Did You Know ?

From 1969 to 1970 Jimmy Buffett was a staff writer for Billboard magazine in Nashville.

Al Kooper, founder of Blood, Sweat and Tears, was one of the co-writers of "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

The captain of Elvis' plane "Hound Dog 2" was Milo High.

Cher was a background singer on the Righteous Brothers hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling.

The Academy Award winning score for the movie "Fame" was written by Leslie Gore's brother, Michael.

Barry Manilow recorded his vocals and piano parts for "Mandy" in one take.

Vince Gill once sang with the group Pure Prairie League.

Sam Cooke turned down "Travelin' Man" which was subsequently recorded by Ricky Nelson. The song topped the Billboard charts in 1961.

To scare away birds, Gloucestershire airport in England used to blast Tina Turner songs on the runway.

In October 2000, George Michael paid more than $2 million for the piano used by John Lennon to write "Imagine".

"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" was recorded in 1958 by Brenda Lee. It is a Christmas favourite and actually reached number 5 on the Christmas charts in 1984.

The Chipmunks were named after executives at Liberty records. Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville) named Alvin for Al Bennett, president of the company, Simon was named after Bennett's partner, Si Waronker and Theodore was named for Ted Keep, a recording engineer.

On September 11, 1977 Bing Crosby and David Bowie recorded "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace On Earth" for Bing's Christmas T.V. special. Bing died a month later, never having seen the finished product.

The world's most expensive record is valued at approximately $180,000. It is the first pressing of "That'll Be The Day" by The Quarry Men. It was recorded in 1958 and is owned by Paul McCartney.

Elvis returned to performing live in 1969. Ed Sullivan was not at the show, but Paul Anka, Sam Phillips and a host of others were.

Lucille Ball tried to get Elvis to appear on her 1971 television show. She was unsuccessful because CBS wouldn't pay his fee.

Lennon and McCartney wrote "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the basement of Paul's girlfriend at the time, Jane Asher.

The first song ever recorded was "Mary Had A Little Lamb". Thomas Edison spoke it while testing a phonograph in 1877.

"Running Bear" was written by The Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson and went to number one for Johnny Preston in 1960.

Roy Orbison majored in Geology in college.

David Bowie's real name is David Robert Jones. He changed it so as to not be confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees.

"Summertime Blues" was a Top 40 hit in three different decades. Eddie Cochran in the 50's took it to #8, it went to #14 for Blue Cheer in the 60's and to #27 for The Who in the 70's.

The first double album is believed to be "Freak Out" by The Mothers Of Invention, released in 1967.

Elvis has the most U.S. top 10 singles with 38. Madonna is next with 35.

Jimmy Webb was inspired to write "Up, Up and Away" from a hot air balloon a friend flew doing promotions for a radio station.

Tom Dawes wrote the only hit for the group The Cyrkle, "Red Rubber Ball". His next claim to fame was the "plop,plop,fizz,fizz" jingle for Alka-Seltzer.

Gramophone was a brand name that referred to a sound recording in the late 1800's. The nickname lives on in the form of Grammy, as in The Grammy Awards.

"Bye Bye Love" was turned down by more than 30 artists, including Elvis before the Everly Brothers recorded it. Their version stayed on the charts for 22 weeks, peaking at #2.

The Beach Boys have a clause in their contract which states any sell outs must be reported to all industry related magazines and newspapers.

Ray Stevens turned down the song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" because he didn't like it.

In Feb and March 1964 The Beatles sold 60% of all records sold in the U.S.

"My Eyes Adored You" was originally titled "Blue Eyes in Georgia" but Frankie Valli changed it when he recorded it.