Unusual Rock Trivia?

[MonetBass]

They do a similar version of Springsteen’s For You also.

Which is awesome.

"For You" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1972 for his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., released in 1973. It was later included on the compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen. The song has been covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, The Format, and Greg Kihn.

Like "Blinded By The Light" (on The Roaring Silence), this song was covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band for their album Chance. As with Manfred Mann Earth Band's previous Springsteen covers, they used a more forceful, rockier sound in "For You" than Springsteen did. The Earth Band version built from a more temperate beginning to an explosion of sound in the bridge, and incorporates five guitars and a keyboard solo by Manfred Mann 3/4 of the way into the song. The song was also included on the compilation albums The Best of Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Blinded by the Light & Other Hits. However, the single release did not achieve the success of their other Springsteen cover.

 

[DrayMiles]

I seem to remember being told by Henry McCullough that Jimi Hendrix produced his first record… And
Henry was in the same studio as Pink Floyd, and he’s at the end of Money saying “I don’t know I was really drunk at the time.”

John Bonham was the minder/baby sitter of Bad Company when they were on Their label… Boz Burrell told me that…

 

[SubHuman]

Regarding the the recording of Tom Petty’s Hard Promises album.

About midway through recording, producer Jimmy Iovine called up John Lennon, whom he had worked with on previous records. Upon hearing where the Heartbreakers were recording, Lennon got in touch with Iovine again and told him that he planned to come and visit the group in the studio and maybe help them out on a few tracks.

This meeting of rock gods was not to be, as Lennon was killed in December of 1980, just before he was set to book a flight to LA. Still reeling from the grief, Petty decided to press the first copies of the record with a sentimental twist to immortalize his idol. For those fans who bought the first copies of the record, there is a visible etching in the vinyl that says proudly "We Love You JL," putting Lennon at the center of one of the band's greatest albums.

I just looked at my Copy and there it is “We love you JL”!
Interesting side note. I have a 1981 British copy too but it doesn’t have it.

 

[IMMusicRulz]

Leonard Nimoy appears as a limo driver in the video for the Bangles' Going Down To Liverpool.

As a matter of fact, Susanna Hoffs' mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, was a director of several episodes of the original Star Trek series.

 

[SubHuman]

Which Fleetwood Mac member made the greatest contribution to Petty’s recording career, you might answer Stevie Nicks in a heartbeat, and it would be hard to argue against that since she popped up several times and the two sang a duet that was a major hit. But what if I told you that Lindsey Buckingham ran a closer second in this race than you might think?

You see, it’s Buckingham who arranged and sang the endlessly fascinating layers of backing vocals that make this version of “Walls” so special, elevating a great song into a spectacular one. Since this version is subtitled “Circus,” Buckingham fittingly creates the aural equivalent of a Hall of Mirrors, his voice seconding Petty’s admonitions in skewed proportions at seemingly impossible angles.

 

[Richland123]

Original Three Dog Night drummer Floyd Sneed was from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His first drum kit was a gift from his older sister Maxine, who at the time was married to musician and fellow Canadian Tommy Chong (later of Cheech & Chong fame). He joined a band called the "Calgary Shades" that included his pianist older brother Bernie Sneed. He soon began performing in the Vancouver area as part of his brother-in-law Tommy Chong's band, Little Daddy & The Bachelors. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1966 and eventually became a member of Three Dog Night in 1968.

 

[TyBo]

Leonard Nimoy appears as a limo driver in the video for the Bangles' Going Down To Liverpool.

As a matter of fact, Susanna Hoffs' mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, was a director of several episodes of the original Star Trek series.

Bangle Vicki Peterson said in an Interview that her parents lived right next to the Nimoys, and the wives were friends. Leonard was amenable to doing a cameo, when the request was relayed to him.

A cool song with some interesting backstories!

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Springsteen's first song played in South Africa was a cover of The Special AKA's "(Free) Nelson Mandela", a song that saved writer Jerry Dammers from bankruptcy.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Leonard Nimoy appears as a limo driver in the video for the Bangles' Going Down To Liverpool.

As a matter of fact, Susanna Hoffs' mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, was a director of several episodes of the original Star Trek series.

The song is a cover of a song by Katrina and the Waves, also fronted by an American woman, although one based in the UK.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Singer and actor David Soul for a short while lived in small village in Warwickshire, England just a few miles away from fellow American actor Ed Bishop, although Bishop stayed much longer.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Members of The English Beat and Boy George attended the same punk/ska parties (one DJ of each genre in opposite corners of the room) in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

 

[tangentmusic]

Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Paice of Deep Purple attempted a brief trio with bassist and vocalist Phil Lynott in between the Gillian/Glover and Coverdale/Hughes versions. It was to be called Baby Face.
While Ian and Ritchie loved his voice, they thought his bass playing skills at that time were not sufficient enough to pull it off. It never got off the ground.

 

[roccobass]

John Paul Jones regarding the Fender V bass that he took out on the Led Zeppelin’s 1973 tour.

“That was my third bass. It was a five-string and the ugliest bass guitar in the world, it was horrible but it had a high fifth string and I got into it for a while but it was unbalanced and I don’t know if it even sounded that good. It was ugly, I couldn’t go on stage with it anymore”.

 

[Jeff K]

^ Ha ha!!! Tell it, J.P., tell it!

 

[IMMusicRulz]

The album cover photo for King Crimson's 1971 album Islands, showcasing the Gaseous nebula, the Trifid in Sagittarius, is actually the same photo used for the cover of Cat Stevens' 1975 album Numbers.

 

[SubHuman]

Suzi Quatro’s First band was called The Pleasure Seekers. She taught herself how to play the bass, after her sister asked her to play the bass for the Pleasure Seekers.

During May 1964 The Pleasure Seekers were formed by Patti Quatro in Detroit, Michigan. The original lineup included lead singers Suzi Quatro and Patti Quatro with Nancy Ball on drums, guitarist Mary Lou Ball and Diane Baker on piano.

Her father gave her a 1957 Fender Precision bass guitar in 1964, which she still uses in the studio. They were pretty radical for an all girl band in 1965…many years before the Runaways.

Patti Quatro and Arlene Quatro are on the left. That’s Suzi on the right.

Check out this song…quirky good!

 

[IMMusicRulz]

In 2012, Guns N Roses guitarist Slash started his own film production company, Slasher Films, which specializes in horror films.

 

[IMMusicRulz]

Jay Siegel, the lead singer of the doo wop band The Tokens, and the lead singer of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, also sang backing vocals on the track Lonely Wind, off of progressive rock band Kansas 1974 debut album.

 

[SubHuman]

Bowie’s Diamond Dogs album cover. Very interesting read…if you have an early LP cover with dog parts intact it’s worth a nice chunk of change. The original artwork is below.

and here’s the rare Album cover.

 

[SubHuman]

Brute Force — King of Fuh
Printed by The Beatles’ label Apple Recordings, this single almost never saw the light of day — all because it featured an obscenity in the lyrics. When it became clear that Capitol and EMI wanted no part of the record, which featured an overdub of philharmonic strings done by George Harrison himself, the Beatles decided to put it out themselves. Arranged by George Harrison, championed by John Lennon and released on The Beatles Apple Records (Apple8). And then it was banned in the U.S., making it the rarest of Apple singles. Originally released in 1967.

Here is a copy of Brute Force — King of Fuh and I will warn that it “sounds” like it is obscene but it is John Lennon humor. You have been warned!