# Share Some Little-Known Trivia About Popular Songs....... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494 "2008-12-17T01:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/21 "2008-12-17T12:50:19Z")
The “Joey” of the **Concrete Blonde** song was the guitarist from Wall Of Voodoo, Marc Moreland. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/22 "2008-12-17T13:18:37Z")
> [@Strider](#): > > The Metallica song One is about a book Johnny Got Your Gun, about a young soldier who was hit by a mortar and loses all his senses and both his arms and his legs. That’s not exactly little known since the oft-played video was a very-well-done condensed version of the movie. Now, I think Wikipedia claims Metallica actually owns the movie, since the rights for the whole thing were only slightly more than the rights to use as many clips as they wanted for the video. If that’s true, I wish they’d release it on DVD! ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/23 "2008-12-17T13:22:07Z")
Bryan Adams co-wrote the KISS songs Rock 'N Roll Hell and [War Machine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93iqeJzvvsc) And if that whole Wizard Of Oz/Dark Side Of The Moon thing has gotten old, try this one: In Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, the Gene Wilder one, when Wonka first comes out of the factory and loses his cane in the cobblestones, right when he makes the second grab for the cane, start 2112 by Rush. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/24 "2008-12-17T13:35:39Z")
> [@Ellef](#): > > “My Way” was originally performed by the French singer Claude Francois as “Comme d’Habitude”. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMoY5rNBjwk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMoY5rNBjwk) True ! In the same vein, Terry Jack’s “Seasons in the Sun” was originally Jacques Brel’s [“Le Moribond”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbhvoYYIdnQ&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/25 "2008-12-17T14:12:10Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > In the Kinks’ song \*Waterloo Sunset \*, “Terry and Julie” refers to Terence Stamp and Julie Christie, a “hot” couple when Ray wrote the song. Actually I remember hearing an interview where he denied this, saying it was just a reference to some friends. Interestingly, unless I’m mis-remembering, he also said it was originally meant to be about Liverpool - the “dirty old river” being the Mersey not the Thames - but then the Beatles released _Penny Lane_ and he didn’t want people to think his was a copycat song. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/26 "2008-12-17T14:18:00Z")
Bohemian Rhapsody was #1 on the UK charts in four different years. It was also knocked out of the #1 spot by ABBA’s Mamma Mia. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/27 "2008-12-17T14:29:36Z")
Roseanna by Toto is about Roseanna Arquette who dated one of the band members. Bob Seger wrote Her Strut about Jane Fonda. Hollywood Nights by Seger is about Cheryl Tiegs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/28 "2008-12-17T14:35:37Z")
Eight trivia facts about “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. “I Kissed a Girl” is the 1000th “rock” single to hit Number One on the Billboard charts. Perry’s real name is Hudson but she didn’t want to be confused with actress Kate Hudson (whose middle name, incidentally, is Garry). “I Kissed a Girl” is also the name of a 1995 song by Jill Sobule. The rest of the song is different. The song was partly inspired by Perry’s crush on Scarlett Johansson. When asked to comment, the recently married Johansson said “my lips are spoken for.” The band Cobra Starship covered the song but changed it to “I Kissed a Boy”. The man playing Perry’s boyfriend in the video is her actual boyfriend, singer Travis McCoy of the band Gym Class Heroes. Perry doesn’t actually kiss any girls in the video for the song but she has kissed female audience members while performing the song in concerts. Katy Perry is not Zooey Deschanel. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/29 "2008-12-17T14:41:03Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Johnny Cash really did shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. cite? ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/30 "2008-12-17T14:42:12Z")
Ellen Foley, the female singer in Meat Loaf’s _Paradise By The Dashboard Lights_, also starred in the TV show _Night Court_ as lawyer Billie Young. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/31 "2008-12-17T14:48:11Z")
I suppose it’s not really little-known, but a lot of people don’t know that “A Boy Named Sue” was written by Shel Silverstein. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/32 "2008-12-17T15:01:27Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I suppose it’s not really little-known, but a lot of people don’t know that “A Boy Named Sue” was written by Shel Silverstein. He also wrote over 20 songs recorded Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/33 "2008-12-17T15:10:38Z")
> [@Strider](#): > > The Metallica song One is about a book Johnny Got Your Gun, about a young soldier who was hit by a mortar and loses all his senses and both his arms and his legs. In fact, scenes from the movie are interspersed throughout the video. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/34 "2008-12-17T15:13:10Z")
