Entertainment Facts About Music

None of the Beatles knew how to read music. (Paul McCartney eventually taught himself.)

Elvis Presley got a 'C' in his eighth grade music class.

Jon Bon Jovi runs two restaurants in New Jersey called JBJ Soul Kitchen with no prices on the menu. Guests pay whatever they can, volunteer for an hour, or simply eat — no questions asked. Everyone gets the same chef-prepared meal in the same dining room. The idea is to fight food insecurity with dignity, not charity.

Eddie Cochran recorded 'Three Steps to Heaven' just weeks before his fatal car crash in 1960. Released posthumously, it became a #1 hit in the UK.

Eminem repeated the 9th grade three times.

During an interview when Adele was asked about her weight and figure, she replied “I don’t make music for eyes. I make music for ears”.

Queen is the only band in which every member has composed more than one UK #1 single, and all four members were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.

In Montreal, there's a seasonal art installation called '21 Balançoires' featuring swings that play musical notes when you swing on them—and the music only harmonizes when strangers swing together.

Beyonce submitted Cowboy Carter to the 2024 CMAs. The country establishment gave her zero nominations. She took the album on tour anyway, grossing over $400 million - the highest-grossing country tour in history - and Forbes declared her the fifth musician ever to become a billionaire.

Eminem's mother sued him for $10 million in defamation over one line in "My Name Is." A judge ruled in her favor — for $25,000. Her lawyer took $23,354.25 in fees. She walked away with exactly $1,645.75.

At Live Aid in 1985, Bono spotted a 15-year-old girl being crushed at the front of 72,000 people. Security wouldn't help. He jumped off the stage mid-song, lifted Kal Khalique over the barrier himself - and missed the entire final song of their set. His bandmates were livid. They thought he'd blown their biggest chance. They had no idea he'd just made them the biggest band on earth.

Rod Stewart secretly spent 23 years building a 1,500-square-foot model city in his attic - a 1940s American metropolis with five-foot skyscrapers. On tour, he reserved extra hotel rooms just to keep building.

Eminem won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2003 for "Lose Yourself" - the first rap song ever to win that award. He wasn't there. He was asleep in Detroit because his daughter Hailie had school early the next morning. He slept through history.

George Michael spent decades secretly giving away millions - and almost nobody knew until he died in 2016. He paid a stranger's £15,000 IVF bill after seeing her cry on Deal or No Deal, and donated £100,000 every Easter to charity via anonymous phone-ins. The woman he helped named her son Seth George in his honour.

A completely silent song on Spotify called "Sleepify" earned a band over $20,000 in royalties before being removed. Fans played it on repeat overnight while sleeping to support the band Vulfpeck, who used the money to fund a free tour.

Walmart ran a 2012 Facebook contest to send Pitbull to whichever store got the most likes. The internet hijacked it under #ExilePitbull and voted for a tiny Walmart in Kodiak, Alaska - an island of 6,000 people only reachable by boat or plane. The store racked up 70,000 likes. Pitbull flew up, performed at the Coast Guard base, and got the key to the city. Then he paid to fly the prank's organizer up there with him.

Pharrell Williams was fired from three different McDonald's locations. His reason: "I was eating the chicken nuggets." Years later, McDonald's hired him to produce "I'm Lovin' It" — the most successful fast food jingle in history.

A memorial tree was planted in Los Angeles' Griffith Park in honor of Beatles guitarist George Harrison. It was killed by an infestation of beetles.

Celine Dion hated "My Heart Will Go On" so much she almost refused to record it. She did one throwaway demo just to get her husband to stop asking. That single take sold 18 million copies and won an Oscar. Rolling Stone later voted it the 4th most annoying song ever made.

Elvis wanted to record "I Will Always Love You." His manager Colonel Tom Parker called Dolly Parton and said there was one condition - hand over 50% of the publishing rights. Dolly said no. Years later, Whitney Houston covered it for The Bodyguard. Dolly earned over $10 million from that single cover. She later joked she made enough money to buy Graceland.