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For years, artists have turned to music to share their most intimate thoughts and ideas, including public love letters to their partners.
From Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” to Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” these hits have remained a huge part of their identity and what they stand for.
Here’s a look at some of the most romantic songs inspired by real-life love stories.
Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’ – Dedicated to Christie Brinkley
Billy Joel serenaded ex-wife Christie Brinkley during his concert at Madison Square Garden on April 26, 2024. (@merrrr___/LIFESTYLOGY/TMX/Getty Images)
On April 26, Billy Joel serenaded his ex-wife, Christie Brinkley, during his concert at Madison Square Garden.
In video obtained by Fox News Digital, Brinkley is seen swaying back and forth to “Uptown Girl,” a song that Joel wrote about her in 1983. She was broadcast on the jumbotron for the whole crowd to see.
Pictures seemingly show Joel singing passionately to Brinkley.
In 2010, Joel confirmed that “Uptown Girl” was written about Brinkley (she did appear in the music video), although he explained that there was more to the story.
Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel divorced in 1994. (Getty Images/File)
WATCH: BILLY JOEL SERENADES CHRISTIE BRINKLEY WITH ‘UPTOWN GIRL’
Video“I wasn’t even dating Christie when I started writing the song; I was dating Elle [Macpherson],” Joel said on “The Howard Stern Show.” He remembered a moment when he was surrounded by Brinkley, Macpherson and Whitney Houston while he was working on the song.
“That’s why I started writing a song called ‘Uptown Girls.’ It was plural. I couldn’t believe, you know, the situation I was in,” he said of having a bevy of beauties near him.
Joel, 74, said when he and Macpherson went their separate ways, the nature of the song changed because of his relationship with Brinkley. “And then I started dating Christie, and rather than it [being] about all these different girls, she became the ‘Uptown Girl.’ I started writing it about one person.”
Paul McCartney’s ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ – Dedicated to Linda McCartney
Paul McCartney and wife Linda divorced in 1998 after 29 years of marriage. (Michael Putland/Getty Images/File)
While Paul McCartney’s first wife, Linda, was the inspiration behind his 1970 hit “Maybe I’m Amazed,” the song hits differently for him these days.
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“As you say, [the song] was for Linda, but as time goes on and people say they like it, I always like to give up ownership and say, ‘Great, well, I hope this fits with your life,’” McCartney, who was married to Linda from 1969 to 1998 before marrying his current wife, Nancy Shevell, in 2011, told NPR in a 2020 interview.
“And you know, it’s very nice when people say, ‘We used this song in our wedding.’ That’s a huge compliment. Once you’ve written [songs] and once you release them, they’re like birds. They fly away, and you have no control over them. And I’m happy for them to land in other people’s lives.”
Vince Gill’s ‘When My Amy Prays’ – Dedicated to Amy Grant
Amy Grant and Vince Gill married in 2000. (Getty Images/File)
After close to 25 years of marriage, Amy Grant still inspires husband Vince Gill in many ways.
In 2021, at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Gill won for best country solo performance for “When My Amy Prays,” a song he wrote for his wife.
“You know you’re from Nashville when you write a song about your wife, and she tells you your third verse could use a little work,” he told CMT at the time.
Vince Gill says his song is “a testament” to how much he cares about his wife, Amy Grant. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMT/File)
“[The song] is just a testament to how much I care about her, how dear she is to me in my life,” he said. “Kindness is how she leads her life, and it’s the first thing you ever notice. It’s the first thing you ever experience, and it’s kind of unending.”
“It’s one of my favorite vocals that I’ve ever done,” he told the outlet. “The whole record came from a place of honesty … the beauty of this song is the vulnerability I paint myself in being honest enough to say, ‘Well, you may assume I’m something because of being married to this prominent Christian singer.’ My life isn’t quite like that. To me, it’s a testament to that we don’t all need to be the same to get along … as long as I’m honoring her, I’m trying to be honest with myself.”
