

Friday, June 14, 2013

Interesting facts about songs

Have you ever wondered if there were things about rock or metal songs you may not have known? Sort of like that show Pop-Up Video, where you get tidbits of information you never knew? Well, I've decided to turn that into a post on here! Here are some interesting facts about rock songs and metal songs

I Won't Back Down
-Tom Petty
-Did You Know? In the video, George Harrison from the Beatles plays guitar while original Beatles drummer Ringo Starr plays the drums
June 1977
-Alice Cooper's pet boa constrictor was bitten by the rat that was to become its meal

The Beatles
-In the final chord of "A Day in the Life" the chord was played on 3 different pianos by 10 different hands
-The guitar solo in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is played by Eric Clapton
-"Yesterday" first appeared in 1965. Today, the song has been done in 466 versions by different artists
Led Zeppelin
-Supposedly, it's a rumor that if you play "Stairway to Heaven" backwards, you can hear these words "oh here's to my sweet satan..the one who's little path would make me sad, whose power is satan..he'll give you give you 666 there was a little toolshed where he would make us suffer, sad in the part of "if there's a bustle..."
-On the day John Bonham was born, alcohol almost killed him. The doctor who delivered him was drunk
-Before they became Led Zeppelin, the band, then known as the New Yardbirds, were discussing what should be used as the name. Someone suggested the New Yardbirds and Keith Moon of the Who said "That will go over like a lead balloon". That gave them the inspiration to change balloon to zeppelin and spell Lead "Led" so people in American would not pronounce it as "Lead"
The Beach Boys
-The reason their album is called "Pet Sounds" is because it was an insult between band mates. Brian Wilson showed the new material to Mike Love and he responded "Who the hell is going to listen to this?...the ears of a dog?"
The Clash
-During WWII, the BBC would often start their broadcast with "Good Morning America, this is London Calling". And since Joe Strummer of The Clash was a fan, he was inspired by this to make a song
Definitely my #1 fave punk band. They rock!
Eric Clapton
-His famous love song, "Layla" was written to steal away George Harrison's wife Patti Boyd
Deep Purple
-Steve Morse's guitar had 11 different pickup positions
-"Smoke on the Water" is referencing a Frank Zappa show, where someone brought in a flare gun and lit up the hotel where it was, sending it burning to the ground
The Police
-The three symbols on the front of their Ghost in the Machine album is supposed to represent the 3 key players in the band
The Yardbirds
-These guys were the ones who gave Eric Clapton the nickname "Slowhand"

Def Leppard
-In the mid 80s, Rick Allen was involved in a car crash, resulting in the loss of his left arm. But he keeps on playing with a specially made drum kit. He can hit pedals to play the drum for his missing left arm while his right arm can still play
Van Halen
-Their song 5150 is named after Eddie's Peavey 5150 amp
-Eddie and Alex Van Halen were originally born in the Netherlands and trained as concert pianists. the name of the band was supposed to be Mammoth
-Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" as a favor to Michael
He's still cute, I don't care what people say!!

Jimi Hendrix
-He says he got the inspiration for "Purple Haze" after having a dream where he could walk underwater

Lynyrd Skynyrd
-"Freebird" is dedicated to Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
-They got their name from the name of a principal, Leonard Skinner, who suspended students for having long hair

-His favorite rock song is Nobody's Fault by Aerosmith. He first heard it at the house of a girl he wanted to date
-He came into possession of Aerosmith's Joe Perry's treasured Les Paul Standard. Joe begged Slash to return it and he did... on Joe's 50th birthday
-His real name is Saul Hudson. He got the name Slash from his inability to stay still for more than a minute
What a hunk!
Black Sabbath
-I'm pretty sure everyone, even those who don't listen to Black Sabbath know this story. Tony Iommi lost the tips of his ring finger and middle finger on his right hand from an industrial accident when he was 17 and working in a sheet metal factory
Pink Floyd
-Their original name was Sigma 6
-Ummagumma, the name of one of their CDs, is British slang for sex
-Nick Mason is the only Pink Floyd member to play on every album

-He is a huge Hendrix fan. "Purple Rain" is almost a show of his love of Hendrix, because it's similar in name to "Purple Haze"

The Sex Pistols
-They were banned from virtually everywhere in the UK, so they started traveling using the pseudonym SPOT (Sex Pistols on Tour)
The Rolling Stones
-At age 46, their bassist Bill Wyman began a relationship with a 13 year old named Mandy Smith. 6 years later they married. It only lasted a year. Not long after. Bill's 30 year old son Stephen married Mandy's 46 year old mother
-The name came from a suggestion made by Angus and Malcolm Young's sister Margaret. She saw AC/DC on the back of a vacuum cleaner and they thought it was a good name because it had to do with electricity
-Like Kiss, who had to deal with accusations of devil worshipping, people thought AC/DC stood for "Anti Christ Devil Child"
-His real name is Gordon Summer. He got his nickname from the fact he wore a black and yellow striped sweater which made people think he looked like a hornet
-This is obvious to anyone who has listened to this song. He sings backup vocals on "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits
He's still cute, who cares what people say!
The Who
-Pete Townshend thought Keith Richards had invented "The Windmill" move on his guitar. Later when he talked to Keith, he said he was just stretching his arm out

-The group known for songs like "Red Red Wine" got their name from the form used by the British Unemployment Office

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