At our Saturday gig, the audience requested a Bad Company song. Here’s a video of our response, plus some background on the original song written by Paul Rogers.
The lyrics of “Shooting Star” tell the story of a boy named Johnny who first heard his first Beatles song, “Love Me Do”, and went on to become a rock star, but died after overdosing on whiskey and sleeping pills. The theme was influenced by the deaths of young rock stars as a result of drug addiction, particularly the deaths from overdoses of Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and possibly Jimi Hendrix. Paul Rodgers stated that “At that particular time you had Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin…just a catalogue of people who didn’t make it, who overdosed in their beds…that was the germ of this song.”
It’s a story, and it’s almost a warning. “Don’t you know that you are a shooting star, and all the world will love you just as long as you are… a shooting star.”
In 1997, Simon Kirke said of the song that: “It’s a generic example of what has happened and what can happen and, I’m afraid, will happen to people who come into this business and meddle with drink and drugs. When we were younger, we all dabbled – none of us are saints. I’m not saying we didn’t have fun, but I just don’t do that anymore..” – Simon Kirke (Bad Company Drummer)
Author: Brian Woodland
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