Random Rock And Roll Trivia

Don Mclean's "American Pie" is the longest #1 hit in Rock history at 8 minutes and 32 seconds.

The first group to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were The Coasters.

The first record to sell a million copies was "Chattanooga Cho-Cho" by The Glen Miller Orchestra in 1942.

David Lee Roth's 1985 hit "Just A Gigolo", was originally recorded by jazz artist Ted Lewis in 1931.

Ringo Starr's first wife, Maureen Cox, later married Isaac Tigrett, one of the founders of the Hard Rock Cafe chain.

The first week of February could well be called "The week the music died" as all of these artists passed away.
1959 - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash.
1960 - 20 year old Jesse Belvin, who scored a hit with "Goodnight, My Love", died in an auto accident.
1967 - Joe Meek, producer of the Tornadoes hit, "Telstar", killed himself.
1976 - Rudy Pompilli, sax player for Bill Haley's Comets, passed away.
1981 - Rock and Roll pioneer Bill Haley died of a heart attack at the age of 55.
1981 - Hugo Montenegro, who is best remembered for "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly", died of emphysema.
1983 - Karen Carpenter died of heart irregularities caused by anorexia nervosa, just short of her 33rd birthday.
1990 - Del Shannon died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound.
1998 - 51 year old Carl Wilson, lead guitarist of The Beach Boys, died of lung cancer.
1998 - Falco, who had a hit with "Rock Me Amadeus," is killed in a traffic accident.

In 1963, Johnny Cymbal scored a number sixteen hit with a song called "Mr. Bass Man". After several unsuccessful follow ups, he changed his stage name to "Derek" and re-appeared on the record charts in 1969 with the number eleven hit, "Cinnamon".

In 1965, Ted Nugent heard of a Detroit group who had just broken up called "Amboy Dukes" and started using the name for his new band. "The Amboy Dukes" was actually the name of a novel about gang members and their lifestyle. In later interviews, Nugent said that although many people have given him a copy of the book, he has never actually read it.

The Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over" was billed by their U.S. label as "the Mersey Sound with a Liverpool beat." In fact, the group came from London.

The first musical guest on TV's "Saturday Night Live" was Janis Ian.

Despite all of the hits that they've had, The Who have never had a number one record in the UK or the US.

More than 2,500 cover versions of The Beatles' "Yesterday" exist, making it the most recorded song in history.

Zager and Evans' 1969 hit, "In the Year 2525" was written in just 30 minutes, but spent 6 weeks on The Hot 100 and sold over 5 million copies.

The Electric Light Orchestra has had twenty Top 40 Hits, but have never had a number one record.

The following is used by the courtesy of LouieLouie.net
"In August 1983, a marathon celebrating the song "Louie, Louie" was held at KFJC Radio in Los Altos Hills, California. For 63 hours, the station played every known version of the song. At the time of the marathon, there were over 800 documented recordings of the tune. Since that point in time, the number of known recordings has at least doubled, with the last count somewhere around the 1,600 range."

Shock Rocker, Alice Cooper was once elected Homecoming Queen for the University Of Houston.

The Hollies song 'Carrie Anne' was written about Marianne Faithful, who had a hit of her own with "As Tears Go By".

A one-string African guitar is called a "bo diddley". That’s where bluesman Ellas Bates got his stage name.

Petula Clark's hit, "This Is My Song" was written by movie actor Charlie Chaplin.

James Cobb and Dean Daughtry, members of The Classics IV, who had five Top 30 hits in the late 1960s, including "Spooky" and "Traces Of Love", went on to form The Atlanta Rhythm Section. They would have two Top 10 hits of their own with "So In To You" and "Imaginary Lover" in the mid '70s.

The Tornadoes' hit single "Telstar" was the first UK single to reach Number 1 in the USA on December 22, 1962. This was nearly two years before the Fab Four made it to Number 1 in the USA with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on February 1, 1964.

When Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in the summer of 1967, one of the rejected applicants to be auditioned was a young piano player named Reginald Dwight, who would later launch a solo career, re-naming himself, Elton John.

The first CD pressed in the United States for commercial release was Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA."

The cover art for the album "America's Greatest Hits" was created by a graphics designer by the name of Phil Hartman, the same funny-man who later appeared on Saturday Night Live, and then News Radio, before he was murdered by his wife in 1998.

The Lovin' Spoonful were the backup band on Sonny and Cher's hit 'They're On the Outside'.

Elvis Presley made only one television commercial, an ad for "Southern Maid Doughnuts" that ran in 1954.

In 1996, Ringo Starr appeared in a Japanese advertisement for apple sauce, which coincidentally is what "Ringo" means in Japanese.

Rod Stewart's 1977 hit "The First Cut Is The Deepest" was written by Cat Stevens.

"The Chipmunks", Alvin, Simon and Theodore were named after executives at Liberty Records by their creator, Ross Bagdasarian, who used the stage name, David Seville.

Paul McCartney's younger brother, Michael, formed a group of his own known as "The Scaffold" and goes by the name "Mike McGear". He is mentioned in the lyric of "Let 'Em In" as "Brother Michael"

"Happy Birthday" was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.

Bing Crosby's single of "White Christmas" has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide since it was released in December, 1942 and was recognized as the best-selling single in any music category for more than 50 years until 1998 when Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind", overtook it in a matter of months.

The only two radio stations in the U.S. with call letters that spell out the name of their home city is WACO in Waco Texas and WARE in Ware, Massachussetts.

The Beatles played the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1964. Some 8,500 fans paid just $4 each for tickets.

After Tony Orlando had his first hits in the early sixties and before re-entering the studio to record "Candida" in 1970, he worked for Clive Davis at Arista Records. During his time as general manager, Tony signed Barry Manilow to his first recording contract.

The phrase "Teenage Idol" was first used by Time Magazine to describe 16 year old Rick Nelson in the cover story of their December 1958 issue. Nelson would release a song called "Teenage Idol" in July of 1962 that would reach number 5 in the U.S.

When The Beach Boys "Kokomo" went to number one in the U.S. in 1988, it had been 22 years since their last chart topper, "Good Vibrations".

The Beatles recorded "Strawberry Fields Forever" during the sessions for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in the fall of 1966. The song was left off the album, but appeared on 1968's "Magical Mystery Tour".

In 1955, Billboard Magazine published its annual disc jockey poll that named Elvis Presley as "the most promising country and western artist".

The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, included a free roach clip.

In 1966, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys spent six months recording, editing and re-mixing "Good Vibrations" in seventeen different sessions, in four Los Angeles studios, at a cost of over sixteen thousand dollars. The recording engineer would later say that the last take sounded exactly like the first, six months earlier.

"To Sir With Love", the 1967 hit by Lulu went all the way to number one in the United States, where it would stay for 5 weeks. The record didn’t even chart in her homeland of Great Britain.

When Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" finally fell off of Billboard's Hot 200 Album list in October 1988, it had set a record of 741 weeks on the chart.

"Last Kiss", a teenage death song recorded by J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers was based on a true-life tale. Sixteen-year-old Jeanette Clark was out on a date in Barnesville, Georgia on December 22, 1962, the Saturday before Christmas. She was with a group of friends in a '54 Chevrolet. Her friend, J.L. Hancock, also sixteen, was driving the car in heavy traffic and while traveling on Highway 341, collided with a logging truck. Jeanette, the driver and another teenager were killed, and two other teens in the car were seriously injured. The song reached number two on the U.S. chart in the late summer of 1964. Ironically, J. Frank Wilson was injured and Sonley Roush, the producer of "Last Kiss" was killed in a head-on car crash in Lima, Ohio in October of the same year.

The Nelson's are the only family in history to have three generations that had a number one hit on Billboard's Hot 100. Ozzie Nelson lead his orchestra to the top of the chart in 1932 with "And Then Some", Rick Nelson topped all others in 1961 with "Poor Little Fool" and "Travelin' Man" and Rick's sons, Gunnar and Matthew had a chart topper in 1990 with "Love & Affection".

Two 1969 albums by The Youngbloods were produced by Charlie Daniels, who would go on to have a platinum hit of his own with "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" in 1979.

Hank Ballard and The Midnighters made music history in September, 1960, when they became the first group to have three songs in the U.S. Hot 100 at the same time. "Finger Poppin’ Time", "Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go" and "The Twist"

The Swedish rock group, ABBA is generally thought of as being made up of two married couples, but this was only true for a short time. Three months after Benny Anderson married his long time live-in girl friend, Anni-Frid Lyngstad in 1978, Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog separated and divorced soon after. Benny and Anni-Frid also divorced in 1981.

Before he was convicted of murder, Charles Manson befriended Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson, who convinced the rest of the band to record a Manson composition called "Cease To Exist". The title was changed to "Never Learn Not To Love" and was released as the "B" side of the single "Bluebirds Over The Mountain", which eventually climbed to number 61 in early 1969, giving Manson a hit record on Billboard's Hot 100.

Elton John is Sean Lennon's godfather.

Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, died in the same apartment that had previously belonged to Harry Nilsson and earlier, Mama Cass Elliot.

The real life "Peggy Sue" that Buddy Holly sang about was Peggy Sue Gerron, the girlfriend of his drummer, Jerry Allison. The song was initially titled "Cindy Lou", but Allison convinced Buddy to change the title just before the recording session. Allison and Gerron were later married.

When Tina Turner left her husband and former bandmate, Ike Turner in 1975, she was carrying nothing more than thirty-six cents in change and a gas station credit card. In August, 1984, she was awarded a gold record for "What's Love Got To Do With It".

During the last years that Elvis Presley performed live, he always opened his shows with "The Theme From 2001". When asked about it, Presley said that he felt the number 2001 had a special significance in his life that he couldn't explain. Elvis died August, 16, 1977, which numerically is 8-16-1977. When these numbers are added up, they equal 2001.

Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that on August 17th, the day after the death of Elvis Presley, the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history.

In 1983, Paul Simon married actress Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars trilogy. The marriage lasted less than a year.

In 1974, when 32 year old Mama Cass Elliot died in London, a post-mortem the following day said that she died as a result of choking on a sandwich and from inhaling her own vomit. It was later revealed that she actually suffered a fatal heart attack.

In 1958, the Esso Research Center reported that "tuning in rock & roll music on a car radio can cost a motorist money, because the rhythm can cause a driver to unconsciously jiggle the gas pedal, thus wasting fuel."

Gene Vincent's hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula", was first sent in to Capitol Records as part of an Elvis sound-alike contest. A re-recorded version gave Vincent his first chart maker.

The first Rap record was released in Sept 1979 when the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was recorded over the instrumental break from Chic's "Good Times". The single became a disco smash, selling two million copies in the U.S.

Songwriter Mike Stoller, the co-writer of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog", survived the sinking of the ship Andrea Doria in the Atlantic Ocean on July 25th 1956. Fifty-one others died.

"Surf City", a 1963 number one hit by Jan and Dean was recorded in a converted garage underneath their apartment in Bel Air, California.

Tom Jones lost a paternity suit in July of 1989 and was ordered to pay $200 a week in child support to 27 year old, Katherine Berkery, of New York. The judge in the case was "Judge Judy" Sheindlin, who was still serving in her 15 year tenure as a New York Family Court judge before appearing in her court TV show, "Judge Judy".

Paul Revere of The Raiders, was married on the fourth of July, 1976, on America's Bicentennial at King's Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati.

Elton John played piano on the Hollies hit, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".

Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson once had a giant sandbox built around his piano, so he could feel the sand beneath his feet for song writing inspiration.

Woodstock Ventures, the sponsors of the original Woodstock Festival, lost more than $1.2 million on the concert.

Elvis Presley offered the press a chance to interview him in June of 1972 for a fee of $120,000. There were no takers.

Three members of the Young Rascals, Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish and Eddie Brigati were once members of Joey Dee and The Starlighters, who scored a number one hit in 1961 with "The Peppermint Twist".

On June 7, 1979, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service charged Chuck Berry with 3 counts of tax evasion. Just hours later, he performed at a concert for President Jimmy Carter on the front lawn of the White House.

James Brown's wife tried to get her traffic tickets dismissed because of "diplomatic immunity" in June of 1988. She claimed her husband is the official "ambassador of soul". She lost the case

In 1975, The Rolling Stones became the first rock group ever to receive royalties from record sales in Russia.

George Young, who co-founded AC/DC along with his brothers Angus and Malcolm, was the lead guitarist for a band called The Easybeats, who scored a Top Twenty hit in 1967 with "Friday On My Mind".

While playing in front of a large lake at the Crystal Palace Bowl in London in 1970, Pink Floyd played so loud, a number of fish were killed.

During a 1969 performance at the White House for a ball given by President Richard Nixon's daughter, Tricia. Mark Volman of the Turtles was reported to have fallen off the stage five times.

Former Animals bassist, Chas Chandler discovered and managed Jimi Hendrix.

Harry Chapin's hit song "I Wanna Learn A Love Song" is actually the true story of how he met his wife, Sandy.

Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" became the first single to ever sell over 2 million copies in April, 1976.

Singer Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses married Erin Everly, Don Everly's daughter. The marriage lasted 27 days.

Dick Clark's wife suggested that Ernest Evans change his name to "Chubby Checker" as a parody of "Fats Domino".

Eric Clapton was born to an unwed mother and to shield him from the shame, Eric grew up believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister.

"Alice Cooper" was originally the name of the entire band, before lead singer Vince Furnier assumed the name for himself.

