10 Songs Written About Other Musicians

Whenever someone decides to write a song about one of their music idols, it usually comes at the expense of that persons' death. Regardless of whether or not the death plays into it, most tribute songs for fallen musicians tend to have some air of depression laced throughout their presentation. Then again, sometimes it's better to turn it into a celebration.

Across Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder is pretty much writing a masterclass on the wonders of existence, which comes to the musical realm on Sir Duke. Much like the title would imply, this is a tribute to musical legend Duke Ellington, who's pieces Wonder had become fixated with as a kid. Compared to the more soulful cuts laced throughout his catalog, Stevie pulls out all of the musical stops for this outing, with a full on breakdown section with horns meant to mimic the sounds of the typical swing music that Duke was known for playing back in the day.

Even the song construction itself owes a debt of gratitude to Ellington, as the chorus has a few sonic left turns which aren't traditionally found in pop but are almost always found in the jazzier material that Wonder was listening to. For as much music as Duke Ellington gave us while he was still here, it takes songs like these to remind us why we can feel it all over.