Music Trivia

The longest rendering of any national anthem was the German "God Save the King," played 17 times by a German military band on February 9, 1909 at the Brandenburg railway station. They played it while King Edward VII struggled to put on his German Field Marshall uniform.

"Vexations" by Erik Satie is the longest piano piece of any kind. It is a 180 note composition which, by Satie's orders, must be played 840 times. The entire performance lasts 18 hours and 40 minutes. The first time it was played publicly was at the Pocket Theater in New York City in 1963. A team of ten pianists played it. The New York Times critic fell asleep at 4:00 in the morning. When it finished, only six people remained in the audience. One of the shouted, Encore!"

The Buggles 'Video Killed the Radio Star' was the first video to premier on MTV on August 1, 1981. It was also the millionth video to air on MTV February 27, 2000. It is the 3rd most aired video in MTV history.

Initially, MTV did not want to air any videos by black artists. Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" was the first by a black artist to be aired.

The most Grammy Awards ever were given to Michael Jackson. He received eight.

The longest song title is "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues." It was written in 1943 by Hoagy Carmichael. Later he said that the title really ended with "Yank" and that the rest was a joke.

Jim Morrison of The Doors was the first rock star to be arrested on stage.

The price of an advance ticket to Woodstock in 1969 was $18. At the gate, it was $24.

The first woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera in New York City was Sarah Caldwell in 1976.