Great songs usually come with even better stories, and music history is full of strange decisions, wild accidents, unexpected friendships, and backstage moments that changed everything. This list looks at famous artists, hit songs, legendary albums, and the odd little details behind them, from Queen and Michael Jackson to Eminem, Dolly Parton, Prince, Pink Floyd, and more. Some of these facts explain how classic songs happened, while others show how musicians used fame, money, stubbornness, or pure nerve in ways fans still talk about.
1 Nas Secured Destiny Jones Royalties
American rapper Nas listed his then 7-year-old daughter, Destiny Jones, as an executive producer on his fifth studio album, “Stillmatic.” He did it so she would always receive royalty checks from the album.
2 Nirvana Punished Buenos Aires Crowd
In 1992, American rock band Nirvana played a concert in Buenos Aires after the crowd threw mud and trash at the all-girl opening act. Kurt Cobain felt so angry about the treatment that he deliberately sabotaged Nirvana’s own set. The band played mostly lesser-known songs, teased “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and then refused to perform it for the crowd.
3 Rock Stars Funded Holy Grail
After studios refused to finance “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the film found money from an unusual group of backers. Rock acts Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and British musician Elton John helped fund the movie instead. They reportedly saw the investment less as a serious film gamble and more as “a good tax write-off.”
4 Hevisaurus Turned Dinosaurs Into Metal
Metal music has such a strong place in Finnish culture that Finland even has a heavy metal band aimed at children. The band, called Hevisaurus, mixes metal music with dinosaur characters and kid-friendly stories.
5 Michael Jackson Helped Weird Al
When American singer Michael Jackson granted “Weird Al” Yankovic permission to make “Fat,” a parody of “Bad,” he gave him more than approval. Jackson also allowed Yankovic to use the same set built for his own “Badder” video from the film “Moonwalker.” Yankovic later said Jackson’s support helped him gain approval from other artists he wanted to parody.
6 Gotye Left Solo Albums Behind
After the massive success of his number one hit “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Belgian-Australian musician Gotye stopped recording solo music under that name. Instead of chasing another solo hit, he returned to his old band, The Basics. He has not released another full solo studio album under the Gotye name since.
7 Paul McCartney Dodged Passport Trouble
In 1967, Paul McCartney forgot his passport while traveling to France to shoot a music video. When agents asked for it, he argued, “You know who I am so why do you need to see a photograph of me in a passport?” The line worked, and officials let him through without the document.
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8 Hendrix Changed Dylan’s Watchtower Forever
All Along the Watchtower began as a song by Bob Dylan, but American guitarist Jimi Hendrix turned it into the version many listeners know best. Dylan said Hendrix’s version overwhelmed him so much that he began performing the song in that style himself. After Hendrix died in 1970, Dylan said playing “All Along the Watchtower” felt like a tribute to him.
9 Slash Blocked Guns From Glee
Slash refused to let the TV show “Glee” use Guns N’ Roses music, despite repeated attempts from the show’s producers. He firmly opposed the show’s style and wanted to keep the band’s songs out of it. Slash summed up his position bluntly, saying, “Glee is worse than Grease, and Grease is bad enough.”
10 Bob Marley Funded Trenchtown Kitchen
Bob Marley gave a songwriting credit on “No Woman, No Cry” to his friend Vincent Ford, who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown in Jamaica. The credit meant Ford received royalty checks from the song. Those payments helped keep the soup kitchen open.
RE: Fact #2 (Nirvana Punished Buenos Aires Crowd) – Here is that setlist: -Improvised Jam -Aneurysm -Breed -Drain You -Beeswax -Spank Thru -School -Come as You Are -Lithium -Lounge Act -Sliver -About a Girl -Polly -Jam -In Bloom -Territorial Pissings -Been a Son -On a Plain -Negative Creep -Blew Encore: -All Apologies -Endless, Nameless
That’s a killer set. Incesticide is arguably my favorite Nirvana record, so I would have loved to catch that show.
I agree, and I think a lot of people would feel the same, but the album wasn’t actually out yet back then, so the crowd wouldn’t have known those tracks.
RE: Fact #39 (Blink-182 Removed Red Cross Symbol) – They don’t like people using it for health packs in video games either. It sounds wild, but it makes sense: the red cross is a specific symbol meant for neutral humanitarian aid during war. Using it for anything else risks diluting its meaning, which could actually put aid workers in danger. It’s hard to argue that a video game health pack or a rock album cover would cause real-world confusion, but there’s a strict rule in place to avoid the grey area.
I get the logic. If you use it everywhere, it just becomes background noise, like another corporate logo.
RE: Fact #23 (Bob Wootton Joined Johnny Cash) – Didn’t Cash and Perkins have a pretty bitter feud? I seem to remember Cash claiming he wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” and that Perkins swiped it from him.
RE: Fact #44 (Dolly Parton Locked Secret Song) – I bet the CD player will just do that thing where it tries to read the disc, resets, and keeps looping forever.
But by 2045, nobody will remember that error, so they’ll just assume it’s the actual song and it’ll become a worldwide hit.
Kind of like when iTunes accidentally released that Taylor Swift track of pure static and it hit number one instantly.
