The dictionary defines trivia as: “matter or things of very slight importance, commonplace, or ordinary.” Yet anyone who has ever read anything about a favorite sports star, singer, historic figure or celebrity will find that it is often the so-called trivia that makes things memorable about that person or event. Nowhere is this more apparent than in this book. Add the context of the progression of hundreds of parallel lives through the timeline of a pseudo calendar format and it becomes anything but commonplace. This is especially intriguing when coupled with music history. Over 2 000 entries are listed in chronological order, covering every day of the year.

By combining a calendar format with wonderful photos and illustrations, and an elevated element of trivia, this new kind of to-the-point history in “on-this-day” format sets a new trend in books for the instant gratification of 21st-century culture.