The songs that shaped Paul Weller: “My favourite”
Like all great musicians, Paul Weller has a deep and meaningful connection with a whole variety of music that came before him. While he went on to inspire a generation of young Mods and indie rockers, first with the music he made with The Jam and The Style Council, and eventually as a solo artist, he has always been keen to acknowledge the songs and singers that inspired him, and often incorporated elements of his favourite music in his own work, as well.
From early rock and roll through to rhythm and blues, soul and disco, Weller was strongly inspired by the music being made in America in his childhood and young adulthood. Speaking to Vernon Kaye on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years earlier in 2024, Weller talked about some of the songs that shaped him, and some songs were more surprising than others.
Interestingly, not every song he selected was from his childhood or even exclusively from artists who came before him.
It’s a great reminder that we should remain open to being inspired by those who we ourselves inspired in the first place, and that we can learn from those who came after us just as much as we can from those who came before.
The seven Songs that shaped Paul Weller
7. ‘Heat Wave’ – Martha Reeves and The Vandellas
Written in 1963 by the Motown hit-machines Holland–Dozier–Holland, ‘Heat Wave’ was released by the subsidiary label Gordy and climbed all the way to number one on the Billboard charts. Featuring the quintessential Motown sound and a stunning vocal performance from Martha and The Vandellas, the track has become an iconic song and one of the best examples of just the kind of magic that Motown were so consistently putting out in the 1960s.
Giving it a more raucous rock and roll reading, The Jam would cover the track on their 1979 album ‘Setting Sons’.
6. ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ – Little Richard
It doesn’t get more raucous in rock and roll than Little Richard. One of the great originators of this exciting new form of music, Little Richard performed like a comet coming to Earth. No one had seen anything like him before, and while he influenced everyone from Bob Dylan to Prince, there was never another like him again. It’s no wonder that he caught the imagination of a young Paul Weller.
Other artists who attempted this song were Jerry Lee Lewis, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, but it was only Little Richard’s lightning version that made Wellers’ list.
5. ‘Dead End Street’ – The Kinks
While not as famous as their songs ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Lola’, or ‘All Day and All of the Night’, ‘Dead End Street’ still captures the essence of The Kinks’ more well-known songs but adds an understated darkness and gritty twist to their sound.
With a descending bassline, which also found its way into their hit ‘Sunny Afternoon’ – from the same 1966 album – ‘Dead End Street’ is like an inverse version of that song, where the sun has gone away. The Jam have covered the song, while another band took their tribute one step further. With the descending rhythm and melody and marching band feel, the track – and its music video – clearly had more than a little influence on the 2005 Oasis song ‘The Importance of Being Idle’.
4. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ – The Beatles
It would have been impossible to grow up in England in the 1960s, be interested in music and not be inspired by The Beatles. Speaking to The Guardian in 1995, Weller singled this song out, saying, “My favourite Beatles record is ‘Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane’, double A-side. I didn’t buy it. I was still too young to buy records. They were too expensive for me”.
Released as a single before their upcoming Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club album, the song ushered in a new psychedelic age for the Fab Four and at first confused and confounded the critics. Surprisingly, the track only made it as high as number two in the UK singles charts.
3. ‘Stoned Love’ – The Supremes
Their biggest hit in the UK without Diana Ross, you can hear the clear influence of The Style Council in the sound of this song by The Supremes. With its lush string section behind the vocal group, driving drums and colour being added by the guitar and horn section, you can hear the seeds of songs like ‘Shout to the Top’ being sewn in the mind of a young Paul Weller.
Weller also made another soul selection in his conversation with Vernon Kaye, name-checking Gwen McCrae’s stunning 1975 number one hit ‘Rockin’ Chair’. McCrae’s track was released as an ‘answer song’ to the record her husband George had taken to the top of the charts a year prior, ‘Rock Your Baby’. ‘Rock Your Baby’ is often credited as being the genesis of the disco sound.
2. ‘Hangin’’ – Chic
One of the acts most synonymous with that disco scene was Chic. With timeless classics like ‘I Want Your Love’, ‘Everybody Dance’, ‘C’est Chic’, and ‘Hangin’, they were one of the hottest groups around, and their influence resonated throughout the industry.
Nile Rodgers’, one half of Chic’s driving force alongside bass player Bernie Edwards, quickly became a much sought-after super-producer alongside his gig with the group and worked with acts like Sister Sledge, Madonna and David Bowie in the early 1980s.
Paul Weller would later cover the Rodgers and Edwards co-write ‘Thinking of You’, first made famous by Sister Sledge in 1984, on his 2004 album Studio 150.
1. ‘Dead to the World’ – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
And showing that you can still learn a thing or two from those you have influenced, Weller included the track ‘Dead to the World’ by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds among his picks of songs that shaped his life.
With its blend of acoustic guitars and strings and a slightly European feel, the track clearly and obviously influenced Weller’s ‘My Best Friend’s Coat,’ which appeared on his 2024 album 66. From The Beatles to the High Flying Birds, it’s clear that Weller’s career has been shaped by a wide variety of influences that have informed his artistic choices.
