Mental Floss

MUSIC HISTORY

























Ella Fitzgerald circa 1963. Getty

When the audience at Amateur Night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater crammed into their seats on November 21, 1934, they didn’t realize they’d be there to witness jazz history.

Erin Blakemore
MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images

If you think the wholesale pilfering of songs began when Vanilla Ice swiped the bass line from David Bowie and Queen’s song “Under Pressure” for “Ice, Ice Baby,” think again.

Ethan Trex