Think you know everything there is to know about music? Prepare to be blown away as we take a look at some of the most interesting, unbelievable facts about musicians and the music industry!
1. February 5, 2017;
Lady Gaga opens the Super Bowl halftime show with a verse from "God Bless America," followed by the song Woody Guthrie wrote as a parody, "This Land Is Your Land."
2. November 19, 2016;
At the Sacramento stop on his Saint Pablo Tour, Kanye West does three songs, delivers a 17-minute monologue, and leaves the stage.
3. August 5, 2016;
There are spectacular fireworks, awe-inspiring acrobats, and sensational dancers at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Rio, but supermodel Gisele Bundchen gets the biggest reaction when she takes a long walk across the stage to "The Girl From Ipanema," performed by the composer's grandson, Daniel Jobim.
4. May 12, 2013;
After the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield records the David Bowie song "Space Oddity" on board the International Space Station, his sublime rendition is posted to YouTube, quickly garnering millions of views.
5. October 30, 2010;
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) makes a rare public appearance, performing "Peace Train" at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, which is organized and hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Midway through the song, Colbert interrupts him and introduces Ozzy Osbourne, who starts performing "Crazy Train." Stevens and Osbourne go back and forth, resulting in a strange and hilarious train wreck.
6. August 24, 2008;
Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page perform during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the National Stadium (also known as the Bird's Nest). The duo perform the Led Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love."
7. November 18, 2006;
With the aid of a private jet, Jay-Z plays seven 30-minute sets across the US in one day to promote his comeback album, Kingdom Come.
8. August 13, 2004;
At the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Björk wears a dress that unfurls about 10,000 feet of fabric, which is stretched to cover the viewing area where a world map is then projected. All of this takes place while she sings "Oceania."
Weird Music History
Randy Bachman experiences a musical miracle
In 1976, then 32-year-old Canadian rock musician Randy Bachman had his beloved guitar, an orange Gretsch 6120, stolen from a Toronto hotel. A bitter loss, after all, he had babysat, delivered newspapers, mowed lawns and cleaned cars until he raised the $400 for his first guitar. He later wrote hits like “American Woman”. Then in 2021, 45 years later, a fan spotted a Gretsch in a YouTube video, compared the grain and texture of its wood and confirmed that it was Bachman’s! It turns out that the Japanese musician Takeshi bought it in a Tokyo shop. Bachman – moved to tears – and Takeshi agreed to an exchange with an identical model of the guitar and played a few songs together before getting his guitar back. After 46 years, Randy can play his “first love” again. A truly miraculous musical event!
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