RE: Fact #46 (Bob Dylan Introduced Beatles Cannabis) – “smokes entire joint alone” I wrote a song about an octopus.
“Look everyone, I wrote a song!” “Oh wow, that’s great Ringo! We’ll put it right on the fridge.”
“An Octopus’s Garden? That’s silly. How would you even get there?” “Well, George, this next song will blow your mind!”
RE: Fact #46 (Bob Dylan Introduced Beatles Cannabis) – Dylan actually thought the Beatles were singing about pot because he misheard “I can’t hide” from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” as “I get high.” When he brought it up, they corrected him. They were actually pretty terrified of weed back then because they viewed it as a drug for addicts, even though they were already doing speed regularly since their time in Hamburg. They famously locked themselves in a bathroom and shoved wet towels under the door to hide the smell for fear of being caught. It’s all detailed in the book “The Love You Make” by Peter Brown. It’s an older read, but definitely worth checking out.
RE: Fact #16 (Phil Collins Sang Tarzan Worldwide) – Someone once said: “Phil Collins didn’t have to go as hard as he did for the Tarzan soundtrack. But he did. And he did it for us.” Or something like that
RE: Fact #1 (Nas Secured Destiny Jones Royalties) – He actually kind of brings this up in “Thugz Mansion”: “See, I’m a good guy, I’m tryin’ to stick around for my daughter / But if I should die, I know all of my albums support her.”
RE: Fact #48 (Paul Simon Thanked Stevie Absence) – Songs in the Key of Life is a total banger. “Sir Duke, ” “Isn’t She Lovely, ” “Pastime Paradise”, the list goes on. 17 hits, no skips.
My 3-year-old daughter loves “Sir Duke.” She actually knows how to ask Alexa to play it.
Songs in the Key of Life was the first vinyl I ever bought, and it might just be the best album ever made. I still regret missing Stevie live because of work. Life Pro Tip: No job or school is worth missing out on a cool experience. Quit the job or drop the class if you have to.
RE: Fact #14 (Michael Jackson Composed Without Notation) – This was pretty common for 20th-century musicians. If you grew up poor, you learned music by ear, which got much easier once radio and recordings came around. There’s a moment on the ‘Live From San Quentin’ album where Johnny Cash says he only knows maybe one person who can actually read music.
RE: Fact #45 (Weird Al Supported Human Rights) – “As Lady Gaga is “a huge Weird Al fan”, she subsequently gave Yankovic the green light to include the song on his upcoming album and said she loved the parody. Lady Gaga later considered being parodied by Yankovic as a “rite of passage” for her musical career and considered the song “very empowering”.” You know you’ve made it in the music industry when Weird Al parodies your song.
RE: Fact #25 (David Bowie Chose Music Instead) – who hasn’t flirted with the idea of becoming a Buddhist monk at some point?
Some would say it’s a vital part of figuring out how to be anything else in life.
RE: Fact #20 (Billie Joe Armstrong Dropkicked Bully) – Back in Orlando a while back, I saw a girl crowdsurfing and some guy grabbed her inappropriately. Billie Joe actually stopped the show and made sure security threw the guy out.
I remember years ago he stopped a show mid-song when some idiot started throwing sparklers into the crowd. He had the guy tossed out, too. It was on the Dookie tour; short, but an amazing concert.
I once took a friend to a concert and she decided to go crowdsurfing. When I met up with her at the back later, her clothes had been tampered with and her pants were unbuttoned. She told me someone had tried to reach into her underwear.
In my experience, crowd surfing never happens the way it looks on TV. Honestly, women should probably just avoid it at shows. I have zero faith that guys can keep their hands to themselves when they see a chance to grope someone without facing any backlash. I have seen guys flip women over so they are facing down, just so a bunch of drunk dudes can grab at them until they manage to flip back. If they are facing up, hands just go right between their legs or onto their butts instead of staying on their backs or thighs. It is weird, but I have even seen people scratching others. Look at Woodstock 99, where security was a joke. There were four rapes reported in the pit alone. And those were just the ones reported, so who knows how many actually happened? You just cannot trust a group of drunk guys when there is no accountability. Even in a crowd of mostly good people, you are eventually going to run into someone willing to cross that line.
Being a girl, I made the mistake of crowd surfing at an Odd Future show once. Never again. People kept trying to rip my shirt and bra off, and there were hands constantly grabbing at my waist and crotch. It was incredibly gross. I was young, looked even younger, and felt completely helpless being tossed around like a ragdoll. It felt like they were all working together to target me. This happened about 12 or 13 years ago, so hopefully things have changed since then. I saw similar stuff happen to other girls at Warped Tour a few years later, though not quite as bad as my experience. When I brought it up back then, people would just roll their eyes and ask what I expected. I didn’t even think about that at the time; it just looked fun. Plus, the whole thing was honestly overrated anyway, and you just end up back at the start of the crowd. I wouldn’t do it again even if I was sure I’d be safe.
RE: Fact #41 (Sublime Sneaked Into Campus Studio) – The name of the university is “California State University, Dominguez Hills.” Calling it “California State University” could mean any of the campuses in the CSU system.
