Five pieces of music trivia for april

By Jess Santacroce
Music Writer, Phoenix Radio

April is a month full of notable dates in music history.  It is the birth month of some of the most influential people in a variety of genres, including Muddy Waters, Iggy Pop, and Merle Haggard. It was in April 1964 that the Beatles first had the top five spots on the US singles chart at once. Music’s most famous modern-day power couple, Beyonce and Jay-Z, celebrate their wedding anniversary this month. April has also been a month of loss in the music world, as Marvin Gaye, Kurt Cobain, and Layne Staley of Alice in Chains all passed away tragically before their time in April.  One could even argue that  Rock music itself was launched in April,. A song that is credited as popularizing Rock and Roll music, “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets, was  recorded in April of 1954. April is indeed an important month in music. 

And then there are those completely random things that happen in music. A few of these events occurred in April as well. 

A Swedish couple broke the law in April 2007 by naming their baby after the band Metallica

In the United States, parents can pretty much name their children whatever they want. A name would have to be truly horrific or threatening before anyone would step in and stop them. This is not the case in every country. In Sweden, a newborn’s name must be approved by the national tax board, and those serving on the board in 2007 did not find “Metallica” to be an acceptable name for the little girl born to the Tomaro family. The decision was later reversed. Now nineteen, it seems that Metallica herself did not choose to change her name, as there is an Instagram profile belonging to “Metallica Tomaro” listed on the site.

The Beatles were used for an April Fools Day prank as recently as 2025

The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album, released in 1969, features a cover photo of the band members walking across the street in a line. Featured prominently in the photo is the crosswalk they used. In 2025, Abbey Road studios issued a statement announcing that this famous crosswalk had been removed. It was an April Fools Day prank.

April 2 marks the first time a song went to number one without anyone buying an actual copy of it.

Today, more and more people purchase, listen to, and store their music collection on their phones, tablets, and laptops. Some music fans do not even own records or CDs anymore. But while this seems modern, downloading music has been going on for more than twenty years now. The first song to reach number one without anyone purchasing an actual copy of it was “Crazy,” a 2006 tune by the duo Gnarls Barkley. The song reached number one on the British singles chart before it was available on CD. People simply purchased the right to download the song. 

An April 4, 2013 Dairy blog article reported that cows like classical music

Reports and summaries of studies about the impact of music on cows crop up throughout the year, over the course of several years. People apparently devote a lot of time to playing music for cows to gauge the impact the music has on milk production. But it was on an April day that a dairy blog decided to confirm it once and for all. In a short article titled “Rock On: Classical Music a Favorite Among Dairy Cows,” the website Undeniably Dairy reported that classical music aids in milk production by keeping the cows calm and protected from potentially distressing noises around the farm.

The band Coldplay once used their website to play an April Fools Day joke on their fans

In recent years, Coldplay made the news for accidentally exposing an affair between two wealthy and powerful fans. But many years ago, the band deliberately courted controversy by playing an April Fools Day merchandise prank on their fans. Branded products offered by bands are nothing new and nothing odd. T-shirts, pins, bags, hats, mugs, even wallets are available with your favorite band’s name and logo on them. But when Coldplay announced they would be offering a custom fragrance called “Angst” in 2010, fans logging into their official website to purchase a bottle learned that no such product existed, and was not in the works. The announcement had been an April Fools Day joke.

None of this information is going to have the slightest impact on the field of music, a fan’s enjoyment of music, or any of the many parts of our lives that are made better by music. That’s the point. They’re just pieces of weird music trivia. But maybe we can share one or more of these odd facts with our friends and family today instead of playing more cruel and tired pranks.