Telma Hopkins of Tony Orlando and Dawn is the voice you hear on Issac Hayes' song "Shaft", that tells him, "Shut your mouth".

It was Paul McCartney, not Ringo Starr, who played drums on the Beatles "Back In The U.S.S.R." and "The Ballad of John and Yoko".

Before he became a rock star, Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five worked as a stuntman in over 40 films.

Jan Berry of Jan and Dean has an I.Q. of 185, which puts him in the genius category.

John Denver was killed when his light plane crashed because it simply ran out of fuel.

Ray Sawyer, lead singer of Dr. Hook, wears an eye patch because he lost an eye in an auto accident.

The original Eagles, Glen Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon first met when they were members of Linda Ronstadt's backup band.

Elvis Presley had a twin brother named Jesse Garon Presley, who was stillborn.

Dan Seals of "England Dan and John Ford Coley", earned the nickname, "England Dan" from his family, because as a youngster, Dan had fixated on the Beatles and briefly affected an English accent. Dan is the brother of Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts.

Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys was supposed to be named "Carey" at birth, after actor Cary Grant, but the hospital made a mistake and recorded his name as "Gary".

Marvin Gaye Sr. was convicted of killing his son Marvin, but was sentenced to only six years probation after a judge ruled the case "self defence".

Bobby Goldsboro once played in Roy Orbison's backup band.

Grand Funk Railroad took their name from a Michigan landmark, "The Grand Trunk Railroad".

Chuck Berry holds a degree in cosmetology.

During a 6-year period (1967-1972) The Grass Roots set a record for being on the Billboard charts an unbelievable 307 straight weeks.

Bill Haley and the Comets first hit record, "Rock Around The Clock" had initial sales of just 75,000, until it was used as the title track of "The Blackboard Jungle", 12 months later. It would eventually sell over 25 million copies.

Jimi Hendrix was thrown out of high school for holding the hand of a white girl in class.

Peter Noone, lead singer of Herman's Hermits, got his nickname after the guys in the band remarked on Peter's resemblance to the character Sherman in the TV cartoon 'The Bullwinkle Show'. Peter misheard the name as Herman.

England's "The Hollies" took their name in honour of Buddy Holly.

Country singer Waylon Jennings was a guitar player in Buddy Holly's backup band. He gave up his plane seat to J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) just moments before it took off. The plane crashed, killing all on board, including Holly.

Arnold George Dorsey uses the stage name "Englebert Humperdinck", the name of the Austrian composer who wrote "Hansel and Gretel".

Singer Janis Ian's real name is Janis Eddy Fink.

On December 12, 1957, 22 year old Jerry Lee Lewis married 14 year old Myra Gale Brown, his second cousin.

Tony Orlando recorded his first two hits in separate studios from backup singers Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson. By the time they met, "Candida" and "Knock Three Times" had sold over two million records.

Gene Simmons of KISS is a former elementary school teacher .

Roger Miller won 5 Grammy Awards in 1965 and followed in 1966 with six more.

"Walk Away Renee" by the Left Banke was rejected by ten major labels before Smash Records took it on. Soon after its release in Feb. 1966, it shot up the charts and peaked at #5.

British singer "Lulu", best remembered for her hit "To Sir With Love", was married to Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees from 1969 until early 1973.

The rock band "Lynyrd Skynyrd" took their name from their Physical Education teacher, Leonard Skinner, whom had given some of the guys a hard time in school because of their long hair.

John Phillips of The Mamas and Papas had a daughter with his first wife, Susan, that they named Laura. She would later become known as "MacKenzie", and would grow up to co-star in the 1970's TV sit-com, "One Day At A Time".

Barry Manilow was once a page boy at CBS and was later Bette Midler's musical director. Before having his first hit record, Barry earned a living writing commercials, including the jingles for State Farm Insurance , Band Aids, Stridex, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, and McDonalds.

Martha Reeves of The Vandellas worked at Motown Records as a secretary. Her duties included supervising a very young Stevie Wonder.

Over 400 musicians applied for a part in The Monkees, including Stephen Stills, John Sebastian and Harry Nilsson.

Anne Murray was the first solo Canadian female to be awarded a Gold Record in the United States. (for Snowbird)

Even though he has recorded some of the most memorable rock and roll classics, the only gold record that Chuck Berry ever received was for the novelty song "My Ding-a-ling".

Rick Nelson's first wife, Kris Harmon, is the sister of Kelly Harmon, the pretty blonde girl in the Tic-Tac commercials. Their brother is actor Mark Harmon.

John Lennon and Harry Nilsson were ejected from L.A.'s Troubadour club for disrupting The Smother's Brothers act in the mid 1970's.

Just hours before murdering John Lennon, Mark David Chapman got Lennon's autograph.

On July 18, 1966, just five months after "I Fought The Law" had entered the charts, Bobby Fuller was found dead on the front seat of his mother's Oldsmobile, parked outside of a Los Angeles apartment building.

Roy Orbison's trademark look came about when he misplaced his regular glasses and had to rely on a pair of prescription sun-glasses. His management liked the mysterious look it gave him, and soon, they were the only ones he wore.

The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, took their stage name when an appreciative fan said about their music, "that's righteous, brothers".

Kenny Rogers was once a member of the New Christy Minstrels, and can be heard singing the chorus of their hit record, "Green, Green", behind the lead vocal of Barry McGuire, who would later have a solo smash himself with, "Eve Of Destruction".

Scotland's Bay City Rollers chose their name by sticking a pin in a map of the United States. The pin landed near Bay City, Michigan.

Bobby Rydell landed a three year stint on a Philadelphia television show at the age of nine.

Boz Scaggs real name is William Royce Scaggs. The handle is shortened from a highschool nickname, "Bosley".

Sonny and Cher were initially known as Caesar and Cleo.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan, were once a part of Jay and the Americans' touring band in the late 1960s.

Steppenwolf's lead singer, John Kay , made a perilous midnight escape from post-war East Germany when he was a child.

The lead vocal of "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock is actually that of a friend of the band, 16 year old Greg Munford, who was just hanging around during the session and decided to try his hand at singing.

The name, "Three Dog Night" was inspired by a magazine article about Australian aborigines, who on cold nights, would sleep beside their dogs for warmth. The very coldest weather was called a "three dog night".

Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck and Gilbert O'Sullivan all had the same manager, Gordon Mills.

Tommy James named his band, "The Shondells" when he was just twelve years old.

Bobby Vinton had more #1 hits than any other male vocalist of his time, including Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston are cousins.

Motown singer, Mary Wells suffered a bout of spinal meningitis as a small child, which left her temporarily paralyzed.

Stevie Wonder was placed in an incubator when he was born and given too much oxygen, causing permanent sight loss.

The Yardbirds are noted for giving rise to three of Britain's greatest guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top sport two of the longest beards in all of show business, while drummer Frank Beard is clean shaven.

Frank Zappa named his daughter, Moon Unit Zappa.

