Questions tagged [musicians]

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43 votes
1 answer
69k views

Was Mozart black?

Currently on Facebook and Tumblr I’ve stumbled onto this claim that Mozart was in fact black, and of African descent. Is this true?
Himarm's user avatar
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24 votes
1 answer
1k views

Do old master musical instruments sound better than their modern equivalents in blind trials?

Musicians who play string instruments often believe that some of the early examples of the modern form of their instruments produce better sound than recently-made examples with similar designs. This ...
matt_black's user avatar
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16 votes
1 answer
9k views

Did Rick Astley receive only $12 in royalties for "Never Gonna Give You Up' from YouTube?

I found this claim originally in Wikipedia, quoted from the Register. The return to the artists is pitiful; ironic 80s icon Rick Astley's Never Going To Give You Up was played 39 million times on ...
Casebash's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
13k views

Was Johnny Cash the first American to learn of Stalin's death?

I just came across this claim in a letter to The Economist: He worked the line SIR – Charlemagne considers it “safe to assume that Johnny Cash… gave little thought to European foreign policy” (...
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8 votes
4 answers
3k views

Do famous musicians die at the age of 27 more often than other humans?

Since today Amy Winehouse died, she joined the 27 club. The Club 27 is based around the statement that the death at the age of 27 for famous musicians is more common than in any other group of people. ...
Jader Dias's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
735 views

Did Mozart improvise?

After I had discussed the lack of improvisation in classical music with a friend, he showed me this article from WQXR.org (the website of a classical music radio station), which claimed that Mozart ...
Shokhet's user avatar
  • 876
7 votes
1 answer
708 views

Does auto-tune make singing (without talent) easy?

Has autotune made singing as easy as people claim? Or is it just a tool that slightly aids already trained singers? For an example of the claim, see this (SFW) parody music video, by KSics and Alex. ...
b0x0rz's user avatar
  • 231
4 votes
1 answer
6k views

Rihanna is the "Princess of the Illuminati"?

There has been a lot of buzz around the web lately about Rihanna being a part of the Illuminati. Then, I was like, "bah, this can't be real." Until someone pointed out small portions of her S&M ...
Sal Rahman's user avatar
  • 3,117
3 votes
1 answer
11k views

Did Marilyn Manson kill a chicken on stage?

An interesting conversation occurred in the office today, I'll summarise: Marilyn Manson sacrificed a chicken during a concert. Marilyn Manson is known for being... unusual. So, after a quick Google, ...
Coomie's user avatar
  • 8,519
2 votes
1 answer
8k views

Was Kurt Cobain listening to R.E.M.'s Everybody Hurts when he killed himself?

Kumail Nanjiani on why he hates R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” The above article on the A.V. Club website makes the following claim: This might not be true, but the legend is that this is the song ...
Tom77's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
7k views

Does Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead have toxic blood?

The book White Line Fever: Lemmy - The Autobiography is an autobiography of "Lemmy" Kilmister, the lead singer/Bassist of Motörhead. It claims: in 1980 his blood was officially diagnosed as toxic ...
Nox's user avatar
  • 123
-3 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is Paul McCartney dead?

Is it true that Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-a-like, or was this really just a conspiracy theory? Is there any proof either way, or all just speculation? "Paul is dead" ...
Tester101's user avatar
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