At the time my mother was birthing me Mike Stoller was arriving at the NY pier after being rescued from the Andrea Doria shipwreck.
Justin Hayward sold his favorite and only guitar because he was broke and had no money the day the Moody Blues hired him.
I still remember hearing that in 1963 before I had heard anything by the Beatles, or even heard of the Beatles.
G.G. Allin's real name was Jesus Christ Allin. His father was told to name him that in a vision. Yep, that explains a lot.
One night at a band rehearsal years ago, our singer/co-lead guitarist exclaimed "Hey, I figured out 'Love Hurts'! I said "Hell, I could have told you that".
Paul Ramone was briefly his stage name when the Beatles were still the Silver Beetles. George Harrison's stage name was the very imaginative Carl Harrison.
There is a story that when I think Joey Ramone met Paul McCartney, Paul signed an album cover to him as Paul Ramone.
The Standells big hit "Dirty Water" about the city of Boston is now the official sports song Boston, but none of the members of the Standells had been to Boston before the song was recorded!
The two sides of their canceled single were first legally released on The Conplete Motown Singles Vol. 6: 1966.
Lou Reed had never been to Berlin when he wrote Berlin. He used the metaphor of a divided city for a couple in trouble.
Theres actually much more on the tape .. But apparently yoko owns it now. The fragments released were purely to promote it when it was put up for sale in 1994, it went for £78,500. It was only discovered in 1994 by chance.
Ian Hunter has made more money from writing three songs than in any other facet of his career, thanks to songwriting and publishing royalties: "Ships"; "Once Bitten Twice Shy"; and "Cleveland Rocks."
I always like when I see random guest spots on albums that aren't advertised. Like that Madonna has songwriting credits on a Nik Kershaw album. Or that Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham played on Warren Zevon's second LP.
Not only that, but while doing time in Coil he kept up a side career as a director for commercials and music videos. Some are for folks you'd expect him to know (Marc Almond, The The, Nine Inch Nails) but he also did stuff for mainstream acts like Robert Plant, Van Halen, Rage Against the Machine, Hanson, and a certain Paul McCartney - who'd earlier rejected the cover art for the Tug of War album he'd suggested while at Hipgnosis. I suspect it was offered somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it would've done wonders for Macca's cred if he went with it:
Cant remember where, but i do remember an article which pretty much said that madonna was famous for insisting on changing one word or similar and demanding a co-writing credit before shed record songs.
Funky Broadway the #1 hit by Wilson Pickett wasn't about Broadway Street in New York but Broadway streets in Buffalo NY and Phoenix Arz!
In the song "South Street" the Orlons sing "where do all the hippies meet, south street, south street", in Philadelphia. It wouldn't be another 3 or 4 years before hippies would start meeting in San Francisco at Haight Ashbury.
In one of GG's early bands, he kept missing rehearsal because his wife wanted him home. He was known within that band as PWK, or P$$$y Whipped Kevin."
