Weird Music History
“My Way” Karaoke Killings
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. The first (and only) band to play on all seven continents is Metallica.
2. In “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Freddie Mercury plays on the very same piano used by Paul McCartney in “Hey Jude”.
3. Music, along with painting, poetry, literature and architecture, was Olympic event from 1912 until 1948.
4. Mozart sold more CDs than Beyoncé in 2016.
5. When you listen to music, the brain releases the same feel-good hormone (dopamine) it does during sex and eating.
6 In 1952, American composer John Cage created a song titled “4’44”. It consisted of four minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
7. The longest song title ever is Hoagy Carmichael’s 1943 “I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues.”
8. There are more people in Monaco’s orchestra than in its army.
9. A 2001 study found that cows produce more milk when listening to relaxing moo-sic (sorry, we couldn’t resist!).
10. It has long been scientifically proven that making music can positively affect the brain and nervous system. While playing, various areas of the brain are triggered and new connections and networks are established within the brain when learning an instrument. You have to think faster than the instrument can play; usually milliseconds in advance. And somehow this is possible! Remarkable!
The “My Way” killings are a social phenomenon in the Philippines, referring to a number of fatal disputes that arose due to the singing of “My Way,” popularized by Frank Sinatra, in karaoke bars. According to the local authorities at least twelve people died between 2002 and 2012 while singing the song. Even though opinions differ over whether the connection is sheer coincidence since the song is frequently sung in the nation’s karaoke bars where violence is common or to the aggressive lyrics, the fact is the song has become the most “deadly” in music history over the past decade.