Music Stories

Bloomington Indiana is the birth place of Hoagy Carmichael ( Stardust, Georgia On My Mind), David Lee Roth(of Van Halen), Bobby Helms (My Special Angel and Jingle Bell Rock), Joe Dowell( Wooden Heart), Joshua Bell (world famous violinist and schoolmate of mine at Bloomington High School North) , and Phil Spaulding a musician who has played with Bob Wills, Mel Torme, Bobby Helms, Freddy Fender, Asleep At The Wheel, Lawrence Welk, The Platters, Bill Haley's Comets, The Harmonicats, and many many more. He's also my Dad. Go Hoosiers and Cougars!  I need a Gyros at the Trojan Horse.

Cher currently hold the record for longest time between #1 hit singles: 34 years. I Got You Babe-Sonny & Cher 1965 to Believe-Cher 1999.

Scary, but true: Gene Simmons of KISS was once an elementary school teacher.

Can you name anyone who plays a Bassoon? Me neither.

The Sylvester Stallone-movie Assassins was so boring that guitar-star Slash fell asleep and was thrown out of the theatre for snoring loudly.

Paul McCartney has been convicted of several drug offenses, including growing marijuana in his backyard.

The all-time most nominated Grammy artist with 77 is Quincy Jones.

Two movie soundtracks sold millions of copies and both (oddly enough) featured John Travolta....Saturday Night Fever and Grease.

Traditional country music was altered by Kentucky musician Bill Monroe in 1939 and introduced as bluegrass when he and his band, The Blue Grass Boys, appeared on the popular radio show, "The Grand Ole Opry". Monroe is hail as the Father of Bluegrass.

How many women were in the group ABBA? Two. How many men? Two.

Who sang "As Time Goes By" in the movie "Casablanca"? Dooley Wilson and Sam.

On the first invitation card to Victoria (aka Posh Spice) and David Beckham's wedding the couple had written their initials, VD. When someone told them that it was short for "venereal disease" they threw away all the cards and printed new ones.

Bob Marley was buried with his Gibson Les Paul, a soccer ball, a Cannabis bud, and a Bible.

Roger Tullgren, a man from Sweden, receives disability benefits for his "heavy metal addiction."

Died at age 27: Jim Morrison (The Doors), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones (Rolling Stones), Alan Wilson (Canned Heat), Gary Thain (Uriah Heep), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (Grateful Dead), and Pete Ham (Badfinger).

I saw the video to Blink 182's song All The Small Things, they were NAKED, now I know what the song is about. - Rick Spaulding

The word "piccolo" means "small" in Italian.

What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A flat minor.

Composer Franz Liszt's first concerto includes a triangle solo. Wow! Those crazy triangle players rock!!!

Prince had a hit with a song called "7", it went to number 7 on the charts. Maybe he should have called it One.

What will a child learn sooner than a song?

Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and instead of bleeding, he sings. - Ed Gardner

"The worst thing that ever happened to me was when platform shoes went out of style." -John Oates, of Hall & Oates (he's 5'5")

Even if you've never heard of Hoyt Curtin, you've probably heard his songs: The Flintstones theme, The Jetsons theme, Yogi Bear and many other cartoon themes.

Walter Matthau, Goldie Hawn, and Sylvester Stallone all released albums. They all bombed.

The first country artist to sell over 10 million copies of an album was Garth Brooks.

Singer Pink's real name is Alicia Moore.

When rock-star Marilyn Mason checks in at a hotel he sometimes uses the name Michael Stipe (singer in R.E.M.)

Most-requested song for use in movies and TV: "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees.

"Map out your future, but do it in pencil." -John Bon Jovi

"I'm not a snob. Ask anybody. Well, anybody who matters."-Simon LeBon, of Duran Duran

Pop-star Prince is called "Skipper" by his Mother.

President George W. Bush has these artist in his iPod: George Jones, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Van Morrison, Robert Palmer, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams, John Fogerty and the Knack just to name a few.

The Pet Shop Boys claim they titled their album PLEASE so people would have to ask for it politely.

Dove candy knowledge: Listen to your heartbeat and dance. More Dove candy knowledge: Sing along with elevator music.

Announced September 18, 2008 the passing of songwriter Norman Whitfield. He wrote many of Motowns greatest hits: I Heard It Through The Grapevine, War, Car Wash, I Can't Get Next To You, Just My Imagination, Do You Love Me, and many more.

The best selling album ever is Michael Jackson's Thriller, with worldwide sales of over 104 million.

Gene Simmons of KISS financed Van Halen's first demo tape. He suggested that they change their name to Daddy Longlegs. (They declined)

Announced September 15 2008 the passing of Richard Wright, Keyboardist and vocalist for Pink Floyd.

Nick Mason (drummer) is the only member of Pink Floyd to play on every album.

Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon was on the charts longer than any other album (741 weeks).

The chorus in Parliament's song "Flashlight" is based on a Jewish bar mitzvah chant

B.B.King named his guitar "Lucille" after nearly losing it in a fire started by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille.

Was he nuts? Willie Nelson wrote "Crazy" for Billy Walker, Walker turned it down. (Patsy Cline didn't.)

Aerosmith played the part of the Future Villain Band in the flop movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearst Club Band.

"We hate critics. Most of them are fat and ugly and they criticize."-Rob Pilatus, of Milli Vanilli

Frank Sinatra, Bill Haley, and the Monkees all had songs covered by the Sex Pistols.

Actor / singer John Travolta (6 top 40 songs) has a boeing 707 in his backyard.

"I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams."- Madonna

In 1972 the Raspberries, whose big hits were Go All The Way and I Wanna Be With You, released a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff album cover.

