OldiesFun Factoids!

Please note that the following factoids were sent in by our players whose original sources may have been incorrect. OldiesFun accepts them in the spirit of fun but can not attest to their validity.

In late 1964, a group known as The Detergents recorded a takeoff on the hugely popular "Leader of the Pack" entitled "Leader of the Laundromat." The spoof was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss ("Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini"), and The Detergents were comprised of Danny Jordan (Vance's nephew), Tommy Wynn, and Ronnie Dante. Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed by "Pack" songwriters Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and George "Shadow" Morton against the group and the songwriters; the suit was later settled out of court.

A few years later, Ronnie Dante, now known as Ron, auditioned for and won the part of the lead singing voice for a new studio group, The Archies. The following year, 1969, Ron and the animated group would strike gold with their third single, "Sugar, Sugar." The Archies' producer and co-composer of "Sugar, Sugar?" Why, Jeff Barry, of course!

Oh, and by the way, at the same time that "Sugar, Sugar" was resting comfortably in the #1 spot, another tune called "Tracy," by the Cuff Links, was hovering not far behind in the Top Ten. The Cuff Links were actually just one person on lead and vocals, and that person was, you guessed it, Ron Dante! "Tracy" was written by ... Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. .

submitted by Lpintop

Three Dog Night's, "Black And White" was actually written back in the 50's. One of the writers was David Arkin, father of actor Alan Arkin ( Chicago Hope ). It was written about the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision banning segregation in public schools. Some of the verses were changed in the Three Dog Night version. The original second verse went "Their robes were black, Their heads were white, The schoolhouse doors were closed so tight, Nine judges all set down their names, To end the years and years of shame".
submitted by Scoty

The Jive Bombers' hit song " Bad Boy " was first recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1936 as "Brown Girl" and was written by his wife Lil. Another interesting factoid: the lead singer of the Jive Bombers, Clarence Palmer, had been singing that song for over 20 years before he had a hit with it. He first started singing it in the 1930's with his brothers, who used to perform with artists like Count Basie and Cab Calloway..
submitted by Scoty

Quick! Name that tune:
Well you're the cutest thing that I did ever see
I really love your features won't you come with me
Lovey dovey,lovey dovey all the time
If you said "Lovey Dovey" by Buddy Knox you're right. And if you said "The Joker" by The Steve Miller Band you're also right! Miller swiped Knox's lyrics verbatim!
submitted by LWhiteDove

Paul Vance was inspired to write "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini after watching his two year old daughter Paula running around the beach in her yellow polka dot bikini.
submitted by Aixa

In the early fifties, Neil Sedaka teamed up with some high school friends to form a vocal group. They had a local hit in New York, but then parted ways. This group, which we know as The Tokens, later went on to record "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
submitted by Aixa

"Sunday Will Never Be The Same," by Spanky and Our Gang (# 9 in 1967) was first offered to the Left Banke but they rejected it. It was then given to The Mamas and The Papas but they also declined to record it.
submitted by Spnnrn

The writer of The Tornadoes song "Telstar," Joe Meek, knows it needs something extra. First, he overdubs the sound of a Clavioline, an electronic keyboard with an otherworldly sound. And, finally, for extra effect, Meek adds the reverberation of a rocket lifting off (purportedly the sound of a flushed toilet played backwards).
submitted by Ladybug

A group member of Bananarama, Siobhan Fahey, married the male, David Stewart from the duo called the Eurythmics. Quite a coincidence because those were two of the artists who recorded the songs on "Whoa, Listen To The Music" the same week! (December 24 - 28, 2001)
submitted by Nanawicki

Ed note: The topic of "first stereo single" is apparently open to debate... here are a few comments received from OldiesFun visitors about this:

Regarding the "first stereo" single factoid. I do believe it's NOT "Color Him Father" from the Winstons although that is certainly a wide stereo copy of that song. (Metromedia blue label). The very first non reissue stereo 45 to the best of my knowledge is "Goin' Away" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs. I purchased it in May of 1968. It's on Atco and was marked as "Stereo Compatible". The Winstons didn't chart until 1969. Others from that time period are "Get Together" by the Youngbloods (second time around in '69) and "In The Year 2525" by Zager & Evans. The only other 45's I recall in stereo prior to 1968 are promo issue only. One of the earliest is "Three Bells" by the Browns in 1959. Stereo itself came into mass production around 1958. Songs like "Don't Let Go" by Roy Hamilton, "Summertime, Summertime" by the Jamies and "Born Too Late" by the Poni Tails are a few of the early recordings. If you have a promo copies of these, hang onto them!$!$!$ In general pre-1960 stereo is tough to find.
submitted by BillShannon