Barry Manilow's first hit, "Mandy", was written as "Brandy", but was changed when a band named "Looking Glass" had a chart hit with that name.

Rita Coolidge's sister Priscilla married Booker T. Jones of Booker T. and the MGs

In 1978, ABBA was Sweden's most profitable export. Car maker Volvo was number two.

Among those who sang the chorus of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" were Marianne Faithful, Graham Nash, Jane Asher, Patti Boyd, Keith Moon and Mick Jagger.

Sam Cooke's 1960 hit, "Wonderful World" was co-written by trumpeter Herb Alpert.

Throughout their career, Ringo received far more fan mail than any of the other Beatles.

The Everly Brothers "Bye Bye Love," was rejected by 30 labels before Cadence Records picked it up. The song went to #2 on the pop chart and #1 on the Country & Western chart.

After the British Invasion duo of Peter and Gordon had run their course, Peter Asher went on to become the manager of Linda Rondstadt and James Taylor.

Hoyt Axton wrote Three Dog Night's "Joy To The World". His mother, Mae Axton wrote "Heartbreak Hotel" for Elvis Presley.

An album called "The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan" was released by Stiff Records. The entire disc contained 40 minutes of silence.

Florence Ballard, one of the original Supremes, died of a heart attack in 1975. She was on welfare at the time.

The lead vocal of the Beach Boys' hit, "Barbara Ann" was actually sung by Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean. Torrence was just hanging around the studio when everyone started to play the former Regents hit, without knowing that the tape machine was still running.

Elvis Presley's father, Vernon, once served eight months in prison for altering a check.

Len Barry, who scored a 1963 hit with 1-2-3 was the lead singer of the Dovells, who had a 1961 hit with "Bristol Stomp".

In 1972, Led Zeppelin was forced to cancel a concert in Singapore when officials wouldn't let them off the plane because of their long hair.

Members of The Beach Boys sang background vocals for Chicago's "Wishing You Were Here".

By the time his song "Tighten Up" entered the Hot 100 in 1968, Archie Bell was in the U.S. Army, recovering from a leg wound.

Chuck Berry spent some time in prison on two different occasions. First, he served a two year sentence between 1962 and 1964 for violation of the Mann Act, (transporting a minor across State lines) then a four month term in 1979 for income tax evasion.

Tiny Tim declared himself a New York City mayoral candidate in 1989.

British singer Cilla Black, best remembered for her number one U.K hit "Anyone Who Had a Heart", had her stage name changed by accident. A reporter for the local paper remembered the wrong color as her surname. Her real name is Cilla White.

The piano player on Art Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is Larry Knechtel of the group "Bread".

Rocker Ted Nugent autographed a man's arm with a bowie knife after the fan had requested it.

James Brown spent three years in a Georgia reform school when he was a boy.

Fleetwood Mac's former guitarist, Lindsay Buckingham has a brother named Greg who won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.

Glen Campbell played lead guitar on the Beach Boys "Dance, Dance, Dance" and "Good Vibrations".

Singer Jessi Colter, best remembered for her 1975 hit, "I'm Not Lisa", was married to both Duane Eddy and Waylon Jennings.

After they were no longer backing Buddy Holly, The Crickets played on The Everly Brother's "'Till I Kissed You" in 1959.

James Brown performed at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in 1997.

B.J. Thomas' "Rock and Roll Lullaby" featured members of The Beach Boys, and The Chiffons on background vocals and Duane Eddy on guitar.

Bobby Gentry, who scored a huge hit in 1967 with "Ode To Billy Joe", married Jim Stafford, who recorded "Spiders and Snakes".

The Bee Gees' Robin Gibb survived one of England's worst train wrecks. More than fifty people were killed and over a hundred injured, while Robin escaped unharmed.

Former Beatles drummer Pete Best appeared on TV's "I've Got A Secret" in 1964.

Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers once had a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The cover of the Eagles' "Hotel California" was taken at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

Billy Joel wrote "Just the Way You Are" for his first wife, Elizabeth.

Gene Simmons of Kiss has a tongue that is seven inches long, two inches longer than most men.

When she was just four years old, Gladys Knight won first prize on TV's Ted Mack's Amateur Hour.

"The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" was a number one hit in 1973 for Vicki Lawrence. The song was written by her then husband Bobby Russell, who also wrote "Honey" and "Little Green Apples". Cher was offered the song first, but turned it down.

In 1972, Berry Oakley, bass player for the The Allman Brothers band, was killed in a motorcycle accident, just three blocks away from the site of Duane's Allman's fatal crash.

Anne Murray's hit, "Danny's Song" was written by Kenny Loggins for his brother Danny. Dave Loggins, whose "Please Come To Boston" was a 1974 hit, is their cousin.

There is no one named Marshall Tucker in the Marshall Tucker Band. The group named themselves after the previous tenant of their rehearsal hall, after finding a key tag with his name on it.

Paul McCartney's real name is James Paul McCartney.

Steve Miller got his first guitar as a gift from the legendary Les Paul.

David Gates of the soft rock band "Bread" was one of the musicians on Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash".

Millie Small's 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop" features a very young Rod Stewart on harmonica.

The New Christie Minstrels, who had a mid sixties hit with "Green Green" have had several members who went on to find other fame. These include, country star Kenny Rogers, Barry McGuire (Eve Of Destruction), Gene Clark of The Byrds as well as Kim Carnes ("Bette Davis Eyes").

An instrumental called "No Matter What Shape" that was used in Alka Seltzer commercials in 1965, was performed by a band called The T-Bones. The group contained Dan Hamilton, Joe Frank Carollo and Tom Reynolds, who would have a smash hit in the seventies called "Don't Pull Your Love" as Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds.

Glen Frey of the Eagles played rhythm guitar on Bob Seger's "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man".

The Starland Vocal Band, who charted with "Afternoon Delight" in 1977, sang background vocals for John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" while they were still known as Fat City" in 1971.

Dodie Stevens had a hit record called "Pink Shoelaces" in 1959. She would later go on to sing with Sergio Mendez and Brazil '66 and later still with Mac Davis.

Sly Stone, leader of Sly and the Family Stone, was the producer of the Beau Brummels hits "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just A Little".

Freddie Cannon's first chart hit, 1959's "Tallahassee Lassie" was written by his mother.

The studio musicians hired for Carly Simon's first solo album included Blood, Sweat and Tears founder Al Kooper, future Electric Flag guitarist Mike Bloomfield, along with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel, who would go on to form the nucleus of The Band. The sessions they recorded were left incomplete and the album was never released.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first sang together when they were in the sixth grade in Forest Hills, New York.

Elvis Presley has sold over 1 billion records world wide. The Recording Industy Association Of America has awarded him more Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platimum records that any other artist. In the US, he has placed 149 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 as well as 114 in the Top 40, forty songs in the Top 10 and had 18 number ones.

