More Very Good Music Facts

People seemed to enjoy my “Very Good Music Fun Facts” post, so it is time to empty my brain once again and offer up some more nostalgic conversation starters.

Let’s go crazy…

“A Boy Named Sue” was written by Shel Silverstein (“The Giving Tree”).

“Blue Monday” is the best-selling 12-inch single of all time.

Whitney Houston’s 1992 version of “I Will Always Love You” (originally by Dolly Parton) is the best-selling cover song of all time.

“Amen, Brother” by The Winstons is the most sampled track of all time.

“Movin’ on Up,” the theme song for “The Jeffersons,” was co-written and sung by Ja’net DuBois, who played the nosey neighbor Willona Woods on “Good Times.”

Five actors who sang their own TV theme songs:

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” – Will Smith
“The Fall Guy” – Lee Majors (“The Unknown Stuntman”)
“Alice” – Linda Lavin (“There’s a New Girl in Town”)
“Gimme a Break!” – Nell Carter
“Walker, Texas Ranger” – Chuck Norris (“Eyes of a Ranger”)

Slayer’s Kerry King played the guitar solos on the Beastie Boys’ hits “No Sleep till Brooklyn” and “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” in 1986. Regrettably, he took a cash payment instead of royalties.

Toni Tennille from Captain & Tennille sang background vocals on four songs on Pink Floyd’s classic 1979 album, “The Wall.”

Thomas Dolby (credited as Booker T. Boffin) played keyboards on Def Leppard’s “Pyromania” album.

Paul Weller (The Jam, The Style Council) played lead guitar and whistle and sang backing vocals on “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis (1996).

Madonna performs in a bar in the movie “Vision Quest” (1984). Alice in Chains and Soundgarden perform in a club in “Singles” (1992). Cannibal Corpse performs in a club in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (1994). Mighty Mighty Bosstones perform at a frat party in “Clueless” (1995). Letters to Cleo perform in a club in “Ten Things I Hate About You” (1999).

Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead, and Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp were all part of the “Weird Sisters” band featured in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005).

Alex Steinweiss is credited with inventing album cover art. His first design was for the record “Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart” (1939).

The photo of the girl smoking on the cover of “Green Mind” (1991) by Dinosaur Jr was taken by photographer Joseph Szabo in 1969 at Jones Beach. He did not get her name, but titled the photo “Priscilla.”

Green Mind by Dinosaur Jr (1991) https://www.dinosaurjr.com/music — Green Mind by Dinosaur Jr (1991). Photo courtesy of dinosaurjr.com.

The photo on the cover of the “Boxer” showing The National playing a wedding was shot at an actual wedding, the nuptials of friend and producer Peter Katis.

Boxer by The National — Cover photo by Abbey Drucker. Courtesy of americanmary.com

The iconic Black Flag logo was created by artist Raymond Pettibon, who is the younger brother of Black Flag founder Greg Ginn.

Public Enemy’s iconic logo was designed by Chuck D, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

The B-52s band name was spelled “B-52’s” until 2008, when they dropped the possessive apostrophe with the release of their album “Funplex.” It was a grammatical error that originated from a friend’s logo design when the band formed in 1976.

R.E.M. deliberately omitted the apostrophe from the album title “Lifes Rich Pageant” (1986). Peter Buck stated, “We all hate apostrophes. Michael insisted, and I agreed, that there’s never been a good rock album that’s had an apostrophe in the title.”

Three bands with an exclamation point inside their name:

Panic! At The Disco
The Go! Team
Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Two bands with an exclamation point at the end of their name:

Los Campesinos!
Wham!

One band with only exclamation points in its name:

Mötley Crüe added umlauts to their name because they were drinking Löwenbräu beer and thought it would make them look European.

When writing “Purple Rain,” Prince thought it might sound too similar to Journey’s ballad “Faithfully,” so he called Jonathan Cain to ask for his blessing before releasing it. Cain loved it.

Paul Shaffer co-wrote the Weather Girls dance club hit “It’s Raining Men” (1985).

When Neil Young was writing “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh suggested the lyrics “rust never sleeps”, a slogan he remembered from his graphic arts career promoting the rust-proofing product Rust-Oleum.

The theme song for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” was written by Mark Mothersbaugh. Cyndi Lauper sang the song under the pseudonym of Ellen Shaw.

Ellen Foley recorded the duet “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” with Meat Loaf in one take, but Karla DeVito is featured in the video. The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” was written by Mick Jones about his relationship with Foley. She was on season two of Night Court, succeeded by Markie Post.

The 1992 video for “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest features cameo appearances by Spike Lee, De La Soul, Kid Capri, Brand Nubian, Fab Five Freddy, Redman, and the 19-year-old Leaders of the New School member Busta Rhymes.

Bruce Dickinson, lead singer for the band Iron Maiden, and Rob Dickinson, lead singer for the band Catherine Wheel, are cousins. Both band names have torture device meanings, though Catherine Wheel is named after the spinning pinwheel firework.

Milo Aukerman of the Descendents holds a PhD degree in biology. Dexter Holland of the Offspring holds a PhD in molecular biology. Greg Graffin of Bad Religion holds a PhD in Zoology.

Rollins Band opened the inaugural Lollapalooza show in Chandler, Arizona, on July 18, 1991.

WIZO was the first band to play the first official Vans Warped Tour date on June 23, 1995, at 12:30 p.m. at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California.

Suzanne Vega was the first performer on Lilith Fair’s mainstage at the very first show at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, on July 5, 1997.

Taylor Swift became the first artist in history to have four albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, with each selling over 1 million copies.

Bruce Springsteen is the first artist to have a new album chart in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 in six different decades, but he’s never hit the #1 spot with a song he’s recorded.

Madonna became the first artist to hit 50 No. 1 singles on a single Billboard chart (Dance Club Songs) in February 2020 with her track “I Don’t Search I Find.”

Paul Westerberg cowrote “We Are The Normal” with the Goo Goo Dolls in 1993.

Paul Westerberg has a post-Replacements greatest hits album called “Besterberg: The Best Of Paul Westerberg”.

“Sweet Avenue” is a popular Jets to Brazil song often misattributed to Damien Rice because of peer-to-peer file-sharing naming errors.

Alice Cooper’s real name is Vincent Damon Furnier. St. Vincent’s real name is Anne Erin Clark.

No one owns an official Fugazi t-shirt.

Gift Idea: A Nice Shirt

Do you like R.E.M., napping, pizza, arcades, or running alone in the woods? Well, I have the shirt for you. Get a couple for your friends and family, and please, make sure to (Tom Haverford voice) treat yo self to a quality tee. Your support is greatly appreciated.

More Very Good Music Fun Facts >

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