What does Adele, winner of 6 Grammy awards, christen her dachshund? Britney Spears?
Nyah, when her male Dachshund howled along with her Satchmo records, Adele named the little wiener Louie Armstrong (who, by the way, won 7 Grammys of his own).
Then there’s Jerry Lieber, posthumously hailed at the 2012 Grammys, who wrote the king of all canine songs, “Hound Dog.” Pooch lover Sir Paul McCartney, whose Old English Sheepdog inspired The Beatle’s hit, “Martha My Dear,” wooed the Grammy’s crowd with his new song, “My Valentine.”
And, hard as it is to believe, a decade has passed since the Baha Men won their Grammy for the monster hit, “Who Let the Dogs Out”.
Fascinated as I am by dogs, rock and roll, and the Grammys, I uncovered a wealth of rock and roll dog song trivia:
Led Zeppelin (4 Grammy awards) wrote two dog songs: “Black Dog”—a nameless black Lab wandered the studios during recording sessions. The song includes lyrics, “Eyes that shine burning red,” which refer to a British mythical Devil dog, an apparition with glowing eyes.,”Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” was written for Robert Plant’s dog, Strider, nickname of Aragon from “Lord of the Rings.”
Pink Floyd (1995 Grammy winner) composed two dog songs: “Dogs” and “Dogs of War,” both cynical dog metaphors of evil businessmen and corrupt politicians.
David Bowie (2 Grammys and 10 nominations) sneers and growls through “Diamond Dogs” on the album of the same name whose cover depicts Bowie as half man and half dog.
Kid Rock (5-time Grammy nominee) wrote the lyrically-challenged “I’m a Dog,” in which he repeats over and over, “Cause I’m a dog, baby.”
AC/DC (Grammy winner) and Adam Ant (Grammy nominee) both recorded versions of “Dog Eat Dog” where it’s a “dog eat dog eat dog eat dog” world and “every dog has his day.”
Iggy Pop (Grammy nominee), the Godfather of punk, sang “King of the Dogs” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”
“Walkin’ the Dog,” originally a Rufus Thomas hit, was recorded by a slew of Grammy-winning bands including Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and Green Day.
George Clinton (Grammy nom), leader of Parliament and Funkadelic, sang “Atomic Dog.” “The dog that chases his tail will be dizzy. Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah.”
While on the topic of Clinton and P-Funk, that band’s funk bassist Bootsy Collins is uncle to Snoop Dog (13-time Grammy nominee). His name came from Mom saying he looked like Snoopy from Peanuts.
Mos Def (5 Grammy noms) hip-hops through “Quiet Dog.” “Simmer down, simmer down. Quiet, dog.”
Three Dog Night (2 Grammys) adopted its band name from an Eskimo custom of sleeping with their sled dogs for warmth. A three-dog night meant it was cold as a mofo.
Everly Brothers (6 Grammys) crooned about a guy named Johnny in “Bird Dog,” who “sings a love song like a bird” to another guy’s gal. “He’s a wolf dog on the prowl. He’s a bird dog.”
Johnny Cash (7 Grammys) sang “Dirty Ol Egg Sucking Dog.” This fine little ditty went, “He’s not handsome to look at. He’s shaggy and eats like a hog. He’s always killin’ my chickens, that dirty old egg-suckin’ dog.”
So, dog lovers, have I left any out?