Interesting Facts

The words to Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" were initially so risqué they had to be completely rewritten - in the hallway of the studio, as time was running out - before the song could be recorded. (He wrote the original version while working as a dishwasher in a bus station in Georgia.)

Paul Simon's 1972 hit "Mother and Child Reunion" takes its name from an elaborate chicken and egg dish served at Say Eng Look Restaurant in New York City.

Nirvana's huge hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit," interpreted by music critics and fans alike as an angst-ridden cry of teen rebellion, actually sprang from a bit of graffiti accusing Kurt Cobain of smelling like an antiperspirant for young women.

From the Trade Paperback edition.