Song · The Waterboys
“A Girl Called Johnny” by The Waterboys
From the album The Waterboys (1983)
“A Girl Called Johnny” by The Waterboys appears on 4 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1999 and 2002. It was first released in 1983 on the album The Waterboys. Its best result is #1847 on the CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,110 alternative song of all time.
The Waterboys announced themselves in 1983 with "A Girl Called Johnny", the lead single from their self-titled debut, and it's a fan's valentine. Mike Scott wrote it with Patti Smith as his inspiration. Her records and poetry had hooked him in 1976, hard enough that he started a fanzine of his own, Jungleland. In 1978, with Smith booked into the Rainbow Theatre in London, he rang the Portobello Hotel where she always stayed, got her on the line and was invited down from Scotland to cover the show. He came by train; she sorted his ticket and his hotel room and left him in the care of her guitarist, Lenny Kaye.
On the record Scott sings and plays guitar and piano, Anthony Thistlethwaite blows saxophone, and Rupert Hine produced it with Ray Massey, both of them adding percussion.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1854 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1854 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1861 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1847 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
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