In 1800, New York had about fifty gainfully-employed musicians out of a total population of 60,000. Musicians generally worked at two trades, such as “Musician and Grocer” or “Musician and Hairdresser.” That hasn't changed much!!!

The first artists to do a commercial stereo recording were The Dukes of Dixieland. The record was released in 1959 by Audio Fidelity. On the flip-side of the LP were stereo railroad sounds.

The only million-selling record featuring bagpipes was “Amazing Grace” recorded by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard in 1972.

The Greek national anthem has 158 verses.

The Grammy Awards were first given in 1959.

Julia Ward Howe, writer of the words to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Frank Sinatra celebrated his 75th birthday with a concert at the ruins of Pompeii, Italy, on September 26,1991.

The three most-frequently sung songs in the English language are “Happy Birthday,” “Auld Lang Syne” and “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”

Between 1927 and 1935, more than 250 songs were written to honor Charles Lindbergh.

Former President Ronald Reagan did a song-and-dance comedy routine at The Last Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas in 1954. He didn't go over very well and his act only lasted two weeks.

Unnoticed sounds that are pitched too low for the human ear to hear can sometimes make people feel sad.

Tin Pan Alley was the birthplace of much of the 20th century's popular music. It actually had two locations within New York City. One was on 14th Street and the other was in the Times Square area.

In a moment of creative genius, one of my former students suggested that criminals should have to listen to unpracticed piano lessons for hours on end. Speaking from experience, that could be ruled as "cruel and unusual punishment," but I love the idea!!

The housefly hums in the middle octave in the key of F.

"The St. Louis Blues" once served as the battle hymn of the Ethiopian army and is also where a professional hockey team got its name.

In 1875, composers Peter Tchaikovsky and Camille Saint-Saens danced the entire ballet of "Pygmalion and Galatea" on the stage of the Moscow Conservatory to the piano accompaniment of Nikolai Rubinstein. Both men were entering middle age and it is not known if they wore tutus.

American composer Stephen Foster had several of his songs published under the name of “E.P. Christy” because he didn’t want to establish a reputation as a composer of “Ethiopian melodies.” In other words, he didn’t want anyone to think he was African-American.

Billy Rose claimed to have written the first commercial jingle in 1924. Its title was "Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor On the Bedpost Overnight?" The song made the pop charts in 1961 recorded by Lonnie Donnegan and re-named "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On the Bedpost Overnight?”

Peter Goldmark invented the long-playing album in 1948. Goldmark was killed in a car accident on 12/7/77 - exactly 100 years after Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.

In the 1979 “Muppet Movie,” Miss Piggy’s singing voice was dubbed in by Johnny Mathis.

During the time of the American minstrel shows, white performers often blackened their faces. Grease paint was not introduced in the US until 1868, so the so-called “blackface comedians” covered their faces with ham fat before applying the blackening - usually burned cork. In time, the term “hamfat men” was applied to low-rate actors and was eventually shortened to “ham.”

“Sukiyaki” is the only Japanese-language song ever to be #1 on the Billboard pop charts. The original title was “Ue O Muite Aruko” (“I Look Up When I Walk”), but executives at Pye Records changed the title to “Sukiyaki” (roughly translated, “Beef Stew”), assuming that English-speaking audiences would remember that title easier. Even so, some of the cover versions still mangled the title, calling it “Saki Yaki,” “Sukiyaka,” “Sukijaki,” “Sayonara,” and “Sukujahi.”

Liberace used the stage name “Walter Busterkeys” while making the transition from a classical pianist to a night club performer.

Benjamin Franklin invented the harmonica, an improvement on the musical glasses.