Stereo 45's go back to the late 1950's, where they were released sporadically into the early 1960's. The FIRST commercially released 45, I'm told, was Roy Hamilton's "Don't Let Go". Not certain if this was enhanced Stereo, but I do know of True Stereo 45's from the era. I'm not certain when they were revived, but I do have evidence of them at least as early as 1967.
submitted by Fred C.

Ed note: Fred has a comment about another previously submitted bit of trivia, plus some other good info:

Also, regarding Billy Joel's involvement on the Shangri-Las' record, just a bad rumor. Also a bad rumor, (though not yet listed), was Rod Stewart's harmonica on Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop". I realize the site is just in fun, but I'd like to set the facts straight wherever possible.
submitted by Fred C.

Diane Renay, (real name: Renee Diane Kushner), initially intended to be billed as "Renay Diane" on her recordings. This was in 1962, when she signed with Atco Records. She chose the "Renay" spelling to keep from being mis-pronounced as "Ree-nee". Unfortunately, when the first samplings of her record were received, she saw her intended name got flipped. She decided to leave it that way. I got this info from Diane, herself, when I interviewed her almost three years ago.
submitted by Fred C.

Randy Starr, who had a hit with "After School" in 1957, was a practicing dentists at the time. he later had anothe charted record as 1/2 of "The Islanders" with The Enchanted Sea". He found his "niche" as a songwriter for Elvis movies in the mid-late 60s, penning such songs as "Kissin Cousins" and many others.
submitted by kiprocnrol

Who is the "founder of disco"? Not that anyone on this site would care, but, technically, that distinction goes to Trini Lopez. No, he didn't precede the Bee Gees or K. C. & The Sunshine Band in their genre of late 1970s disco. Rather, he was the first artist to become popular playing (and recording "live" records) at what was known in the early to mid-60s as a "discoteque" or "disco". The biggest of these was the Whiskey A-Go-Go in L.A., where Johnny Rivers played and supposedly recorded his early hits. But Trini Lopez preceded Rivers by at least a year, with his "discoteque" versions of "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree". Does this mean that Peter, Paul & Mary are the REAL founders of disco?
submitted by Fourhbcaps

According to "Encyclopedia of Rock Stars," Bill Haley was blind in his left eye due to a "botched mastoid operation" in his infancy. Years later, this kept him exempt from the draft, but did nothing to stop him from becoming a very successful recording artist.
submitted by Nanawicki

SN0REFEST questioned the accuracy of one of the factoids here that states that the first stereo 45 was "Color Him Father" by The Winstons. He writes:

"I always used to wonder at the time why the Blue Cheer single "Summertime Blues" was sold in stereo side one and side 2 was mono. All the AM Stations back then were all mono so I know first hand without the internet that Blue Cheer was Stereo in 1968, in fact, I still have the single.
Also, Buddah was experimenting with stereo singles in '68 too. One can argue that Buddah did it first but damn if I can remember which singles they were. So it's impossible that "Color Me Father" (in 1969) was even among the first in stereo.
submitted by SN0REFEST
Ed. note: Yeah, sounds compelling, Sev!

Joey Scarbury was discovered by singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb's father, who wandered into a furniture store and heard the 14 year old's mom praising her son's singing ability.
submitted by Aixa

Charles Manson, yes that Charles Manson, auditioned for the Monkees T.V. Show.
submitted by Snads
Ed. note: As did Stephen Stills!

Joe Cocker was in Playboy in 1970...they voted him best vocalist in the rock and jazz poll.
submitted by Layla

On the Shangri-Las #1 hit "The Leader Of The Pack," the person playing the piano was a 16 year old kid namned Billy Joel.
submitted by Snads

When Alan Freed was just starting out as a disc jockey, the execs at CBS radio refused to hire him, claiming that he'd never make it anywhere in radio because of his "annoying, grating midwestern drawl."
submitted by MinaFreed (Alan's daughter!)

