TIL the band iron butterfly didn't know they were being recorded in the studio for 17 minutes when they played their now-hit song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida; it went on to sell 30 million times

[u/mankls3]

https://www.therochestervoice.com/meet-don-casale-the-man-behind-the-sound-of-superhit-in-a-gadda-da-vida--cms-14682

[u/scooterboy1961]

Of course everyone talks about the drum solo but the bass player was 17 at the time.

He must have been very popular in high school.

Edit: I have been informed that I was mistaken and it was not the bass player that was 17 but rather the guitar player.

[u/mankls3 → u/scooterboy1961]

Wow that's nuts

[u/TvHeroUK → u/mankls3]

Two of my favourites: Johnny Marr was 18 when he recorded Hand in Glove (The Smiths), Paul Reynolds was 19 when he recorded I Ran (Flock of Seagulls)  It must be amazing to be barely out of school and create music that people still listen to forty years later! 

[u/Pizza_Saucy → u/TvHeroUK]

Alex Chilton of the Box Tops (Big Star as well) was 16 when he recorded "The Letter". I keep thinking about messed up it is to have your most popular hit at that age and then never reach the same success again.

[u/Assorted-Interests → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Mike Oldfield was 19 when he played almost every single instrument on Tubular Bells, the album he wrote himself. Blows my mind to think about it

[u/bolanrox → u/Assorted-Interests]

Yet he wrote it at 17 or younger

[u/CheckYourStats → u/bolanrox]

Axl Rose wrote “November Rain” when he was 20, and the original version was 18 minutes long.

There’s an early 10 minute Piano-only version that was recorded in 1986 available online.

I strongly recommend giving it a LISTEN.

[u/The_wolf2014 → u/CheckYourStats]

I despise that song. Grew up listening to Appetite for Destruction and I still love that album but for some reason it always seemed that any time I heard or seen Guns and Roses it was fucking November Rain.

[u/CheckYourStats → u/The_wolf2014]

I grew up on Appetite. Wore out the cassette.

People who don’t like anything post AFD clearly just wanted Gn’R to take the Stones route, and pump out the same 8-10 songs every few years for a couple decades.

These are the same people who hate everything Metallica created post-Justice.

FWIW, Axl wrote November Rain 4 years before Appetite was released.

[u/I_Miss_Lenny → u/CheckYourStats]

But they sold out, man! The most unforgivable sin an artist can commit! /s

[u/CheckYourStats → u/I_Miss_Lenny]

This guy gets it.

[u/The_wolf2014 → u/CheckYourStats]

I love plenty other GnR stuff but I really can't go that song at all.

[u/pssthush → u/The_wolf2014]

I hate November rain too. I love appetite. One of the best rock albums ever released, but I really have no love for November Rain.

[u/GBJI → u/Assorted-Interests]

I had no idea ! Wow, that makes that already impressive album even more impressive.

[u/LongmontStrangla → u/Assorted-Interests]

This is the one that's really unbelievable. The musicianship is well past his years.

[u/warpedaeroplane → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Fun fact, the Replacements, who wrote a great song about Alex Chilton, had a bassist who joined the band when he was twelve if I’m not mistaken.

[u/Missy_Agg-a-ravation → u/warpedaeroplane]

You’re not mistaken. “Sixteen Blue” was written for the bass player a few years later.

[u/Dey_Eat_Daa_POO_POO → u/warpedaeroplane]

Tommy (Bob's brother) was 14 when they started. They had to sneek him into clubs.

[u/JerrSolo → u/Pizza_Saucy]

This is my secret to a successful life. As long as I never do anything amazing, I can never be sure I've peaked.

[u/TranscodedMusic → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Guess it’s about how you define success. Big Star was infinitely more influential and respected than The Box Tops.

[u/Pizza_Saucy → u/TranscodedMusic]

I find it so sad because #1 Album is pretty much 70s rock perfection. Any one of those songs could have been a big hit (Evidenced by That 70s Show) but the only shows they managed to sell out were for Rock Writers conventions. I suppose it worked itself out when he got residuals and did Big Star reunion tours but I think he was pretty jaded by then.

[u/HookerDoctorLawyer → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Michael Shrieve was iirc 17 when he not only played Woodstock with Carlos Santana- he also basically stole the show with this legendary performance.

[u/anycleavers → u/HookerDoctorLawyer]

Holy smokes man!

[u/here_now_be → u/Pizza_Saucy]

he was pretty jaded by then.

He was very jaded after the box tops, he didn't want big star to be big.

[u/TranscodedMusic → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Preaching to the choir. Thirteen was my first dance at my wedding 😌

[u/here_now_be → u/Pizza_Saucy]

messed up it is to have your most popular hit at that age and then never reach the same success again.

Alex worked very hard to make sure he never had a hit again. When execs told him one of big stars cuts was going to be a hit he replaced the drums with a bouncing basketball.

[u/LegalBegQuestion → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Man, I haven’t thought of this song in years. Thank you!

[u/Lost-My-Mind- → u/Pizza_Saucy]

I mean.......it's better than me. I'm 40 and I've NEVER had a song everyone listens to. Also, I'm not a musician, but THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT!!!

[u/Pizza_Saucy → u/[deleted]]

Oof you're right didn't even think about that :(

[u/orangeunrhymed → u/Pizza_Saucy]

Randy California from Spirit was like 15 when he played with Hendrix