In the decades before the invention of the phonograph, the home piano embodied almost the entire scope of musical culture. It is where songs were written, where they were performed, where they were heard by new listeners, and where they became hits or were forgotten.

By 1850, directories for London indicate that 200 piano0 manufacturers were serving the local market.

Blues musician John Lee Hooker’s longtime companion drove all the way from Detroit to Toledo to confront her fickle lover onstage. She grabbed the guitar from his hands and slammed it on his head. Hooker later said he was glad he was playing a hollow-body acoustic and not his solid-body Les Paul!

During the three centuries following Martin Luther’s death in 1546, Germany dominated the musical culture of the Western world and set a standard of excellence that many believe has never been surpassed.

A large and growing body of research confirms that singing in groups - or even just listening to music - causes the release of the hormone oxytocin. This change in body chemistry makes people more trusting and more willing to cooperate with other people in pairs or teams.

Violins were the inspiration for Guido Lanfranc’s method of checking for skull fractures in the 15th century. The surgeon would have the patient bite down on catgut while he strummed. A good, clear note indicated that the skull was intact.

Research shows striking correlations in nervous system activity (heart rate, respiration, body temperature, pulse, etc.) between listening to pleasurable music and fight-or-flight responses to danger.

During the Cultural Revolution in China, playing Mozart or Beethoven was considered a crime, and although pianists were not allowed to practice, many continued to do so.

When pianist Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm in World War 1, composer Maurice Ravel wrote Concerto for the Left Hand so that Wittgenstein could keep playing.

When Chopin was composing his Waltz #3 in F major, his cat stepped across the keys of the piano, amusing Chopin so much that he tried for the same sounds in what is called “The Cat’s Waltz.”

Benny Goodman used his status as a pop culture hero to promote desegregation a full generation before Congress passed the Civil Rights Act.

The Protestant churches throughout northern Europe and Britain eventually became the largest employers of musicians.

Benny Goodman was the hottest bandleader of the late 1930s and led the most popular dance orchestra of the times. He was also a clarinetist who commissioned classical works from Aaron Copland and Bela Bartok.

As a child, Elton John weighed about 200 pounds and had a terrible inferiority complex. He claims that’s why he likes to be outrageous and wear strange clothes onstage.

For years, Vladimir Horowitz would only give concerts at 4:40 PM on Sundays.

Franz Liszt began the tradition of using a piano bench for concerts instead of the usual hard-backed chair.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced in early 2019 that his company was testing a car security system that played Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” at high volume when a robber tried to break in to an automobile. I don't know if it was ever actually used.

In 19th century Germany, city governments passed ordinances limiting the hours when one could practice the piano.

To the best of my knowledge, the "trivia" items are true, but I can't guarantee it.