Yeah seriously, last I checked there’s like, 30 Cal State Campuses, from San Diego to Humboldt and places in between…
80% of states: U of State, State State University California: UCx10, CSUx23
Here’s another weird thing about our CSU system: some are called [City State] like “Fresno State” or “San Jose State” but others are [Cal State City] like “Cal State Bakersfield”.
RE: Fact #45 (Weird Al Supported Human Rights) – >However, upon first submitting it to Lady Gaga’s manager for approval, he was not given permission to release it commercially. As he had previously done under similar circumstances, Yankovic then released the song for free on the internet. Soon afterwards, Gaga’s manager admitted that he had denied the parody of his own accord without forwarding the song to his client, and upon seeing it online, Lady Gaga granted permission for the parody. It was nice of her to be a good sport, but if I were her, I’d consider having a manager who lacks a sense of humor a fireable offense.
Not to mention, the music video is a fantastic homage to her.
Man, I’ve heard so many artists say you haven’t truly made it until Weird Al parodies you. I’d be furious if my manager blocked it.
Sort of. Al usually asks for permission based on a theme. When he approached Gaga’s team first, the manager demanded lyrics. Al rushed them over, but then the manager said he needed to hear the song. Al even canceled a family vacation just to rent a studio and record it. Then the manager denied the use anyway. Since he’d put in so much time and money, he put it online for free. It blew up, journalists started calling, and eventually Gaga found out about it and told him of course he could use it. He tells this story quite a bit.
RE: Fact #37 (Jason Paige Sang Pokemon Theme) – Imagine being so successful that you create a song practically every kid for a decade can sing by heart, and you just brush it off like, “Oh yeah, that was a fun little project, but look at all this other stuff I’ve done.”
Or imagine doing a small contract gig for some random kids’ show from Japan and having it turn into one of the biggest franchises on the planet. It sounds like he missed out on any residuals or royalty rights, too.
He didn’t just shrug it off, though. He’s actually expressed disappointment that they remixed the original and would have loved to still be involved. He said about the lyrics: “Everybody wants to expand and be the best they can. A heart so true with courage and teaching and learning and expanding , it’s all good, positive imagery.” He’s worked with legends like Aerosmith, Michael Jackson, and Foreigner, that’s an incredible resume to be proud of.
I remember it came up in junior high choir practice once. The teacher challenged us to do it acapella, and the whole class actually nailed it.
RE: Fact #43 (Pink Floyd Fueled School Protests) – South Africa used to love banning everything. The most ridiculous example was the book Black Beauty, it’s about a horse!
RE: Fact #26 (Beethoven Humiliated Rival Daniel Steibelt) – Geez, did people just take life so much more seriously back then? The idea of leaving a city for good and never coming back because of a feud is wild.
After reading The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, I’m pretty sure they would legitimately challenge each other to duels and kill one another over something as minor as an insult or a bump in the street. Even though it’s fiction, I think it’s fairly accurate to the era.
Look at American history for proof. A former US vice president dueled a former US treasurer and killed him, all over perceived dishonor.
RE: Fact #42 (Chernobyl Soundtrack Used Reactor Sounds) – The power plant they used in Lithuania is decommissioned now. It had a similar layout and control rooms to the one in Chernobyl, which is why so much of the filming happened there. They also shot in local cities that still have that classic, blocky architecture.
RIP to the Ignalina plant. It’s a shame it was shut down for political reasons. Back in 1991, it was supplying 60% of the country’s electricity, and by 1993, that number hit 88%. It even made the Guinness Book of Records. Imagine the energy costs we could have saved if it had stayed open.
One of my only memories of Vilnius is going to a huge mall to watch The Hangover with my wife because she was annoyed I’d already seen it without her the week before in Klaipeda.
RE: Fact #49 (Jack Black Begged Led Zeppelin) – Did they just run out of cash? It’s funny how Led Zeppelin music is all over Cadillac commercials these days.
RE: Fact #47 (Eminem Tested Kendrick Lamar Alone) – Imagine if Kendrick just texted a ghostwriter and said, “I need a verse in 5 minutes. That’ll be 50k.”
What if he actually had a literal ghost for a ghostwriter just sitting there in the room, invisible?
“Yo, fold that into a paper airplane and fly it through the window.”
Eminem is a legend, but for some reason, he loves pulling petty stuff like this.
Imagine being Kendrick, walking into Eminem’s house, and the guy makes you sit alone in a room to write. Damn.
RE: Fact #32 (Prince Turned Rain Into Performance) – I bet this was a huge moment for Dave Grohl. Prince crushed that cover of “Best of You.”
RE: Fact #37 (Jason Paige Sang Pokemon Theme) – > he has worked with Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, and Frankie Valli. I have no idea who those Pokemon are.
RE: Fact #44 (Dolly Parton Locked Secret Song) – Dolly is a genuinely good person. She even donated $1 million to help develop the COVID vaccine.
I don’t care who you are, it’s impossible to find anything bad to say about Dolly.
And she’s one of the few who understands the world changes, it’s not a guarantee we’ll even have CD players by 2045. I could find an 8-track player if I really tried, but it’s a huge hassle.
