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’Net Junkie Shawn "Speedy" Lopes |
Site is music to the ears
Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" may be one of rock 'n' roll's most indelible classics, though truth be told, it never made the pop charts. The reason is simple, really: It was never released as a single. At more than eight minutes in length, it was just too long to command a listener's attention, or so their label believed at the time. It became a rock staple anyway.
Discover those little-known details on your favorite songs at www.songfacts.com, a searchable database of odd and mostly interesting facts compiled by radio professionals, music enthusiasts and Web site visitors. In addition to the "did-you-knows" on pop music's most treasured ditties, songfacts.com provides such crucial stats as the album it appeared on, the year it was released and its peak position on the U.S. and U.K. charts.
You may search by title or browse alphabetically. A myriad of artists from all styles of popular music are represented, from Aaliyah to ZZ Top, Rammstein to Lionel Richie and Shakira to the Sex Pistols. Venerated classic rockers such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Cream are well represented, as are the one-hit wonders like Morris Albert ("Feelings," 1975), T'Pau ("Heart and Soul," 1987) and Rockwell ("Somebody's Watching Me," 1984). It spans the breadth of pop music, from hip-hop (Run-DMC, the Roots, 50 Cent, Sugarhill Gang, Eminem) to heavy metal (AC/DC, Twisted Sister, Dio, Rush) and even disco (Donna Summer, Foxy, Vicki Sue Robinson).
Not many know that Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" was the first single to be awarded platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America. It's fact. If you're wondering why some of Enya's lyrics to "May It Be" seem unintelligible, you'll be relieved to know you're not losing your mind or your hearing -- some of the verses were sung in Sindarin, the fictional language created by author J.R.R. Tolkein for his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (That tidbit courtesy of Cindy, of Houston.)
If there's a particularly intriguing ditty whose origins you'd like uncovered, you may also request the song to be researched by songfacts.com or other songfacts.com visitors. To add or request your song fact, simply complete a registration form with the Web site (they promise not to spam you or sell your information). You'll then be eligible to take "The Mighty Songfact Quiz" and post on the site's message boards. Best of all, it's a free service, which should be music to anyone's ears.
Note: Web sites mentioned in this column were active at time of publication. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin neither endorses nor is responsible for their contents.
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’Net Junkie drops every Monday.
Contact Shawn "Speedy" Lopes at slopes@starbulletin.com.
