Did you know (music)?

E

elface

250+ Posts
The Ramones song, "The KKK took my baby away" is about right wing Johnny successfully romancing left wing Joey's girlfriend.
 
Barry Manilow did not write "I write The Songs".

The U2 song "Angel of Harlem" was written about singer Billie Holiday.
 
My grandfather and his Western Swing band would not let Willie Nelson sing with them because (per my Papa) "he couldn't carry a note in a wash bucket".
 
War's "Spill the Wine" was made up on the spot because one of the girlfriends spilled her wine on the studio mixing board.
 
The Cure's "Fascination Street" and a lapdance go very well together. Come to think of it, song x and a lapdance go very well together. Who'da thunk????
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oh it's opening time
down on fascination street
so let's cut the conversation
and get out for a bit
because i feel it all fading and paling
and i'm begging
to drag you down with me
to kick the last nail in
yeah! i like you in that
like i like you to scream
but if you open your mouth
then i can't be responsible
for quite what goes in
or to care what comes out
so just pull on your hair
just pull on your pout
and let's move to the beat
like we know that it's over
if you slip going under
slip over my shoulder
so just pull on your face
just pull on your feet
and let's hit opening time
down on fascination street

so pull on your hair
pull on your pout
cut the conversation
just open your mouth
pull on your face
pull on your feet
and let's hit opening time
down on fascination street
 
When Otis Redding died in a plane crash outside of Madison, WI, he was headed to a small club gig which was to be opened by The Grim Reapers, local favorites who would soon change their name to Cheap Trick.
 
The line from Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, "That little country boy could play" was originally written as, "That little colored boy can play." Berry knew that in order to get the song played on the radio, he would have to change that lyric.
 
Chevy Chase was a founding and original member of the band The Leather Canary that later chancged names to, Steely Dan. Donald Fagen and and Walter Becker were school friends of his. He left the band, on friendly terms, to pursue acting and comedy. He is best friends with Paul Simon That is why he is in the video of "You Can Call Me Al" off of Simons, Graceland album.

Who'd a thunk it. Chevy is a very talented musician. He even hosted the Newport Jazz Festival last year.
 
Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan started his career as a backup singer on the Three Little Pigs by Green Jello (the "not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" part)
 
U2 intended "Red Hill Mining Town" to be the first single off of the Joshua Tree, but the band was concerned that Bono couldn't hit all the high notes of the song night after night on tour. So they decided to release "Where the Streets Have No Name" instead.
 
Just a few off the top of my head:

Van Morrison's 'Brown Eyed Girl' was originally written as 'Brown Skinned Girl' but he was forced to change the title & lyric so as not to insinuate a multi-racial affair.

Bruce Springsteen wrote 'Hungry Heart' after seeing The Ramones in concert & intended to give it to them to record.

Keith Richards recorded the guitar riff & lyric "I can't get no satisfaction" in his sleep. Or at least he discovered one morning that the tape recorder he kept by his bed had a cassette that had run to the end. He rewound it, played it back, heard the riff & lyric--that he had no recollection of playing--and the rest of the tape was him snoring.
 
Paul McCartney and John Lennon both wrote separate songs named "Woman".

McCartney's was written in 1966 for Peter & Gordon. The song credit lists the aliases "Bernard Webb" for the Engish release and "A. Smith" for the US release.

Lennon's song was written in 1980, and was about Yoko Ono.
 
Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps" is a true story. The song names the Little Brown Jug as the bar in question, but it was actually The Pastime.

Ronnie Van Zant liked the way the "Jug" sounded in the lyrics.

The Pastime still stands in Jacksonville, FL.
The Link

We went in this W. T. West Tavern one day -- me, Ronnie and Allen. Me, I never danced in my whole life. We always played so people could dance. I never been able to. But anyway, this girl came over and wanted Ronnie to dance, because he was old, you know? So they went out and started twisting and doing the Monkey. This guy came in and said, "Hey, that's my girl. You better get. What are you doing dancin' with her?" And Ronnie went, "Hey, I'm just having fun."

Anyway, this guy was gonna whip Ronnie for dancin' with his girlfriend. They were in a little fight and the only reason the girl was dancing with Ronnie was because she was fighting with her boyfriend. Then the guy pulled a gun and said he was gonna blow Ronnie's brains, you know? And Ronnie said, "Please just let me leave. I don't know the girl. I don't want to see her again." And he turned around he said, "If you're gonna shoot me, you're gonna have to shoot me in the *** or the elbows." And we started walking out, er, Allen and me saw Ronnie walking so we started to walk. We got to the car and we wrote it in the car driving back to the house.
 
My father and two other DJ buddies talked another DJ into recording a demo song even though the DJ dident think he could sing, that DJ was Jim Reeves.
 
Along the lines of what P/C mentioned, Devo's song "It's a Beautiful World" (we live in, it's a beautiful happy place...) is not about how great the world is, they are scornful. The ending to that chorus is "...BUT NOT FOR ME". The song is for sure not meant for Target.

I am still amazed at Carnival Cruise Lines using that Iggy Pop song.
 
I dig this thread. The Jim Reeves connection is DAMN cool.

I didn't know the Otis Redding/Cheap Trick story. I didn't realize they have been playing that long. Wiki shows that Nielsen was in bands as early as 61 and he and Petersson hooked up in 67. Wow.

Otis Redding got started at Stax when he drove another band to the studio. He pestered the engineer to let him record a song. Finally, at the end of the session, the guys gave in an let him sing. Good choice.
 
Jimmy Buffett claims that Austin was the inspiration for "Margaritaville", but that he eventually finished the song off with coastal/beach references.
 
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