RE: Fact #6 (Gotye Left Solo Albums Behind) – Gotye wrote the music within limits to production values of the instrument mentioned in a song on the album. Proverbial, “That’s All Folks”.
RE: Fact #21 (Princess Diana Saved Dirty Diana) – > “I took it out of the show in honor of Her Royal Highness, ” Jackson told Barbara Walters in 1997 about their first meeting. “Are you going to do Dirty Diana?” Jackson recalled Diana asking him during the meet-and-greet before the show. “I said, ‘No, I took it out of the show because of you.’ She said, ‘No! I want you to do it. Do it. Do the song.'” Diana reportedly danced during the concert as Prince Charles remained seated. Jackson also gifted the couple two miniature tour jackets for their sons, Princes William and Harry. That is just so wholesome.
RE: Fact #34 (David Bowie Helped Berlin Reunite) – David Hasselhoff, Bowie, and the Scorpions: the ultimate trio. Of course, there’s also the German synth group called Trio, though I’m not sure where they stood on the Wall issue, even if it must have been a big deal for them.
I think Trio were in favor of the wall coming down. When they were asked about it in Russia, they supposedly just said “Da, da, da.”
RE: Fact #7 (Paul McCartney Dodged Passport Trouble) – He tried this same energy when he was denied entry to a Grammy after-party back in 2016. He famously asked, “How VIP do we gotta get?”
RE: Fact #35 (John Lennon Ended The Beatles) – Ringo nailed it when asked about a reunion. He basically said the Beatles are already the greatest band in history, so how could they possibly top that?
My favorite was George Harrison saying he wouldn’t reunite the Beatles while John Lennon was still dead. I think John would have appreciated that humor.
RE: Fact #39 (Blink-182 Removed Red Cross Symbol) – I have the version with the red cross on CD. Does that make it more valuable now?
I need to go dig through my basement. I think I still have a binder with all my old CD booklets from when I kept them in a 100-disc tower. Although, if it’s the BMG Music Club edition, the value probably dropped by 105%.
Actually, yeah. Mark Hoppus mentioned that they only pressed a handful before getting called out on it. Probably only really valuable to die-hard collectors, though.
You just defined intrinsic value and basically the entire hobby of collecting. Lol.
RE: Fact #36 (Willie Nelson Kept Trigger Alive) – The guitar is iconic, but I’ve always been chasing the sound of the old Baldwin amp he plays. It’s such a huge part of his tone on all those live recordings.
RE: Fact #28 (Billie Joe’s September Grief Song) – My heart goes out to him. I had esophageal cancer myself, but I got lucky, I survived thanks to chemo, radiation, some solid surgical protocols, and an incredibly talented surgeon.
Just curious, was that surgeon in Utah? That’s where my dad’s doctor was based, and he was also considered one of the best in the country.
As someone who beat cancer and also lost a parent to it, both at age 33, I’ll just say this: F*ck cancer.
RE: Fact #50 (Metallica Entered National Recording Registry) – Somewhere out there, Dave Mustaine just saw this and is probably fuming.
RE: Fact #38 (Eminem Packed Rap God Densely) – I watched some guy try this at karaoke once. He basically just sounded like he was yelling while chewing a mouthful of spaghetti.
I got bored on a road trip once and taught myself the fast part. I also learned Busta’s verse from ‘Look at Me Now’ the same way. It’s not 2011 anymore, but it’s still a fun party trick.
RE: Fact #38 (Eminem Packed Rap God Densely) – It’s also exactly six minutes long after the sample that says ‘Six minutes Slim Shady, you’re on…’ It’s a nice touch.
To add to that, the sample saying ‘Six minutes Slim Shady, you’re on’ is from his track ‘Remember Me.’ In that context, he says, “I promised the fucking critics I wouldn’t say fucking for 6 minutes.” He kept his word; he used ‘fuck’ and ‘fucked’ during that time, but didn’t say the actual word ‘fucking’ until four seconds after the six-minute mark on the next track.
I think it’s a nod to Doug E. Fresh’s “6 minutes Doug E. Fresh ya on.”
I was always bummed he didn’t put out a six-minute swear-free rap after that line from the original song on the MMLP.
He actually says “I promised the fucking critics, I wouldn’t say fucking for six minutes” in the song ‘Remember Me, ‘ and he doesn’t say “fucking” again until the song ‘Marshall Mathers, ‘ which is just over six minutes later. I think he was being literal about the word itself.
He avoided the word “fucking” for exactly six minutes and then used it right after the mark.
RE: Fact #17 (Elton John Helped Eminem Recover) – Elton seems to do this for a lot of celebrities. For someone who once kept sugar bowls of coke around his house constantly, he really goes above and beyond to help famous people navigate the pressures of fame and addiction.
if I needed help with addiction, I’d definitely go to the guy who managed to pull himself out of that lifestyle.
Me too. I’ve read he does this for a lot of folks, and good on him for it.
“I never considered myself a drug addict, ” he said. “I thought drug addicts were people who stuck needles in their arms , and I was the biggest junkie there was. I came very close to dying. I’d have an epileptic seizure and turn blue and people would find me on the floor and put me to bed, and then 40 minutes later I’d be snorting another line.” Wow.