The song "Dancing In The Street", which became a #2 pop hit for Martha and the Vandellas in 1964, was originally turned down by Motown singer Kim Weston, even though her husband, Mickey Stevenson was one of its co-writers.

Before hiring Chuck Negron as the third lead singer for the newly formed Three Dog Night, Danny Hutton and Cory Wells also considered Billy Joe Royal of "Down In The Boondocks" fame, as well as Crazy Horse founder, Danny Whitten.

Reg Presley, the lead singer for The Troggs on their five million selling, 1966 hit "Wild Thing", went on to become one of Britain's premier UFO experts.

Stevie Wonder's mother, Lula Hardaway, took her infant son to preacher Oral Roberts in a vain attempt to have his blindness healed.

Ted Nugent, the guitarist known as "The Motor City Madman", was named Father of the Year at his children’s school. Although he has been married to his wife Shemane Nugent since 1989, he admitted to fathering a child with another woman in the mid 90s.

Drummer Ron Wilson recorded rock and roll's most influential drum solo, "Wipeout" with The Surfaris in 1963. The group split in the late 60s and Wilson died in poverty after suffering a brain aneurysm in May of 1989.

The first time Rod Stewart performed in America was at the Filmore East in New York in 1968. Rod's stage fright was so severe, he sang the first song from backstage.

Carly Simon's father was a co-founder of the book publishing company, Simon & Schuster.

The Small Faces, who had a Top 20 hit in 1967 with "Itchycoo Park", really were small. All five members stood less than five feet, six inches in height. When Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood replaced the departed Steve Marriott in 1968, the word "Small" was dropped from the band's name, as the two new members stood a head taller than the others.

Elvis Presley once told a reporter: "I don't know anything about music. In my line of business, you don't have to."

In 1963, Frank Zappa started a porno movie production company. He was arrested and jailed for sexual perversion a short while later. He might have stayed in business longer if his studio hadn't been right across the street from the Cucamonga, California court house.

The Marvelettes first big hit "Please Mr. Postman" was a re-worded version of a song written by William Garrett, who happened to be a real mail carrier.

The LP "Johnny Mathis Greatest Hits" spent 490 weeks on Billboard's Hot 200 album chart. That is the equivalent of nine and a half years.

Janis Joplin's former residence in San Francisco's Haight district was converted into a drug re-hab center in 1999.

Although he was appearing on the hit TV show Ozzie and Harriet, Rick Nelson had no musical ambitions until a girlfriend said that she was in love with Elvis Presley. Rick told her that he was cutting a record too, which in reality he had no plans to do. His first hit was a cover of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'", which went to number four in the US and sold over a million copies.

This one isn't rock and roll trivia, but it's still fascinating.
Felix Powell, a British Army staff sergeant, wrote the music for "Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile" in 1915 and entered it in a WWI competition for the best morale-building song. The song won first prize and has been called "perhaps the most optimistic song ever written." Powell didn't follow his own advice though...he committed suicide in 1942.

When asked if it bothered him when people made wise cracks about his big nose, Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr once said "it goes up one nostril and down the other."

Sonny Curtis, a guitar player with Buddy Holly's Crickets during their hit making years, also turned out to be a prolific songwriter. Among his most memorable tunes were "I Fought The Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four, "Walk Right Back" by The Everly Brothers as well as The Theme From The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

"The Long and Winding Road" was written by Paul McCartney, especially for singer Tom Jones.

According to the studio musicians who backed Otis Redding on his 1968 hit, "Dock Of The Bay", the whistling at the end of the song was made up on the spot because Otis forgot the words to the fade out ending that he had prepared.

Even though he was married, singer Tom Jones had a much publicized affair with the Supremes Mary Wilson during the 1960s.

The 1962, number one hit "He's A Rebel" was credited by producer Phil Spector to his group, The Crystals, even though they never sang a note on the record. The song was actually recorded by a group called The Blossoms, featuring Darlene Love, who would later have her own series of hits, including the top 40 "He's Sure The Boy I Love".

In 1971, Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and Papas appeared in the film "The Last Movie" and later married her co-star Dennis Hopper. The marriage lasted eight days.

Tommy Edward's 1958, number one hit, "It's All In The Game" was based on a song called "Melody in F major", written in 1912 by Charles Gates Dawes, who would go on to be Calvin Coolidge's vice presidential running mate in 1923 and a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925.

Ray Peterson first started singing while he was a polio patient in a Texas hospital, to amuse the other patients. After turning professional, he signed with RCA records and in 1960 recorded the #7 US hit, "Tell Laura I Love Her".

According to TV's Much Music, there are an estimated 30,000 Elvis imitators in the United States.

In 1965, while Bob Dylan was recording his "Blonde On Blonde" album at the Columbia Record Studios in Nashville, Kris Kristofferson was there too...working as a night janitor.

In 1962, The Shirelles recorded a song called "Soldier Boy" in one take, intending it to be an album filler. A few months later, it was released as a single, climbing to #3 on the R&B chart and #1 on the pop chart, becoming the group's biggest seller.

While the progressive rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer were forming in 1970, there were serious talks about adding Jimi Hendrix to the line up. A jam session was set up with Hendrix for late summer, but Jimi died before it came together. The rumours of the potential band with Hendrix did leak out to the British music press, who began running articles saying the band would be called "Hendrix, Emerson, Lake & Palmer" or HELP for short.

Herman's Hermit's 1965 number one US hit, "I'm Henry The Eighth, I Am" was written in 1911 by an English comedian.

While laying down tracks for an upcoming album, Bobby Hebb recorded one of his own compositions called "Sunny", just to use up the remaining studio time. His record company liked the song and released it as a single in 1966. It promptly went to number 2 in the US.

During a meeting being held to discuss the possibility of Revlon creating a line of cosmetics to be endorsed by Diana Ross, a company spokesman said that he was "certain that she could do quite a bit for the black woman's market of cosmetics." Ross jumped up and stormed out of the meeting. Several minutes later, one of her representatives came back into the room to say that the meeting was over and that "Miss Ross is not black...not in her mind and not in the mind of anyone who works for her."

Drummer Richard Starkey was given his nickname by band leader Rory Storm. At first he called him "Rings" because he wore so many of them, but later changed it to "Ringo", because it sounded more "cowboy".

On February 10th, 1971, Bright Tunes Music Corp filed suit against George Harrison for plagiarism because of the similarities between "He's So Fine" by The Chiffons and Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Although Harrison always claimed the resemblance was unintentional, the presiding judge said it was "perfectly obvious...the two songs are virtually identical" and awarded damages. In a fascinating twist, in 1975 The Chiffons recorded their own version of "My Sweet Lord".

In 1995, Michael Jackson contacted the British Embassy to enquire about being knighted by the Queen, for his work with children.

