Here are a few multiples:
Stevie Wonder:
You Haven't Done Nothin' - Richard Nixon
Happy Birthday - Martin Luther King Jr.
Sir Duke - Duke Ellington & other jazz greats
Mark Knopfler:
Done With Bonaparte - Napoleon
Song For Sonny Liston
Boom, Like That - McDonalds tycoon Ray Kroc
Back To Tupelo - Elvis Presley (MF, it isn't very flattering but it's a good song. It's from the Sailing To Philadelphia album)
Sailing To Philadelphia - Jeremiah Dixon & Charles Mason
Donegan's Gone - British skiffle star Lonnie Donegan
Warren Zevon:
Boom Boom Mancini - Boxer Ray Mancini
Bob Dylan:
Hurricane - Boxer Rubin Carter
Joey - Gangster Joey Gallo
Dion:
Abraham, Martin & John - Lincoln, King & Kennedy
Byrds:
He Was A Friend Of Mine - JFK
Simon & Garfunkel:
So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
Tesla's Song And Emotion was rumored to have been written for Steve Clark late guitarist for Def Leppard. If not written for released after his passing.
Oh Oh --I just thought of one I don't think I've seen here yet. Shine On You Crazy Diamond was written for Syd Barrett.
He sings it high, he plays it low
Here's one I bet nobody here but me has heard of!
The Stevie Nicks song "Jane" was written for Jane Goodall, the woman who studied chimpanzees and was an important animal activist.
Here are the lyrics:
Such a little girl...such a hard life
She could look a challenge straight between the eyes
Disappointment would become her middle name
Up against the wall, Jane
So her nights became nightmares
As she fought for their souls
And the days became worse
For the ones she loved
Children of the world
The forgotten chimpanzee
In the eyes of the world
You have done so much for me
There are angels here...angels
There are angels here on earth
Angels sent from God
Come away from the wall...stay with us
Well you can, Jane
So she watched as they put them all into cages
Well, they might as well have caged her very own baby
In fact they might as well have put us both into prison
Through a window all our sorrows
Would become our only visions
Nothing more
There are angels here...angels
There are angels here on earth
Angels sent from God
You will never feel that you have ever done enough
But you have, Jane
Such a little girl...such a hard life
She could look a challenge straight between the eyes
Disappointment would become her middle name
Up against the wall, Jane
Nothing more than the shadow of a man
Come away from the wall, Jane
Well, they might as well have put us both into prison
Come away...if you can, Jane
Through a window all our sorrows
Would become our only visions
Come away, Jane
Come away...come away if you can
In the eyes of the world, you have done so much
Soda, Stevie Nick's song "Jane" has heartfelt lyrics. Thanks for posting them.
I've got a peaceful, easy feeling
And I know Glenn won't let me down
Gladly. It's actually from Shangri-La. I think people here know how much I love Mark Knopfler. This is a good example of his insight:
Back To Tupelo
around the time of ‘Clambake’
movie number twenty-five
you and the lying Dutchman
are still in overdrive
you’re as strong as when you started
Mississippi in your soul
you can still be Marlon Brando
and the king of rock and roll
it isn’t just the records
no, you must have Hollywood
the songs alone are not enough
that much is understood
you’ll soon be back in Memphis
maybe then you’ll know what to do
the storylines they’re giving you
are just not ringing true
oh, it’s a ways to go
back to Tupelo
when you’re young and beautiful
your dreams are all ideals
later on it’s not the same
lord, everything is real
sixteen hundred miles of highway
roll back to the truth
and a song to give your mother
in your first recording booth
around the time of ‘Clambake’
that old dream’s still rolling on
sometimes there’ll be the feeling
things are going wrong
the morning star is fading
lord, the Mississippi’s cold
you can still be Marlon Brando
and the king of rock and roll
but it’s a ways to go
back to tupelo