I’m not sure if Elton is in AA, but the 12th step is all about helping other addicts get sober to help yourself stay on track. It’s one of those things where everyone ends up benefiting.
RE: Fact #6 (Gotye Left Solo Albums Behind) – A friend of mine told me that when he played Coachella the year he blew up, he performed that hit song first, and then the crowd just walked out.
RE: Fact #33 (Radiohead Let Fans Choose Price) – Radiohead has a massive fanbase with stable jobs and disposable income. That model probably wouldn’t have worked for a smaller band back then.
Smaller bands usually have really hardcore fanbases, though. I actually hear people gushing about smaller, non-famous bands way more than I hear them talking about the mainstream acts.
RE: Fact #13 (Freddie Mercury Predicted Queen Comeback) – Between this and the movie, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has somehow charted on Billboard across three different decades.
It also hit Christmas Number 1 twice.
RE: Fact #19 (Michael Jackson Highlighted Dance Moves) – I think any kind of movement just looks better when you’re rocking white-soled shoes, whether it’s breakdancing, skateboarding, or whatever.
The contrast between those white soles and the floor makes his movements stand out so much more.
RE: Fact #22 (Michael Jackson Pushed Queen Single) – Fun fact: people often learn to do CPR compressions to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive, ” but this song works, too. I brought this up in a first aid class and they jokingly told me not to use it, though I can’t help it.
RE: Fact #24 (Cliff Burton Royalties Funded Students) – Ray Burton actually lost another child previously. According to wiki, Cliff “began playing the bass at age 13, after the death of his brother. His parents quoted him as saying, ‘I’m going to be the best bassist for my brother.'”
And he damn sure was. Cliff was incredible; he played bass with the same intensity as someone shredding on an electric guitar.
If anyone ever makes a movie about the 80s Metallica era, I’d really love to see Cliff Burton’s story featured.
I have no idea why there isn’t a biopic already. Metallica is one of the biggest bands ever and their history is so dramatic and rich.
RE: Fact #32 (Prince Turned Rain Into Performance) – I wasn’t really a Prince fan, but that halftime show completely blew me away. His dedication and artistic integrity were incredible, and the way he shredded on guitar was just legendary.
He was such a versatile player. There is a video out there of him absolutely killing it on bass in his home studio.
RE: Fact #27 (Beatles Welcomed Ringo With Flowers) – I love this. They didn’t dismiss how he felt or talk down to him; they showed they cared through action. We should all treat the people closest to us with that much consideration.
RE: Fact #35 (John Lennon Ended The Beatles) – I don’t hate John Lennon’s music, but it’s such a shame that the Beatles had so much potential left in them and we’ll never get to see what else they could have done.
I’ll say it: I can’t stand Lennon. He was a piece of work, totally self-absorbed, and the Yoko situation was a disaster. He made great music, but as a person, he was just garbage.
a lot of that material came out through their solo work and Wings. Some of it probably only surfaced because the band split, like Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass, ” which had songs Paul and John wouldn’t include on Beatles records. That said, looking at how the Stones kept going in the 70s, maybe the Beatles could have pulled it off.
RE: Fact #3 (Rock Stars Funded Holy Grail) – And George Harrison ended up funding “Life of Brian” simply because he wanted to see the movie.
How cool would it be to have the kind of money where you can just fund a movie because you want to see it happen?
Life of Brian is my all-time favorite. “He’s not the Messiah, now fu*k off.”
RE: Fact #44 (Dolly Parton Locked Secret Song) – Including a CD player is wild. She has more faith in us holding onto obsolete tech than I do.
RE: Fact #31 (Prince Played Every Album Part) – Dave Grohl wrote and played everything on the first Foo Fighters album but kept it quiet so the band would seem unified. Artists take all kinds of different approaches to their work.
RE: Fact #22 (Michael Jackson Pushed Queen Single) – John mentions that he listened to a lot of soul music in school and wanted to create a track with that vibe. He had the main riff and line down, but the band helped flesh out the rest. He thought it could work as a dance track, but had no idea it would explode the way it did. The song started getting airplay on black radio stations in the US, which was a first for them. He notes that a famous fan actually pushed for the release: “Michael Jackson actually suggested we release it as a single. He was a fan of ours and used to come to our shows.”
RE: Fact #36 (Willie Nelson Kept Trigger Alive) – My dad worked as a bouncer back in the late 60s and ended up meeting Willie Nelson. Willie was drunk and got annoyed that my dad didn’t recognize him, so he actually pulled out his ID to prove who he was. My dad didn’t know who he was or even who Waylon Jennings was at the time. He ended up asking his brother the next day. Aside from being tipsy and chatty, my dad said he was a nice guy.
That reminds me of the time my sister’s friend was running a raffle where Sean Connery was present. She asked him who he was and had to ask how to spell his name, completely unaware of who he was. He actually thought it was hilarious.
RE: Fact #19 (Michael Jackson Highlighted Dance Moves) – Another reason he wore white socks and black shoes is that he was paying homage to classic dancers like [Gene Kelly]. I’m pretty sure he even mentioned that himself.