Alice Cooper once appeared as a guest on "The Muppet Show."
submitted by Layla

On "Everything Is Beautiful," Ray Stevens two daughters are singing: his daughter who was at kindergarten, and his other daughter and her whole second grade class from Oak Hill Elementary school in Nashville.
submitted by Fourhbcaps

The Lemon Pipers were named after the small township of Lemon-Monroe, north of Cincinnati. While they have a national reputation as a bubble gum band, they started out as a truly innovative progressive/acid rock group. I saw them in the fall of '67 and they were the local version of Jefferson Airplane. Then Buddah Records got a hold of them and commercialized the hell out of them for top 40 (gag me with "Rice is Nice" and "The Jelly Jungles of Orange Marmalade"!). This same thing happened to other groups, like the 5 Americans.
submitted by Fourhbcaps

In 1985, Jackson Browne and Clarence Clemons had a hit with "You're a Friend of Mine," on which Daryl Hannah, Browne's girlfriend at the time, can be heard on vocals.
submitted by Jackie0203

Bobby Darin's #2 hit "Dream Lover" featured piano playing by none other than...........Neil Sedaka.
submitted by Aixa

Ray Stevens is a trained classical pianist.
submitted by Robinlea

Although he usually penned novelty songs, Ray Stevens wrote "Mr. Businessman" out of frustration. He had been cheated on a business deal.
submitted by Aixa

One of the members of Sopwith Camel, Peter, had actually suggested the name "Sopwith Camel" for another newly formed group.......but they passed on the name, and decided on another........Big Brother and The Holding Company.
submitted by Aixa

In 1964, while playing the club circuit in New York City, three members of Joey Dee's Starlighters once teamed with guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Later that year, those same three, Eddie Brigati, Gene Cornish and Felix Cavaliere, went on to form The Young Rascals (with Dino Danelli).
submitted by Dlarson

The original "story" of the discovery of the group Crazy Elephant, was planted by publicity people, to the magazine Cashbox......The story goes that Crazy Elephant were a bunch of coal miners who "mined by day and played rock and roll by night" In reality, they were a studio "creation" put together by veteran bubblegum masters, Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz. Leading that group, was the former lead singer of the Cadillacs, Richard Spencer.
submitted by Aixa

Cat Stevens' song "Morning Has Broken" was an adaptation of a hymn of the same name by Eleanor Farjeon who wrote many many stories for children .
submitted by IMROBINLEA

Kenny Roger's high school vocal group's original song "That Crazy Feeling" landed them a spot on television's "American Bandstand."
Kenny is a well-respected photographer; he was invited to the White House to create a portrait of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 1993 CBS-TV special, "A Day in the Life of Country Music."
submitted by VincentJames

Gale Garnett, who sang the Top 40 song, "We'll Sing In The Sunshine," appeared in a number of episodes of "Bonanza".
submitted by RecordLover

Neil Diamond seriously considered "Eyce Charry" for his professional name before someone thankfully suggested "Neil Diamond" at the last minute.
He screen-tested for and was selected as the lead in the movie "Lenny", based on the life of famed comedian Lenny Bruce. Diamond ended up declining. The role went to Dustin Hoffman.
submitted by VincentJames

Question: In what film can you find not one, but two of this week's ""Listen To The Music" Artists??
The answer is; 1965's, "How To Stuff A Wild Bikini"...The 6th & final beach party film for "Frankie Avalon" & Annette Funicello. Frankie appears in this one for only about 7 minutes...He was apparently quite reluctant to do it at all, as he was doing so well in his acting career. ( 5 Features in '65!!)
Where does our "Beach Boy; Brian Wilson" fit into the picture? (literally) Well...he plays a beach boy of course!! LOL Great casting or what?
NOT one of this week's Artists, but worth mentioning, "The Kingsmen" perform in this film as well!! .
submitted by Ccrider

Chuck Berry owns a warehouse full of old Cadillacs, one from every three or four model-years, all the way back to the mid-fifties, which he claims to be trying to get rid of, but says that nobody will give him a fair price, so he just stores them away. He served 3 jail terms: Armed robbery in the 1940's, The Mann Act in the 50's: and tax evasion in the 70's.
submitted by VincentJames

