Billy Joel played piano on The Shangri-Las' 1965 hit, "Leader of the Pack". He was 16 years old at the time.

Aretha Franklin played piano on Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave fame)'s solo album PLENTY GOOD LOVIN. The sessions were produced by King Curtis, and the album was not released until many years later.

RnBAmbassador said:

Aretha Franklin played piano on Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave fame)'s solo album PLENTY GOOD LOVIN. The sessions were produced by King Curtis, and the album was not released until many years later.

Great trivia!

JoeBala said:

Billy Joel played piano on The Shangri-Las' 1965 hit, "Leader of the Pack". He was 16 years old at the time.

what!!!!!!!!!! what!.. like.... what!

Why have i never heard this they talk on all the documentaries i have seen they mention how hard he had it when he was young... and yet het played on a big hit??

Color me suprised

RnBAmbassador said:

Aretha Franklin played piano on Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave fame)'s solo album PLENTY GOOD LOVIN. The sessions were produced by King Curtis, and the album was not released until many years later.

*

Damn!

Tina Turner and the Ikettes participated in the recording of Frank Zappa's Over-Nite Sensation at Ike Turner's Bolic Sounds Studios. During the recording, Tina took Ike to hear playback on one Zappa track that they participated in, he apparently muttered, "what is this shit?" and walked out. Ike told Frank to pay them no more than $25 per song to participate.

David Bowie does not have heterochromic (two different colored) eyes. His irises are, in fact, both blue, but his left pupil is permanently dilated after he was punched in the eye as a teen.

Bjork's first recording was a 1977 solo album made when she was 11 years old. On it she covered popular songs by Stevie Wonder, Edgar Winter and the Beatles (all translated into Icelandic), and offered her debut composition, an instumental flute track, which she performed.

[Edited 4/24/13 18:03pm]

Those array of star-shaped glasses funk wizard Bootsy Collins is known for serve a dual purpose for him. They accentuate his sartorial style and Bootsy has a vision problem that requires corrective prescription eyewear.

[Edited 4/25/13 8:19am]

Earlier in their careers, Marvin Gaye and David Ruffin used to work as record stockpilers for Anna Records. In fact, David also recorded for the label while Marvin did most of his early session work (post-Harvey and the Moonglows) at Tri-Phi Records (he played drums on several of the Spinners' early Tri-Phi singles including their debut hit, "That's What Girls Are Made For").

Elvis Presley won 3 grammys and they were for gospel music, not Rock.

[Edited 4/25/13 16:15pm]

JoeBala said:

Elvis Presley won 3 grammys and they were for gospel music, not Rock.

[Edited 4/25/13 16:15pm]

Another unknown Elvis fact (related to the Grammys too). When he received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, he was only 36 when he got it (1971). I don't know if that makes him the youngest to receive one (MJ was only 34 when he got the Legend Award though) but yeah.

Timmy84 said:

JoeBala said:

Elvis Presley won 3 grammys and they were for gospel music, not Rock.

Another unknown Elvis fact (related to the Grammys too). When he received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, he was only 36 when he got it (1971). I don't know if that makes him the youngest to receive one (MJ was only 34 when he got the Legend Award though) but yeah.

Never knew that. I thought Stevie Wonder presented one to him in the 80's, but maybe that was the American Music Awards.

Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes on one foot.

Mozart never went to school.

Actor Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.

