana and Texas, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, concealed themselves in bushes along the highway near Sailes, Louisiana. In the early daylight, Bonnie and Clyde appeared in an automobile and when they attempted to drive away, the officers opened fire. Bonnie and Clyde were killed instantly.

 

Chad Mitchell Trio Sang About Lizzie Borden

Lizzie Borden is an interesting case of a famous murderer who may have never committed murder. While the jury acquitted her of chopping her parents to death with an axe, the court of public opinion has convicted her many times over in the 120 years since her initial arrest. When school children jump rope to the tune of “Lizzie Borden took an axe/ and gave her mother 40 whacks,” you know you’re not getting your name cleared any time soon.

Many people have sung about Borden over the years, but few made light of the situation like the Chad Mitchell Trio did. A folk group from the ‘60s, most knew the Trio for timely political satire and not for tales of 70 –year –old murder cases. That’s exactly what they did, however, releasing a spectacularly goofy ode to a young woman who might or might not have chopped her parents to death.

In the song, the Trio “admits” that Borden could have been innocent, but they then turn right around and say she was a problem case, because only naughty children chop their parents to bits. In other words, “Yeah she totally did it.”

Borden was imprisoned in Tauton, Massachusetts for 10 months pending her trial. Borden, who was 32 at trial, has been portrayed as a cold, stoic individual who showed no emotion. Borden was acquitted in 1892. “Most of what we know about Lizzie Borden is based on legend, innuendo, and outright lies,” Michael Martin said. Fact has been suppressed by fiction, and the fiction is more interesting to a lot of people.”

 

Cheap Trick’s “The Ballad Of TV Violence” Is About Richard Speck

Richard Speck committed all his murders in one day, sneaking into a housing facility for student nurses and stabbing eight of them to death. Authorities apprehended him when a ninth student, who he had completely forgotten about, managed to escape and notify them of what happened .

Speck was ripe for musical interpretation, including one performed by Cheap Trick, largely known as the ’70s rock version of a boy band, if all the crazed screaming during “I Want You To Want Me” is to be believed. Before such hysterics, Cheap Trick was actually a rough – and – tumble rock act, whose first album tackled such subjects as pedophilia and suicide. One of these songs was “The Ballad Of Richard Speck,” later changed to the “Ballad Of TV Violence,” even though neither the song nor the subject has anything to do with TV.

In the song , the narrator who is clearly a stand – in for Speck, sings about how he “ needs a knife to give [him] a wife” and “a gun to have some fun.” He also sings “I need some rope, it’s my only hope/after 20 or so, I just don’t know,” referencing Speck’s 20 plus arrests prior to the murders. Clearly, Cheap Trick did their homework for this one.

Speck was convicted and sentenced to death. However, in 1972, when the Supreme Court invalidated death penalty law under which he was sentenced, Speck was re-sentenced to the 400 years in prison. He died in prison of a heart attack on December 5, 1991.

 

Grateful Dead’s “Dire Wolf” Is About The Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer is one of the worst murderers in history, both because of his body count (five documented, dozens claimed) and because we still don’t know who he was. In fact, we don’t even know for sure if he was a “he.” Other than the fact that somebody committed murders and called themselves the Zodiac Killer, authorities to this day are no closer to discovering their true identity than they were in the 1960s.

Zodiac has inspired many tunes about their rampage, though most musicians waited for their reign of terror to end before immortalizing them in song form. However, the Grateful Dead struck while the iron was hot, recording “Dire Wolf” at the height of Zodiac’s activity in 1969. The song itself is very metaphorical and doesn’t mention Zodiac by nickname, though the refrain of “ don’t murder me, I beg of you,” makes it clear that trouble is afoot. Moreover, the fact that Jerry Garcia would introduce the song during shows by dedicating it to “that Zodiac cat” erases any doubts as to who the dire wolf truly was.

Throughout 1970, the Zodiac Killer continued to send taunting letters to the press, but then further communication abruptly stopped. As the case has remained unsolved, it has over the years been the subject of much discussion and speculation. In 2004, a representative from the San Francisco Police Department announced that “the case is being placed inactive.” However, interest in the case has not waned.