John Mellencamp wasn't impressed when his new manager, Tony DeFrie, (also David Bowie's manager), decided to "re-christen" him without his knowledge or consent by billing him as John Cougar on his 1976 bomb, "Chestnut Street Incident". The poor guy had to STAY "Johnny Cougar" until after he had a HIT Album, which came in 1982 with "American Fool", when he added "Mellencamp" to his stagename.
He's definitely faced a lot of adversity in his personal life as well as professional. He was born with Spina Bifida, married his pregnant girlfriend at 17, had a major heart attack in 1994. He is one of the driving forces behind 'Farm Aid" AND refusing to accept any tour sponsorship offers from the tobacco & beer companies.
submitted by Ccrider

Though Tony Burrows never had a hit under his own name, he holds the unusual honor (you can look it up in the Guiness Book of Records) of having four records in the British Top Ten and the US Top 20 at once...all under different names. The British session vocalist sang Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)," White Plains' "My Baby Loves Lovin'," the Pipkins' ridiculous "Gimme Dat Ding," and the Brotherhood of Man's "United We Stand," all of which were big hits in both the US and UK in 1970.

In 1999 Wayne Newton was sued by Tony Orlando for locking him out of the Branson, Mo. night club that the two co-owned. Newton declared bankruptcy in 1992, yet was once listed in the Guiness Book Of World Records as the world's highest paid entertainer.
submitted by VincentJames

You all remember The Who's "Tommy" right?
"Captain Walker didn't come home his unborn child will never know him"
Caravntrip reminds us of the St. Elsewhere episode where Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel) runs into the father's waiting room to the man in the military uniform and announced ... "It's a boy Captain Walker, it's a boy!"
Caravntrip says, "I almost fell off the couch!!"
submitted by Caravntrip

"Color Him Father" by the Winstons was supposedly the first 45 RPM single ever released in stereo.
submitted by Fourhbcaps

Paul Petersen, who played Jeff Stone, the wise-cracking son, on The Donna Reed Show, now runs a very successful business in L. A. as a consultant to "child stars" and their families on how child actors can live normal lives.
submitted by Fourhbcaps

"The Yellow Balloon" was, of course, Don Grady's ("Robbie" on TV's, "My Three Sons") rock band. Grady was brought in by producer Gary Zekley to flesh-out a "real" band to keep the already charting Yellow Balloon alive. Grady was already recording on the same record label with his actual band, "The Windupwatch Band". Zekley co-wrote the song "Yellow Balloon" with Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean.
submitted by ccrider

The Big Bopper, born Jiles Perry Richardson, worked as a disc jockey before entering the military. On his discharge in 1955 he set his sights on being the preeminent disc jockey in East Texas. He worked at KTRM in Beaumont, Texas and at one time set a record for continuous broadcasting, lasting for over 122 hours.
submitted by VINCENTJAMES

Harry Chapin and his two brothers, James & Tom formed a group called the Chapin Brothers in 1958. In 1965 his Father Jim joins the group as drummer. Jim was a jazz drummer with Jimmy Dorsey and Woody Herman, but the Viet Nam war forces his brothers to go back to college and the group is disbanded. Harry switches from music to producing film documentaries and wins the New York and Atlanta Film Festivals Gold Awards for best documentary for "Legendary Champions" a boxing documentary. Not until 1971 does he return to music and the rest as they say is history.
submitted by VincentJames

On the Chris and Alley show, classic rock station KCFX-FM, 101.1 on the dial in the Kansas City area, had a hilarious 'phone interview' in which Dylan was giving rather Dylan-like answers to questions (hard to understand)...all of a sudden he said excuse me, and for a few seconds, the 'phone' was silent...a new voice came back on the line and said 'Forgive me, I had to take the gauze out of my mouth...I've had a horrible toothache the last 45 years! That tooth is finally gone!!' He then started singing 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door' in a lounge lizard voice...
*That* would explain the horrible singing voice we've heard over the years! (Hee hee)
submitted by GBate

