26Brothers in Arms
For years after CD players hit the market, they remained unpopular and were mostly limited to fans of classical music. Dire Straits then released “Brothers in Arms”, the first totally digital album. It sold 30 million copies and is credited with launching CD players into the mainstream.
27. Lynyrd Skynyrd was named after Leonard Skinner, a gym teacher who used to send the band’s members to the principal for their long hair. Later, the band used his real estate company's sign and phone number for the “Nuthin’ Fancy” album artwork, swamping Leonard Skinner Realty in prank calls.
28. Michael Jackson got $2 for every Thriller album sold, which was one of the highest royalty rates of that time.
29. Van Halen refused to make videos for their album 5150, so Warner Bros quickly cobbled together a video for the song “Dreams” by using stock footage of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. The cheap video became a surprise hit on MTV and the Navy began to use it as part of their recruiting efforts.
30. The final song on Pink Floyd’s album “Atomic Heart Mother” –“Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast” features a dripping sink at the end on original vinyl copies. The effect was cut into the vinyl's run-off groove, causing the dripping noise to play on infinitely until the stylus was removed.
