List of Music References in Stardust Crusaders
In 1983, Dio, the vampiric enemy of Jonathan Joestar, emerges from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after stealing his archenemy's body. Dio develops a manifestation of life energy known as a Stand, causing Jonathan's descendants Joseph Joestar, Holly Kujo, and Jotaro Kujo to also gain Stands in 1988. Holly, lacking the strength to control her Stand, falls ill and is estimated to have fifty days left to live. Jotaro, Joseph, and fellow Stand users Muhammad Avdol and Noriyaki Kakyoin travel from Japan to Egypt to find and kill Dio, which will free Holly from her Stand-induced illness. The group is later joined by Jean Pierre Polnareff, a former assassin of Dio's who seeks revenge on his sister's killer, and a Stand user dog named Iggy.
⚠️MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS⚠️
See also: List of Music References in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Jotaro's absent father, Sadao Kujo, might be named after Japanese jazz musician Sadao Watanabe
Muhammad Avdol is named after American singer Paula Abdul.
Country: United States
Genres: Dance, Pop, R&B/Soul
Language: English
Alternatively, in the anime, Holy instead sings Blue Coral Reef (青い珊瑚礁, Aoi Sangoshō) by Japanese singer Seiko Matsuda
Gray Fly is named after musician Glenn Frey.
Country: United States
Original spelling: Glenn Lewis Frey
Genre: Rock
Language: English
Jean Pierre Polnareff is named after French musician Michel Polnareff.
Country: France
Genres: Pop, Rock, Singer-songwriter
Languages: French, Italian, English, Spanish
Captain Tennille is named after the 1970 musical duo Captain & Tennille.
In the localized version Captain Tennille is called Captain Dragon, after the Captain & Tennille member Daryl Dragon.
Country: United States
Original spelling: Daryl Dragon & Toni Tennille
Genre: Pop
Languages: English, Spanish
Jotaro's favorite musician is Toshinobu Kubota.
Country: Japan
Original spelling: 久保田 利伸
Genres: Pop, R&B/Soul
Languages: Japanese, English
Forever is named after the album Wu-Tang Forever, by the Wu-Tang Clan.
Country: United States
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Language: English
Kakyoin's favorite musician is Sting.
Country: United Kingdom
Genres: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Pop-Rock, Rock
Languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French
Devo the Cursed is named after the American band Devo.
When Joseph tries to use Hermit Purple on a television in order to detect DIO from Singapore, his Stand shows him random TV programs. One of these shows the cover of Tom Petty's debut solo album, Full Moon Fever, and another shows an advert from MTV's prime in the 1980s. The Tom Petty reference was changed to the performance of an artist who's name is "Putty" in the anime.
Country: United States
Original spelling: Thomas Earl Petty
Genre: Rock
Language: English
Rubber Soul is named after the Beatles album Rubber Soul.
In the original localized version Steely Dan was called Rubber Soul, after the Beatles album.
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In the Part 3 drama CD the Old Man's stand is called Strange Relation after the Prince song Strange Relationship.
Hol Horse is named after the American music duo Hall and Oates.
Country: United States
Genre: Pop-Rock
Language: English
J. Geil is named after the American rock band, The J. Geils Band.
Country: United States
Genre: Rock
Language: English
Nena is named after the New Wave German singer Nena.
Country: Germany
Original spelling: Gabriele Susanne Kerner
Genres: New Wave, Pop
Languages: German, English, French
ZZ is named after the American rock band ZZ Top.
Country: United States
Genre: Rock
Languages: English, Spanish
Enya the Hag is named after the Irish singer Enya.
Country: Ireland
Original spelling: Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, Enya Patricia Brennan
Genres: Classical, Folk, Trance/Ambient
Languages: English, Gaelic (Irish Gaelic), Latin, Loxian
Steely Dan is named after American jazz band Steely Dan.
Country: United States
Genres: Blues, Jazz, Rock
Language: English
Steely Dan makes a pose similar to the cover of the Suzanne Vega album Solitude Standing.
Arabia Fats is named after American musician Fats Domino.
Country: United States
Original spelling: Antoine Dominique Domino Jr.
