"Pablo Picasso" is a song written by

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

for the

proto punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated w ...

group

the Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...

. The song was recorded in 1972 at Whitney Studios in Los Angeles, and produced by

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

, but was not released until 1976, on the Modern Lovers' self-titled debut album. The recording featured Richman (lead guitar, vocals), Ernie Brooks (second guitar),

Jerry Harrison Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...

(bass) and

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

(drums), with Cale playing the repetitive hammered piano part. The central character of the song is the charismatic 20th century artist

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. With dry wit, the lyrics suggest that women never rejected Picasso's romantic advances, despite his short stature. "Well he was only five foot three but girls could not resist his stare / Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole / Not in New York". In a 1980 interview, Richman stated that the song was inspired by his own adolescent "self-consciousness" with women.

Cover versions

On recordings

*1975 –

, on his album ''

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

'' (released before the original version) *1979 –

Catholic Discipline Catholic Discipline was an American punk rock (first-generation new wave) band, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California, by '' Slash Fanzine'' editor Claude Bessy. The initial line-up of the band featured Bessy on vocals, Phranc on guitar, R ...

on album '' Underground Babylon'' a collection of live recordings. *1984 –

Burning Sensations Burning Sensations was a short-lived Los Angeles area rock band. The group is best known for its MTV hit "Belly of the Whale", the music for which blends a rather unusual fusion of rock and calypso styles, and for covering the Jonathan Richman s ...

on the '' Repo Man'' soundtrack *1991 –

Phranc Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into ...

's version of the song substitutes

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

as the central character; it appears on her album ''

Positively Phranc ''Positively Phranc'' is an album by the American musician Phranc, released in 1991. Phranc promoted the album by touring with Morrissey. Phranc was dropped by Island Records after the album's release. Production "Gertrude Stein" is Phranc's cov ...

'' *1998 –

Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

on ''Don't Cry Baby... It's Only a Movie'' *1999 -

The Mentally Ill The Mentally Ill was a punk band originating from Deerfield, Illinois in the late 1970s. Their 1979 7" single ''Gacy's Place'' named after notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy, is considered by many to be one of the most unusual and legendar ...

on the album ''Strike the Bottom Red'' *2003 –

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, on his album ''

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

''; a live version recorded at

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London on 8 September 2003 was released on the 'Tour Edition' of ''Reality'' *2007 – Blue Peter, on their album ''Burning Bridges'', recorded live in 1980 *2007 – Four Year Beard on the album ''Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie'' (2007) *2012 – The Tellers on the album ''A Tribute to Repo Man'' *2018 –

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

for a live ''Spotify Singles'' release *2022 – Chatterbox on the album ''When the Creatures Crawl''

Live performances

*1998

Siouxsie Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

the Creatures The Creatures were an English band formed in 1981 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie (musician), Budgie of the group Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Creatures released their first extended play, EP ''Wild Things (EP), Wild Things'' in ...

with John Cale during their 1998 US double bill tour.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pablo Picasso (song) 1976 songs Cultural depictions of Pablo Picasso David Bowie songs Songs about painters Song recordings produced by John Cale The Modern Lovers songs Protopunk songs