In the video for Paradise by the Dashboard lights the singer is Karla Devito who toured with Meatloaf. For the video the voice is still Foley. Devito has a great voice and put out 1 album but had no hits. Karla is married to Robbie Benson. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/35 "2008-12-17T15:15:05Z")
Not popular songs but I was fascinated to hear recently that Barrington Pheloung, who wrote the music for the British TV series _Inspector Morse_ utilised a musical motif based on the Morse code for “M.O.R.S.E.” (-- — ·-· ··· ·). Not satisfied with that he sometimes spelled out the name of the killer in Morse code in the title music, or alternatively spelled out the name of another character as a red herring. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/36 "2008-12-17T15:27:08Z")
Patti Boyd was the inspiration for The Beatles’ **Something** (married to George Harrison at the time), and Clapton’s **Layla** (cheating on George with his best friend Eric Clapton at the time) and **Wonderful Tonight** (married to Clapton by then). **Martha My Dear** is about Paul McCartney’s sheep dog, Martha. **Savoy Truffle** was inspired by Eric Clapton’s fondness of sweets. The Hollies’ **Carry Ann** was inspired by Marianne Faithful, who was involved with Mick Jagger at the time (thus the name change for the song). ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/37 "2008-12-17T15:39:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Katy Perry is not Zooey Deschanel. Are _you_ Katy Perry? You know an awful lot about Katy Perry for someone who isn’t Katy Perry. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/38 "2008-12-17T15:46:54Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > In the video for Paradise by the Dashboard lights the singer is Karla Devito who toured with Meatloaf. For the video the voice is still Foley. Devito has a great voice and put out 1 album but had no hits. Karla is married to Robbie Benson. IIRC, Karla Devito’s album was named “Is This A Cool World or What?” It really was a good, power-driving, hard rocking album. The first single was to be the title track, and (again, IIRC) Ms. Devito did do a beer commercial using the single’s music; but as you note, nothing came of it. Sadly too, because I agree that she had a great voice. My contribution: “Killing Me Softly with His Song” was written about Don McLean. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/39 "2008-12-17T16:25:35Z")
**Sheryl Crow** got her first big break in the music biz as a backup singer for Michael Jackson. While she was doing that, she hung out with her keyboard-playing boyfriend with his friends, who were a loose affiliation called the Tuesday Night Music Club - they would get together and make music and help each other out if any of them had an opportunity. One of the non-musician, informal members of the TNMC was John O’Brien, an aspiring writer and full-time alcoholic who was working on a fictionalized account of his life, including his intent to drink himself to death (which he succeeded in doing), entitled **Leaving Las Vegas**. I believe John was friends with David Baerwald, formerly of David + David who had a hit with \*Welcome to the Boomtown \*- and now David was part of the TNMC. Well, Sheryl got the record deal (don’t know if her Jackson association facilitated this) and so the TNMC all pitched in to one degree or another. An obvious thing was the song Leaving Las Vegas, which morphed out of John’s book, which was already optioned to become the movie (I think O’Brien had even died by this time). Sheryl comes out with the CD “Tuesday Night Music Club” named after, well you know. Her first hit with it is Leaving Las Vegas. So she’s on Letterman for the first time (I actually happened to see this ep - weird coincidence) sings LLV, and \*kills \*- just a great job. So good that Dave comes out to shake her hand and compliment her. He then asks “that’s a great song - was it autobiographical?” and, in a moment that lives in infamy, Sheryl replied “yes.” Her TNMC friends were blown away - it was the culmination of already-festering feelings of “hey, where’s mine?” It led to a lot of backing-and-forthing, bitter recriminations and Sheryl’s reputation in flux - singer/songwriter or opportunistic pop tart? Until Sheryl came out with her second album, _Sheryl Crow_, where she wrote and produced most of the songs and had some big hits that she was given respect as an artist herself. Sheryl to this day basically says that she froze, she’d never been on national TV before and just got the word out she thought Dave wanted to hear - it was a mistake, fine. But that she has moved on and hopes her later works demonstrate who she is. Her original boyfriend the keyboard played died of autoerotic asphyxiation around the time the second album came out. ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/40 "2008-12-17T16:26:04Z")
> [@Anonymous\_Coward](#): > > Ellen Foley, the female singer in Meat Loaf’s _Paradise By The Dashboard Lights_, also starred in the TV show _Night Court_ as lawyer Billie Young. She also sang with The Clash on Sandinista’s “Hitsville UK”, and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” from Combat Rock was supposedly about Mick Jones’ relationship with her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494.md?page=3)