This is a list of songs about or referencing killers. The songs are divided into groups by the last name of the killer the song is about or mentions.
A–B
Axeman of New Orleans
Joe Ball
Elizabeth Báthory
Robert Berdella
David Berkowitz
Paul Bernardo
Jerry Brudos
Ted Bundy
C–F
Richard Chase
Andrei Chikatilo
Adolfo Constanzo
Dean Corll
Jeffrey Dahmer
Albert DeSalvo
Dnepropetrovsk maniacs
Mark Essex
Albert Fish
Lavinia Fisher
Lonnie David Franklin Jr.
G–J
John Wayne Gacy
Harvey Murray Glatman
- "Harvey Glatman (Your Soul Will Forever Rot)" – Macabre
Carl Großmann
- "The Sweet Tender Meat Vendor" - Macabre
Belle Gunness
Fritz Haarmann
John George Haigh
Robert Hansen
Karla Homolka
Jack the Ripper
K–M
Theodore Kaczynski
Edmund Kemper
Randy Kraft
Joachim Kroll
Richard Kuklinski
Peter Kürten
Leonarda Cianciulli
Herman Mudgett (a.k.a. H. H. Holmes)
Herbert Mullin
N–R
Dennis Nilsen
Carl Panzram
Christopher Peterson
Alexander Pichushkin
Robert Pickton
Dorothea Puente
- "Dorthea's Dead Folks Home" – Macabre
Dennis Rader
Gilles de Rais
Richard Ramirez
Gary Ridgway
Danny Rolling
Richard Speck
- "Born to Raise Hell (Richard Speck)" - Church of Misery
- "Richard Speck Grew Big Breasts" – Macabre
- "What the Heck Richard Speck? (Eight Nurses You Wrecked)" – Macabre
S–Z
Shankill Butchers
Harold Shipman
Peter Stumpp
Peter Sutcliffe
Jack Unterweger
Joseph Vacher
- "The Ripper Tramp from France" - Macabre
Dorángel Vargas
Fred West/Rose West
Aileen Wuornos
Graham Frederick Young
Zodiac Killer
See also
References
- ^ "The Mysterious Axman's Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa)". The Historic New Orleans Collection. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Book, Ryan (October 5, 2014). "Bobby Darin, "Mack The Knife" and a Slew of Songs About Actual Murderers...from Slayer, Animal Collective, Phil Ochs and More". Music Times. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ a b c "A Bloody Soundtrack to Countess Elizabeth Báthory". The Musical Hype. August 14, 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Goodman, William (October 21, 2009). "WATCH: Slayer Explain Female Serial Killer Song". Spin. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d "A Bloody Soundtrack to Countess Elizabeth Báthory". The Musical Hype. August 14, 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Katy Irizarry. "11 Twisted Songs Inspired by Murderess Elizabeth Bathory". Loudwire.
- ^ a b c d "A Bloody Soundtrack to Countess Elizabeth Báthory". The Musical Hype. August 14, 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Distefano, Alex (February 14, 2014). "The Top 10 Metal Love Songs". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Songs About or Inspired by the Son of Sam". The Musical Hype. January 23, 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Cotter, Jack (December 17, 2013). "Hall & Oates Appreciation Day: "Rich Girl"". Philly Mag. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Songs About or Inspired by the Son of Sam". The Musical Hype. January 23, 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Cavuoto, Robert. "Interview with Bobby Blitz Ellsworth of Overkill: This is Our Calling". Guitar International. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Songs About or Inspired by the Son of Sam". The Musical Hype. January 23, 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Songs About or Inspired by the Son of Sam". The Musical Hype. January 23, 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Berger, George (November 4, 2009). The Story of Crass. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857120120.
- ^ "Acid Drinkers - La Part Du Diable (2012)". Metal Archives. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
- ^ "Blitzkid - Mr Gore (@ The Studio @ Webster Hall, Manhattan, NY, Sep 22, 2010)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ "VIO-LENCE LYRICS - "Eternal Nightmare" (1988) album". Darklyrics.com. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
- ^ "Torch Song Trilogy by Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. Sensational". WhoSampled. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ Perone, James E. (2007). The Words and Music of David Bowie. p. 102.
- ^ a b Schechter, Harold (30 December 2003). The serial killer files : the who, what, where, how, and why of the world's most terrifying murderers (1st ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 386. ISBN 0345472004.
- ^ Miller, Laurence (January 1, 2012). CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY: Nature, Nurture, Culture-A Textbook and Practical Reference Guide for Students and Working Professionals in the Fields of Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Forensic Psychology. Charles C Thomas Publisher. p. 243. ISBN 978-0398087166.
- ^ "Untitled Document". December 14, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14.
- ^ a b c d e f Mason, Amanda (June 13, 2014). "Murder Metal: 13 Metal Songs About Serial Killers". Heavy Mag. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Club Moral Stocklist 032 - Equinox Event". August 27, 1983 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Jason Hill - They Like Me, They Love Me". genius.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman (2010). Wanted Undead or Alive:: Vampire Hunters and Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil. Citadel Pr. p. 337. ISBN 9780806528212.
- ^ "Swans 1995 - 97, interview with Michael Gira". YouTube.com. 2007-02-15. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ "50 Best Michael Jackson Songs". Rolling Stone. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ "Lingua Ignota (aka Kristin Hayter) talked to us about sampling Aileen Wuornos, redefining "heavy" & the humans who inspire her art". Music & Riots. 7 September 2017.
Further reading
- Olive W. Burt, American Murder Ballads and their Stories, Oxford University Press, New York, 1958
- Olive W. Burt, "Murder Ballads of Mormondom", Western Folklore, 18:2, April 1959, pp. 141–156
- Olive W. Burt, "The Minstrelsy of Murder", Western Folklore, 17:4, October 1958, pp. 263–272
- Daniel A. Cohen, "The Beautiful Female Murder Victim: Literary Genres and Courtship Practices in the Origins of a Cultural Motif, 1590–1850", Journal of Social History, 31:2, Winter 1997, pp. 277–306
- Chet Flippo, "Nashville Skyline: The Subject Was Murder", CMT.com, February 5, 2004
- Will Robinson Sheff, "The Dark Side of Folk: Songs about Murder", Audiogalaxy
- Michael E. Bush, "Murder Ballads in Appalachia", (thesis) Marshal University, Huntington, West Virginia, 1977
- Kenneth D. Tunnel, "99 Years is Almost For Life: Punishment for Violent Crime in Bluegrass Music", The Journal of Popular Culture, 26:3, Winter 1992, pp. 165–181
- Ellen L. O'Brien, "THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MURDER”: THE TRANSGRESSIVE AESTHETICS OF MURDER IN VICTORIAN STREET BALLADS", Victorian Literature and Culture, 28, 2000, pp. 15–37
Further listening (recorded compilations)
- Bloody Ballads: Classic British and American Murder Ballads, Sung by Paul Clayton, Ed. by Kenneth S. Goldstein, Riverside Records, New York, 1956 (includes cover notes)
- Blood Booze 'n Bones, Sung by Ed McCurdy, banjo accompaniment by Erik Darling, Elektra Records, 1956 (includes 12 page booklet)
- Murder Ballads, by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Mute Records, 1996
- Murder Metal, Macabre, 2003 (This band appears to have become known for a death metal variation of the murder ballad)