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Classic Rock Sequel Songs
Follow-up songs to big hits by the same artist
It’s not just films that have sequels; songs do too, although not as many.
Artists write sequel songs for a variety of reasons, and they are often in the same key and they will reference lines from the original. Like with film sequels, artists might release a song that is very similar to a massive hit to cash in on the success.
Rod Stewart’s You Wear It Well was in this mould as the follow-up single to his breakout mega hit Maggie May. Whilst Stewart has never called it a sequel, You Wear It Well is structurally and musically very similar, with lyrics that are also a nostalgic tale of a past relationship, as was Maggie May.
Some of the best-known sequel songs that reference the earlier song are Peggy Sue Got Married from Buddy Holly and Bye Bye Johnny, Chuck Berry’s sequel to Johnny B Goode.
Sometimes, the sequel song is made by a different artist. Peter Schilling’s Major Tom continued the narrative of Bowie’s Space Oddity, for example.
Other sequels reference an earlier song title but appear to have little else to do with the original. George Harrison’s Here Comes The Moon fits into this category. He was clearly referencing his earlier Beatles…
