12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, April 26, 2024

Fresh, never frozen

Authors: By Jesse
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

‘Fawlty Towers’ Creator John Cleese Really Doesn’t Understand ‘Fawlty Towers’

‘Don’t mention the culture war’

Authors: By JM McNab
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

26 of the Funniest Tweets from Friday, April 26, 2024

Nuggets are great regardless of context

Authors: By Ian Garner
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

‘Young Sheldon’ Star Calls Cancellation ‘Such A Stupid Business Move’

‘We were totally ambushed by this’

Authors: By Matt Solomon
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

John Oliver Laments HBO Mergers and Having ‘Three Different Business Daddies in 10 Years’

Somehow, ‘Last Week Tonight’ survived AT&T’s acquisition of HBO and the infamous Discovery merger

Authors: By Keegan Kelly
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

15 Backstories For Famous Songs You Have Stuck In Your Head

By:: Cracked Writers; Brian C. Miller

June 16, 2022

15 Backstories For Famous Songs You Have Stuck In Your Head

A musician wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, a new hit song bursting forth from the folds of their subconscious mind. They race for anything to make the ethereal creativity manifest in the real world-- A pen and paper, a recorder, anything. Then, in the morning, they head off to record the song and people are singing it in their cars the world over.

That, of course, isn't how it works… Well, except for the times when it is.

Songs have many different interesting journeys from conception to recording, and below are some of our favorites. There's everything from the aforementioned middle of the night lightning bolts of brilliance, stoned out jam sessions between studio musicians, and sadly posthumous masterpieces. No matter how they end up getting here, the result for a truly great pop song is the same… Us, annoyed in the shower, trying to get an earworm out of our brains.

30 Shine On You Crazy Diamond

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, — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

29 Loser

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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

28 A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life by the Beatles PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CRACKED CORE 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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

27 Under Pressure

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 — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

26 Rocket Queen

Rocket Queen by Guns N' Roses I 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 — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

25 Nothing Else Matters

CRACKED.COM Metallica's Nothing Else Matters G.B.W came from thoughtless guitar fingering. Some people doodle on paper while on the phone. James Hetfield randomly plucked at his guitar's strings while talking to his girlfriend. That pattern became the song's opening bars. — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

24 Jolene

CRACKED.COM Dolly Parton's Jolene was a real woman. Parton kept teasing her husband about a red-headed bank teller who gave him a lot of attention. (Her name wasn't Jolene, though t that name came from a little girl Parton met while signing autographs.) — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

23 Fight For Your Right

The Beastie Boys' (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)' was supposed to be a parody. The Beasties were poking fun at 1980's frat culture. Except that no one got the joke, and the song was adopted as an anthem celebrating the kind of debauchery it was sending up. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

22 Kiss Him Goodbye

Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam The News - KISS HM 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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

21 The Show Must Go On

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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

20 Gold Dust Woman

Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac FIEETWOODMAC 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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

19 The Elements: Fire

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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

18 Yesterday

CRACKED.COM Paul McCartney was afraid he was plagiarizing Yesterday. After dreaming up the melody, McCartney wasn't sure it was actually his creation. For a time he went around asking people in the business if they had heard it before. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it, he said. — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

17 Sweet Child o' Mine

Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child o' Mine began as a dumb joke. During a jam session, Slash started making faces while playing a silly melody. The other band members liked the tune and ran with it. Within an hour my guitar exercise had become something else, Slash wrote. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

16 Satisfaction

CRACKED.COM Keith Richards literally composed (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction in his sleep. Richards woke up in the middle of the night, recorded about 30 seconds of the song on a tape recorder, and then fell back asleep. In the morning he didn't remember any of it, until he played the recording. — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

15 Firework

Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

14 Roxanne

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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

13 Tequila

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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

12 Rainy Day Woman #12 and 35

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 — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

11 Louie Louie

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, — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

10 Never Learn Not To Love

The Beach Boys' Never Learn Not to Love was written by Charles Manson. Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson was close with Manson, until the band reworked and recorded one of his songs without crediting him. Manson was furious. Considering the Family's victims were murdered over much less that that, the Boys got off easy. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

9 Sweet Caroline

Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline is named after JFK's daughter. Diamond needed a three-syllable name to fit the song he was writing. Then he remembered a photo of 7-year-old Caroline Kennedy he had seen in a magazine. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

8 You Give Love a Bad Name

CRACKED.COM Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name was a different song (by Bonnie Tyler). Tyler's If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man) didn't do as well as songwriter Desmond Child expected - so he rewrote the lyrics, changed the song's title, and gave it to someone else to prove it could be a hit. — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

7 Billie Jean

CRACKED.COM Billie Jean almost got Michael Jackson killed. Jackson was so absorbed in the song, working on it in his head while driving, that he didn't notice his car was on fire. Someone on a bike had to point it out to him. — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

6 The Dock of the Bay

(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 — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

5 Twist and Shout

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. — Source: 15 Bizarro Details of the Recordings of Famous Songs

4 Puff the Magic Dragon

Puff, the Magic Dragon has nothing to do with drugs. Leonard Lipton, who wrote the poem the song was based on, is sick of people asking him if it's really about smoking pot. Не swears it's a straightforward children's tale, and that advocating marijuana for little kids is not a good thing. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

3 Dude (Looks Like a Lady)

CRACKED.COM The dude in Aerosmith's Dude (Looks Like a Lady) is Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe. According to songwriter Desmond Child, the song was born when the band went into a club and saw a woman with teased- up platinum mullet and black nails and porcelain skin and jewelry and with a curvy waist - who turned out to be Neil. — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

2 Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah became big because of Shrek. The song went mostly underappreciated for years, even as other artists kept covering it, until a version of it was used in a movie about an ogre, a princess, and a donkey. Then it started popping up everywhere. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

1 Smoke on the Water

CRACKED.COM Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water recounts a real tragedy. The story in the lyrics actually happened - the band was in Montreux, Switzerland, when some stupid with a flare gun burned down the casino where they were supposed to record an album using a mobile studio. otour — Source: 15 Of Our Favorite Songs (Have Surprising Backstories)

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

40 Random Bits of Trivia That Should Win Us the Pulitzer

That’s right. We’re skipping the Webbys and going straight for the big show

Authors: By Jesse
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

Netflix Viewers Call Out Sydney Sweeney for Ripping Off Mr. Bean

The opening of ‘Anyone But You’ is suspiciously familiar to ‘Bean’

Authors: By JM McNab
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 2

Here’s the Guy Who Bought Every Onion in America

What are you gonna do, cry about it?

Authors: By Eli Yudin
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

Four Places Where Animals Have Tamed Humans

Those damn dirty... cats?

Authors: By Amanda Mannen
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

All Howard Stern Ever Really Wanted Was the Legitimacy of Interviewing a Sitting President

Post-Scores Howard has his dreams come true

Authors: By Matt Solomon
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 2

35 of the Wildest Things Brought Into a Pawn Shop

‘A toxic waste container’

Authors: By Ian Garner
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

MUST READ

12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, April 26, 2024

Fresh, never frozen

Authors: By Jesse
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

‘Fawlty Towers’ Creator John Cleese Really Doesn’t Understand ‘Fawlty Towers’

‘Don’t mention the culture war’

Authors: By JM McNab
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0

26 of the Funniest Tweets from Friday, April 26, 2024

Nuggets are great regardless of context

Authors: By Ian Garner
Published: April 26, 2024
Comments: 0