"For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield got its title when Steve Stills first played the song for the group, saying "Here's a new song I wrote, for what it's worth". When he finished playing the song and was asked the title, Stills said he didn't have one. Someone then replied, "Sure you do. You just said it--For What It's Worth". The record company then added the parenthetical "(Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" on some versions of the record.
submitted by Fourhbcaps

Not really a "fun factoid" but more of a "fun story" from one of our players.... In the mid- 80's, with "Elvis Sightings" still "cropping up", I was standing in the grocery store checkout line and glanced over at one of the "popular tabloids" and there it was...."Elvis" had been spotted in MY "city"!! What a surprise to ME seeing as I am in "No-man's-land", Northwestern Ontario, Canada; Population 120,000!! I looked around the store from where I stood & didn't see anyone I didn't know, so I, of course, knew it wasn't true!! Boy, would I love to know how "WE" wound up being pulled out of the "Elvis was here" hat!! LOL!
submitted by ccrider

In the late 1970s or 1980s, Andy Williams was hosting an awards program on network TV, and Stevie Wonder was scheduled to appear from somewhere in Africa via a two-way satellite hook-up. There were some technical difficulties, which caused Andy to first ask, "Stevie, can you hear me?". When he received no response, he then asked, "Well, if you can't hear me, can you at least see me?" It went out live over the air.
submitted by Fourhbcaps

Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon -- members of The Eagles-once served as the backup band for Linda Ronstadt. The group played their first gig together backing Ronstadt at Disneyland.
submitted by Spnnrn

Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman of the Turtles did backup vocals on T.Rex's "Bang a Gong."
submitted by Layla

During a Beatles show in Indianapolis, Ringo disappeared for the night, showing up the next day just minutes before they were to perform. This "rebel" was apparently "revelling" in driving a police car around a racetrack for HOURS!! (I wonder where he got the car? hmmm...)
submitted by ccrider

On June 1976, the Rolling Stones tour and appear straddling an unfolding lotus stage complete with giant inflatable penis and tarzan rope!
submitted by Layla

From the "Which would YOU rather watch? department:
Only Lawrence Welk has had more appearances on network television than Paul Revere and The Raiders!
submitted by cc rider

The Pusher was written by singer/sometimes-actor Hoyt Axton, who also wrote "Joy To The World" for Three Dog Night and "Greenback Dollar" for The Kingston Trio. His mother wrote "Heartbreak Hotel" for Elvis. That's his voice singing on the classic 1970's commerical, "Tonight, let it be Loewenbrau."
submitted by Fourhbcaps

John Fogarty's comeback album has on it a song titled Zantz Can't Dance. For this song he was sued for slander by his former manager whose name happened to be Zaentz. Fogarty argued (successfully) that the song wasn't about the manager, it was about a pig (lol) who danced. The judge apparently saw the humor and dismissed the former manager's suit.
submitted by DADDYOAL

Steely Dan trivia x2:
(1) After Aretha Franklin made a comeback and was no longer so obscure, Steely Dan substituted Otis Redding's name for hers in their live version of "Hey Nineteen".
Listen for yourself!
Studio version ~~ vs ~~ live version
(2) Chevy Chase was the first drummer for Steely Dan.
submitted by Spnnrn

Michael Johnson, of "Bluer Than Blue" fame, was a member of The Chad Mitchell Trio in the 60s, along with John Deutchendorf, a/k/a John Denver.
submitted by jmiller

"Only In America" was actually written by the famous team of Lieber & Stoller for another group, The Drifters. The Drifters actually recorded the song during one of their sessions. However, the Drifters record label, Atlantic, wouldn't issue the side because it was controversial during these pre-civil rights times for a black group to be singing about equal opportunities. The Drifters' vocals were erased and overlaid with those of Jay and The Americans. .
submitted by bdbopper

The Strangeloves began as three Brooklyn, NY songwriter-producers who had racked up a #1 with The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back" and decided to form a group themselves. They tried to 'cash in' on the "Foreign" band craze at the height of the British Invasion by billing themselves as Australians! When they had to back up their hit record, ("I Want Candy"), with a live act, they just kept embellishing and wound up claiming to be SHEEPHERDERS from the fictional town of Armstrong, Australia who had made a FORTUNE developing some sort of "cross-breed." Pretty STRANGE indeed!
submitted by ccrider@air.on.ca