RE: Fact #40 (Elton John Put Sheeran Onstage) – >”Elton John, who runs Sheeran’s management company”, canvassed the award organisers to get Sheeran a performance slot at the ceremony but was told that Sheeran alone was not high-profile enough. John decided to appear with Sheeran to circumvent this problem Still a nice gesture, but I don’t think it was done totally out of the blue.
This should be higher, scrolled forever to find this. If someone at that level is pushing you that much, follow the money. Nothing against Elton John, still a great gesture, but not purely altruistic.
> … still a great gesture, but not purely altruistic. Isn’t a management’s “job” to get their clients gigs? So more than just “not purely altruistic”, it is in fact “purely “not” altruistic”: It’s his job, and it makes him money.
RE: Fact #37 (Jason Paige Sang Pokemon Theme) – He’s actually mentioned: “I can safely say that most people who are Pokémon fans have heard the Pokémon theme song at least as many times as they’ve heard some of these popular icons like Paul McCartney or Michael Jackson.” He doesn’t get any royalties from it either; he just got a flat fee for the recording and that was it. He doesn’t seem bitter, which might be why he views it as a smaller part of his resume. If it had been a lifelong payday, his perspective might be different, especially knowing how iconic the song became. He also provided backup vocals at the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special at Madison Square Garden in 2001. That’s a massive deal. Being part of a sold-out show at MSG with Michael Jackson is either a career-defining moment or a major high point for anyone.
RE: Fact #20 (Billie Joe Armstrong Dropkicked Bully) – People forget Green Day were street kids in some of the roughest parts of Oakland during one of the most violent periods in the city’s history.
It blows my mind when people call him a whiny brat for being political or acting like he’s fake punk. So what if he made a lot of money? That doesn’t change where he came from or what he stands for.
RE: Fact #27 (Beatles Welcomed Ringo With Flowers) – > ‘Look man, you are the best drummer in the world “for us”.’ Nice qualifier there, Paul.
That’s probably not an unfair take, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if drummers often ‘specialize’ in a specific style, and he had just gotten really good at the Beatles’ sound.
Ringo’s drumming has held up really well, though. I hear artists like Tame Impala and Mac DeMarco using beats and fills clearly inspired by him.
RE: Fact #29 (Pink Floyd Looped Animals Smoothly) – The Wall does this too, right before “In the Flesh?” starts, you can hear the harmonica from “Outside the Wall.”
It was actually all their albums from Dark Side onward, they were designed to start and end as a loop.
RE: Fact #20 (Billie Joe Armstrong Dropkicked Bully) – He has a long history of stuff like that, even way before Green Day got huge. He isn’t a big guy, but he definitely doesn’t take any crap.
An old friend of mine always said that’s one of the perks of being smaller. If you win a fight, the other guy looks bad. If you lose, the other guy gets torn apart for picking on a little guy. Either way, the other person loses.
RE: Fact #49 (Jack Black Begged Led Zeppelin) – I think he did it as a favor to Richard Linklater, who had tried and failed to license Zeppelin songs for other projects in the past.
RE: Fact #35 (John Lennon Ended The Beatles) – During the Let It Be sessions, George Harrison actually quit for five days, and Lennon apparently wanted to bring in Eric Clapton to replace him.
Thank god that didn’t happen. Screw Clapton. He’s been an open supporter of far-right politics and has a history of using racial slurs. It’s frustrating he made a career off music influenced by Black artists while holding those views.
RE: Fact #39 (Blink-182 Removed Red Cross Symbol) – From that Wikipedia page: “Obviously an enema is not really a glove type of thing.” As a nurse, I can tell you that an enema is definitely a glove type of thing.
It’s more of a glove, gown, and maybe goggles kind of thing. You never know.
RE: Fact #47 (Eminem Tested Kendrick Lamar Alone) – As a hip-hop fan, there’s nothing about Kendrick’s style that suggests a ghostwriter to me. The way he engineers his tracks is totally unique.
I totally agree. Kendrick is so unique, even on his early stuff before Section.80, you can hear that little bit of weirdness that defines his music.
RE: Fact #47 (Eminem Tested Kendrick Lamar Alone) – I’ve been listening to To Pimp a Butterfly and really love it, but I don’t follow Kendrick Lamar much. I’ve heard “Humble” and “DNA, ” but that’s about it. I’m not really into his mainstream sound; I prefer the old-school vibe of To Pimp a Butterfly, especially tracks like “Wesley’s Theory.”
You’re doing yourself a huge disservice if you don’t listen to Good Kid, m.A.A.d city all the way through as a full album.
You should definitely check out the deeper cuts on DAMN. “Lust, ” “Feel, ” and “Duckworth” are excellent.
RE: Fact #12 (Foo Fighters Lifted Trapped Miners) – Those Beaconsfield miners were huge celebrities in Australia for a while. There’s a pretty rough miniseries about the whole rescue.
RE: Fact #17 (Elton John Helped Eminem Recover) – And in return, Eminem got Elton John two diamond-encrusted cock rings for his civil partnership. Sometimes I really wish I could be a fly on the wall in a famous rapper’s accountant’s office.
Steve: I’m going to lose my job over this. Why do you think Dre’s record was so successful? He’s rapping about big-screen TVs, blunts, 40s, and bitches. You’re rapping about homosexuals and Vicodin. Eminem: Steve, you’ve only heard the first song…
I really thought that story was total garbage at first!
