Most people have trouble naming the capital cities of more than a handful of countries - but what about US State capitals?
Well, most will go down the path of picking the biggest and/or most famous cities in each state, because that would make the most sense, right? Obviously not, or else I wouldn't have bothered to add this twist on the theme!
For some states, the system works - Massachusetts (Boston), Rhode Island (Providence), Georgia (Atlanta) - but for many, the capital is barely even a city, let alone a large metropolis (think Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for instance). Anyway, here are ten songs about cities that people assume might be a state capital, but aren't.
Population data used below s from WorldPopulationReview.com for 2024
1. Interpol: NYC
New York: New York City (1st by size, 8.1m pop) vs. Albany (16th, 102,000 pop.)
This beautiful song about New York City, Interpol's home town, was a double-A -Side with Say Hello To The Angels and comes from Turn On The Bright Lights, their 2002 debut album. It is a record much praised for its melancholic atmosphere, with more than a nod to Joy Division - with many critics even comparing Paul Banks' vocal delivery to that of Ian Curtis. The whole album is about the city in some way, conjuring a range of images of the city across the twentieth century, from the days of F Scott Fitzgerald onwards. But NYC the song, is about a more vulnerable post 9/11 New York.
Interpol: NYC (Official music video)
2. Tony Bennett: (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco
California: San Francisco (4th, 788,000 pop.) vs Sacramento (6th, 536,000 pop.)
When you think California, you think LA (by far the biggest city) and San Francisco. This song about the latter was written in 1953, perhaps somewhat ironically in Brooklyn, by George Cory and Douglas Cross (although it is about people who have left San Francisco and are nostalgic for it). It was written for Claramae Turner, an operatic contralto (who most notably appeared in the film Carousel), who frequently used it as her encore, but never actually recorded it. It was also offered to Tennessee Ernie Ford, but he turned it down, before Tony Bennett got a hold of it in 1962 - it would of course go on to become his signature tune.
Tony Bennett: (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco (MTV Unplugged)
3. Frank Sinatra: Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)
Illinois: Chicago (1st, 2.6m pop.) vs Springfield (7th, 112,000 pop.)
One of two Chicago themed songs that Frank Sinatra was known for (along with Chicago - My Kind Of Town). It was written and published by Fred Fisher in 1922 and is about Chicago's colourful past. It was used in the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire film The Story Of Vernon And Irene Castle (1939), and also 1942s Roxie Hart. Frank Sinatra's 1957 version was used in his film The Joker Is Wild.
Frank Sinatra: Chicago (That Toddlin Town) (Audio only - "bet your bottom dollar you'll lose the blues - in Chicago")
4. The Flatlanders: Dallas
Texas: Dallas (3rd, 1.3m pop.) vs Austen (5th, 985,000 pop.)
The Flatlanders - Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock - hailed from Lubbock Texas (10th most populous, for the record) in the early 1970s. They didn't garner much attention at that time and went off and did their own things, generally with more success. But down the years, they still get back together from time to time to record and play live, and their stock has gradually risen through the decades. Dallas, penned by Gilmore, was the promotional single for their ultimately scrapped 1972 debut album, All American Music (although a few 8-track versions were sold to meet contractual obligations).
The Flatlanders: Dallas (Live from Austin, TX)
5. Michelle Shocked: Anchorage
Alaska: Anchorage (1st, 284,000 pop.) vs Juneau (3rd, 31,000 pop.)
This was the 1988 debut single by Michelle Shocked (Karen Michelle Johnston), and is based on some correspondence between two old friends (actually based on reality - between Michelle and her good friend JoAnn Kelli Bingham). One of the friends (Shocked) has stayed in Texas, while the other one has moved to Anchorage, but is already missing hanging out with her old friend.
Well, this is a first!
After all that research - there is no video / audio of this online anywhere I could find - so you may have to go looking on your own streaming platform of choice. (It is a lovely song, although it seems that Shocked 'lost the plot' somewhere along the way - although I'm not sure if that is all connected).