R.B. Greaves, who sang the number two 1969 hit, "Take A Letter, Maria", is the nephew of Sam Cooke.

The only reason that Junior Walker sang on his 1965 hit, "Shotgun", was that the vocalist he'd hired didn't show up for the session. Walker was somewhat flabbergasted by the label's decision to leave his vocal intact, but the record went on to reach number 4 on the U.S. Pop chart and number 1 on the R&B chart.

The Rolling Stones hold the record for the largest grossing rock and roll tour of all time. Their 1994-95 'Voodoo Lounge' tour took in $320 million The second largest money maker was the Stones' 2002-03 'Licks' tour, which saw the rockers play to over 3.4 million people and rake in $300 million.

The Electric Prunes 1967 hit "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" was originally written as a slow piano ballad and was first recorded by night club crooner Jerry Vale.

Jerry Lee Lewis' 1957 hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin´ Goin´ On" sold over six million copies in the first year after its release, yet was recorded in just one take.

Billy Joel was only 16 years old when he played piano on the Shangri-La's' 1965 hit, "Leader of the Pack".

Despite having a long string of hit singles, Rick Nelson's only Grammy Award came in 1986 for 'Best Spoken Word or Nonmusical Recording' for his contribution to an album called "The Class Of '55", a Sun Records reunion album that featured Nelson's early idols, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie" was written in 1955 by Richard Berry, who sold all rights to the song for $750. In 1986, an artists' rights group helped Berry collect about $2 million in royalties.

The first hit for The Righteous Brothers, 1963's "Little Latin Lupe Lu", was written by Bill Medley about his then girlfriend Lupe Laguna. The song was also a top 20 hit for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels in 1966.

Stevie Wonder was not born blind. The blindness happened shortly afterward as a result of having received too much oxygen in the hospital incubator. Stevie spent a total of 52 days in an incubator.

In 1969, Tommy James and The Shondells turned down an offer to perform at the original Woodstock Festival, when their booking agent described the event as "...a stupid gig on a pig farm in upstate New York."

Songwriter Gene MacLellan wrote Anne Murray's 1969 multi-million seller, "Snowbird" in just 25 minutes. It was only the second song he had ever written.

Bobby "Boris" Pickett added all his own sound sound effects to his 1962 hit, "The Monster Mash". The creaky door opening is a nail being pulled from a piece of wood, the boiling cauldron is Pickett blowing bubbles into a cup of water with a straw and the chains are him moving chains up and down.

Anton Fig, who plays drums on David Letterman's Late Show, performed on the 1980 KISS album, "Unmasked", after original drummer Peter Criss had left the band.

Elvis Presley scored 18 Number One hits in the U.S., while The Beatles racked up 25. Bing Crosby had 38.

In 1957 a teenager had been told by his father to get a job or get out of the house, so he wrote a song called "Be My Guest" and waited in line for a chance to pass it on to Fats Domino. He was able to do so, and heard from Domino's agent some time later. Thus began the songwriting career of Tommy Boyce, who would later team up with Bobby Hart to write some of rock and roll's best selling songs.

During one concert, Neil Diamond sang his hit "Forever In Blue Jeans" six times in a row... while wearing sharply creased slacks.

The first time that future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham ever played together was as studio musicians, backing Donovan on his 1968 hit, "Hurdy Gurdy Man". A hurdy-gurdy is actually a stringed instrument in which the strings are rubbed by a rosined wheel instead of a bow.

When Crosby, Stills and Nash first started singing together, they were known as "The Frozen Noses", a vague reference to their drug habits.

The Beach Boys recorded the original version of "Little Honda", but didn't release it as a single because Brian Wilson didn't think the song had the potential to become a hit. A cover of the song, which featured studio musicians Glen Campbell, Richie Podolor and Hal Blaine, was credited to a constantly changing touring group called The Hondells who took the song into the Top Ten in 1964.

In 1964, Tommy James was asked by a local DJ to record a few songs for Snap Records, a tiny Michigan record label. One of those tunes was "Hanky Panky", which started to take off locally, but then quickly died, a victim of poor distribution. The song was soon forgotten, and eventually the group broke up. Two years later, the disc was mistakenly played on the air by a Pittsburgh DJ. Delighted radio listeners wanted to know where they could get a copy of "that hot new single". Tommy James was shocked when told the song was number one in the city and quickly formed a new band to take advantage of his success. By the late summer of 1966, it was the number one selling single in the nation.

The background singers on Lou Christie's 1966 hit, "Lightnin' Strikes" were The Angels, who recorded the 1963 hit, "My Boyfriend's Back".

When Atlantic Records session guitarist Steve Cropper was told that a little known singer named Wilson Pickett was coming in to the Memphis studio to record, he went to the nearest record shop and began searching through the record bins, looking for something Pickett had done. “I found two or three things...some spiritual things that he had sung lead on,” Cropper says. Cropper noticed that at the end of each song, Wilson would launch into an improvised rap about 'the midnight hour’. “In every song in the fade-out, he’d go into this ritual, ‘I’m going to wait till the midnight hour, oh in the midnight hour,’ and he’d start preaching this ‘midnight hour’ thing, and I said ‘That’s it!’ When Wilson and Cropper got together, the phrase ‘In the Midnight Hour’ was the first one that came up. It took just one hour to write the soul/rock classic that would established Wilson Pickett as a star. "In The Midnight Hour" reached the top of the R&B chart and hit #21 on the pop chart in 1965. The song has since became a soul standard... even Wolfman Jack would adopt it as his theme song.

In the early 1960s, Frank Zappa appeared on Steve Allen’s TV show, performing a "bicycle concerto", plucking the spokes and blowing through the handlebars.

Van Morrison's 1967 Top Ten hit, "Brown Eyed Girl" was originally written as "Brown Skinned Girl", but was changed so it would be more appealing to AM radio programmers.

Dionne Warwick's real last name is Warrick (with no "w"), but she was stuck with the change when 1962's "Don't Make Me Over" became a hit and her record company misspelled her name on the label.

Despite producing some of the best remembered songs of the rock and roll era, the only Grammy Award that Phil Spector ever won was for "Best Sound Effects" on the 1964 Ronettes hit, "Walking In The Rain".

In 1963, songwriter/producer Bob Feldman was a staff writer for April-Blackwood Music. He heard that the Sweet Shoppe, across the street from his old highschool in Brooklyn, was being torn down and went back for one last look. "While I was there", Feldman recalled, "an altercation started between a young girl and a hoody-looking young man with a leather jacket. She was pointing a finger at him and screaming "My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble. You've been spreading lies about me all over school and when he gets ahold of you, you're gonna be sorry you were ever born." That night Bob told his writing partners, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer, about the incident and they sat down and wrote a song about it. When it was recorded by a group called The Angels, "My Boyfriend's Back" went to #1 on the U.S. charts and became one of the classic girl-group records of all time. As for Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer, they later formed their own group, the Strangeloves, later discovered the McCoys, and achieved individual success with productions by War, Blondie, and the Go-Gos.