Actress and singer Julie Andrews, who starred in Mary Poppins and The Sound Of Music, is also a children's author. She wrote "The Last Of The Really Great Whangdoodles" and "Mandy".

Huey Lewis had a perfect score of 800 on the math portion of his SAT.

Melba toast is named after Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931)

Who played the female lead in the musical movie Grease? Singer Olivia Newton-John

Who played the female lead in the musical movie Grease 2? Actress Michelle Pfeiffer

Stevie Wonder released an album in 1968 under the name Eivets Rednow. Now, read it backwards.

What do Julie Andrews, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, and Alice Cooper all have in Common? They all appeared on The Muppet Show.

The doorbell rings. The lady of the house answers the front door to find a man with a toolbox standing on her front porch. "May I help you?" she asks. "I'm a piano tuner," he says "But, I didn't send for a piano tuner," she exclaims. "No," he replies. "Your neighbors did."

Rick James (Super Freak) was the nephew of the Temptations' Melvin Franklin, that connection helped him break into the music business in the late seventies.

After running out of hamburger buns one day, Luther Vandross invented the "Luther Burger" one all-beef bacon cheeseburger served between two Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.

What was the only endorsement Elvis Presley ever gave in a television commercial? Southern Made Donuts in 1954. He may have had too many.

The Supremes were founded by 4 girls from a Detroit housing project.

The Alicia Keys song "Diary" has prompted people to call her old phone number.

A piano has 88 keys.

The Hard Rock Cafe got it's name from an album by the Doors called Morrison Hotel / Hard Rock Cafe.

Jon Bon Jovi and Michael Jackson are both 5' 10" tall.

The singer in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis, is called "Antwan the swan" by his bandmates because they think his...."hoo hoo"......is shaped like a swan.

Sandra Bullock's Mom was a famous German Opera singer.

Bob Marley's Dad was a British landowner.

The Rattlesnakes and Wee Johnnie Hayes and the Bluecats were both names of the band that later became the Bee Gees.

During a mid-performance in 1994 Ramon Barrero, A Mexican musician famous for playing the world's smallest harmonica, inhaled the harmonica and choked to death.

In 2003 Mariah Carey spent $300,000 dollars for a Halloween party at an exclusive night club.

Paul McCartney's daughter, Stella, is a clothing designer.

Madonna's full name is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, but in 2004 she officially changed her name to Esther.

It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.- Walter Lippmann

Here is a list of some very short celebrity marriages: Cher ( of Sonny & Cher) was married to Gregg Allman ( of the Allman Brothers) for 9 days, actor Dennis Hopper was married to Michelle Phillips ( of the Mama's & the Papa's) for 8 days, and beating them all is Britney Spears married to her high school sweetheart only 55 hours.

"If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams."-Les Brown A conductor-Clarinetist whose smooth arrangements of swing melodies transcended changes in musical tastes, Brown was cited in 1996 by the Guinness Book Of World Records for heading "the longest organized group in the history of popular music, some 65 years."

Kentucky's state song is "My Old Kentucky Home" and Florida's is "Old Folks At Home" both were written by Stephen Foster, known as the Father of American music.

The Righteous Brothers were not actually brothers, but Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, the "blue eyed soul" duo, were "Righteous" brothers.

The Swedish Pop group ABBA turned down an offer of $2 billion to reunite. They must really hate each other.

Van Halen singer David Lee Roth trained to be an EMT in New York City.

CBS was fined $550,000 for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" that took place during the 2004 Super Bowl half time show. That amount could have paid for only 7.5 seconds of commercial time during that same game.

Oprah Winfrey and Elvis Presley are distant cousins.

Actor Kevin Spacey's older brother is a professional Rod Stewart impersonator.

Dolly Parton once lost a Dolly Parton Look-Alike contest.

David Bowie thinks he's being stalked by someone dressed like a giant pink rabbit. He noticed the fan at many of his shows,but he became alarmed when he got on a plane and the bunny was on board.

In 1948 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time and shared their $200 pay check.

Singer Bette Midler got her first big acting role in 1966 when she played a missionary in the movie version of James Michener's novel, Hawaii. Prior to that,Midler worked in a pineapple cannery.

Bloomington Indiana is the birth place of Hoagy Carmichael ( Stardust) , David Lee Roth( Van Halen), Bobby Helms (My Special Angel and Jingle Bell Rock), Joe Dowell( Wooden Heart), Joshua Bell, and Phil Spaulding a musician who has played with Bob Wills, Mel Torme, Bobby Helms, Freddy Fender, Asleep At The Wheel, Lawrence Welk, The Platters, Bill Haley's Comets, The Harmonicats, and many many more. He's also my Dad.

Someone once said "One good thing about rock songs, kids can't whistle them".

Lenny Kravitz's mother played the part of Helen on the TV sitcom "The Jeffersons".

Hollywood actor and singer, of the #5 hit from 1987 Respect Yourself, Bruce Willis was the student council president at his high school in Penns Grove, New Jersey. He leaned toward acting instead of politics because when he was on stage, the stutter he had since childhood went away.

"Gray hair is God's graffiti".- Bill Cosby (He had a #4 hit in 1967 titled Little Ole Man (Uptight-Everything's Alright).

The first personal stereo was called a walkman.

Rolling Stone magazine was founded by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph Gleason in San Francisco in 1967. John Lennon of the Beatles was featured on the first issues cover.

In 1970, the rock band "The Who" became the first group of its kind to perform in New York's Metropolitan Opera House. They were there for the rock opera "Tommy."

The Secret Service had code names for many famous people including Frank Sinatra. They called him "Napoleon".