7 WTFacts (Music I)

1. Norah Jones is Ravi Shankar’s daughter.

You might’ve heard about Norah Jones, jazz-musician. You might not have heard of Ravi Shankar. Well, Ravi Shankar was an Indian-musician, renowned for introducing George Harrison and the rest of the Beatles to the sound of the sitar. If you hear Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hart Club Band, you’ll noticed the prevalence of the exotic sounding sitar, played by Harrison. Shankar thaught him how to play it. Sadly, Shankar passed away last week, but his spirit lives on in the form of his daughter, Geethali Shankar, whose full name is Geethali Norah Jones Shankar. (source)

 

2. Aerosmith rejected the use of the plane most of Lynyrd Skynyrd died in.

You might’ve heard about Lynyrd Skynyrd, if you’d listen to their songs ‘Freebird’ or ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ you might remember it. They where an American band most famous during the seventies. On the 20th of October, 1977, their plane crashed and lead singer Ronnie van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines died. A tragic day in Rock ‘n’ Roll history. A less known fact about this certain plane, is that Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry wanted to charter the plane in the summer of ’77, but their management decided against it after inspecting the plane and flight crew, once they saw the crew passing a bottle of Jack Daniels around. Smart choice. (source)

 

3. Bob Dylan didn’t go to Woodstock ’69 because he hated hippies.

Bob Dylan, by some seen as the frontrunner of anti-war propaganda during the Vietnam-war, which brought about the hippie movement across the globe. Woodstock ’69, possibly the greatest music festival of all time. Certainly a match made in heaven, you’d think. But Bob Dylan didn’t go to Woodstock. One explanation for this is because his daughter fell ill. Another, more popular reason, is that he hated hippies, the very demographic that adored him. Fearing Woodstock would be a hippiefest, Bob Dylan didn’t go. (source)

 

4. The Beatles had to stop touring because their fans were too loud.

In 1966, when the Beatles had just finished recording their ‘Revolver’ album, the Beatles stopped touring. Not because they were tired, but because the audience couldn’t hear the music over their own screaming. Their Vox amplifiers, which had been specifically designed for their performances, could keep up with the volumes the crowd made. Realizing this, they concluded their fans didn’t come for the music, but to see them. This took away their pleasure in live performances, as the music wouldn’t matter anyway, and they stopped touring in August ’66. (source)

 

5. Jimi Hendrix, the world’s most well known left-handed guitar player, was right-handed.

In the early days of Rock ‘n’ Roll, almost every guitar built was meant for right-handed players. Left-handers like me had to adjust to that, either by playing right-handed awkwardly, or turning the right-handed guitar upside-down. Which is what Jimi Hendrix did. But Jimi Hendrix actually didn’t need to play like that, as he was somewhat ambidextrous. When writing, he would use his right hand. He might’ve had a preference for his left hand though, which made him become a symbol for left-handed players. And, luckily, this makes for another fun and utter useless fact on this list. (source)

 

6. May 15th, 1997, is ‘ZZ Top-day’ in Texas as proclaimed by George W. Bush.

Ah, America. Home of the nutty brave. After eight years of mismanagement by former Texan governor George W. Bush, Obama is left to pick up the pieces. You might’ve heard of ZZ Top as well, with their long coats and equally long beards. Originating from Texas, ZZ Top is apparently one of Bush Jr’s favourite bands, as he proclaimed May 17th 1997 as official, government approved ‘ZZ Top-day’ in Texas. Why? Because Bush. (source) 

 

7. Pattie Boyd is the world’s best muse.

Pattie Boyd. You might not have heard her name before, even though she played an incremental role in Rock ‘n’ Roll history. In 1966, she married George Harrison. The Beatles’ songs ‘Something’, ‘I Need You’, ‘For You Blue’ and ‘Isn’t It A Pity’ where all written by Harrison, presumably about her. In 1974, the couple split up. However, this is not the end of this story, as she married Eric Clapton in 1979. Clapton, Harrison’s best friend, had always had a crush on his friend’s wife, and wrote ‘Layla’, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘Bell Bottom Blues’ about her. Initially, Clapton dated her younger sister Paula, but she was just a substitute for his real desire. When she became ‘available’ once again, he married her. In 1988, just nine years later, they separated. (source)

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