# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/41 "2004-08-18T03:08:51Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > **Hootie and the Blowfish** is not the lead singer’s nickname and the backup band’s (plural) name; the name refers to two friends of the band. One of them was “Hootie,” the other was “the Blowfish.” To expand upon this, Hootie had a pair of thick glasses, and the Blowfish was an overweight dude. I believe in the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life,” there’s a bit in the orchestral score where it says something like “start on the lowest note your instrument can play, and gradually work your way up to the highest note your instrument can play.” ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/42 "2004-08-18T04:10:56Z")
Oh, I’ve got one: Eddie Van Halen plays the guitar solo in the middle of Michael Jackson’s **Beat It**. (he’s not in the video, though) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/43 "2004-08-18T04:33:37Z")
Cass Elliot (Mama Cass of The Mamas & Papas) and Bon Scott (AC/DC) both died in the apartment of the same singer/songwriter: Harry Nilsson. Distinctive backup vocals on Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” belong to Mick Jagger. Lead vocals on Ted Nugent’s “Dog Eat Dog” are Meat Loaf. Comedian, cartoonist and poet Shel Silverstein wrote hit songs for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show (“Cover of the Rolling Stone” & “Sylvia’s Mother”, as well as some lesser known but quite lovely songs on the album Pleasure & Pain) and Johnny Cash (A Boy Named Sue). Country legend Hoyt Axton wrote “Joy To World” which was a hit for Three Dog Night. Also performed by Three Dog Night is “Mama Told Me Not To Come” written by Randy Newman. Norah Jones is the daughter of sitarist Ravi Shankar. Rufus Wainwright is the son of satirist Loudon Wainwright III, who titled an album in honor of his son: “Rufus Is A Tit Man.” ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/44 "2004-08-18T04:34:49Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Rufus Wainwright is the son of satirist Loudon Wainwright III, who titled an album in honor of his son: “Rufus Is A Tit Man.” Incidentally, Rufus isn’t. He likes boys. ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/45 "2004-08-18T04:56:14Z")
Kerry King of Slayer played guitar for Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. I’ve been told that the Ron Bushy, the drummer for Iron Butterfly, makes his own drumsticks. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/46 "2004-08-18T05:09:28Z")
“The Loco-motion” has been a Top Ten hit for three different acts in three different decades: Little Eva in the 60’s, Grand Funk in the 70’s, and Kylie Minogue in the 80’s. In the middle of the long, drawn-out psychedelic piece “Moonchild,” King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp played a few bars of “The Surrey With the Fringe On Top” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma.” You know that Jimi Hendrix was the last act at Woodstock, but do you know who played right before him? Sha Na Na. Joey Levine, who sang “Yummy Yummy Yummy” for the Ohio Express also sang “Trust the Gorton’s fisherman” on those frozen fishsticks commercials. Every song on the Turtles’ “Battle of the Bands” was a parody of a different Sixties musical act. The biggest hit single on that album, “Elenore,” was written as a parody of the Turtles themselves. The Standells, best known for “Dirty Water,” appeared as themselves on “The Munsters,” and played “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” MTV execs came up with the idea of the “Unplugged” series after seeing Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull do a brief, live acoustic set. But when Anderson later asked about having Jethro Tull appear on “Unplugged,” MTV turned him down flat, oin the grounds that the band was too old and didn’t have enough appeal among the desired teen demographic. ---
**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 18, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/47 "2004-08-18T05:13:58Z")
Sting sings back up on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. According to an interview I heard Mark Knopfler give a looooong time ago, it was inspired by a conversation he overheard while standing in a Montgomery-Ward. (Does anyone remember Montgomery-Ward?) The memorable reverse-echo effect on Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” (Woman… you need) was actually do to track bleed-through that sound-engineer Eddie Kramer couldn’t get rid of, and so added reverb to. I don’t have a cite, but it was Eddie Kramer who made the claim during an interview at one of my local radio stations. And maybe someone can remind me who it was the did the “doo-doo-doo” girls on Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” It was two(?) famous male rockers - I wanna say David Bowie and someone else, but can’t be positive. But according to a DJ on a radio show , they speeded up the male vocalists voices to sound feminine. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/48 "2004-08-18T05:16:47Z")
