Global sales of pre-recorded music total more than $40 billion.

It was at a concert in Minneapolis in 1954 that Al Dvorin first closed Elvis’s concerts with: “Ladies and Gentleman, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and good night.”

The first pop video was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, released in 1975.

In 1972 Leslie Harvey of Stone the Crows died after being electrocuted onstage in England. In 1976 Keith Relf, who used to play for The Yardbirds, was electrocuted by his guitar while playing in his basement. During a mid-performance in 1994 Ramon Barrero, a Mexican musician famous for playing the world’s smallest harmonica, inhaled the harmonica and choked to death.

Bob Dylan’s first professional performance was as opening act for John Lee Hooker at Gerde’s Folk City in New York, 1961.

Tap dancing originates from Irish clog dancing and what is called the Irish reel and jig.

The US has the most cinemas (23,662) while India [the country that produces the most movies - about 800 a year, twice as many as Hollywood] has about 9,000 cinemas and China has approximately 5,000 cinemas. – 300,000 people per cinema.

At the first Grammy Awards, held on 4 May 1959, Domenico Modugno beat out Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee for the Record of the Year, with “Volare.” More

A piano covers the full spectrum of all orchestra instruments, from below the lowest note of the double bassoon to above the top note of the piccolo.

The Carpenters signature song, We’ve Only Just Begun, was originally part of a television commercial for a California bank.

In May 1997, Paul McCartney broke his own world record by obtaining his 81st gold disc.

Paul McCartney was the last bachelor Beatle when he married Linda Eastman in a civil ceremony in London, 1969. Paul’s brother Mike was his best man. No other Beatle attended the wedding.

The longest song to reach number one on the Billboard charts on LP was “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” by Meatloaf, the shortest: “Stay” by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs.

Lebanon is the top movie-going country – 35,3 movies per person p.a. China is second with 12,3, followed by Georgia (5,6), India (5), Iceland (4,5), Australia is 6th at 3,9 then New Zealand and the US at just under 3,9.

The British anthem was performed the most times in a single performance. In 1909, while waiting for King Edward VII who was getting dressed a German band played the anthem 17 times.

About 2,4 billion CDs are sold annually. The number of recorded CDs and blank CDs sold has been about equal.

In August 1983, Peter Stewart of Birmingham, UK set a world record by disco dancing for 408 hours.

Klezmer music is derived from two Hebrew words, clay and zimmer, meaning “vessel of music.”

The Beatles song “Martha My Dear” was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog Martha.

Since its launch in 1981 the song Memory of the musical Cats has been played on radio more than a million times.

A grand piano can be played faster than an upright (spinet) piano.

DVD discs are the same diameter (120mm) and thickness (1.2mm) as a Compact Disc but a DVD can store 13 times or more data.

There are 6 versions of Franz Schubert’s “Die Forelle” (“The Trout”), simply because when friends asked him for copies of the song, he wrote out new copies to the best he could remember at the time.

The harmonica is the world’s best-selling music instrument.

The LP (long-playing) record was invented by Paul Goldmark in 1948. The LP is not dead yet: more than 10 million LPs are sold every year.

Duran Duran took their name from a mad scientists in the movie Barbarella.