In the song "Reach Out Of The Darkness," "Friend and Lover" actually sing "Reach Out IN the Darkness." Jim Post (is he "friend" or is he "lover"?) also admitted that on some verses, he sang "Freak Out in the darkness," just to liven things up.
submitted by Ron Hontz

In recent years, Jim Post (of "Friend & Lover") has become well-known for portraying Mark Twain in original musical shows. Post often appears at a theater in the historic Mississippi River town of Galena, Illinois, as well as touring throughout the Midwest.
submitted by SameOldHal

Darlene Love, whose sister Edna Wright sang lead on "Want Ads" by the Honey Cone, appeared with her regular group, The Blossoms, on Shindig, on the 1968 Elvis comeback TV special, and on literally 100s of records recorded in L.A. in the 1960s. For example, that's Darlene and the Blossoms doing the vocals on Duane Eddy's 1962 hit (Dance With The) Guitar Man. Between mid-1962 and late 1963, Darlene showed up on about 1 hit per month, under her own name, as The Crystals, with Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, and as Duane Eddy's Rebelettes. At that time, she had more aliases then Lee Harvey Oswald!
submitted by FourHbCaps

The flip side of Love's Elektra single "7&7 Is" was "#14"
submitted by SN0REFEST

From the "Stupid Celebrity Death Tricks" department:
Keith Relf, of The Yardbirds, was electrocuted while playing guitar in the bathtub in 1976.
submitted by Spnnrn

The Grass Roots who did "Sooner or Later" are not The Grass Roots who did "Where Were You When I Needed You", their first hit in 1966. In fact, that group did no other songs as The Grass Roots. It was an L. A. bar band/studio group put together by songwriters Steve Barri & Phil Sloan (who wrote a lot of hits for other L.A. acts like the Turtles and Barry McGuire). After that song became a hit, they put together a real Grass Roots, who then had all the other hits starting with "Let's Live For Today". .
submitted by Fourhbcaps

During the summer of 1959, Bobby Vee & his band, The Shadows, often talked about adding a hard-rocking piano player to tour with the group. One day, Bobby's brother Bill discovered & auditioned a young guy who called himself "Elston Gunnn". Elston proved to be very talented,& joined the band in time to play at a concert in Gwinner, ND.
Unfortunately, things just didn't work out. The only available piano was basically a piece of junk & there was just no money to get another one, so after a couple days, Elston Gunnn & The Shadows parted ways, amicably, & Elston returned to Minneapolis.
Some years later, Elston Gunnn would become a world-famous singer-songwriter, under a new name...Bob Dylan!
submitted by SameOldHal

In 1975 The Chiffons recorded their version of "My Sweet Lord," the song George Harrison wrote in 1970 while unintentionally plagarizing The Chiffon's "He's So Fine."
submitted by LADYLION14

Most people would think the Beatles were #1 in 1965. Not so! Herman's Hermits outsold the Fab Four that year with their debut single, "I'm Into Something Good," as well as "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter."
submitted by MuziKatNat

Who would have thought that members of the "good" Herman's Hermits could be responsible for a major technological advancement in Keith Moon's hotel demolition tactics? The Hermits, who had toured extensively in the U.S., knew that the deep south was the place to buy fireworks, which were illegal in the rest of the nation. They introduced Moon to the cherry bomb; he bought about a dozen, then tried them out on the toilet in his hotel room. Moon and John Entwistle had hoped to flush one of the bombs, sending it to explode in the pipes, thus avoiding blame for the incident. However, the bomb swirled in the toilet bowl without flushing and seconds later the bathroom erupted in shards of porcelain.
submitted by Spnnrn

The Monkees helped finance the film "Easy Rider."
submitted by Pookie

From the "I think he could have pulled it off" files: Mickey Dolenz auditioned for the part of "The Fonz" on Happy Days!
submitted by ccrider

It was during Melanie (Safka)'s set at Woodstock in 1969 that the ritual of lighting candles at concerts began.
submitted by SN0REFEST(aka "Melanie Fan #1), Pookie

Melanie held such a captive audience the first time she appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show that he was quoted as saying that "not since Elvis Presley appeared..." had he seen such a "dedicated and responsive audience."
submitted by LADYLION14, SN0REFEST

