# Cool but useless music trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250 "2004-08-17T15:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/241 "2004-08-22T19:17:18Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > Talking of Apple, another bit of trivia: The Beatles founded Apple Records while they were still under contract to EMI and were not, therefore, officially Apple artists. The Beatles’ 1968-and-later recordings appeared under the Apple moniker only because EMI agreed to distribute Apple Records releases. [Slight hi-jack] The first _C_omputerized _A_xial _T_omography scanner was called the EMI (emmy) scanner. The inventor couldn’t get funding from any medical sources, so he when to EMI and or one of the Beatles. They said ok, and the rest is medical history. [/hi-jack] ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/242 "2004-08-22T21:19:42Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > \ > > Country legend Hoyt Axton wrote “Joy To World” which was a hit for Three Dog Night. \ > \ He also wrote \* Snowblind Friend\* that was performed by Steppenwolfe in the movie _Easy Rider._ BTW, the title isn’t _Joy to the World_ (that’s at Christmas, silly) its \* Never Been to Spain. - He also wrote _The No No Song_ of Cheech & Chong fame. (No, no, no, I don’ smoke it no more, I’m tired a wakin’ up on the floor…)🆒 I just did a quick scan through my vinyl and came across something interesting. The recording from The June 1979 Amnesty International’s \* Secret Policeman’s Ball\* It has a duet with Pete Townshend and classical guitarist, John Williams (No, he’s not the composer of Stat Wars et al) playing \* Won’t Get Fooled Again\* 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/243 "2004-08-22T21:30:46Z")
Thought of one while I was listening to the radio today… n 1985, Saul Zaentz of Fantasy Records (who owned CCR’s catalog of songs) sued John Fogerty for plagiarizing his own song. Zaentz alleged that John Fogerty had ripped off the song Run Through The Jungle in writing the song The Old Man Down The Road. The qualm came when John found out that the other bandmates were supporting Zaentz on the lawsuit. John Fogerty was once sued by Saul Zaentz, who owned Creedence Clearwater Revival’s songs, for… plagiarism. Seems Zaentz believed that “Run Through the Jungle” sounded just a bit too much like previous CCR work, namely “The Old Man Down the Road.” The other former bandmates supported Zaentz in his suit, leading to even more rifts in an already strained relationship. They sued Fogerty for sounding too much like Fogerty. Bizarre. IIRC, Fogerty won. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/244 "2004-08-22T21:31:49Z")
LOL I look for a cite, and try to post the link, and instead I posted the cite. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/245 "2004-08-22T21:41:42Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Geez! You are the fanatic, aren’t you! Here’s three questions: > > What size dress does Madonna wear? > > Who did she say was the love of her life? > > What do you think her best movie was? She told Oprah in 1998; “Anywhere from a three to a nine, depending on the designer”, which is plausible since fashion houses set their own sizes. Her bra size is 36C. In _Truth Or Dare_, Madonna said that her ex-husband Sean Penn was the love of her life, but when Oprah asked her the same question in 1996, Madonna wrinkled her nose and said; “No, my **daughter** is the love of my life, of course!” I think her best movie in terms of a moving performance was [_Dangerous Game_](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4961231&postcount=28). Her most accessible film (and tolerable for non-fans) is _Desperately Seeking Susan_. Madonna [won a Golden Globe](http://www.madonnalicious.com/images/1997/gg17.jpg) for _Evita_ as well, and if I didn’t hate Andrew Lloyd Webber and all he touches with a passion that could burn the Amazon to a cinder, I’d probably enjoy it more. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/246 "2004-08-23T00:02:20Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > He also wrote \* Snowblind Friend\* that was performed by Steppenwolfe in the movie _Easy Rider._ BTW, the title isn’t _Joy to the World_ (that’s at Christmas, silly) its \* Never Been to Spain. > > - He also wrote _The No No Song_ of Cheech & Chong fame. > (No, no, no, I don’ smoke it no more, I’m tired a wakin’ up on the floor…)🆒 Perhaps Hoyt Axton wrote more than one song for Three Dog Night, but one of them was definitely Joy To The World. This is the one that begins, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog…” Never Been To Spain beings with, “Well, I’ve never been to Spain…” And while I’ve heard Ringo Starr’s version of The No No Song, I wasn’t aware that Cheech & Chong recorded it too. And it wasn’t written by Hoyt Axton anyway - it was written by Harry Nilsson (in whose apartment both Cass Elliot and Keith Moon died, bringing us full circle to my first post in this thread 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/247 "2004-08-23T00:04:46Z")
WHOOOP! WHOOOP! WHOOOP! Egg on my face. I take that last bit back. Hoyt Axton DID write The No No Song. Nilsson was backgriund vocalist on Ringo’s recording. Teach me to post without double-checking :o ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/248 "2004-08-23T00:23:34Z")
This just in… George Young was the guitarist in **The Easybeats** , whose biggest hit in the US was _Friday on My Mind_. He’s also the older brother of \*\*Angus and Malcolm Young, of AC/DC.\*\*I learned this just today, while watching a documentary on AC/DC with my son. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/249 "2004-08-23T00:52:13Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > IIRC, Fogerty won. He even brought his guitar into the courtroom to show the jury how he wrote songs. He basically said that all his songs sound alike. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/250 "2004-08-23T01:04:19Z")
FTR, Cheech and Chong never recorded “The No No Song”. Hoyt Axton wrote it for Ringo Starr. When Ringo recorded it, he was lyin’ through his teeth - it was at the peak of his substance abusing period. To make matters worse, he was hanging out with Harry Nilsson, who was also a notorious substance abuser. Apparently, in recent years, there has been a lawsuit due to its similarity to another song. Now, on all the Ringo albums where it appears, it’s listed as “The No No Song / Skokiaan.” If you were looking for a Beatles connection to Cheech and Chong, perhaps you confused it with the fact that George Harrison played guitar on “Basketball Jones, featuring Tyrone Shoelaces.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/251 "2004-08-23T02:04:13Z")