Before he was signed by ABC-Dunhill Records in the early seventies, Jimmy Buffett was turned down by 26 record labels.

Bobby Vee once kicked Robert Zimmerman out of his band because he thought he had no future as a musician. Zimmerman would go on to have a career as a folksinger, calling himself Bob Dylan.

After an executive at Atlantic Records turned down "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" by England Dan and John Ford Coley, Doug Morris of Big Tree Records, having heard the song through the wall of his adjoining office, offered the duo a contract. The result was a #2 pop single in the spring of 1976, which ultimately sold two million copies.

According to band legend, the name "Alice Cooper" came to singer Vincent Furnier during a ouija board session, where he was told he was the reincarnation of a 17th-century witch of the same name.

James Brown wrote his 1965, number one hit, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" based on a spur-of-the-moment adlib during one of his concerts.

Al Kooper came up with the name for his new band when he was on the phone with a promoter, while gazing at a Johnny Cash album cover. The album was called, "Blood, Sweat & Tears". The inspiration for the band name did not come from Winston Churchill's quote, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat", as was widely reported at the time.

The theme song for the TV sit-com, "That 70s Show", was written by Alex Chilton, who was The Box Top's lead singer on their hits "The Letter" and "Cry Like A Baby".

Seals And Crofts former road manager is Leo Gallagher Jr., the comedian known simply as "Gallagher", the comic known for his "Sledge-o-matic" routine, where he smashes a wide variety of things with a sledge hammer.

Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker was not really a colonel at all, it was an honorary title given to him in 1948 by Governor Jimmie Davis of Louisiana. Parker's real name was Andreas Cornelius van Kujik, an illegal Dutch immigrant who became a flamboyant promoter. His pre-Elvis experience included shows called "The Great Parker Pony Circus" and "Tom Parker and His Dancing Turkeys" and was a veteran of carnivals, medicine shows and various other entertainment enterprises. Before he met Elvis, Parker managed the career of singer Eddie Arnold, who fired him in 1953.

Mark David Chapman, who murdered John Lennon on December 8th, 1980, later admitted that another target that he considered shooting was former Tonight Show host, Johnny Carson.

During the recording of Gary Lewis and The Playboys 1965 number one hit, "This Diamond Ring", The Playboys were used sparingly. Studio musicians, including Tommy Alsup on guitar, Leon Russell on keyboards and Hal Blaine on drums were used instead. Even Gary's vocals got some help from a singer named Ron Hicklin, who did the basic vocal track; then producer Snuff Garrett added Gary’s voice, overdubbed him a second time, added some of the Playboys, and then added more of Hicklin. Garrett would later say: "When I got through, he sounded like Mario Lanza".

One afternoon in 1962, while waiting for a Four Season's rehearsal to begin, group member Bob Gaudio sat down at the piano and in fifteen minutes, wrote a song that would become the quartet's first hit single. The original working title was "Terry" and several other names were also considered, including "Peri" (the name of their record label-owner's daughter) as well as "Jackie" (a tie-in with Jackie Kennedy, who was at the height of her popularity). When producer Bob Crewe told his disc jockey friend, Jack Spector, about the song he wanted to record, Spector suggested the name of his three year old daughter, "Cheri". The name stuck, but when the record was pressed, the label misspelled the name - "Sherry".

Cher's very first recording was called "Ringo, I Love You" under the name Bonnie Jo Mason.

Producer Jay Siegal took The Chiffons demo of "He's So Fine" to ten different record companies...all ten turned it down. The eleventh company, Laurie Records, liked the song and released it in February, 1963. Two months later, it was the number one song in America.

When Barry McGuire recorded "Eve of Destruction", he read the words to the song off of a piece of paper that had been in his pocket for about a week. The song was completed in one take, with the understanding that Barry would re-record the vocals later. When the final mixing was taking place, McGuire wasn't around and the record was pressed from the original recording.

When Ritchie Valens recorded the demo for "Come On Let's Go", he made the lyrics up as he went along. The tape had to be played back so he could write down the words to the song.

"Sunday Will Never Be The Same", the 1967 Top Ten hit for Spanky and Our Gang was originally turned down by The Mamas and Papas.

Chuck Berry was inspired to write "Sweet Little Sixteen" after an eleven year old girl asked him for his autograph.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who scored a 1970, Top Ten hit with "Mr. Bojangles", backed Steve Martin on his 1978 novelty hit, "King Tut", which made it to #17 in the U.S.A.

The 1961 Beach Boys hit, "In My Room", was recorded by Brian Wilson with studio musicians backing him instead of the rest of The Beach Boys. The record went to number twenty-three.

The song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" was written by George Graff, who was German, and was never in Ireland in his life.

Cuba Gooding Jr., who found movie fame with Tom Cruise in the film "Jerry Maguire", is the son of Cuba Gooding Sr., the lead singer of The Main Ingredient, who had a million selling, number one hit with "Everybody Plays The Fool" in the fall of 1972. Cuba's mother, Shirley, sang backup vocals for Jackie Wilson's touring act.

The recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was actually cut by studio musicians, with guitarist Roger McGuinn the only member of the Byrds actually playing on the record. The group did, however, provide the vocals.

The last song that Elvis ever performed publicly was "Bridge Over Troubled Water", at his final concert in Indianapolis in June, 1977.

Sam The Sham often included a song called "Haunted House" in his stage act, but refused to record it for Hi Records because he didn't like the label. Hi Records then offered it to Gene Simmons, who took it to Number Eleven in the U.S. in August of 1964.

The song "Happy Birthday" was written by American sisters Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893 when they were school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The verse was originally intended as a classroom greeting entitled "Good Morning To All". The lyrics were copyrighted in 1935, 11 years before Patty's death, and the ownership has swapped hands in multi-million dollar deals ever since. The copyright is currently owned by Warner Communications who bought the rights for $28 million in 1985 and is scheduled to expire in 2021.

In 1962, when Johnny Carson took over the NBC "Tonight Show" from Jack Parr, he commissioned Paul Anka for a new theme song. Paul suggested a song that he had already written called "Toot Sweet". After a lyric was added in 1959 it was re-named "It's Really Love" and under that title, was recorded by Annette Funicello on her LP, "Annette Sings". Under a deal with Anka, Johnny became the "author" for copyright purposes and got a piece of not only the publishing but the composer's share too. Both Anka and Carson's names were listed as writers and the two began collecting BMI performance royalties. The pair got $200 in royalties every time the show aired...and it ran for 32 years, 52 weeks a year, 5 nights a week -- which works out to $1,664,000.00 -- not bad for an old tune that had been re-cycled twice before.

Cher's parents, Georgia Holt and John Sarkisian were married, then divorced and then re-married and divorced a second time.