 

The Rolling Stones “Too Much Blood” Is About Issei Sagawa

The case of Issei Sagawa is a sad one ---- not just because somebody died, but because the murderer brazenly got away with it. Sagawa killed and ate a woman named Renee Hartevelt. Thanks to his ability to feign insanity, plus his father being a wealthy businessman, Sagawa only spent a couple years in psychiatric hospitals and 15 months in jail before being released. He has spent the past 30 years profiting off of his crime ----- writing books, granting interviews, and never once apologizing for the whole “eating a woman” thing that catapulted him to undeserved fame.

In 1980, the Rolling Stones released “Too Much Blood,” a song about the Sagawa saga. While the Stones achieved fame for being a sleazy, sex – obsessed rock and roll band, it’s odd to hear them sing so openly about real – life death and murder. Even odder is how they chose to do it ---- with a rollicking, upbeat disco number that borders on parody, complete with Milk Jagger telling the story of the crime in rap form between verses. That is, if you want to call that rythmless, non –rhyming mumbling of his “rapping.”

Sagawa was a hopeless and dangerous case of a sexual deviant who should remain incarcerated until the breath has left his body. But Issei Sagawa is not still in an institution. Following approaches from his father shortly after his hospitalization, within a year Sagawa was removed from the French hospital and taken back to Tokyo where he was placed in the Matsuzawa Hospital “by the agreement of his parents,” rather than being officially committed. Fifteen months later, in 1985, he was let out, whereupon he became an exciting celebrity with a story that combined sex, violence, and fetishism and commanded untiring fascination.

 

Sufjan Stevens Sang About John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy is why people fear clowns. The kind, unassuming family man who occasionally dressed up as Pogo The Clown for local children’s parties ended up being a horrific mass murderer, responsible for the kidnapping, rape, and death of at least 33 young boys. Clearly, such a butcher would get a ton of music written about him , usually of the loud and angry variety.

Then you have Sufjan Stevens, a quirky pop singer with song titles like “ They Are Night Zombies! ! They Are Neighbors! ! Ahhhh! “ Somehow, he was able to drop his goofy sense of humor and write a song about one f the most prolific serial killers in history. “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” is a shockingly gentle and poignant ballad, one that focuses more on Gacy’s childhood and ability to charm anybody he met than on the few dozen people he tortured to death.

The song ends with the chilling line “And in my best behavior, I am really just like him . “ As much as we don’t like to think about it, psychopathic murderers are human and grew up the exact same way of any of us were. They didn’t hatch out of a flaming shell, fully grown and fully evil ----- at one point or another, they truly were just like us.

Gacy’s mental disorder prevented him from understanding the magnitude of his crimes. Gacy received the death penalty and was sent to the Menard Correctional Center to wait execution. After years of appeals, he was put to death by lethal injection on May 9, 1994. Finally, Gacy ’s terrifying string of crimes could be relegated to memory ---- or could it?

 

Blind Melon’s “Skinned” Is About Ed Gein

While Buffalo Bill from The Silence Of The Lambs wasn’t strictly based on a real person, and neither was Norman Bates from Psycho, both can claim Ed Gein as inspiration. As far as the courts were concerned, Gein only committed two murders and was not technically a serial killer. However, his grave robbing, cannibalism, necrophilia, and knack for making lamp shades out of human skin and soup bowls out of human skulls, certainly made him fodder for twisted creative minds.

One such mind was Shannon Hoon lead singer of ’90s alternative band Blind Melon. Known primarily for the gentle ”No Rain” and the accompanying music video featuring a little girl dressed as a bee. ”Skinned” came quite out of nowhere. It tells the story of Gein from the point of view of the killer himself, featuring various threats of what he will do to his victims body parts, such as “I’ll make a shoehorn outta your skin/I’ll make a lampshade of durable skin.”

Musically, this might be the happiest murder song of all time, featuring high – energy guitar strumming and a couple of wacky kazoo solos. This makes it very easy to focus on the skippy tunage, while dismissing everything the band is actually singing about.

