Weird and Wonderful Facts About Music

Welcome to a musical journey like no other! In this article, we invite you to immerse yourself in the enchanting realm of music as we unveil fascinating facts that will leave you amazed. From the origins of classical compositions to the evolution of modern genres, from the iconic figures who shaped the industry to the mind-blowing trivia behind your favorite songs, prepare to explore a symphony of knowledge with these eye-brow-raising facts about music.

Spanning multiple genres, music history, and iconic artists, these facts will educate, surprise, and wow music fans. Many of these questions make for great music trivia which you can test on your friends and family. So, grab your headphones, tune in, and embark on an unforgettable exploration of captivating facts about music.

1. Despite being one of the biggest bands in the world, the Beatles couldn’t read music. Paul McCartney revealed this nugget during a chat with 60 Minutes in 2018.
2. Shakira is the first person to have more than 100 million likes on Facebook.
3. A study by a University of Sydney professor found that musicians have shorter lifespans than the average human.
4. Mozart sold more CDs than Beyonce in 2016. The reason being Universal released a 200 CD set of Mozart’s music to celebrate the 225th anniversary of his death.
5. The largest-performing rock band as listed by Guinness World Records is the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy. Consisting of 953 people, the band played together in Tianjin, China on June 16, 2016.
6. Studies have found singing in a group is good for your health and puts people in a good mood.
7. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is the first person to record an album in space. Space Sessions: Songs From a Tin Can is available to stream on Spotify and includes Hadfield’s cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” which is the first song ever recorded in space.
8. A 2014 study found that not everyone likes music, with 5% of participants having no emotional connection to music. Poor souls.
9. Maroon 5 was originally called Kara’s Flowers.
10. Jimi Hendrix played his guitar upside down. As a left-hander, instead of getting a left-handed guitar, Jimi Hendrix just flipped his right-hand guitar upside down.
11. Whitney Houston’s biggest hit, “I Will Always Love You,” is actually a cover written by country music great Dolly Parton.
12. Classical music fans and heavy metal fans actually have a lot in common according to a 2008 study.
13. “Jingle Bells” is meant to be a song sung at Thanksgiving and not Christmas. Written by James Lord Pierpont and released in 1857, the original theme of the song was about a man making his way through the snow to Thanksgiving, but the lyrics got changed over time and it transformed into a Christmas song.
14. Music helps plants grow faster. A 2014 study discovered classic music aided in the growth of plants.
15. The original title of Queen’s monster hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was actually “Mongolian Rhapsody,” according to an article published in The New York Times.
16. Katy Perry is the first person to have more than 100 million followers on Twitter.
17. Eminem’s “Rap God” is officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the hit song with the most words. Eminem spits 1,560 words across six minutes and four seconds, which equates to 4.28 words per second.
18. Finland has the most metal bands per capita, with 53.5 metal bands per 100,000 people.
19. Rod Stewart held the largest-ever free concert. According to Guinness World Records, around 4.2 million people showed up for his New Year’s Eve concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1994.
20. Michael Jackson’s favorite Disney cartoon character was Pinocchio.
21. Beyonce has the most Grammy Award wins of all time, having collected 32 trophies.
22. The Hooked on Music project found the Spice Girls “Wannabe” the catchiest song ever released.
23. The British Navy once used Britney Spears’ songs to scare away Somali pirates.
24. “Seikilos Epitaph,” also known as “Hurrian Hymn No. 6,” is considered the oldest composition in the world.
25. The 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute is the oldest instrument in the world.
26. The world’s most expensive instrument is the MacDonald Stradivarius Viola, which has a price tag of a whopping $45,000,000.
27. Daddy Yankee is the first Latin artist to claim the number-one spot on Spotify thanks to his song “Despacito.”
28. A violin is made up of 70 different pieces of wood.
29. Bob Marley was awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of the Third World in 1978.
30. The world’s longest concert went for 437 hours, 54 minutes, and 40 seconds and combined a host of different artists and musicians.
31. “Happy Birthday” is the most profitable song of all time, bringing in around $2 million every year.
32. The Beatles are the biggest-selling artists of all time with over 600 million record sales.
33. The term “pop music” first became widely used in the 1950s as a way to describe popular music in the charts.
34. Listening to classical music is believed to boost brain powers, with a 2001 study finding children who listened to ten minutes of Mozart performed better in class than those who didn’t listen.
35. Napalm Death holds the Guinness World Record for the shortest song ever recorded. Their track, “You Suffer,” is 1.316 seconds long and comes from the grindcore band’s debut album Scum.
36. Barry Manilow’s famous hit “I Write the Songs” was actually written by Bruce Johnston.
37. Metallica is the first and only band to have played on all seven continents.
38. The “Lady Blunt” Stradivarius violin is the most expensive musical instrument sold at auction, fetching $15.9 million in 2011.
39. Aretha Franklin was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
40. There are just eight notes in music.
41. A French study found that loud music makes people drink more.
42. The Offspring’s first drummer, James Lilja, left the band to attend medical school, eventually going on to become a gynecologist.
43. Michael Jackson attempted to buy Marvel Comics during the 90s.
44. August 24 is also known as International Strange Music Day.
45. Listening to music causes cows to produce more milk according to a 2001 study.
46. Karaoke comes from the Japanese words karappo; meaning empty, and okesutura; meaning orchestra, translating to “empty orchestra.”
47. The Simpsons “Do the Bartman” song was written by Michael Jackson.
48. Billie Holiday was Billy Crystal’s babysitter.
49. Nashville is known as the Home of Country Music.
50. Julie Andrews learned to play the guitar for The Sound of Music.
51. Prince played 27 instruments on his debut album For You.
52. While struggling to make an impact with his band Guns N’ Roses, Axel Rose took part in a scientific study that involved smoking cigarettes. He was joined by bandmate Izzy Stradlin, with the duo paid $8 an hour.
53. British singer Katie Melua holds the world record for the deepest underwater concert.
54. The Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident inspired the creation of YouTube.
55. The Beyonce song “Irreplaceable” was actually written by Ne-Yo and envisioned as a country song, but Beyonce liked it so much and turned it into an R&B banger.
56. Thriller by Michael Jackson is the most-selling album of all time.
57. ABBA take their name from the four band members; Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
58. The Spice Girls didn’t get to pick their nicknames. It was the magazine Top of the Pops that first gave each of the girls a name, which quickly stuck. The group consists of Victoria Beckham, aka “Posh Spice;” Melanie Brown, aka “Scary Spice;” Emma Bunton, aka “Baby Spice;” Geri Horner, aka “Ginger Spice;” and Melanie Chisholm, aka “Sporty Spice.”
59. Dr. Dre and Warren G are stepbrothers.
60. Leo Fender, a founder of Fender Guitars, couldn’t actually play the guitar himself.
61. Japan has the shortest national anthem in the world with just four lines.
62. Opera singer Leonard Warren died at the age of 40 while singing on stage. Erriely, the final words he sang were, “to die, a momentous thing.”
63. The Greek national anthem contains 158 verses.