1Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra was a big activist in the civil rights movement, refusing to stay at hotels that didn’t allow “blacks.” He even used his mafia ties to help get labor unions behind John F. Kennedy because he knew they shared the same opinions on equal rights.
2. Jimi Hendrix could play guitar 4 different ways: "Normal" Right-handed (low E on top); "Normal" Left-handed (righty guitar flipped and restrung); Reverse Right-handed (treble E on top); Reverse Left-handed (righty guitar flipped/treble E on top).
3. When Jay Z was 12, he shot his older brother for stealing his ring for drug money.
4. Johnny Cash was born with the name J.R. Cash because his parents couldn't think of a name. When he enlisted in the Air Force, they wouldn't let him use his initials, so he began to call himself John.
5. Canadian-American singer Neil Young wrote "Cinnamon Girl", "Down by the River", the title track, and "Cowgirl in the Sand", all on a single day while suffering from a 103°F (39.5°C) fever.
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6Neil Young
Neil Young once wired up his house to be the left speaker and the barn as his right speaker so that he could listen to music from a boat in the middle of his lake.
7. David Bowie was so messed up on hard drugs, especially cocaine that he does not recall making the album “Station to Station.” When asked about the studio he recorded in, Bowie stated: “I know it was in LA because I’ve read it was.”
8. Rihanna was sued for her use of the sample "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" in her song "Please Don't Stop the Music" because she only got permission for using it via Michael Jackson from his use of the sample in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" and not from the original artist Manu Dibango.
9. Bob Marley, against popular belief, didn't believe in smoking marijuana for recreation. He thought cannabis should be used for religious and medicinal purposes.
10. Rock musician Chuck Berry created Berry Park in Missouri, his own rock n roll themed amusement park with a guitar-shaped swimming pool, in response to the whites-only country clubs from where he was once excluded.
11Chuck Berry
In the 70's, Chuck Berry toured with only a guitar, finding some local bands for each show "confident that he could hire a band that already knew his music" and not even giving them a set list "and just expected the musicians to follow his lead".
12. "Oops! I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears has been used by the British Navy to scare off Somali pirates.
13. During Britney Spears' infamous downfall in 2007, Craig Ferguson said he would not mock her due to his own alcohol-related issues.
14. On the death of his mother, Jimi Hendrix’s father refused to take him to the funeral, instead giving the then 15-year-old shots of whiskey and informing him that this was how men dealt with loss.
15. Kanye West commissioned Zach Galifianakis to make an alternate music video of "Can't Tell Me Nothing" on a whim based on a connection through a personal trainer. The video consists of Zach riding farm equipment and lip-synching.
16Kanye West
Kanye West once ordered a curry to be delivered from London, UK to New York City, at a price of $3900.
17. Bob Dylan missed Woodstock, after being invited, because he didn't like hippies.
18. Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" is about the negative effects of the Vietnam War on Americans but it is often misunderstood to be a patriotic or nationalistic anthem.
19. After David Bowie released his album "Low", Nick Lowe responded by releasing an Extended play called "Bowi".
20. Trent Reznor felt his song "A Warm Place" was too good to be his own work. After the song had been released, he was horrified to discover that he had indeed copied the melody from a piece by David Bowie called "Crystal Japan", written for a Japanese gin advertisement. Bowie found this hilarious.
21Britney Spears
‘Hit Me Baby (One More Time)’ is mistranslated. The Swedish writer for this Britney Spears song thought that “hit me” was American slang for “call me.”
22. For the album cover for “Breakfast Can Wait,” Prince used the photo of Dave Chappelle dressed as Prince and serving pancakes, which was from a 2004 sketch from an episode of Chappelle's Show.
23. Beyonce's hit song "Run the World (Girls)" is a heavily sampled version of a song by 3 men, and was co-written by 2 other men. The only female writer or producer involved in the song was Beyonce herself.
24. Lyrics to the Rihanna’s song 'Diamonds' were written by Sia in 14 minutes. By May 2013, it had sold over 7.5 million copies worldwide and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time.
25. Frank Sinatra has three stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. One for film, one for music and one for television.
