While it may seem a grim source of inspiration, numerous hit songs have been based on real-life murder cases and serial killers. One such case involves 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who carried out a school shooting in San Diego, California, in 1979, killing two people and injuring nine others. She pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence. When asked about her motive, she simply replied: 'I don't like Mondays!' This incident inspired Bob Geldof and his band The Boomtown Rats, who scored their second number one hit with a song of the same name in 1979. Here, we examine other tracks written following notorious crimes.
Smooth Criminal
Michael Jackson never disclosed the inspiration for his 1988 hit about a woman attacked in her apartment. However, his brother Jermaine claimed it was sparked by the true story of Richard Ramirez, known as the 'Night Stalker,' a devil-worshipping serial killer who murdered 14 people in the 1980s, often after breaking into their homes.
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
In 1986, the body of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was discovered strangled in New York's Central Park. Robert Chambers, dubbed the 'Preppy Killer,' went on trial, claiming the death was accidental and that they were friends. He was eventually convicted of manslaughter. The Killers' hit was part of a trilogy based on this case.
Suffer Little Children
The Smiths' 1984 song, written by Morrissey, references three victims of the notorious Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. The pair killed five children in the 1960s, including Lesley Ann Downey (10), John Kilbride (12), and Edward Evans (17), and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen's 1982 song includes the lyrics: 'Me and her went for a ride, sir, and 10 innocent people died.' It was based on Charles Starkweather, a serial killer from Nebraska who went on a killing spree in 1958, accompanied by his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. Starkweather was executed in the electric chair.
Riders On The Storm
The Doors' hit, sung by Jim Morrison, was partly inspired by hitchhiking serial killer Billy Cook, who murdered six people, including a family of five, the Mossers, in 1951 after they picked him up in Illinois. Cook was executed in the gas chamber in 1952.
I Just Shot John Lennon
These were the actual words spoken by Mark David Chapman after he shot the 40-year-old ex-Beatle in 1980 outside his New York home. The Cranberries used them as the title for their 1996 tribute track, sung by Dolores O'Riordan.
Let Him Dangle
Elvis Costello's 1989 song is a protest against capital punishment. It tells the story of Derek Bentley, who was hanged in 1953 for the murder of a policeman during a burglary. His conviction was posthumously quashed in 1998.
Hurricane
Bob Dylan's 1975 song is about Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, an African American boxer who was framed by police for a triple murder. He spent 18 years in prison before being released in 1985, with the original prosecution branded as racist.
Babbacombe Lee
Fairport Convention released an entire album in 1971 about John Lee, a man convicted of murdering his employer, Emma Keyse, in Babbacombe, Devon, in 1885. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after he survived three attempts to hang him.
