Music History Facts

Warner Chappel Music owns the copyright to the song 'Happy Birthday'. They make over $1 million in royalties every year from the commercial use of the song.

The Grateful Dead were once called 'The Warlocks'.

Michael Jackson used a special shoe to perform his "Smooth Criminal" lean trick.

On April 4, 1968, just hours after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jimi Hendrix opened a concert in Newark by performing a haunting, improvised instrumental elegy. The spontaneous tribute was never officially recorded, and no known audience recordings exist.

The Grand Ole Opry played Nashville's Ryman Auditorium for over 30 years, until 1974, when the show moved to a new building. Workers cut a six-foot circle of oak from the old stage and inlaid it dead center in the new one. Every performer since has stood on that circle to sing. In 2010, a flood swamped the entire stage. The circle was dried out and put back in place. It's still there today.

Paul McCartney was offered the entire Beatles song catalog for $40 million in the early 1980s and passed - telling his attorney it was too pricey. He had personally advised Michael Jackson about the value of music publishing rights just months earlier. Jackson bought the catalog for $47.5 million in 1985. It is now worth $1.2 billion.

Marty Stuart started collecting country music memorabilia as a boy, hiding guitars and costumes in his bedroom. He kept touring and rescuing pieces people threw away for 50 years. It became the largest private collection of country music artifacts in the world: more than 22,000 pieces, including items from Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, and Elvis. He gave it all to the public for free.

Creed Bratton played a character on The Office named after himself. Off screen, he was the real lead guitarist of The Grass Roots. He toured with the band from 1967 to 1969. The band had two gold records. "Let's Live for Today" hit No. 8. "Midnight Confessions" was their biggest hit, at No. 5. His character's real name was later revealed as William Schneider, his actual birth name. He's still touring today, at 83.