Ebony McQueen

Album: Ebony McQueen (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Ebony McQueen" is the title track to a 26-song album that tells the tale of Dave Stewart's musical journey. The character Ebony McQueen represents the blues music that inspired him as a teenager and led him to a career in music. Stewart is best known for his work in Eurythmics.
  • Stewart recorded much of the Ebony McQueen album at his studio in the Bahamas, Bay Street. Ebony is a fictional character that Stewart describes as a "voodoo blues queen," but he got the name from a real person he met on the islands. Her name was Ebony, and she told him that McQueen was her maiden name, which she prefers.

    On the bike ride back to his place, he rolled the name around in his head and came up with the lilting chorus. He started writing a song around it and developed the concept that led him to the album.
  • Dave Stewart grew up in Sunderland, England, where his dream was to play for the local soccer team, Sunderland A.F.C. A knee injury put those dreams to rest, and around the same time, his mom moved to London as his parents separated. Dave was rather depressed, but came out of his funk when he received a record from his cousin in America: Robert Johnson's compilation King Of The Delta Blues Singers. It opened up a new world for Stewart, who started digging into other music: The Beatles, The Kinks, his dad's Rodgers & Hammerstein records. His Ebony McQueen project is the culmination of all these influences.
  • The video for this song includes footage of Stewart composited on illustrations by Kathryn Robertson.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.