JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 153
Author Frank Baum wrote “There’s
no place like home” in The Wizard
of Oz, and it has seemed to ring
true to many of us, particularly in
songs about places. Most songwriters seem
to have a connection with their lyrics.
Certainly, Billy Joel did when he wrote
“New York State of Mind,” as did John
Denver with “Rocky Mountain High.”
However, Stephen Foster wrote about the
“Swanee River” without ever having gone
near it; Lynyrd Skynyrd of Florida wrote
“Sweet Home Alabama” as a joke; and
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote
“Kansas City” while they were teenagers
living in Los Angeles in 1952, only to see
it go on to be a hit by Wilbert Harrison.
Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas” with
songwriter Desmond Child was inspired
by his wedding party, which was given
by Jon Bon Jovi, and guests were asked to
dress as Elvis. Bruce Springsteen is from
New Jersey, but Tom Waits wrote “Jersey
Girl.” Fred Ebb and John Kander’s “Theme
from New York, New York” was written for
Martin Scorsese’s 1977 classic New York, New
York film, but thanks to Frank Sinatra, it has
become that city’s song, even though it was
sung by Liza Minnelli in the movie. Sinatra
sang a different “New York, New York”
song in the 1949 MGM musical On the Town.
The Beach Boys were right on with
their “California Girls” for their home
state. Celebrating his second home, Elvis
summed up the Las Vegas vibe with “Viva
Las Vegas” in the 1964 film, while Neil
Diamond relied on his childhood memories
for his “Brooklyn Roads.“ Merle Haggard
let everyone know about his Oklahoma
roots with “Okie from Muskogee.”
Unfortunately, much like Stephen Foster
of Pittsburgh’s “My Old Kentucky Home”
written for Christy’s Minstrels, most songs
about cities and states were written by
people not living there. That includes
Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach, Texas” and
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma.”
It also includes writers who were just
inspired by a word, idea or concept, such
as Burt Bacharach’s tune for “Do You Know
the Way to San Jose?” with lyrics by Hal
David for Dionne Warwick, or Bob Dylan’s
“I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine.” On the
other hand, Glenn Sutton probably knew
what he was talking about when he wrote
“What’s Made Milwaukee Famous” for
Jerry Lee Lewis.
One of my personal favorites, “Do You
Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans”
had lyrics written by New Yorker Eddie
DeLange, who moved to Los Angeles and
died at 45, two years after Louis Armstrong
and Billie Holiday performed the song in
the 1947 movie New Orleans.
There are lots of songs about Tampa Bay
and Tampa, but none that have made an
impression like “Moon Over Miami” has
for Miami. Written in 1935, it was used in
a movie by the same name in 1941 and
made popular by Eddy Duchin and His
Orchestra, and then made popular again
by Ray Charles in 1960.
We need someone to write a great song
about Tampa Bay. I was thinking of titles
like “Dancin’ in Dunedin” or “Neat to be
in St. Pete,” or “The Hillsborough Blues.” If
Chattanooga warrants a Choo Choo and a
shoeshine boy, how about a Tampa trolley
or a Clearwater porter? However, even
without its own song, Tampa Bay is a great
place to live, work and play from New Port
Richey to Sarasota Bay. Can anybody put
that to music and add a few more lyrics?
Back in the 1980s, Paul Wilborn was
playing and singing with the Pop Tarts
and penned a few songs about the area.
Maybe if we ask, he will give us such a
song. I just hope no one thinks of scoring
“There a Hurricane Heading Our Way,” or
“Slow Down on I-4.” We need a song to
sing the praises of the treasures of Tampa
Bay, and I hope that when we get it, we
can dance to it. 9
MUSIC
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE
TAMPA BAY
But We Need a Song
By Aaron R. Fodiman