Fascinating Facts of the sixties
Fascinating Facts 1Although 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.
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 Gold Record ever presented was given to The Glen Miller Orchestra in
1942 for "Chattanooga Cho-Cho".
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, passes 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 US 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.
"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 Faithfull, 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 more than a year 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."
Fascinating Facts 2.
Fascinating Facts 2
The longest-charting single in rock history is "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" by
The Four Seasons. The song stayed on Billboard's Hot 100 for fifty weeks in 1976.
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 radio station in the U.S. with call letters that spell out the name of its home
city is WACO, Texas.
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".
Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker was not really a colonel at all. He
was a flamboyant promoter whose 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.
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.
Fascinating Facts 3.
Fascinating Facts 3
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. Ironicly, 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.
Fascinating Facts 4.
Fascinating Facts 4
In 1974, when 32 year old Mama Cass Elliot died in London, a postmortem 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 Pepperming 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.
Barry Manilow's hit, "I Write The Songs" was actually written by Bruce Johnson of
The Beach Boys.
Former Animals bassist, Chas Chandler discovered and managed Jimi Hendrix.
Fascinating Facts 5.
Fascinating Facts 5
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".
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 a total of nine million records.
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 catagory.
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.
As Reginald Dwight, Elton John was once a member of Long John Baldry's
supporting band, Bluesology.
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 honor 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.
Fascinating Facts 6.
Fascinating Facts 6
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.
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 it's 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 untill 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.
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 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. Peper, 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 "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 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 1960's.
Steppenwolf's lead singer, John Kay , made a perilous midnight escape from
post-war East Germany when he was a child.
Fascinating Facts 7.
Fascinating Facts 7
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 Austrailian
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 very first 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.
Johnny Caron's Tonight Show Theme was written by Paul Anka, who received
$30,000 a year in royalties.
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.
Elvis Presley's father, Vernon, 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.
Fascinating Facts 8.
Fascinating Facts 8
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 has spent time in prison on two different occasions. First, he served a
two year sentence between 1962 and 1964 for violation of the Mann Act, 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 peformed 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
Amature 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 Russel, 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 Loggins. Dave Loggins, whos "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 instumental 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.