Disguised as part of a news team, Melanie was ushered into a canceled Powder Ridge Music Festival (Middletown, Connecticut, July 31-Aug. 2, 1970) and was the only artist to perform there using a "Mr. Softee" generator for power.
submitted by MsTinTear, SN0REFEST

Scottish singer Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie became "Lulu" thanks to the ingenuity of her first manager who realized that it would be much easier to say, not to mention fit on a record label!
submitted by Alankalt

Lulu had a US #1 hit, "To Sir With Love" at age 18 with a song that never charted in the UK! She didn't have a #1 hit in the UK (a collaboration with boy band Take That) until she was 44. Consistent with her previous #1, the song ("Relight My Fire") didn't chart in the US.
submitted by Clete6

Lulu, briefly married to BeeGee Maurice Gibb, recorded "Here Comes The Night" a year before Van Morrison's "Them." Her version went nowhere, but the Them version went to #2 in the U.K.
submitted by Pookie

It was in Harry Nilsson's London apartment that Cass Elliot died from a heart attack while choking on food in July 1974. Four years later, in September 1978 The Who's drummer Keith Moon died at the same apartment of an overdose of Heminevrin, a prescription drug that he was taking for his alcoholism.
submitted by Nalavia

In 1975, Carly Simon lived in a house on Rockingham Drive in Brentwood, California -- the same house which, 20 years later, would become infamous as the residence of accused murderer OJ Simpson.
submitted by SameOldHal

Question: When is a remake not a remake?
Answer: When it's a "Grapevine"!
Marvin Gaye's "remake" version of Gladys Knight and the Pips' hit "I've Heard It Through The Grapevine" wasn't a remake at all. Because it debuted on the chart a year after Gladys' debut people were saying "How brilliant on Marvin's part to re-do their hit and slow it down!" But actually Marvin had recorded his version BEFORE Gladys recorded her version. Though his was released long after hers it was most assuredly NOT a remake!
submitted by Alankalt and Pookie18323@cs.com

From the "Oh, gawd, PLEASE don't" department:
Rod Stewart used to walk onstage to "The Stripper" on his "Tonight I'm Yours" tour.
submitted by Hdgdn

Randy Bachman has a bit of Weird Al in him! He recorded a parody of his own song, "Takin' Care of Business" called "Takin' Care of Christmas" on his Randy Bachman Songbook album
submitted by Hdgdn

David Rose originally wrote "The Stripper" in 1958 "as a joke," and its initial popularity was due to its being featured in the TV show "Burlesque" that year. It became a #1 hit in 1962 after being used as the theme for the movie "Gypsy," about the life of Gypsy Rose Lee.
The man knew how to work opposite sides of the instrumental spectrum.... he also wrote the music for "Little House On The Prairie."
submitted by RandyPNY, MsTinTear

"Anticipation," used in a memorable Heinz ketchup ad, wasn't the only Carly Simon song used in a TV commercial. Others include:
"The Stuff That Dreams Are Nade Of" - Gitano Jeans
"You Belong To Me" - Mccalls magazine
"Haven't Got Time For The Pain" - Excedrin
"You're So Vain" - Dunlop tires
submitted by Ladylion14

On Carly Simon's album cover: "Playing Possum", Carly appears dressed in an outfit that was shoplifted from Bloomingdale's by her daughter Sally! Well, it's much more innocent than it sounds. The famous black camisole was lifted by Sally when she was an infant riding in a child carrier on Carly's back. Bloomie's was reimbursed, Sally's record stayed clean, and the outfit found its way onto the cover of "Playing Possum"
submitted by Spnnrn

In 1961, Tommy James records a few songs for "Snap," a tiny Michigan record label, including "Hanky Panky," which died a quick death.
Five years later a Pittsburgh DJ found a copy of the song in a stack of oldies and played it by mistake. Delighted listeners wanted to know where they could get a copy of "that hot new single". A local bootlegger taped the song off the radio and began pressing copies of it. Within ten days, more than eighty thousand copies had been sold.
The DJ finally tracked down Tommy James and informed him that his record was number one in the city. Tommy almost hung up on the guy, but a week later, he was in New York, selling the original master of "Hanky Panky" to 'Roulette Records'. By late summer of 1966, it was the number one selling single in the nation.
Tommy James then had to "create" The Shondells. He saw a band he liked a lot at a Pittsburgh club, walked up to the guys, said "How would you like to become The Shondells?" They said "yes." The rest is rock and roll history.
Contributions to this long but totally cool factoid were made by Loonatique, Alankalt, Wmbradspa, BearhugFortyOne and Clete6

