Famous musicians and their pets

By Mitch Rice

Why did Joni Mitchell apologize to Nietzsche? Who is Miley Cyrus wearing a unicorn costume for? Why did Guns’N’Roses record a boa constrictor video? 

For many people, animals become family members, companions, and best friends. Famous musicians are no exception. They express their affection in songs, dedicating hits to four-legged, winged and crawling pets.

Delilah, Freddie Mercury’s cat

There were ten cats of different breeds, from a thai cat to a tri-colored tabby, in Mercury’s London home. Animals were family to the musician, and at Christmas, each pet received its own sock with gifts from Santa Claus. In 1985, the singer dedicated his solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, to his cats and to all cat lovers in the world. The most famous among his pets was Delilah. In 1991, the song of the same name was included on Queen’s last album, recorded during Mercury’s lifetime, Innuendo. The rest of the band was against it, but the frontman insisted on it. “I am so happy when you curl up in a ball and fall asleep next to me. And I get so mad when you pee on Chippendale furniture,” this is how Freddie described Delilah. Mercury spent hours painting her watercolor portraits. Before his death, the musician stroked his beloved cat.

Pablo the fish – Miley Cyrus

How can we love someone we’ve never touched? Is the main question Miley Cyrus asks in Pablow the Blowfish. The composition, dedicated to the artist’s pet, Pablo, who died in 2015, was released on the disc Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz.

In the song’s lyrics, Cyrus recalled how, after the death of her pet, she lost her appetite at a sushi bar after seeing that “friends eat friends.” And she dreamed that in a new life, somewhere in the depths of the sea, Pablo would meet love and he would be better off than with his mistress.

In memory of the pet, Cyrus recorded a video where she performs a song in a unicorn costume and posted it on her Facebook page.

Ava the Canary – Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse dedicated October Song to her canary Ava, after brilliant actress Ava Gardner. In an interview with Mojo magazine in 2008, the singer recalled how a bird woke her up in the morning with her twitter. Ava’s death greatly upset the artist. She buried the canary in a park in East Finchley, north London. “I loved this bird, I was sad. But I wrote a good song.” October Song is also a tribute to jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, who influenced Winehouse’s music. In her dedication, Amy mentions Vaughan’s song “Lullaby Of Birdland”, under which she said goodbye to Ava. A few years later, the singer recorded a cover version of Sarah Vaughan’s hit.

Nietzsche, Joni Mitchell’s cat

The rock star wrote the song Man From Mars after a quarrel with a pet. The nickname “man from Mars” was given to the pet by the singer’s boyfriend, because the animal could walk on its hind legs and looked like a Martian. Once Mitchell was angry with Nietzsche because the cat ignored the tray out of spite. She put the pet out the door, but when he ran away, she was terribly upset. The cat did not return, and Mitchell feared that the animal might have died. As the artist recalled, Nietzsche appeared only after she wrote a penitential song.

Pandora, Slash’s boa

The famous guitarist has an unusual hobby – herpetology. Slash is a specialist in reptiles and amphibians. Therefore, snakes are often given to him by those who have got a reptile and now do not know what to do with it. So the musician got Pandora, a two-meter boa constrictor, a gift from Lisa Flint, daughter of the publisher of Hustler magazine. “He’s very cute,” Slash said of the snake. “I named it Pandora because I thought it was her, I didn’t really check when Lisa brought it.” Boa constrictor Pandora became the hero of the Guns N’ Roses video – he starred with the owner in the video for the song Patience in 2009.

Jack, Dolly Parton’s dog

The country queen dedicated a delicate piece to a dog that lived with her as a child. The dog’s name was Cracker Jack, after the famous American brand of caramel popcorn with a surprise inside the package. This is a song about a little girl who found and took home a hungry puppy. The singer talks about how Jack became her companion, playmate, and the closest friend she had in her life. The last verse ends with a sad phrase that now the dog lives only in her memories.

Seamus, dog of Steve Marriott

Collie dog belonged to a friend of Pink Floyd musicians. Sheamus was once brought into the studio by David Gilmour while Marriott was on tour. So the dog became a full member of the recording – he sang a duet with Gilmour, barking and howling on backing vocals. The composition, named after the dog, was released in 1971 on the album Meddle. Some fans took the extraordinary blues critically – they called it “irritating.” However, the song became popular. The musicians released it as a separate single in Japan in 1971, and a year later, Gilmour, Waters and Wright recorded the composition without vocals for the musical film Pink Floyd: Concert in Pompeii. The role of Seamus was played by a Russian greyhound named Nobs. In addition, doggy blues sounds at the beginning and end of Tom Stoppard’s movie “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.”

Jeep, Eric Clapton’s dog

Guitarist Eric Clapton’s pet, a Weimar hound named Jeep, was the musician’s first dog. The dog lived at Hurtwood Edge, Clapton’s country home in Surrey. Jeep and the Golden Retriever Sunshine, who appeared later, were allowed to do anything in the house, since the musician and guests were busy with entertainment and did not spend time cleaning. Clapton’s best friend, George Harrison, made the dog famous. He wrote the song I Remember Jeep about the musician’s favorite, which was released on the ex-Beatle’s third solo album All Things Must Pass in 1970. Clapton also has a tribute to a friend – in 1973 he recorded the song Layla. The song was dedicated to Harrison’s first wife, Patti Boyd, whom Clapton married in 1979.

And the bluesman also placed a photo of Jeep – with a very mournful look – on the cover of the 1975 album There’s One in Every Crowd.

Martha, Paul McCartney’s dog

McCartney wrote the song Martha My Dear for the White Album, a double LP by The Beatles released in 1968. Fans of the group had two versions of the interpretation of the text. Some believed that the composition was dedicated to a girl, others though that the musician told the story of the relationship of an elderly couple. McCartney himself insists that the song is about his pet, Martha the bobtail. Their relationship had always been platonic, as it was explained by the Beatles bassist. John wondered how loving a person can be when they are with this dog. No one had ever seen him like this before. And he thought it was all about Martha because she was incredibly sweet and loved to cuddle very much.

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