Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 7
Very Good Music Music Facts are back and you know they can never be whack. Please enjoy Volume 7 and all the fun-filled volumes below.
Dua Lipa’s first name means “Love” in Albanian.
“Lovesong” is The Cure’s highest-charting single in the United States, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1989. Robert Smith wrote the song for his fiancée, Mary, as a wedding present.
“I don’t care if Monday’s blue,” is the the opening line of The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love.” It is a reference to the New Order hit “Blue Monday.”
“Blue Monday” is the best-selling 12-inch single in history.
On April 19, 1986, Prince’s song “Kiss” was #1 on the Hot 100 while “Manic Monday,” which he wrote for The Bangles, was #2.
In 1987, “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals but lost to Prince’s “Kiss.”
AC/DC’s Angus Young first started wearing his signature schoolboy uniform on stage in April 1974 at show in Sydney’s Victoria Park. The outfit was suggested by his sister Margaret to help the band stand out. She also suggested the name “AC/DC” after seeing the symbol on the adapter of her sewing machine.
In his sophomore year of college at NYU, Donald Glover put his real name in a Wu-Tang Clan Name Generator and the result was Childish Gambino.
Justin Vernon chose the name “Bon Iver” after watching an episode of Northern Exposure where people greet each other with “bon hiver” (French for “good winter”) after the first snow of winter falls.
The name of the anonymous Canadian band Angine de Poitrine is French for “angina pectoris,” a medical term for chest pain or discomfort that occurs when your heart muscle does not get enough oxygen-rich blood.
The iconic line “Annie, are you OK?” from Michael Jackson’s 1987 hit song, “Smooth Criminal,” comes from CPR training. Trainees are taught to tap on Resusci Annie (the CPR dummy) and ask “Annie, are you OK?” to check for a response before beginning resuscitation.
The New York Dolls got their name from a Midtown Manhattan toy repair shop called the New York Doll Hospital.
The Killers are named after the fictional band in New Order’s music video for their song “Crystal.”
Joan Jett produced the 1993 single version of Bikini Kill’s iconic punk song, “Rebel Girl.” She also played guitar and provided backing vocals on the track.
The band mentioned in “Bennie And The Jets” were robots! Bernie Taupin, who wrote the lyrics, told Esquire, “‘Bennie And The Jets’ was almost Orwellian – it was supposed to be futuristic. They were supposed to be a prototypical female rock ‘n’ roll band out of science fiction. Automatons.”
Elton John released 22 studio albums between 1969 and 1989.
Staring in 1962, Willie Nelson has released 79 solo studio albums.
Starting in 1969, Dolly Parton has released 49 studio albums.
Starting in 1987, Guided By Voices has released 43 studio albums.
Starting in 1977, the Sex Pistols have released 1 studio album.
Get Your Dad and/or Grad a Fun T-shirt!
Sabrina Carpenter’s aunt is Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson.
The lyrics, “Tam bo li de say de moi ya/Hey jambo jumbo” in Lionel Richie’s 1987 hit “All Night Long,” do not mean anything. They are made-up words.
“Sussudio” was a nonsense stand-in word Phil Collins created while improvising the lyrics. He intended to replace it with an actual word or a woman’s name, but never found one that fit the melody or rhythm as well as his new word.
In his 1971 hit song “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Bill Withers repeats the phrase “I know” 26 times, intending to write more lyrics, but he followed the advice of the other musicians to leave it that way.
“A Girl Like You” was originally written by the Smithereens’ Pat DiNizio for Cameron Crowe’s film “Say Anything.” DiNizio based the lyrics on bits of dialogue in the screenplay. When the film’s producer asked DiNizio to change the lyrics because it revealed too much of the plot, he refused, and the band decided to keep the song for their next album, “11.” Madonna was originally enlisted to sing the harmony vocals, but failed to show up for the recording session.
I Know That Riff
Highlighting a popular recycled riff…
- Come As You Are by Nirvana
- Eighties by Killing Joke
- Life Goes On by The Damned
- 22 Faces by Garden Of Delight
More…
Pearl Jam’s highest-charting single in the U.S. is a cover song. “Last Kiss” (written by Wayne Cochran in 1961) was released in 1999 as part of a holiday single for their fan club members. It was reordered in the dressing room/soundcheck area of Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
Beloved comedian and actor Phil Hartman designed over 40 album covers in the 1970s and 1980s.
Paul Simon is the first artist ever nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in five consecutive decades: the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
The first commercially available CD in the U.S. was Billy Joel’s “52nd Street.” It was released by CBS Records in 1982.
Header photo of Dua Lipa by Justin Higuchi from Los Angeles, CA, USA – 02/12/2018 courtesy of Wikipedia.
Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 1 >
Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 2 >
Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 3 >
Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 4 >
Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 5 >
Very Good Music Facts – Vol. 6 >
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