Mental Floss
Mental Floss

MUSIC

Bogdan Kurylo/iStock via Getty Images

In 2017, stats/polling site Five Thirty Eight asked more than two dozen professional DJs who had DJ’d around 200 weddings and asked them: What songs do couples ban from their weddings?

Garin Pirnia
Johnny Cash in 1966.

With his gravelly baritone and colorful lyrics, Johnny Cash became one of the 1960s’ most prolific crossover artists, bridging the gap between country and early rock ‘n’ roll with a moody, bluesy flair.

Ellen Gutoskey
Eric Clapton performing in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1992.

As a solo artist and a member of bands like The Yardbirds, Blind Faith, Cream, and Derek and the Dominos, Eric Clapton—the man known as “Slowhand” (and sometimes “God”)—has thrilled generations of fans with his righteous bluesy wailing.

Kenneth Partridge
The von Trapp family performs on a London radio show in December 1937.

Julie Andrews immortalized the charming tale of Maria von Trapp and her musically inclined family in 'The Sound of Music'—here’s how it really went down.

Ellen Gutoskey
Queen's Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and John Deacon pose in London in 1973.

What's in a name? A lot if you're a popular music band. So imagine if Radiohead was still On A Friday? Or Ozzy Osbourne was still performing under the name of his mother’s favorite talcum powder? The stories behind these groups’ original names are curious

Erika Wolf
Julia Stiles at the Golden Globe Awards in 2011.

Columbia University, Manhattan's Ivy League institution, boasts Alexander Hamilton, Barack Obama, and even Alicia Keys (sort of) among its former students.

Ellen Gutoskey
Bob Dylan performs a concert at the Warfield in San Francisco, California, in 1979.

The phrase “ripped from the headlines” doesn’t just apply to 'Law & Order' episodes. Songwriters throughout the history of popular music have drawn inspiration from real-life tales of murder and mayhem.

Kenneth Partridge
PREVNEXT