50 Fun Facts About Music and Movies

Which band wrote Eye of the Tiger after Sylvester Stallone asked for a theme song for Rocky III?

Survivor got the job only because Queen refused to let Stallone use Another One Bites the Dust. The replacement spent six weeks at number one in America.

Which comedy sent Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody back up the charts with a lip-synced singalong in a car?

Wayne's World almost used a Guns N' Roses song instead, until Mike Myers threatened to quit over it. The 1975 single then reached number two in America, higher than its first run.

Which actor supported his family as a carpenter before George Lucas cast him as Han Solo in Star Wars?

Harrison Ford was first hired only to read lines with actors auditioning for Star Wars, and George Lucas was won over. He had taught himself carpentry because he disliked the roles on offer.

Which actor won an Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody?

Rami Malek took the part after years of false starts: Sacha Baron Cohen was announced as the Queen singer back in 2010. The film won four Oscars, the most of its ceremony.

Which actress sang Over the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz, a ballad the studio nearly cut as too slow?

Judy Garland was 16 when she recorded it on an MGM soundstage in October 1938. The producer and director fought to keep the number, and it won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Which Chuck Berry hit does Marty McFly play on guitar at the school dance in Back to the Future?

Johnny B. Goode is also on its way out of the Solar System: the original recording is on the Voyager Golden Record, launched into deep space in 1977.

Which singer does Taron Egerton play, from child prodigy to superstar, in the film Rocketman?

Elton John's 1972 single Rocket Man gave the film its title. Egerton had sung one of his hits before, voicing a gorilla in the animated film Sing.

Which film made Unchained Melody a hit again with a love scene at a pottery wheel?

Ghost used a recording from 1965, sung by Bobby Hatfield, which returned to the American charts a quarter of a century after it was made.

Which star of the ABBA film musical set on a Greek island holds the record for Oscar acting nominations?

Meryl Streep earned her first Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter, three decades before she sang her way through Mamma Mia!, filmed on the island of Skopelos.

Which star danced through the title number of Singin' in the Rain while running a 103-degree fever?

Gene Kelly was more than the leading man: he directed and choreographed the film with Stanley Donen. The sick day produced its most famous scene, umbrella, puddles and all.

Which actor, a classically trained pianist, won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Ray Charles in Ray?

Jamie Foxx began playing at five and studied classical piano on a university scholarship. He swept the season for the role, adding a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Screen Actors Guild award.

Which rock band's only US number one came from Armageddon, a film featuring the singer's daughter?

Aerosmith were only considered once Liv Tyler, daughter of frontman Steven Tyler, had been cast; U2 had been asked first. Diane Warren's ballad entered the Hot 100 at the top.

Which actor plays a broke guitarist posing as a substitute teacher at a prep school in School of Rock?

Jack Black rocks off screen too: he formed the comedy duo Tenacious D with his friend Kyle Gass in 1994, and the pair have won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

Which former Oingo Boingo frontman scored Tim Burton's Batman and sang as Jack Skellington?

Danny Elfman won a Grammy for that 1989 score, which set the dark orchestral style he became known for. He also composed the theme tune of The Simpsons.

Which Pixar film follows a boy named Miguel into the Land of the Dead after his family bans music?

Coco is named after Miguel's great-grandmother rather than its young hero. The film won two Oscars, for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

Which Welsh singer recorded the theme songs for three James Bond films, beginning with Goldfinger?

Shirley Bassey returned for Diamonds Are Forever in 1971 and Moonraker in 1979. Goldfinger was her one Top 40 hit on the American Hot 100.

Which rock star played Jareth the Goblin King opposite Jennifer Connelly in Jim Henson's Labyrinth?

David Bowie also recorded five songs for the fantasy, including Magic Dance and Underground. George Lucas was its executive producer.

Which Memphis mansion did Elvis Presley buy at the age of 22 and call home for the rest of his life?

Graceland cost Presley $102,500 in 1957 and opened as a museum in 1982. He is buried in its Meditation Garden beside his parents.

Which actress won an Oscar for playing June Carter opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line?

Reese Witherspoon was surprised to learn she would have to sing the part herself. Phoenix likewise performed every one of the country star's vocals for the film.

In which film does Tom Cruise slide across the floor in socks to Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll?

Risky Business has his character home alone, raiding the liquor cabinet and dancing in his underwear. The scene sent the song back into the American charts in 1983.

Which composer wrote the music for West Side Story, the musical that moves Romeo and Juliet to New York?

Leonard Bernstein wanted to write the show as an opera, but his collaborators resisted the idea. A young Stephen Sondheim supplied the lyrics.

Which Scottish actor was the first to play James Bond on the big screen, in Dr. No?

Sean Connery was not the author's pick: Ian Fleming reportedly favoured Richard Todd. David Niven, another candidate, went on to play the spy in a 1967 parody.

Which English port city is home to the Cavern Club, where the Beatles played hundreds of times?

Liverpool saw the last of those shows on 3 August 1963, only six months before the band's first trip to America.

Which comedy about a band reunited to save an orphanage grew out of a Saturday Night Live sketch?

The Blues Brothers gave screen time to the stars its heroes worshipped: James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway all perform numbers in it.

Which future pop star earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing the Tejano singer Selena on film?

Jennifer Lopez became the first Latina actress to earn $1 million with the 1997 role. Her own debut album, On the 6, followed two years later.

Which singer-songwriter wrote and sang You've Got a Friend in Me for Pixar's Toy Story?