Dan Fogelberg wrote “Leader Of the Band” about his father, a former musician, and is exasperated by people who think it’s about Jesus. Ed King played lead guitar for both Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Strawberry Alarm Clock (as in the psychedelic pop single “Incense & Peppermints”). On “The Dick Cavett Show,” Paul Simon told Mickey Mantle that he, not Joe Dimaggio, had always been Simon’s idol, and that he only used Dimaggio’s name in the lyrics of “Mrs. Robinson” because he needed the extra syllables that “Dimaggio” provided, to make the song scan properly. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/252 "2004-08-23T02:09:50Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Perhaps Hoyt Axton wrote more than one song for Three Dog Night, but one of them was definitely Joy To The World. This is the one that begins, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog…” Never Been To Spain beings with, “Well, I’ve never been to Spain…” > > And while I’ve heard Ringo Starr’s version of The No No Song, I wasn’t aware that Cheech & Chong recorded it too. And it wasn’t written by Hoyt Axton anyway - it was written by Harry Nilsson (in whose apartment both Cass Elliot and Keith Moon died, bringing us full circle to my first post in this thread 🙂 ) I’m sorry! You’re absolutely right! Where was my mind? I looked at the dust jacket and heard the wrong song in my head. I don’t have \*Joy to the World[/] on any of my Axton albums. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/253 "2004-08-23T02:13:02Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > FTR, Cheech and Chong never recorded “The No No Song”. Hoyt Axton wrote it for Ringo Starr. When Ringo recorded it, he was lyin’ through his teeth - it was at the peak of his substance abusing period. To make matters worse, he was hanging out with Harry Nilsson, who was also a notorious substance abuser. > > Apparently, in recent years, there has been a lawsuit due to its similarity to another song. Now, on all the Ringo albums where it appears, it’s listed as “The No No Song / Skokiaan.” > > If you were looking for a Beatles connection to Cheech and Chong, perhaps you confused it with the fact that George Harrison played guitar on “Basketball Jones, featuring Tyrone Shoelaces.” I’m sorry if I confused you. Cheech and Chong are on the version Hoyt Axton did on his own album. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/254 "2004-08-23T02:34:14Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I’m sorry if I confused you. Cheech and Chong are on the version Hoyt Axton did on his own album. Ohhhh! Sorry about that! I’ve never seen a Hoyt Axton album. I didn’t know he’d made his own version of it with Cheech and Chong. I’d kinda like to hear it now! ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/255 "2004-08-23T04:05:24Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > On “The Dick Cavett Show,” Paul Simon told Mickey Mantle that he, not Joe Dimaggio, had always been Simon’s idol, and that he only used Dimaggio’s name in the lyrics of “Mrs. Robinson” because he needed the extra syllables that “Dimaggio” provided, to make the song scan properly. Which explains why Mantle appears in the 1988 video of “Me and Julio,” hitting a home run off Simon in a schoolyard ball game. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/256 "2004-08-23T05:30:05Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The title and chorus of Lyle Lovett’s song _If I Had a Boat_ was inspired by a **Simpsons** episode. Really? The album featuring that song was released in 1988, and the first (full-length) _Simpsons_ episode came out in 1989. Maybe he was presciently inspired by one of those “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” short pieces on _The Tracey Ullman Show_? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/257 "2004-08-23T05:35:29Z")
> [@Ponster](#): > > Lots of people seem to believe that it was **“Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits** which was the first song played by _MTV Europe_ Don’t know about MTV Europe, but it was certainly the first song played on NBC’s _Friday Night Videos_, an 80s godsend to people who liked videos but didn’t get cable. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/258 "2004-08-23T08:06:37Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Ohhhh! Sorry about that! I’ve never seen a Hoyt Axton album. I didn’t know he’d made his own version of it with Cheech and Chong. I’d kinda like to hear it now! I’d lend you mine, but I don’t know how to change vinyl to pixals. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![High\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8797f3/32.png) [@High\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/High_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/259 "2004-08-23T20:16:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Dan Fogelberg wrote “Leader Of the Band” about his father, a former musician, and is exasperated by people who think it’s about Jesus. [How do you know this?](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dan-fogelberg/35787.html) Just kidding. What gets me is these people think _every_ song is about Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Nekosoft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@Nekosoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nekosoft)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/260 "2004-08-23T22:34:30Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Really? The album featuring that song was released in 1988, and the first (full-length) _Simpsons_ episode came out in 1989. > > Maybe he was presciently inspired by one of those “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” short pieces on _The Tracey Ullman Show_? I’ll throw this in to support **Krokodil** - On Eddie From Ohio’s live cover, the lead singer says he likes the song: “…mainly because I heard the story behind it once. That Lyle Lovett was talking to a little kid and asked him ‘if he could have anything in the entire world what would it be?’ and he said 'A boat… and, uh, a pony!” The [iTunes Music Store](http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=6803729) has _almost_ the whole quote in their 30 second preview… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250.md?page=14)