RE: Fact #39 (Blink-182 Removed Red Cross Symbol) – I met a guy at a party whose prized possession was a Polaroid of her from a strip club. She used to pose with customers in her nurse outfit for $100.
that sounds like a bargain. She was totally undercharging. I bet there are plenty of people who would drop a grand on that.
True… I wonder what the ideal price point would be to maximize her revenue.
Eh, I don’t know about a grand. Sure, some collectors might, but random guys in a crowd? I doubt any of them would shell out that much. A hundred bucks is already a lot for a photo.
RE: Fact #4 (Hevisaurus Turned Dinosaurs Into Metal) – To give some context on how huge metal is in Finland, they have about 53 metal bands for every 100, 000 people.
If you figure an average band has 5 people, that means one out of every 400 people is in a metal band. That’s a staggering number.
RE: Fact #8 (Hendrix Changed Dylan’s Watchtower Forever) – Bob went as far as saying it was Jimi’s song, not his. I actually wrote a biographical essay on Hendrix and this was one of my favorite things to learn. Also, if you want to hear the best version of that track, check out Bob Dylan live at Budokan.
From what I’ve read, Trent Reznor said the same thing about “Hurt” after Johnny Cash covered it. He said it was Johnny’s song now.
Reznor specifically said this: > “I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive.” > > “Having Johnny Cash, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, want to cover your song, that’s something that matters to me. It’s not so much what other people think but the honour that this guy felt it was worthy of interpreting. > > “He said afterwards it was a song that sounds like one he would have written in the 60s and that’s wonderful.”
RE: Fact #42 (Chernobyl Soundtrack Used Reactor Sounds) – I absolutely love that they did this. The sound design in that show was so on point. Honestly, the whole series was just phenomenal.
It felt like HBO knew they had fumbled the final season of Game of Thrones and put this gem on right after to remind everyone that they were still the king of television.
“Why worry about something that isn’t going to happen? Oh, that’s perfect. We should put that on our money.” That line has always stuck with me as one of the best moments in a fantastic series.
That is definitely one of my favorites, too. This part also really hit me hard: “Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid.”
RE: Fact #13 (Freddie Mercury Predicted Queen Comeback) – I was born in the eighties, and when I was a pre-teen, I asked for a Queen Latifah CD for my birthday. I ended up getting a Queen CD instead, but honestly, I wasn’t even mad.
Something similar happened to my brother in the 90s. He wanted a Counting Crows CD but got a Country Crows compilation by mistake.
This reminds me of when my sister asked my dad to rent the movie ‘Now and Then’ from Blockbuster, and he came home with ‘Before and After’ instead.
In the 90s, I asked for a Chumbawamba CD and got some random Oogachaka compilation instead. My mom tried her best, though.
RE: Fact #50 (Metallica Entered National Recording Registry) – I’ve easily spent weeks of my life listening to this album. Battery is just pure, high-octane energy and probably the most intense track they ever put to tape. Lately, I’ve gained a huge appreciation for Orion, too. It still blows my mind that a bunch of 22-year-old thrash metalheads wrote what is essentially an orchestral masterpiece.
The call-and-response in the verses of “The Thing That Should Not Be” is insanely heavy.
RE: Fact #36 (Willie Nelson Kept Trigger Alive) – Fun fact: Leon Russell was the first to sign it. He was so cool he practically chilled the air when he walked into a room.
I caught a few of his shows and managed to get his autograph a couple of times. My favorite performance he was part of was ‘She Came In Through the Bathroom Window’ with Joe Cocker. That clip is from their tour movie ‘Mad Dog and Englishmen’, definitely worth checking out if you get the chance. Also, Gary Busey actually started out as a drummer named ‘Teddy Jack Eddy’ and toured with Leon Russell in a band called The Rubber Band.
RE: Fact #12 (Foo Fighters Lifted Trapped Miners) – He actually stuck to his word. After they got out, he even wrote ‘Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners’ as a tribute to them.
RE: Fact #40 (Elton John Put Sheeran Onstage) – I hate this song for no fault of its own. My wife bought it through iTunes, and it is first alphabetically in our shared music. So every time I plug my phone in to my car, it plays this song before I can turn on what I want to listen to. So the stupid decision they made to autoplay the first alphabetical song has ruined any hope for this song in my mind. This has nothing to do with him playing on the grammy’s, I just needed to vent.
There’s a blank/silent song available somewhere that’s intentionally titled to be the top of every alphabetical playlist. Lets you pick a first song without having to listen to the same thing every time.
RE: Fact #33 (Radiohead Let Fans Choose Price) – It was such a cool experiment. I had pirated so much music in the past that the honor system actually made me feel guilty enough to pay a fair price for it.
Exactly! Even if people only paid a few bucks for the album, on average Radiohead likely made as much as they would have under a standard label deal.
RE: Fact #13 (Freddie Mercury Predicted Queen Comeback) – I remember the day he died. I was 11 and at Sears with my family. They had a wall of TVs on, and they just happened to cut into the broadcast to announce his death while we were walking by.