What I can offer you instead is another song called Anchorage, but by an Aussie band...
6. Bruce Springsteen: Philadelphia
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (1st, 1.5m pop.) vs Harrisburg (17th, 50,000 pop.)
This is the main track from the 1993 Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia, an early and acclaimed look at the lives of those suffering with the HIV/AIDS disease. The song was well received and won Bruce Springsteen an Oscar and a Grammy. The demo Springsteen sent to Jonathan Demme, left the director and his wife in tears. It was released in 1994 and hit number one in three European countries, number two in the UK and nine in the US (which, as of 2024, was his last US Top10 single). Robert Hilburn, writing in the LA Times said, "Springsteen sings in a voice that expresses the helplessness and heartache of someone dying of AIDS as convincingly as Springsteen once conveyed the dreams and aspirations of youth."
Bruce Springsteen: Philadelphia (Official music video)
7. Superchunk: Detroit Has A Skyline
Michigan: Detroit (1st, 631,000 pop.) vs Lansing (6th, 112,000 pop.)
This hard rocking song is taken from the fifth album, Here's Where The Strings Come In, by the Chapel Hill (North Carolina) indie rockers Superchunk. The song seems to be about someone who wants to get back together with their original lover, having realised they messed up and that the grass is, in fact, not always greener.
Superchunk: Detroit Has A Skyline (Live on KEXP, 2013)
8. Dead Kennedys: Viva Las Vegas
Nevada: Las Vegas (1st, 665,000 pop.) vs Carson City (10th, 58,000 pop.)
Viva Las Vegas was written in 1963 by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, and perhaps most famously recorded by Elvis Presley for his film of the same name. And while ZZ Top also did a fairly well known cover for their 1992 Greatest Hits album, we are obviously going with the hyperactive Dead Kennedys version, complete with Jello Biafra's maniacal vocals, from their debut 1980 LP, Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables.
Dead Kennedys: Viva Las Vegas (Audio only)
9. The Beatles: Kansas City
Kansas City lies across two states, neither of which it is capital of....
Kansas: Kansas City (3rd, 181,000 pop.) vs Topeka (5th, 125,000 pop.)
Missouri: Kansas City (1st, 511,000 pop.) vs Jefferson City (16th, 42,000 pop.)
Kansas City was an old R&B song originally written by two nineteen year olds, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller back in 1952, and first recorded by Little Willie Littlefield. The pair had never been to Kansas, but were inspired by the work of Big Joe Turner (a legendary bluesman from Kansas City). In 1955, Little Richard recorded two versions of the song; the first and closest to the original, was not released by him until 1970; the other, added the 'Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey baby, hey child, hey now' refrain. This latter one is the one The Beatles started playing live in Hamburg in some time around 1961. It made a rare return to their setlist in September 1964, when they played at Kansas City Municipal Stadium - a month before it was recorded for the Beatles For Sale LP.
The Beatles: Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey (Audio only)
10. The Replacements: Portland
Oregon: Portland (1st, 623,000 pop.) vs Salem (3rd, 178,000 pop.)
It seems that what is perhaps one of my favourite songs by The Replacements, Portland, was written as something of an apology to the city (or at least a part of it). The apology, it seems, was for an awful gig the band played in Portland, which is quite something given their record of debauched and calamitous gigs. The one in question was at the Pine Street Theatre in December 1987, where they got drunk (not unusual) and got on stage dressed up in strange garb. They started a number of songs they didn't know how to play, not finishing any of them before moving onto the next one. They then started throwing their clothes into the crowd - with bassist Tommy Stinson ending up in his underpants! The theatre owners wouldn't pay the band and so they trashed the place! The song was then recorded the following year in Bearsville Sound Studio near Woodstock and includes Stinson on an upright bass (which he apparently played really well and then smashed). It was done as part of the sessions for what would become their penultimate album, Don't Tell A Soul. It would later show up on the compilation, All For Nothing / Nothing For All.
The Replacements: Portland (Audio only)
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