Roy Orbison wrote the biggest hit of his career after asking his first wife, Claudette, if she needed cash for the market. His writing partner interjected “pretty women don’t need money.” As Orbison watched Claudette go to the market by “walking down the street”, he wrote “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
songs
Kevin Costner is responsible for suggesting…
Kevin Costner is responsible for suggesting that Whitney Houston should sing “I Will Always Love You” for The Bodyguard.
Conway Twitty Sang ‘Hello Darlin’…
Conway Twitty sang ‘Hello Darlin’ in Russian. On July 19, 1975, the recording was played by the American astronauts on board the Apollo module to Russian cosmonauts flying in Soyuz 19. It was meant to be seen as a gesture of peace and goodwill toward the Russians.
Billy Joel got into an argument with…
Billy Joel got into an argument with a younger man about what the worst era to be young in was. The younger man told Joel that at least he got to grow up in the 50s when “nothing happened.” Flabbergasted, Joel began listing the events of the 50s, which later became “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.
“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” by the Spin…
“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” by the Spin Doctors was about Chris Barron’s stepmother. When he was a kid, she told him that he would grow up to be a janitor and would play his songs for the rats. The Spin Doctors’ debut album sold 5 million copies with this song as the lead single.
In his own words, John Lennon’s…
In his own words, John Lennon’s best-selling single “Imagine” was written to represent a ‘Communist manifesto’ where there was ‘no more religion, no more country, no more politics.’ In later interviews, Lennon claimed the song represented ‘one country, one world, one people.’
Some Inuit groups used ridicule…
Some Inuit groups used ridicule in the form of song duels as a means of conflict resolution. Two men who had failed to resolve a conflict by other means would secretly compose derisive songs about their adversary. The whole camp gathered in a large igloo to observe the song duel.
Jingle bells was originally…
Jingle bells was originally a Thanksgiving song, not a Christmas song.
“This Land Is Your Land,” by Woody Guthrie…
“This Land Is Your Land,” by Woody Guthrie, a popular American folk song among patriots, was originally created as a criticism of Capitalism and the U.S. government by a Communist labor organizer.
The writer of “That 70’s Show” theme…
The writer of “That 70’s Show” theme song gets $70 each time the show airs, and refers to it as “That $70 Show”.