He really represents what a global, connected world looks like. He was born to Parsi Indian immigrants in Tanzania, grew up in Bombay, moved to the UK, and became a rock icon in the USA.
RE: Fact #16 (Phil Collins Sang Tarzan Worldwide) – It always blows my mind when someone can translate a song into another language while keeping the same rhythm and feel.
Disney’s international branch is great at this. I speak English and Vietnamese, and I was shocked by how well the Vietnamese dub of ‘Frozen II’ kept the songs sounding natural.
RE: Fact #41 (Sublime Sneaked Into Campus Studio) – They didn’t sneak in alone, they had an inside man who worked in the studio legitimately. He helped them get in at night.
Yeah he was a student learning how to Studio Record at the school, and who was a fan of the band. He also did the Guitar solos for the recordings.
RE: Fact #8 (Hendrix Changed Dylan’s Watchtower Forever) – The Hendrix version is definitely more popular, but the original is still huge. For what it’s worth, Hendrix’s cover has 6.5 million scrobbles on last.fm, while the original still sits at 2.3 million.
Holy crap, I haven’t seen someone mention last.fm in about a decade. I completely forgot that site existed.
RE: Fact #9 (Slash Blocked Guns From Glee) – I tried to watch that show and really gave it a shot. But I can pinpoint the exact moment they lost me: when the kid in the wheelchair was on the football team and they were going to use him as a human battering ram or something ridiculous. It was so dumb it actually made me angry. The writing was worse than anything on Arrow.
My ex loved that show, but it made no sense to me. They’d constantly complain about being outcasts, yet the club was full of football players, cheerleaders, and the resident bad boy, basically everyone popular.
The show tried to be goofy and ironic but ended up taking itself way too seriously. It constantly tackled heavy, real-world topics without ever actually resolving them or finding the humor. The characters lacked any real consistency, sticking to one singular trait or flaw that they never grew out of. If you ever want to see a show put a massive amount of effort into being mediocre, watch that one.
That’s right around when they jumped the shark. I don’t know about the Olicity stuff, that’s an automatic -10, but at least Barry stays consistent by only ruining the timeline.
RE: Fact #10 (Bob Marley Funded Trenchtown Kitchen) – If we had more soup kitchens, people could get a hot meal without having to degrade themselves to afford one. I guess that’s why Smash Mouth is still playing music.
RE: Fact #6 (Gotye Left Solo Albums Behind) – I remember an interview where he talked about his charity work and was asked about his music. He mentioned he was happy with where he left things and would rather spend his time on causes he cares about. Apparently, he could retire for good on the royalties from that one song if he wanted to.
Gotye used some of his earnings to bankroll a massive vintage synthesizer library in Melbourne. He made it so any musician can either volunteer or pay a small fee to record there for their own albums, ensuring future generations of artists have access to high-end gear.
I also recall him refusing to run ads before the music video for that song, which likely cost him millions because he’s not really into the advertising world. He seems like a chill guy who just happened to get famous off one track. It’s worth noting he was a highly respected musician in Australia long before that, and he made some great music. Definitely check out “Hearts a Mess” if you haven’t heard it.
RE: Fact #30 (Maria Anna Mozart Lost Stage) – It’s a real shame that potentially world-changing music was lost to outdated social customs. You have to wonder how many life-altering contributions have been lost to humanity over the years because of this kind of behavior.
Good point. It’s wild to think about how often this must have happened throughout history.
The even sadder point is that it still happens constantly. We can’t fix every structural issue, but things like poverty and gender bias are within our power to change. Too many kids in underfunded schools are discouraged by elitism, and too many people are still told they can’t do something just because of their gender.
Well, look at marriage and birth rates. It turns out when women have the freedom to choose their own path, many decide that being a stay-at-home parent isn’t the life they want.
That makes me think of the Stephen Jay Gould quote: > I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
Being able to identify and nurture talent is a huge advantage for any country. One brilliant idea can change the world, but we never know where it’s going to come from.
RE: Fact #31 (Prince Played Every Album Part) – Everyone obsesses over Prince’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” solo, but to me, his work ethic is more impressive. He would often wake up with a melody and spend the whole day tracking every single instrument, vocal harmony, and countermelody himself. He’d mix and master it into the night, then wake up and repeat the process the next day. He wasn’t just a shredder, he was a songwriter, dancer, and collaborator. He was a truly unique and irreplaceable soul.
My dad told me that if he didn’t like how a musician was playing a part, he’d just grab the instrument and show them exactly how he wanted it done. If I know one thing about him, it’s that he was a total master of music.
Small correction: while he wrote “Manic Monday” for the Bangles, he didn’t write “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore” for Alicia Keys. He wrote and recorded it years before she covered it. Same goes for “I Feel For You” and “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
You can appreciate both things without needing to put one down to elevate the other.
RE: Fact #45 (Weird Al Supported Human Rights) – I love that Weird Al carved out his own niche and then used his success to give back.
He’s the standard we should hold celebrities to, just like Keanu Reeves. Wholesome, humble, charitable, and incredibly talented.
RE: Fact #15 (Tame Impala Is Kevin Parker) – And half the band touring with him is another group called Pond, which Kevin Parker has produced. You should check them out.