FALSE NAME - REAL NAME

Elton John - Reggie Dwight
Prince - Rogers Nelson, aka Roger Nelson
Eminem - Slim Shady
Madonna - Louise Cicciolina
Charlie Sheen - Carlos Irwin Estevez
Bono - Paul Hewson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Cassius Clay
Alan Alda - Alphonse d'Abruzzo
Boy George - Georgios Panaylotou
John Cleese - John Cheese
John Wayne - Marion Morrison
Jay Z - John Zelig
Bob Dylan - Thomas Dylan
Cary Grant - Archibald Leach
Cher - Cherilyn Sarkisian
Snoop Dogg - Cordazar Calvin Broadus
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Hector Elizondo
Bruce Willis - Barry Willis Frankenheimer
Stevie Wonder - Steveland Judkins
Nicolas Cage - Nicolas Scorsese
Ralph Lauren - Ralph Lipschitz
Morris the cat - Buttercup the cat
Anna Nicole Smith - Vickie Lynn Hogan
Alice Cooper - William Bailey
John Cougar Mellencamp - Bluff Coogan
Michael Jordan - Mike Jordan
John Travolta - Vladimir Illyich Travolta
Paris Hilton - Marissa Stumph
Gloria Estefan - Gloria Fajardo
Lee Marvin - Marvin Lee
50 Cent - Victor Augustus Cent
Englebert Humperdinck - George Dorsey
Talia Shire - Talia Scorsese
Tupac Shakur - Lesane Parish Crooks
John Wayne Gacy - Marion Morrison Gacy
Lisa Bonet - Lisa Boney
Rip Torn - Jeffrey (Rip) Torn
Zsa Zsa Gabor - Eva Gabor
Whoopi Goldberg - Natalie Goldberg
Julia Louis Dreyfuss - Angmar Carabiner
Vanilla Ice - Robert (Rip) Van Winkle
Tom Cruise - Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
Marilyn Monroe - Norma Rae
Sinbad - David Adkins
Holland Oates - Daryl Hall and John Oates

Dolly Parton told Elvis to F Off when he wanted co writing credits for I Will Always Love You when he wanted to do a single for it.

lazycrockett said:

Dolly Parton told Elvis Col. Tom Parker to F Off when he wanted co writing credits for I Will Always Love You when he wanted to do a single for it.

Elvis didn't have shit to do with that, just to let you know lol it was his prick of a manager.

JoeBala said:

Timmy84 said:

Another unknown Elvis fact (related to the Grammys too). When he received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, he was only 36 when he got it (1971). I don't know if that makes him the youngest to receive one (MJ was only 34 when he got the Legend Award though) but yeah.

Never knew that. I thought Stevie Wonder presented one to him in the 80's, but maybe that was the American Music Awards.

Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes on one foot.

That was actually Diana Ross who gave MJ the award of merit at the AMAs. I don't recall Stevie.

Timmy84 said:

lazycrockett said:

Dolly Parton told Elvis Col. Tom Parker to F Off when he wanted co writing credits for I Will Always Love You when he wanted to do a single for it.

Elvis didn't have shit to do with that, just to let you know lol it was his prick of a manager.

Yeah but the majority of people on the org, arent going to have a clue who Parker was. Though Im sure Elvis was aware of how he was getting so much co writing cash.

lazycrockett said:

Timmy84 said:

Elvis didn't have shit to do with that, just to let you know lol it was his prick of a manager.

Yeah but the majority of people on the org, arent going to have a clue who Parker was. Though Im sure Elvis was aware of how he was getting so much co writing cash.

Dude, Elvis was a pill head/pill popper around the time this was going around. He was almost rendered useless to know much around this time of his life. And the majority of folks need to get an education if they don't know that.

Timmy84 said:

lazycrockett said:

Yeah but the majority of people on the org, arent going to have a clue who Parker was. Though Im sure Elvis was aware of how he was getting so much co writing cash.

Dude, Elvis was a pill head/pill popper around the time this was going around. He was almost rendered useless to know much around this time of his life. And the majority of folks need to get an education if they don't know that.

But the co writer credit was established in the mid 1950's. So this was well before Elvis pill problems.

Dolly said no in the early 70's, when she had just left the Porter Waggoner show and decided to make a name for herself which was met which much hatred from the nashville establishment.

lazycrockett said:

Timmy84 said:

Dude, Elvis was a pill head/pill popper around the time this was going around. He was almost rendered useless to know much around this time of his life. And the majority of folks need to get an education if they don't know that.