Ahhhhh. A thread I can really contribute to. I love this stuff! Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green, later of Fleetwod Mac fame, were once in a band called Shotgun Express with Rod Stewart… The original King Crimson lineup included Greg Lake, later of ELP fame and Ian McDonald, one of the founding members of Foreigner, as well as Robert Fripp. Sid Vicious was the drummer for Siouxsie and the Banshees before he joined the Sex Pistols. The Van Halen brothers were born in the Netherlands and trained as concert pianists. The name of the band was originally Mammoth. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/49 "2004-08-18T06:03:02Z")
Aimee Mann is Sean Penn’s sister-in-law. She’s married to his brother, Michael Penn, who is also a singer. Music from both of them has appeared in the movies of Paul Thomas Anderson: him in _Boogie Nights_ (he scored it), her in _Magnolia_, which featured most of her unreleased album, _Bachelor No. 2_. The success of _Magnolia_ allowed Mann to release the album on an independent label after being dropped by her record company. She also has a walk-on in _The Big Lebowski._ And speaking of musician cameos, George Harrison is in _Life of Brian_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/50 "2004-08-18T07:38:32Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And speaking of musician cameos, George Harrison is in _Life of Brian_. The reason being that he created Handmade Films to help the Pythons finish the movie. If I remember right, the distinctive sound clips that pop up throughout _Dark Side of the Moon_ were collected by Floyd, who got them by asking people at the studio a series of pre-prepared questions. Paul McCartney was one of those people, but none of his answers were used. And the singer on The Great Gig in the Sky in Claire Torry. I looked around the 'net to verify the following because it’s worth not screwing up. The laughter (along with a few quotes) belongs to a man called “Roger the Hat.” The guy who delivers what’s probably the album’s most memorable quote, “there is no dark side of the moon, really… matter of fact it’s all dark” is Abbey Road doorman Jerry Driscoll. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/51 "2004-08-18T10:36:02Z")
Sorry I’m a bit behind, I’ve only just found this thread … > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Bruce\_Daddy** > > _-Dolly Parton sang I Will Always Love You before Whitney Houston._ > > Originally posted by **Telemark** > _- Parton wrote the song_. and Kevin Costner is singing it in the background when he and Witney are slow dancing in the film :eek: Dennis Quaid sings one of the songs on the ‘The Big Easy’ soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/52 "2004-08-18T10:47:13Z")
[QUOTE=TellMeI’mNotCrazy] Sting sings back up on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. According to an interview I heard Mark Knopfler give a looooong time ago, it was inspired by a conversation he overheard while standing in a Montgomery-Ward. (Does anyone remember Montgomery-Ward?) [QUOTE] Sting also co-wrote the song. The title and chorus of Lyle Lovett’s song _If I Had a Boat_ was inspired by a **Simpsons** episode. ---
**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 18, 2004, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/53 "2004-08-18T11:28:23Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > “The Loco-motion” has been a Top Ten hit for three different acts in three different decades: Little Eva in the 60’s, Grand Funk in the 70’s, and Kylie Minogue in the 80’s. It’s the only song to go to #1 by three different artists. > [@](#): > > The Standells, best known for “Dirty Water,” appeared as themselves on “The Munsters,” and played “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The guy who wrote “Dirty Water” had never been to Boston prior to writing the song. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/54 "2004-08-18T12:25:52Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Country legend Hoyt Axton wrote “Joy To World” which was a hit for Three Dog Night. Hoyt Axton’s mother, **Mae Boren Axton** , quit teaching for a songwriting career that included writing the music for “Heartbreak Hotel.” (Lyrics by Tommy Durden.) **Stanley Kirk Burrell** , better known to the world as **MC Hammer** , worked for the Oakland Athletics while the team was owned by Charley Finley. Some websites say he was a batboy, others that he had a variety of jobs including general go-fer. The nickname of “Hammer” allegedly was bestowed by Reggie Jackson because of Burrell’s resemblance to Hank Aaron. ---
**Author:** ![joazito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@joazito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joazito)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/55 "2004-08-18T13:54:22Z")
Roberta Flack’s “Killing me softly” is about Don McLean (though someone else wrote it). ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/56 "2004-08-18T14:13:04Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There’s also Gene Autrey. You want useless? I’ll give you useless! Gene Autry also started his own record label - Challenge Records. In the late 50’s he signed some session musicians to back the acts the label had under contract. These session guys cut an instrumental they ended up calling “Tequila.” When the decision was made to release the song as a single, the group needed a name - so they were called The Champs - after Gene Autry’s horse, Champion! ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/57 "2004-08-18T14:17:10Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Originally Posted by astorian > “The Loco-motion” has been a Top Ten hit for three different acts in three different decades: Little Eva in the 60’s, Grand Funk in the 70’s, and Kylie Minogue in the 80’s. > > It’s the only song to go to #1 by three different artists. Aaaaaand - has also been recorded by Dwight Yoakam. I have no idea if it ever charted, but it should have. It’s a fun version. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/58 "2004-08-18T14:38:20Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > Lyle Lovett acts? I know him as a singer/songwriter. [Sure.](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0005164/) How do you think he met Julia Roberts? He even had an actual role in **The Player** , not a cameo. All of the songs in the movie **Nashville** were written by the actors who sang them. Keith Carradine won a Best Original Song Oscar for his; Henry Gibson took some of his poems from “Laugh-In” and set them to music. John Prine’s song “Illegal Smile” – a song about marijuana – was the theme song of the prime time TV sitcom “The Texas Wheelers,” whose cast included a pre-Star-Wars Mark Hamill. In the Kinks’ “Lola,” the original line “Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola” had to be rerecorded for BBC airplay, which didn’t allow any product names in songs. Ray Davies dubbed “Cherry Cola” over the line and the US single was also released that way. The album has “Coca-Cola.” Loudon Wainwright III was announced as a regular in the TV show M_A_S\*H, but only appeared in three episodes. Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson’s song “My God,” was sung by Buddy Ebsen on the TV show **Barnaby Jones** , with Ebsen accompanying himself on guitar. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/59 "2004-08-18T14:43:17Z")
Origins of Album and other Titles: - R.E.M. - Out of Time - they ran out of time to come up with a name - Breeders - Title TK - typically the working name of an album before it gets a formal name - The Beatles (aka The White Album) - the plain white cover and eponymous name were a conscious re-direction after the over-the-top cover and naming of Sgt. Pepper’s - The Stones - Her Satanic Majesty’s Request - a play on the line on U.K. Passports stating that the holder of the passport be allowed safe passage “At Her Britannic Majesty’s Request” Meant to be a dark response to Sgt. Pepper’s - Who’s Next - cobbled together after Townshend gave up on his second rock opera Lifehouse - simply named at that last second. - The Pretenders - Chrissie Hynde formed the band and got the songs recorded and they had to come up with a name. Apparantly random and a dig and their attempt to have rock credibility And on another topic: Clapton’s legend was established with the “Clapton is God” graffiti popping up around London in about 1966. The reason for the graffiti was the release of his 1st work post-Yardbirds, “John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton” - and more specifically, his cover of the Freddy King instrumental “Hideaway.” This album is referred to as “the Beano album” because Clapton is reading a copy of the U.K. comic book Beano on the cover. Before Clapton became known for playing Stratocasters (largely, it is thought, because Hendrix played Strats), he played a 1959 Gibson Les Paul - largely because electric blues guitarists like Mike Bloomfield played one. But when Clapton’s famous “Beano” Les Paul was stolen, he never went back. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250/60 "2004-08-18T15:01:21Z")
Jimi Hendrix was so nervous during his first recording sessions that he recorded his vocals with his back to the control room. Gary Numan’s “Cars” has been a chart hit in each of the four decades since its first release. Concrete Blonde’s name was suggested to them by REM’s Michael Stipe. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote their first song together, “The Last Time,” after their manager locked them in a room together and told them not to come out until they had written a complete song. Al Kooper, who played organ on Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” had never played organ before the session. He had turned up to the studio hoping to play guitar and, finding an excellent guitarist (Mike Bloomfield) already on hand, sat down at the organ instead. After the first take the session producer told Dylan to lose the organ part; Dylan replied that he wanted it louder. [QUOTE=Alessan] [QUOTE=TellMeI’mNotCrazy] Sting sings back up on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”. According to an interview I heard Mark Knopfler give a looooong time ago, it was inspired by a conversation he overheard while standing in a Montgomery-Ward. (Does anyone remember Montgomery-Ward?) > [@](#): > > Sting also co-wrote the song. Sting has a co-writing credit, but according to Mark Knopfler he made no contribution to the song other than to sing on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-but-useless-music-trivia/260250.md?page=4)