Garth Brooks’ ‘Stronger Than Me’ – Dedicated to Trisha Yearwood
Garth Brooks debuted his song to wife Trisha Yearwood on the CMA stage in 2018. (Taylor Hill/WireImage/File)
In 2018, Garth Brooks debuted his love song to his wife of 18years, Trisha Yearwood, at the CMA Awards.
Brooks teared up while he sang “Stronger Than Me” in front of Yearwood, who had never heard the song before.
Before the show, Brooks told Fox News Digital he had initially wanted to play the song for his wife as soon as he heard it, but decided to wait for a special moment.
“When I heard this song, Ithought, ‘I want to take this to Trisha.’ And I said, ‘No,'” Brooks said on the red carpet.”No matter how many people are in there, we’re going to be the only people in the room.”
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Yearwood said she was “nervous” to hear the song for the first time on live television.
“I haven’t heard it yet. The last time that Garth surprised me like this is when he asked me to marry him,” she told Fox News Digital ahead of the show. “I’m like everybody else; I’m just as excited to hear it and a little bit nervous.”
Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Piece by Piece’ – Dedicated to Brandon Blackstock
Kelly Clarkson filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock in 2020. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/File)
Though the exes are now in the middle of an acrimonious divorce, Kelly Clarkson once wrote a heartfelt love song titled “Piece by Piece” for then-husband Brandon Blackstock.
“It was a vulnerable song. … My husband, he came into my life, and he’s the complete opposite of how my father was. He was present. He wins for being around,” she said in a 2015 interview. “That’s why I think it’s so funny when people try and be so mean in the press; I’m like, ‘Once your dad basically is like, “You’re unwanted,”‘ you can say anything, and it’s not going to bother me.”
In another interview that same year, Clarkson further dissected the meaning behind the song.
“We didn’t have a father that really taught us what a man should be like and what you should look for in a relationship, and so it’s amazing that we both ended up with lovers and partners and great fathers and just really great men,” she told New York’s Fresh 102.7. “I don’t think a lot of girls with daddy issues go that route, so it’s nice that it actually happened for me. … I just had to write that because I feel like there are a lot of girls and guys out there that maybe didn’t have male influence in their life growing up, and it’s nice that there is still hope that you can find it.”
In June 2020, the “Since U Been Gone” hitmaker filed for divorce from Blackstock, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The split quickly turned acrimonious with the two engaging in a custody dispute over their two children, River and Remy. Clarkson and Blackstock finalized their divorce in March 2022.
Tim McGraw’s ‘Her’ – Dedicated to Faith Hill
Tim McGraw wrote “Her” for his wife, Faith Hill. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for ACM/File)
Their love story is one for the books.
In 2023, Tim McGraw opened up about a love song dedicated to his wife of nearly 28 years, Faith Hill.
“Oh, she loves it,” McGraw told “Entertainment Tonight” of his single titled “Her.” “She makes me play it all the time. … I’ve had enough of it, I don’t want to hear it, [but] she loves it.”
“She loved it so much. She goes, ‘This is about me, right?’ I go, ‘Yeah, of course, of course. You’re the ‘her.’”
TIM MCGRAW ‘WOULD’VE DIED’ IF HE DID NOT MARRY FAITH HILL: HOW THEIR MARRIAGE BEAT THE ODDS
The country music superstars met in 1994 in Nashville, Tennessee. They were both in relationships with other people at the time, and it wasn’t until she performed as his opening act on a 1996 tour that they made a love connection.
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill share three children together. (Getty Images/File | Tim McGraw/Instagram)
They were married on Oct. 6, 1996, and the next January, they revealed that they were expecting their first child together. They welcomed their oldest daughter, Grace, in May 1997. Their second daughter, Maggie, came along in August 1998. In 2001, Faith gave birth to a third child, Audrey.
Last year, McGraw told Apple Music host Zane Lowe, “I guarantee you, had I not gotten married to Faith at 29 years old, A) I probably would’ve ran my career into the ground, and B), I would’ve died already with my career into the ground, one or the other. And it wouldn’t have ever been where it’s at now.”
Fox News Digital’s Lori Bashian and Caroline Thayer contributed to this post.
Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