Freddie Garrity of Freddie and The Dreamers named his band after Johnny Burnettes 1958 hit, "Dreamin'".

White Christmas by Bing Crosby has sold over 40 million copies...yet took only 18 minutes to record.

Jay and The American's 1965 number 6 hit, "Cara Mia" was originally a number 4 hit for a singer named David Whitfield and a female choir accompanied by Mantovani's Orchestra in 1954.

At age 47, the Rolling Stones' bassist, Bill Wyman, began a relationship with 13-year old Mandy Smith, with her mother's blessing. Six years later, they were married, but the union only lasted seventeen months. Not long after, Bill's 30-year-old son Stephen married Mandy's mother, age 46. That made Stephen a stepfather to his former stepmother, Mandy.

Mason Williams, who won three Grammy Awards for his 1968 instrumental hit "Classical Gas", was also the head writer for TV's "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Show".

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" the 1960 hit for Elvis Presley was written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926 as a vaudeville recitation and first recorded by Al Jolson.

Paul McCartney is the kazoo player on Ringo Starr's 1974 version of "You're Sixteen".

Before R. Dean Taylor scored a number one hit with "Indiana Wants Me" in 1974, he worked for Motown Records as a songwriter. He penned the hits "I'll Turn To Stone" for The Four Tops, "Love Child" and "I'm Livin' In Shame" for The Supremes, and "All I Need" for The Temptations.

"S.O.S" by ABBA is the only palindrome Top 40 hit. You can spell the title and the recording act both forwards and backwards -- and come up with the same thing.

Kent Lavoie, who recorded under the name of "Lobo" on his hit single "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo", once played in a band called The Legends, along with Jim Stafford, who would go on to have several hits of his own, including "Spiders and Snakes" and "My Girl, Bill".

The shortest number one song of the rock and roll era is Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs' 1960 hit, "Stay" at only 1:37.

The first recording that Sly Stone ever made was a 78 RPM single called "On The Battlefield", recorded for the Church of God in Christ Northern California Sunday School Dept.

When J. Frank Wilson was with The Cavaliers in 1962, guitarist Sid Holmes brought him a song called "Bring It On Home To Me", which the band added to their act. After "Last Kiss" hit in 1964, Wilson was travelling with The Animals and one night, got to jamming with Eric Burton, each trying to outdo the other. He launched into "Bring It On Home To Me" and Burton, who loved the tune, rushed to the recording studio days later and laid down the track. The song became a Top 40 smash for the Animals, a fact that bothered J. Frank Wilson for years, as he could never muster another hit, yet had one right under his nose all the time.

Johnny Maestro sang lead vocal on the Crests' "Sixteen Candles" as well as "The Worst That Could Happen" by the Brooklyn Bridge.

"La Bamba", the 1958 million seller for Ritchie Valens is a traditional song that can be traced back as far as the 14th century. The tune was picked up by the people of Mexico after they heard homesick African slaves singing about their village of "Mamamba" in the 1800s.

The members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio voted The McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy" as the official state rock song in November 1985.

Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys spent most of the years 1971 to 1975 in bed.

"Wild Thing", the 1966 hit by the Troggs was written by Chip Taylor, the brother of actor Jon Voight.

Brian Hyland's 1960 Number One hit, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-dot Bikini" was co-written by Paul Vance after seeing his 2-year old daughter Paula play at the beach in her bathing suit.

Timothy B. Schmit replaced Randy Meisner in Poco in 1969 and replaced him again in the Eagles when Meisner quit them in 1977.

Paul Simon's 1973 U.S. hit, "Kodachrome" was banned from airplay on Britain's BBC because the song contains a product brandname.

Monkee Mike Nesmith's mother, Bette Nesmith Graham was the inventor of Liquid Paper correction fluid. She sold the rights to the Gillette Corporation in 1979 for $47.5 million and when she died in 1980, she left half of her fortune to her son Michael.

The title of the Byrds' 1966 hit "Eight Miles High" is not a drug reference. It actually refers to the altitude reserved for military air craft.

'Crazy, Man, Crazy' by Bill Haley and his Comets was the first rock and roll record to make the Billboard pop chart, reaching the Top 20 in 1953.

Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees wasn't tall enough to see over the hood of his Rolls-Royce and had to sit on a phone book while driving.

The first record to reach number one in 34 different countries was The Beatles' White Album.

"Islands In The Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton was the 1985 American Music Awards winner for Favourite Country Single. The song was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb especially for Diana Ross.

The first 45 rpm record to hit the Billboard charts was "You're Adorable" by Perry Como, on May 7, 1949. Before that, singles were released on 78 rpm discs.

Fats Domino has had 18 singles that were million sellers, yet only 1956's "Blueberry Hill" went to number one.

In many U.S. states, there is a law against dancing to "The Star Spangled Banner".

The Beach Boys' original name was The Pendletones, after a popular shirt manufacturer.

Carl Perkins' 1955 hit, "Blue Suede Shoes" was the first Country and Western song to ever make Billboard's R&B chart.

Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born in 1685, wrote the music for three hit records of the rock and roll era, "Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum, "A Lover's Concerto" by the Toys and "Joy" by Apollo 100.

The Carpenters hit, "We've Only Just Begun" was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols as a radio jingle for a California bank.

Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker once covered all bases by selling both "I Love Elvis" buttons as well as "I Hate Elvis" buttons.

While playing at Hollywood's Palladium in 1972, the guitarist in Chuck Berry's backup band was replaced by another waiting backstage. The new musician played so loudly that Berry stopped in the middle of a song and asked the first guitar player to come back out. Unknown to Berry, the one he kicked off stage was Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.

David Bowie proposed to his first wife Angie by saying "Can you handle the fact that I don't love you?"

Early in their career, The Carpenters were booked for three nights as the opening act for Steppenwolf. They were so out of place, Karen and Richard were fired after the first night.

Shelley Fabares, who's 1962 hit "Johnny Angel" topped the U.S. charts, married The Mamas and Papas producer Lou Adler in 1964. In 1984, she married actor Mike Farrell, who played Captain B.J. Hunnicutt in the TV series M*A*S*H.

In 1965, Gary Lewis was Cash Box magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year", winning the honour over other nominees, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

Cher ended her marriage to Gregg Allman in 1979 after he had passed out in an Italian restaurant, face first in a bowl of spaghetti.

Eddie Van Halen played guitar on Michael Jackson's hit, "Beat It".

The English progressive rock band, Uriah Heep, took their name from a character in Charles Dickens' novel, "David Copperfield".

Although it is often considered a Rock and Roll anthem, "My Generation" by The Who, only reached # 74 on the U.S. record chart.

At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his Shetland sheepdog.

Contact/Submit     theNSAisWATCHIN     News Monster     Images Archive       News Monster Archive
The Frances Farmers Revenge Web Portal