Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl returned to No. 1 because Billboard combined activity from the original album and…
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Why Did Dave Grohl Join AC/DC for “Highway to Hell”?
Dave Grohl joined AC/DC for “Highway to Hell” because he personally asked to perform the song with them after Foo…
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Who Wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U”?
Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U.” U.S. copyright-registration records identify Prince Rogers Nelson as the author of the words and…
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Who Recorded “Hound Dog” Before Elvis Presley?
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton made the first known recording of “Hound Dog.” She recorded it in Los Angeles on…
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What Did “Under Pressure” Give to “Ice Ice Baby”?
“Under Pressure” gave “Ice Ice Baby” its central musical hook: the repeating bass figure, rhythmic phrasing, sparse piano accents, and…
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Who Wrote “9 to 5,” and Why Was It Written?
Dolly Parton wrote both the music and lyrics to “9 to 5” by herself. She also performed the original recording,…
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Who Wrote “Respect” Before Aretha Franklin Recorded It?
Otis Redding is the officially credited songwriter of “Respect.” He recorded and released the original in 1965, two years before…
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Where Did Reggaeton Come From?
Reggaeton came from a musical exchange connecting Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, New York, and the wider Caribbean. Jamaica supplied crucial…
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How Gospel Shaped R&B and Soul
Gospel shaped R&B and soul by giving singers and musicians a powerful musical language: call-and-response, improvised vocal runs, close harmonies,…
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Where Did the 808 Sound Come From?
The 808 sound came from the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, a programmable analog drum machine introduced in 1980. Roland developed…
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