15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs
![15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/6/6/861866_320x180.jpg)
This is the third installment of the “Stupendous Facts To Entertain Our Brains” series. The first two installments were titled “Astonishing Facts To Entertain Our Brains” and “Incredible Facts To Entertain Our Brains”. These are all true and verifiable. I enjoy this list of interesting facts. I hope you enjoy it too. Some of these facts are so mind-bogglingly unbelievable that you might think they were made up. But they're not. These facts are real. In fact, I've tried to make the list as accurate and exhaustive as possible, but there are probably some facts that slipped by my notice, so if you enjoy this list of interesting facts, please share it with your friends and family, so we can get the word out and correct the list for future editions. If you think I missed any facts or you'd like to share some additional interesting facts of your own, let me know in the comments.
”(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding
![(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding CRACKED CON Don't feel bad if you can't nail the whis- tling at the end of the sing - it was never supposed to be there. Co-writer Steve Cropper always left space at the end of a song for Redding to riff, but when it came time to add that extra pizzazz to the end of (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay, he straight-up forgot what he wanted to sing and just started whistling instead. Не intended to continue playing around with the song, but two days later, he died in](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/8/3/861883.jpg)
“Twist and Shout” by the Beatles
![Twist and Shout by the Beatles GRACKED.COM The Beatles's first album was re- corded in a single day while John Lennon was fighting off a cold, which is why Twist and Shout sounds like it's sung by a guy who's been both singing and smoking for 10 hours straight. They even saved the song for last because they knew he'd be use- less afterward.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/8/2/861882.jpg)
“Roxanne” by the Police
![Roxanne by the Police CRACKED.COM That jumble of notes at the begin- ning of Roxanne where it sounds like someone punching a piano was, in fact, someone sitting on a piano. Yep, one of the most famous songs in music history is partially played by Sting's butt. That's also why you can hear him laughing a second later.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/8/1/861881.jpg)
“Rainy Day Woman #12 and 35” by Bob Dylan
![Rainy Day Woman #12 and 35 by Bob Dylan rainy day women 12&35 CRACKED.COM It turns out everybody must get stoned wasn't just a line but a com- mand Bob Dylan made to the musicians in the studio to ensure he got the vibe he was looking for. After telling them he wasn't going to record the song with a bunch of people, everyone started lighting and drinking up. They got goofy, started swapping instru- ments, and produced what they also thought was a practice take that sound- ed exactly like a bunch of stoners mess- ing around, which was](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/9/861879.jpg)
“Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen
![Louie Louie by the Kingsmen CRACKED.COM The most well-known version of the Jamai- can sea shanty is famously so garbled that the FBI investigated it for obscenity, but that wasn't the result of any particular ar- tistic choice so much as the fact that the Kingsmen were broke and not great deci- sion-makers. They used the single studio hour they'd scraped up enough cash to se- cure to record a song they barely knew, then wasted it on what they thought was a practice take. There actually is an obsceni- ty in the song, shouted in frustration by the drummer,](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/8/861878.jpg)
“Tequila” by the Champs
![Tequila by the Champs The CHAMPS CRACKED.COM Tequila came together in a simi- lar fashion, just some session musi- cians farting around, trying to fill a B-side by recording the lowest-ef- fort jams imaginable. The Champs weren't even a band until the song took off and someone told them they had to have a name to put on their Grammy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/8/0/861880.jpg)
"Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam
![Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam The - Nations KISS HIM GOOOBYE CRACKED.COM The na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye song was only re- corded because songwriter Paul Leka's buddy needed a B-side for his single, so they quickly pound- ed it out as badly as possible for a patience-testing four minutes to ensure that it didn't get played. Unfortunately, they didn't do it badly enough.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/7/861877.jpg)
“The Elements: Fire” by the Beach Boys