But the co writer credit was established in the mid 1950's. So this was well before Elvis pill problems.

Dolly said no in the early 70's, when she had just left the Porter Waggoner show and decided to make a name for herself which was met which much hatred from the nashville establishment.

And Otis Blackwell still got a bigger paycheck from the songs that he wrote than Elvis did. Even the percentage Elvis got, he sold his off to Col. Parker. Same with the writers behind "Heartbreak Hotel" (who were country artists by the way).

Dolly was too smart to get fooled by cons like Parker and 'em. She knew how artists got ripped off and she didn't play that shit.

Timmy84 said:

JoeBala said:

Never knew that. I thought Stevie Wonder presented one to him in the 80's, but maybe that was the American Music Awards.

That was actually Diana Ross who gave MJ the award of merit at the AMAs. I don't recall Stevie.

No I mean Stevie gave Elvis lifetime achievement award at one of those awards shows it was like 79-82 before MJ blew up again.

A little known fact about singer Mariah Carey is that, in March of 2006, the first issue of "All Mariah" magazine was published.

A shrewd businessman, in 1961, Sam Cooke began his own record label, SAR Records. An excellent talent scout, Cooke signed The Valentinos and Johnnie Taylor to SAR. The Valentinos featured Bobby Womack on guitar and vocals. Cooke also formed a music publishing house and management firm.

JoeBala said:

Timmy84 said:

That was actually Diana Ross who gave MJ the award of merit at the AMAs. I don't recall Stevie.

No I mean Stevie gave Elvis lifetime achievement award at one of those awards shows it was like 79-82 before MJ blew up again.

Oh. Yeah he might've. Elvis did get an Award of Merit posthumously but I'll see if it was Stevie who gave it to him. Stevie openly admired Elvis.

*The first name Berry Gordy had for his new record label in 1958 was Tammy Records. That changed once someone told him that people who worked on the film "Tammy and the Bachelor" could sue him for copyright issues. So he slightly changed the naming to "Tamla" and it officially opened its doors in January 1959. Ironically, Tammi Terrell (birth name Thomasina Montgomery) was inspired by the same film to change her from "Tommie" to "Tammy". So her original stage name was Tammy Montgomery. It became Tammi Terrell when she joined Motown.

*Berry Gordy almost didn't sign Stevie Wonder to Motown because he hated his singing voice. But Stevie's harmonica playing is what got Stevie signed in the first place.

*Speaking of Sam Cooke and SAR Records, his old group, the Soul Stirrers, also recorded for the label and sometimes backed Cooke on his secular solo recordings ("Meet Me At Mary's Place").

*Marvin Gaye was known in Motown circles to have bunions in his feet, which could explain why he couldn't dance so well. He walked much like an older man that along with "MG" and "Gates" (which were other nicknames Motown label mates gave him), he also was given the nickname "Dad" by Smokey Robinson.

*Little Richard first saw James Brown perform as lead singer of the Famous Flames. Impressed by the group, Richard and his bandleader Fats Gonder convinced the Flames to audition for Richard's manager Clint Brantley. Shortly afterwards, Brantley recorded them and the group was signed to King subsidiary Federal Records and the rest is history.

The Spinners were given their famous name after checking out member Bobbie Smith's (RIP) hubcaps.

Willy Nelson has a black belt in kung fu.

While it's hard for us to image Nelson harshing anyone's mellow with a kung fu chop, it's true. Willie Nelson was an avid athlete growing up -- competing in his school's track, football and baseball team -- and discovering kung fu and taekwondo when he lived in Nashville. At 78 Nelson became a second de...in kung fu. "I think it's very important to learn from your own body," he told the Telegraph. "It doesn't lie to you. If it feels good, do it. If it don't feel good, don't do it."

^ Willie has got to be one of the coolest people to ever roam this planet!