huh what really and Wow
these are the music facts that have us
scratching our head welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we're counting
down our picks for the top ten
unbelievable facts in music history
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for this list we've chosen cool
interesting or surprising facts or
pieces of trivia relating to music
musicians and/or the music industry
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number 10
happy birthday to you is copyrighted
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although likely some 350,000 plus times
a day happy birthday is actually not a
song in the public domain and its
copyright status earns rights holders
warner/chappell music about two million
dollars a year
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the company's copyright which was
acquired in 1988 for at least twenty
five million dollars is set to expire in
2030 in the United States although it
will expire at the end of 2016 in Europe
owing to differences in copyright law
happy birthday written as early as 1893
by sisters and teachers Patty and
Mildred J Hill the song is only subject
to royalty payments when sung in public
and commands ten thousand dollars for
use in films nine screamin Jay Hawkins
50 plus kids this shocked rock pioneer
was shockingly also fathered to as many
as 75 children the singer had three
children with the first of his six wives
but has been quoted as being aware of at
least fifty seven mostly illegitimate
children
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following his death in 2000 a website
was set up to help track his vastly sown
seed with 33 of the more than 1200
submissions more or less confirmed as
the rockers offspring the next year many
of the junior Hawkins held a reunion to
celebrate daddy dearest
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number eight Celine Dion's my heart will
go on was recorded in one take I see now
viewed as Celine Dion's signature song
the ballot to sink a ship almost didn't
happen and I kept saying to Rene in the
back of his leg
upon hearing the music the singer didn't
want to record it and Titanic director
James Cameron didn't want to use it
producer Simon Franklin who had worked
with Celine in the past opted to record
a demo anyway and XEOMIN was encouraged
to sing on the recording by husband and
manager Rene Khalil according to Tommy
Mottola they all nailed the vocal in one
take and never re-recorded it meaning
the global number one hit is actually a
demo
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number seven Elvis Presley was a blonde
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perhaps the most surprising fact about a
man whose life was rich with interesting
facts is that the king of rock and
roll's jet-black hair came from a bottle
a bottle of miss clairol 51 d to be
exact
ago hold the video tag born blonde
Elvis's hair naturally grew darker to a
sandy blonde by his high school years
and was a dark chestnut color during his
service in the army can't you see
when they don't believe
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Pressley began dyeing his hair black in
the mid 50's and continued to do so
until his death in 1977 actor Robert
Mitchum meanwhile reportedly inspired
his trademark hairstyle
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number six Tony Iommi's missing
fingertips
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aged 17 and working his last day in a
sheetmetal Factory the future Black
Sabbath guitarist cut off the tips of
his right middle and ring fingers in a
pressing machine one day I went into
work and there was a woman he's
depressed the metal and send it down to
me and I used to welding and she never
came in so they said all you've got to
do the pressing so want to get on this
machine
of course it the thing just came down
now being left-handed this should have
meant the end of his playing days but
Iommi instead created new fingertips out
of melted dish soap bottles and leather
strips which resembled thimbles
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for playability the guitarist began
tuning his guitar to D flat rather than
East Standard which had the additional
effect of giving his music a low deep
and menacing sound and shaped what would
become heavy metal
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number five mariah carey's whistle
register and reaching beyond the seventh
octave self classified as an alto Mariah
Carey began singing in imitation of her
mother a mezzo soprano opera singer when
she was about three carries vocal range
spans five plus octaves from E to
through G sharp seven which includes a
full and controlled whistle register on
the high end of things that put her in
the Guinness Book of World Records
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the diva claims her increased ability in
the higher octaves stems from nodules on
her vocal cords which have allowed the
singer to hit some of the highest notes
ever produced by a human voice
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number four Def Leppard's Rick Allen
keeps drumming with one arms
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Rick Allen's career was nearly cut short
in 1984 when a car accident resulted in
the drummer losing his left arm although
doctors were able to reattach the limb
gangrene soon set in forcing them to
amputate it
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Allen discovered he could keep good time
with his remaining limbs and soon said
about piecing together an electronic kit
with additional foot triggers with some
help from his fellow musicians
he also developed a modified playing
style a style Def Leppard vocalist Joe
Elliott claims is actually superior to
the drummers former to Arms drumming
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number three the dark side of the moon's
fourteen-year chart run
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recorded between the spring of 1972 and
the winter of 1973 material from the
Dark Side of the Moon was actually
debuted by Pink Floyd while they toured
the prior to its release
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you
this did little to hurt sales however as
the game-changing album stayed on the
charts for a total of 741 weeks starting
with a number one spot on the Billboard
Top LPS tapes chart in March
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it only finally dropped off in 1988 The
Pink Floyd record has even reappeared on
the charts several times thereafter
including the 90s and 2000's and to date
has clocked in 867 non-consecutive weeks
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number two the all beetles top five
by april 4th 1964 Beatlemania had
arrived in america although not yet
bigger than Jesus the Fab Four managed
to take all five top positions on the
Billboard Hot 100 on this date
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that week can't buy me love took the top
spot while twist and shout she loves you
I want to hold your hand and please
please me made the Beatles the only act
ever to complete me hold the charts top
five spots can't buy me loves jumped
from number 26 to the top meanwhile was
the largest leap until Kelly Clarkson's
a moment like this hit number one from
number 52 in 2002
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions
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Leona's first guitar was a Telecaster
and Leo's an engineer so everything was
straight lines hard edges and you can
look at that guitar and you think yes he
designed that because he wasn't a
guitarist
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number one the 27 club whether due to
overdoses suicides murders or even
natural causes many iconic musicians
never lived to see age 28
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the apparent frequency with which
artists have seemed to die when they're
27 has led to the idea of the so-called
27 club reportedly beginning as early as
1890 - with the death of brazilian
pianist Alexander VI and claiming blues
legend Robert Johnson in 1938 the 27
clubs peak era was 1969 to 71 as these
years saw the passing of notable
musicians like Jimi Hendrix Janis Joplin
and The Doors Jim Morrison the club
gained renewed attention in 1994 with
Kurt Cobain's death
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and in the new millennium with Amy
Winehouse's passing in 2011
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do you agree with our list what's your
favorite unbelievable music fact four
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