When authorities search Gein’s farmhouse, they found an unimaginably grisly scene: organs were on the refrigerator, and a heart sat on the stove. Apparently, Gein had kept various organs from his grave digging and murders as keepsakes and for decoration. He had also used human skin to upholster chairs. Gein only admitted to the murders of Worden and Hogan. In 1958, Gein was declared insane and sent to the Wisconsin State Hospital in Mendota, where he remained until his death in 1984.

 

Nickleback’s “Throw Yourself away” Is About Melissa Drexler

Melissa Drexler was not a multiple murderer. She was an 18 –year – old girl who gave birth in the bathroom during her prom night, and was desperate to hide that fact from her friends and family. Her sad solution was to strangle her newborn son and dump him in a trash can so she could focus on what was truly important ----- returning to the dance floor and having a grand time with her friends.

After capture, the courts sentenced her to 15 years in prison. She only served three, however, before she was released in 2001. Nobody has seen or heard from her since. Nickleback, of all bands, decided to remind us of her existence with 2003’s “Throw Yourself Away.” Known mainly for alternating between generic arena rock and lady – pleasing pop ballads, Nickleback choosing to sing about a child murderer was very much out of left field.

Subtlety isn’t Nickleback’s forte, and this song is no exception. “Throw Yourself Away” makes it 100% clear that this song is about Drexler (“ Baby’s born on the bathroom floor / Mother prays that it will never cry / And nothing’s wrong, you got your prom dress on / And when they ask you’ll say it isn’t mine”) and that the band is extremely angry that such a thing could happen. If Drexler’s still around these days, we’re going to assume this song has never once entered her iPod.

Drexler hid her pregnancy from her family, friends and the father of the baby so well that friends said they thought she had just gained a little weight. She gave birth on June 6, 1997, to a 6lb. 6oz. baby boy. She was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter. She got her high school diploma in 1997, but didn’t attend her graduation. She took fashion courses while in prison and hoped to work in the industry upon her release.

 

Harry Chapin’s “Sniper” Is About Charles Whitman

Charles Whitman was a former Marine who , during a fit of psychosis in 1966, killed his wife and mother. He then grabbed his sniper rifle, climbed to the top of a tall tower, and began picking off random people. Before authorities could subdue him, he had killed 16 people and injured far more. He served no prison time, as officers shot and killed him on the spot. An autopsy revealed a surprising discovery ---- a brain tumor that may have had a hand in his sudden madness.

That one piece of evidence was apparently enough to gain the sympathy of Harry Chapin. The “Cats In The Cradle” scribe shocked everybody with his 1972 ballad “Sniper,” which doesn’t so much account Whitman’s rampage as it completely romanticizes it. The song is less about how Whitman killed 16 people and more about how nobody ever respected or paid attention to him. He even sings about how he hated his mother for ignoring him, which appears to be untrue. Chapin even describes the cops who shoot Whitman down as laughing about how they just killed a man, which was almost certainly not the case.

The public almost universally hated the song, given that it places the blame for a mass shooting on literally everybody but the mass shooter. That negative reaction goes a long way towards explaining why Chapin never again wrote about psychotic murderers with imaginary mommy issues.

Whitman was a model student and Eagle Scout who left home early to escape a violent father. By 1966, he was suffering from severe headaches and consulted a therapist to discuss concerns he had over his mental health. The doctor recommended Whitman attend another session the following week, but he never returned. In one of his writings, Whitman stated that he wanted his brain examined after his death to check for signs of physical cause of mental illness. His request was granted in the form of a police autopsy.

Who would ever think murderers would be inspiration for a ballad? Then again there have been stranger lyrics than the play by play of a killer. But in my opinion, and it’s just my opinion, songs shouldn’t be blamed for the sadistic acts of a psychotic killers. Songs send messages but I’m pretty sure they don’t send the message to mutilate, dismember , decapitate, or any other sick idea that comes to mind. Makes you kinda wonder if the song they blame was that one song that got stuck in their head all day long and that’s what made them snap.