In 1969 Tommy and the gang regrettably turned down the offer to perform at Woodstock, his booking agent described the event as "a stupid gig on a pig farm in Upstate New York."
Submitted by Layla48977

Paul McCartney's guest appearances on Donovan recordings weren't limited to whispering "quite rightly" on "Mellow Yellow;" he also had a guest appearance on "Atlantis," providing backing vocals and playing tambourine.
Submitted by Spnnrn and CAK1946

The children of Donovan Leitch are making names for themselves in their own right. His son, also named Donovan Leitch, has appeared in 20 movies such as remakes of The Blob, and God Created Woman. (ed. note: He also made a memorable appearance as a sleazy, sex-obsessed rocker in the made-for-TV movie, "The Sixties.")
His daughter, Ione Skye, starred with John Cusack in "Say Anything," had a small role in "Wayne's World" and starred in the television show "Covington Cross."
Submitted by Pookie18323, DADDYOAL and FLMyst

Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs' song "Wooly Bully" was banned from some radio stations because there was concern that there might be some suggestive language hidden in it, since some of the lyrics were hard to understand. Some radio program directors suspected that lines like "pull the wool with you" might be obscene, so they pulled it from the song list. After his music career came to an end, Sam Samudio became a street preacher in Memphis.
Submitted by Nalavia and LADYLION14

The first Beatles song, Love Me Do, was recorded at EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, in Studio 2 on September 11, 1962. The last time all four Beatles recorded together was for I Me Mine on January 3, 1970, in the same studio.
Submitted by Loonatique

"Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno was the first foreign language recording to top the U.S. charts.
Submitted by MuziKatNat

Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" has the distinction of being the only song in the history of the Hot 100 to be sung entirely in Japanese. The actual title of the song is "Ue O Muite Aruko" or "I Look Up When I Walk." Afraid that Americans would be unable to pronounce the title, Capitol Records released it as "Sukiyaki" and watched it soar to # 1 in June of ' 63.
Submitted by Roxie1971, LADYLION14 and A R E7

Some perspective on the impact of The Marvelettes' success in 1961 with "Please Mr. Postman":
1) With sales of 3 million copies, The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman," is one of the most successful recording debuts in history, second only to The Captain and Tennille's first outing, "Love Will Keep Us Together."
2) It was the Marvelettes success that actually caused Motown records to switch from what was once a rhythm and blues label, to the smooth orchestrated harmonic sound which is now known as the "Motown sound."
-- submitted by Ladylion14 and Jill Comma

In 1963, the Isley Brothers hired a new kid to play lead guitar for them at a rate of $30 per night. This kid's name was "Jimi Hendrix."
Submitted by Layla48977 and A R E7

What do Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton, and Rory Gallagher all have in common? They are three of the candidates who didnt get past the jamming phase in their unsuccessful bid to replace The Rolling Stone's Mick Taylor. Ronnie Wood, of course, won the gig.
Submitted by Layla48977

Bonnie Tyler's music teacher asked her to leave the school choir, because she "sang badly."
Submitted by FLMyst

The British Broadcasting Corporation banned the song "Charlie Brown" for mentioning the word "spitball."
Submitted by A R E7

Junior Walker had a hobby of fixing cars. Sometimes, he'd show up to rehearsal with his hands covered in oil from working on cars prior to arrival.
Submitted by A R E7

Patti LaBelle's group, The Blue-Belles, was given artist credit on the label of "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman" but they didn't sing one note. It was actually recorded by The Starlets, who had a previous Top 40 song, "Better Tell Him No."
Submitted by both Fourhbcaps and Raynode1

To make thing even MORE complicated regarding this song, the original singers on this song were The Four Sportsmen, but their vocals were erased and replaced with those of The Starlets, who as we learned above, never even got credit for them.
Submitted by JO201