Truth be told it's about drinking a cheap blush wine. On the surface this song appears to be about a spirited woman named Rosie. "Cracklin' Rosie, you're a store-bought woman This practice was halted in -you guessed it- 1969. The lyric: '"So I called up the captain, Please bring me my wine, He said "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"' supposedly backs this up as the hospital staff used to give wine to the patients to calm them before dinner. Urban legend has attributed the name "Hotel California" to many actual physical locations, one being The California State Mental Hospital at Camarillo. I mean seriously, how many burnt out ex-hippies soon to become yuppies started drinking pink champagne on ice after this song came out? "Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on iceĪnd she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'"Īn iconic song with multiple wine references, this song did for wine what Jim Morrison did for whiskey. That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their interpretation upon it - to read into it what they like." I'm trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. In the New Musical Express November 2, 1974, Queen singer Freddie Mercury elucidates on this song: "It's about a high class call girl. That the band is Queen and the song about a high class call girl vaults this to number 3.
'Let them eat cake' she says, Just like Marie Antoinette"Īny band that can drop a lyrical nod to "Moet at Chandon", the world's largest champagne house, in a rock song deserves a spot on the list. "She keeps Moet et Chandon, In her pretty cabinet Diamond's version only reached number sixty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968. With a lyrical theme of red wine as a prescription for lost love, the Neil Diamond version is actually much more sad and desperate than the poppier UB40 version. Originally written and recorded by Neil Diamond, Red Red Wine was then covered by Tony Tribe and most famously by UB40 in the late 1980's. Make me forget that I, Still need her so" In a later interview, Joel cites the second side of The Beatles album Abbey Road as one of the main influences behind Scenes From an Italian Restaurant. On an A&E special, Joel said he came up with the "Bottle of white, bottle of red" line while he was dining at a restaurant and a waiter actually came up to him and said, "Bottle of white. This song made wine cool to a generation of Billy Joel fans.
How can this not be the #1 wine song off all time? It begins and ends with Joel's instantly recognizable lyrics "A bottle of white, a bottle of red, perhaps a bottle of rosé instead?" and the imagery of an in-his-prime Billy Joel with a gorgeous date (perhaps ex-wife Christie Brinkley?) dining at a New York City restaurant and having this verbal exchange with a waiter just makes it that much more perfect. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel But hey, if VH1 can produce the Top 100 Child Stars of All-Time, why can't I make a similarly pointless wine song list? I have too much time on my hands.
This list, though somewhat thoroughly researched, is far from scientific. This is what happens when I find myself home alone on a cold rainy night with a lot of unopened wine and an iTunes habit that borders on obsession.