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The statuettes given to the winners of the Academy Awards were dubbed the "Oscar" in 1931 by Margaret Herrick, a secretary at the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, when she saw the award for the first time exclaimed, "Why it looks just like my uncle Oscar." Her uncle, Oscar Pierce was a wheat farmer.
I never did get why they were called the Academy Awards and the Oscars (in nickname form)!
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The most popular rock song in history was the Kingsmen's 1963 recording of "Louie Louie". Though the lyrics were unintelligible, people thought that the song was "dirty" even though it wasn't. There was a US congressional investigation that ensured the song's success. Since the song was sold by Richard Berry in 1957 for $750, it's been recorded by nearly one thousand different performers and sold an estimated quarter-billion copies.
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The "Happy Birthday" song began as "Good Morning Dear Children" and was written by educators Mildred and Patty Hill in 1893. It wasn't until 1924 that a publisher changed the opening line to "Happy Birthday to You" and became the ritual birthday song. Ten years later, after Jessica Hill, a third Hill Sister, heard the song, she sued and won. The Hill family was then entitled to royalties every time the song was performed commercially.
Daaaang! I wonder how their descendants are doing now with that?
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When Francis Scott Key was taken prisoner during the war between America and Canada in 1814 he was inspired to write a song when he saw the American flag still flying above Fort McHenry. He had the song, "To Anacreon In Heaven" in mind when composing the lyrics, which was a traditional old English drinking song.
So our anthem was inspired by a drinking song?! Omg. How did I now know this?! Lol.
(image borrowed from Amazon)
The song "Waltzing Matilda" is an Australian one and there was the question of who Matilda was. When you get right down to it and translate some of the Australian vocabulary, the song means "walking with my knapsack."
It's interesting that as Americans we just automatically assumed this was about dancing with a woman named Matilda! Lol!