Randy Newman went on to win Best Original Song Oscars for two later Pixar films, Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 3. He has scored most of the studio's Toy Story and Cars films.

Which Caribbean island is the birthplace of Rihanna, who was declared a national hero there in 2021?

Barbados honoured her at the ceremony that marked its becoming a republic, on 30 November 2021. She was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in the parish of Saint Michael.

Which New Jersey rocker won an Oscar for a song he wrote for the Tom Hanks drama Philadelphia?

Bruce Springsteen wrote Streets of Philadelphia at the request of director Jonathan Demme, who went on to direct its video. The song also won four Grammys.

Which composer wrote Moon River for Breakfast at Tiffany's and the slinking theme for The Pink Panther?

Henry Mancini wrote the tune for Audrey Hepburn to sing on screen, and a Paramount executive wanted the song cut after a test preview. It stayed, and won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Which 1940 animated film set cartoons to classical music and cast Mickey Mouse as a sorcerer's apprentice?

Fantasia was the first commercial film released in stereo, using a sound system built specially for it. Dopey the dwarf was considered for the apprentice before Mickey got the part.

On which East African island was Queen singer Freddie Mercury born, under the name Farrokh Bulsara?

Zanzibar was a British protectorate when he was born in Stone Town in 1946. His family fled its revolution in 1964 and settled in Middlesex, England.

Which musical about two women awaiting murder trials was the first in 34 years to win Best Picture?

Chicago, released in 2002, won six Oscars and ended a drought for the genre that stretched back to Oliver!, the winner for 1968.

Which star's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes number did Madonna recreate, pink gown and all, for Material Girl?

Marilyn Monroe sang Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend in the 1953 original, and Madonna copied the staging down to the tuxedoed male dancers. Mary Lambert directed the homage.

Which animator co-founded Studio Ghibli and directed My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke?

Hayao Miyazaki's films owe their sound to Joe Hisaishi, the composer who has scored nearly all of them since Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984.

Which music festival, first hosted by farmer Michael Eavis in 1970, takes place on a Somerset dairy farm?

Glastonbury began after Eavis saw Led Zeppelin top the bill at an open-air show nearby. About 1,500 people came to the first one at Worthy Farm.

Which actress became the first African American to win an Oscar, for her role in Gone with the Wind?

Hattie McDaniel sat at a segregated table at the side of the room on the night she won. She was a singer too, and recorded blues songs in the 1920s.

Which composer, once Saturday Night Live's musical director, scored The Lord of the Rings trilogy?

Howard Shore won three Oscars for the trilogy, one of them for the song Into the West, shared with Annie Lennox. He also wrote the Saturday Night Live theme.

Which composer scored Psycho for strings alone after Alfred Hitchcock had asked him for a jazz score?

Bernard Herrmann turned the film's reduced music budget into an asset by leaving out the rest of the orchestra. He had refused to cut his own fee for the low-budget thriller.

Which film director shot Michael Jackson's 18-minute Bad video and the concert documentary The Last Waltz?

Martin Scorsese gave Wesley Snipes one of his first screen appearances in the Bad short film. A decade earlier he had filmed the Band's all-star farewell concert.

Which silent-film star composed the music for his own films, including the tune later given words as Smile?

Charlie Chaplin wrote the melody for his 1936 film Modern Times, and two lyricists added the words and title in 1954. He also wrote, directed, produced and edited most of his films.

Which horror film made a hit of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, the first album released by Virgin Records?

The Exorcist used the album's opening piano motif as its main theme, and sales of the slow-selling record took off worldwide after the film came out in December 1973.

Which science-fiction epic uses Also sprach Zarathustra after its director abandoned a commissioned score?

2001: A Space Odyssey kept the classical pieces Stanley Kubrick had been using as temporary music. Composer Alex North only learned his score was gone when he watched the premiere.

Which Beatle's offhand remark after a long working day gave the film A Hard Day's Night its title?

Ringo Starr came out with the phrase after the band had worked all day and on into the night. The film's title then inspired the song, not the other way round.

Which British group's Video Killed the Radio Star was the first music video shown on MTV, in August 1981?

The Buggles' video briefly shows a young Hans Zimmer at a keyboard, years before he became one of Hollywood's busiest film composers.

Which band's concert film Stop Making Sense shows singer David Byrne performing in an absurdly large suit?

Talking Heads were filmed over four nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre by director Jonathan Demme. The big suit was partly inspired by the costumes of Japanese Noh theatre.

Which singer performed the Oscar-winning title songs of both Fame and Flashdance in the early 1980s?

Irene Cara also acted in Fame and co-wrote the Flashdance lyrics, so she shared that film's Oscar with composer Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey.

Which Vietnam War film stages a helicopter assault to Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries on loudspeakers?

Apocalypse Now premiered unfinished at Cannes and still shared the Palme d'Or. George Lucas was first lined up to direct it, before its producer took the job himself.

Which rapper reworked a Stevie Wonder song into Gangsta's Paradise for the Michelle Pfeiffer film Dangerous Minds?

Coolio made it the top-selling American single of 1995 and won a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance with it. Wonder's 1976 original was called Pastime Paradise.

Which film musical had Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway sing live on set instead of miming to recordings?

Les Misérables gave its cast earpieces carrying a live piano to sing along to, and the orchestra was only added in post-production.

Which English singer-songwriter named his albums after mathematical symbols and played himself in the film Yesterday?

Ed Sheeran began the run with his 2011 debut, + (Plus), and later took the whole set on the road as the Mathematics Tour.