27! In his debut album titled “For You”, Prince is listed as being responsible for all the vocals, as well as playing 27 different instruments. It’s not clear the extent to which he could play each instrument, but they were: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, bass synth, singing bass, Fuzz bass, electric piano, acoustic piano, mini-Moog, poly-Moog, Arp string ensemble, Arp Pro Soloist, Oberheim four-voice, clavinet, drums, syndrums, water drums, slapsticks, bongos, congas, finger cymbals, wind chimes, orchestral bells, woodblocks, brush trap, tree bell, hand claps, and finger snaps.
Max Martin. Max Martin is a Swedish songwriter, and while you might not know his name, if you’ve turned on the radio in the last 20 years, you have heard his music. So far, Martin has written or co-written 25 number-one singles, including “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears, “It’s Gonna Be Me” by NSYNC, and “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift.
Sweet Children. The name Sweet Children was originally created by 14-year-old lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt, but the band eventually changed their name to Green Day to avoid confusion with a different band called Sweet Baby.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756 and grew up alongside his older sister Maria Anna Mozart. He was a child prodigy who began composing his first music and even performing for royalty when he was only five years old.
The Neanderthal Flute. This bone flute, found in a cave in Slovenia, is thought to be about 60,000 years old! It is not only the oldest known surviving instrument, but it also is the only instrument known to have been created by Neanderthals.
Dizzy Gillespie. Gillespie is said to have accidentally bent his trumpet’s bell upward at a party for his wife Lorraine’s birthday in 1953. He ended up liking the sound his damaged trumpet made so much that he commissioned a trumpet with the bell tipped upwards on purpose. His trumpet, bent at a forty-five-degree angle, became his trademark.
“Baby, You’re a Rich Man”. The song was recorded during the summer of 1967 at Olympic Sound studio in London, and it’s the B-side of the Beatles’ single “All You Need is Love” for which Mick Jagger was also a guest singer.
The Buggles. In 1981, MTV aired its first-ever music video, which fittingly was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. The original broadcast was only aired in some areas of New Jersey. Before the elaborate cinematography of the music videos we know today, MTV’s original broadcasts were simple videos provided for free by recording studios.
Dark Side of the Moon. This album, which even people not familiar with the band will recognize for its iconic black background with a simple prism and rainbow, is one of the most popular albums of all time. It was on the billboards for almost 15 full years, longer by far than any other album. In fact, it probably would have lasted even longer if not for a change in the Billboard rules stating that an album can’t be on there for more than ten years.
Bob Dylan. According to the Nobel academy, they awarded the prize for Dylan’s “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. In his acceptance speech, Dylan talked about how he was influenced by literature, including the famous works Moby Dick, All’s Quiet on the Western Front, and The Odyssey.