If you have difficulty remembering the lyrics to complicated songs, then “Duetto buffo di due gatti” (“Humorous Duet for Two Cats”) is for you. The song consists of just one word — […]
Melodious Meandering Through Mystifying Musical Muses
A Lesson From Fred Astaire: Don’t Listen to the Critics
The name Fred Astaire has become synonymous with dancing perfection. The star of more than 30 musical films is widely regarded as the most influential dancer in American entertainment. If it had […]
Life Lessons from Tchaikovsky: Don’t Lose Your Head Over Music
Nineteenth-century Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky suffered from a strange delusion. He believed his head would fall while he was conducting if he did not secure it to his body by holding on […]
The Shortest National Anthem for One of the World’s Oldest Countries
If you are the impatient type, who can’t wait for the national anthem to end so your favorite sporting event can begin, then Japan may be the place for you. It holds […]
The Month a Whole Town Danced Until They Dropped
Dancing is typically associated with happiness and celebration. If you see someone dancing, you are safe to assume that person is having a good time. You would have been wrong in your […]
The Man in Black and a Cold War Scoop
Years before the world learned of Johnny Cash’s musical talents, the U.S. Air Force helped him develop other abilities. The result led to an unexpected rendezvous with a dramatic moment in history.
Silence is Golden — And Subject to Copyright
When British composer Mike Batt included a song aptly titled “A One Minute Silence” in The Planets’ album “Classical Graffiti,” he thought he had hit upon a clever way to separate two […]
The Musician Who Was So Good, He Had to be Evil
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) was more than a violin virtuoso; he was one of the best violinists of all time. By the time he was in his 20s, he was known throughout Europe. […]
A Classical Composition about Classic Caffeine Compulsion
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is primarily known as a classical composer of Christian music. It was rare that he strayed from religious themes in his music, but when he did it was […]
How Low Can You Go?
The organ at the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium in Atlantic City, New Jersey is an record-setting mechanism. Guinness World Records has three entries dedicated to it:
This Tree Leaves Tunes
Fans of BBC’s Doctor Who might think they have encountered earth’s answer to the Singing Towers of Darillium when they visit Lancashire in the United Kingdom. Unlike that fictional place, where the Doctor and […]
Tuning the Helicopters
Musical instruments can be costly, and any band student who has had to lug a tuba or bell set on a school bus knows they can be unwieldy, too. The Sousaphone or cello […]
Which Record Holds the Record for the World’s Worst Record?
Teenage tragedy songs were popular in the 1950s and 1960s. With one song, in particular, the greatest tragedy about it is the three and one-half minutes of your life you wasted while […]
When Insanity Campaigns, Undisguised
You have to admire someone who can go through the rigors of a political campaign, lose, and be able to shake it off and get on with life. What about a man […]
500 Miles and 500 More… No Sweat for an Astronaut
The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the earth at a relative speed of 7.66 kilometers per second, allowing it to circle the earth in 90 minutes. The 1988 song “500 Miles” by […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 