Genres: R&B/Soul, Rock 'n' Roll
Language: English
The chickens Avdol cares for on the secluded island (Prince, Michael, and Lionel) are likely named after the musicians Prince, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
Country: United States
Original spelling: Prince Rogers Nelson
Genres: Funk, New Wave, Pop, R&B/Soul, Rock
Languages: English, Spanish, French
The chickens Avdol cares for on the secluded island (Prince, Michael, and Lionel) are likely named after the musicians Prince, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
Country: United States
Genres: Dance, Disco, Pop, Pop-Rock, R&B/Soul, Singer-songwriter
Languages: English, Spanish, French
The chickens Avdol cares for on the secluded island (Prince, Michael, and Lionel) are likely named after the musicians Prince, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
Country: United States
Genres: Pop, R&B/Soul
Language: English
Cameo is named after the American funk and R&B group Cameo.
Country: United States
Genres: Disco, Funk, R&B/Soul
Language: English
The submarine from the 66th Chapter of Part 3 may be a reference to the Beatles song Yellow Submarine.
Midler is named after singer/actress Bette Midler.
Country: United States
Genre: Pop
Language: English
The song used for the first ending of the anime's second season is "Walk Like An Egyptian" sung by the American pop group The Bangles.
Iggy is named after Iggy Pop.
Country: United States
Original spelling: James Newell Osterberg Jr.
Genres: Pop-Rock, Punk, Rock, Rock 'n' Roll
Languages: English, French, Spanish
N'Doul is named after Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour.
Country: Senegal
Original spelling: Yuusu Nduur
Genre: Singer-songwriter
Languages: Wolof, French, English
Oingo and Boingo are named after the band Oingo Boingo.
Country: United States
Genre: Alternative
Language: English
Anubis's first user, Caravan Serai, is named after the Santana album Caravanserai.
Country: Mexico
Genres: Blues, Latino, Rock
Languages: English, Spanish, Cape Verdean, Yoruba
Anubis' other users, Chaka and Khan, are named after American singer Chaka Khan.
Country: United States
Genre: R&B/Soul
Language: English
Mariah is named after American singer Mariah Carey.
Country: United States
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap, Pop, R&B/Soul, Singer-songwriter
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
The D'Arby brothers are named after American singer Terence Trent D'Arby (now going by the name Sananda Maitreya).
Country: United States
Genres: Funk, Pop, Pop-Rock, R&B/Soul, Rock
Language: English
Daniel J. D'Arby's victims Garie Moor and Christian Vander are named after Irish singer Gary Moore and French musician Christian Vander, respectively.
Country: Ireland
Original spelling: Robert William Gary Moore
Genres: Blues, Hard Rock, Pop-Rock, Psychedelic, Rock
Language: English
Pet Shop is named after the English pop duo Pet Shop Boys.
Country: United Kingdom
Genres: Dance, Electropop, New Wave, Pop
Languages: English, French
Kenny G. is named after American jazz musician Kenny G.
Kenny G.'s Stand, Tenore Sax, is named after one of the types of saxophones used by the real-life Kenny G., the tenor saxophone.
Country: United States
Genre: Jazz
Language: English
In the localized version Kenny G. is called Billie Jean, after the Michael Jackson song Billie Jean.
Vanilla Ice is named after American rapper Vanilla Ice.
Country: United States
Original spelling: Robert Matthew Van Winkle
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Language: English
Vanilla Ice's localized name, Cool Ice, is a reference to the film and song Cool as Ice by Vanilla Ice.
Cream is a reference to Ginger Baker's blues band Cream.
Country: United Kingdom
Genres: Psychedelic, Rock
Language: English
Suzi Q's Butler, Roses could be a reference to the band Guns N' Roses.
Country: United States
Genres: Hard Rock, Rock
Language: English
The World's name, power, and the stair scene with Polnareff are a possible reference to the song "Stargazer" by Rainbow and sung by Ronnie James Dio (DIO's namesake), verse 3:
''All eyes see the figure of the wizard"
"As he climbs to the top of the world"
"No sound, as he falls instead of rising"
"Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand"
The World's design may have been inspired by the band mascot of Dio, Murray, the demonic figure seen on select album covers of Dio albums
Country: United States
Genres: Metal, Rock
Language: English
Senator Wilson Phillips is named after the Ameircan vocal group of the same name.
Country: United States
Genre: Pop
Language: English
In the last chapter Joseph listens to Get Back from The Beatles; this is a wink to the audience as many people think the name "JoJo" is a reference to this song as it's about a man named Jojo.
In the OVA, Joseph puts on a Gipsy Kings tape instead.
Country: France
Genres: Flamenco, Pop, Salsa
Languages: Spanish, English, Turkish (Anatolian dialects), Romani
In the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Capcom fighting game, Kakyoin's ending theme uses a score similar to the opening chords of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven ."
