30 Music Facts From Noteworthy to Offbeat

Discover interesting facts about some of the most well-known recording artists.

• In 2013, Metallica became the first band to play a concert on every continent on Earth. This accomplishment is documented by Guinness World Records.
• In 1970, Carol Channing became the first professional performer to sing during halftime at the Super Bowl.
  
• Astronaut Chris Hadfield released a truly out-of-this-world album in 2015. He wrote and recorded the album, Space Sessions: Songs from a Tin Can, while in space.
  
• LeAnn Rimes won a Grammy award when she was just 14 years old, making her the youngest person to receive this award. She won for her 1997 remake of Blue, originally recorded by Bill Mack in 1958.
  
• With more than 250 million recordings sold, The Beatles are the all-time best selling band in the world.
• Musician Jerry Lee Lewis is believed to have been married more times than any other professional musician. He was married a total of seven times.
• In 1987, Aretha Franklin became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• With a net worth of 1.3 billion dollars, Paul McCartney is the wealthiest musician in the world.
• Willie Nelson is a prolific published author. His titles include Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, The Tao of Willie, Pretty Paper, and several others.
• When Pope John Paul II visited Canada in 1984, Celine Dion performed Une Colombe during his appearance at the Olympic stadium in Montreal. There were 60,000 people in the audience.
• Elvis Presley played 636 consecutive shows in Las Vegas over an eight-year period (1969-1976). He played two shows per evening every day of the week. Each show sold out.

There are television shows and networks devoted to music, as well as televised award shows that honor musicians for their achievements.

Music finds its way into everyday life in many different ways.

• Over half of the households in the U.S. have at least one person who plays one or more musical instruments.
• Students can leverage musical skills into money for college. There are many music scholarships, including programs for playing in a university's band.
• Have you ever heard or thought about a song only to have it get stuck in your head? There's a word for that. It's called an earworm!
• In 1967, entrepreneur Shigeichi Negishi invented what he called the Sparko Box. This device is actually the very first known karaoke machine.
• Karaoke found its way into the U.S. culture in a big way in the 1990s, when many bars added these devices to engage customers.
• Listening to music that you enjoy can help you relax and relieve stress. Slower tempos seem to be best for quieting a busy mind and relaxing tense muscles.
• Paul and Joseph Galvin introduced the first in-car radios in the early 1930s. They combined the word motor (for car) with Victrola (for music player) to come up with the name Motorola for their innovation.
• Approximately 90% of social media users engage in some kind of music-related activity via their apps and profiles. Activities include things like engaging with artists or using song lyrics as image captions.
• Listening to music at bedtime helps many people (children and adults alike) fall asleep faster.
• Playing music while working (assuming it's allowed) can help make people feel more productive.

Music is such a broad topic that the fact list above is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg related to the topic. Why not take a deeper dive and learn even more? Start by learning some descriptive words for music. If you're still captivated and would like to find out even more, explore the major types of music from around the world.