![The Elements: Fire by the Beach Boys GRACKED.COM The Beach Boys' legendary experimen- tal Smile album contained a move- ment about the four elements, and for the one about fire, Brian Wilson insist- ed on putting little plastic fire helmets on everyone in the studio and then set- ting it on fire. Well, he actually just asked the janitor to start a fire in a bucket, but he got it into his head that the musicians simply couldn't produce the right sound unless they could smell the smoke.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/4/861874.jpg)
“Gold Dust Woman” by Fleetwood Mac
![Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac FIEETWOOD-MAC RUMOURS GRAGKED.COM The recording of Rumours was a scien- tifically unique type of chaos, but Gold Dust Woman was chaotic for reasons that had nothing to do with who was sleeping with whom. Stevie Nicks had decided the best way to capture her vo- cals was by wrapping her whole head in the black scarf while Mick Fleetwood pounded a variety of instruments that aren't usually considered instruments, from a jet phaser to panes of glass he smashed with a hammer as she sang.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/5/861875.jpg)
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd
![Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd CRACKED.COM Founding member Syd Barrett left Pink Floyd before they hit it big, having become incapaci- tated by mental illness, but he had a huge in- fluence on the band long after. In fact, they were recording a song written about him, the perhaps politically incorrect Shine On You Crazy Diamond, when he just walked into the studio, initially unrecognized by some mem- bers of the band because he'd changed so much since they'd last seen him. They made pleasant small talk, Roger Waters asked him what he thought of the song,](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/3/861873.jpg)
“The Show Must Go On” by Queen
![The Show Must Go On by Queen CRACKED.COM Much later, Queen recorded The Show Must Go On, one of Mercury's most powerful performances despite the fact that it was one of the last songs he re- corded with the band, nearing the end of his struggle with AIDS and barely even having the strength to walk. Gui- tarist Brian May later recalled express- ing concern that Mercury couldn't do it, in response to which Mercury slammed a shot of vodka, spat I'll fucking do it, darling, and killed it in one take.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/6/861876.jpg)
“Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie
![Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE UNDER PRESSURE CRACKED.COM There's a reason why everyone's favor- ite karaoke duet sounds like two differ- ent songs, and that reason is cocaine. The song was written and recorded during a wild 24-hour coke and wine bender after a chance meeting in Swit- zerland, where the musicians came up with the instrumental (including the iconic bassline) on the fly and then Bowie convinced Mercury to enter sep- arate recording booths where they couldn't hear each other and just make up words. As we all know now, Mercury mostly came](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/0/861870.jpg)
“A Day in the Life” by the Beatles
![A Day in the Life by the Beatles PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CRACKED COM Firmly rooted in their obnoxious phase by the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles demanded that the orchestral section of A Day in the Life be played by 40 classical musicians all dressed in full evening wear. As if that wasn't annoy- ing enough, when the musicians showed up, they were then told they'd also be wearing an assortment of funny hats, clown noses, and whatever else Paul McCartney could find at the British '60s equivalent of Party City.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/1/861871.jpg)
“Rocket Queen” by Guns N’ Roses
![Rocket Queen by Guns N' Roses N ROSES GUNS CRACKED.COM Axl Rose knew he wanted to end the song that ended Appetite For Destruc- tion with that most melodic sound of some good, hard fuckin', but he didn't actually plan beyond that until the dis- traught girlfriend of Guns N' Roses drum- mer Steven Adler showed up at the stu- dio. Sensing an opportunity to be a huge scumbag, Rose convinced her that the best way to get back at her cheating boyfriend would be to have sex with him and let him record it, and that series of bad](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/6/9/861869.jpg)
“Loser” by Beck
![Loser by Beck CRACKED.COM If Beck's nonsense breakout single sounds like it's just some guy rap- ping about the stuff he sees look- ing around a kitchen, that's be- cause that's exactly what it is. It was recorded spontaneously in his producer's kitchen, and when he heard the playback, Beck said, Man, I'm the worst rapper in the world, I'm just a loser, which led to the chorus.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/7/2/861872.jpg)