Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: The Lorde [sic] of baseball

Despite being a teenager from New Zealand, Lorde has some interesting connections to Major League Baseball. Her hit “Royals” was actually named after the team – kind of. She spotted a photo of Kansas City Hall of Famer George Brett signing baseballs in an issue of National Geographic and was transfixed.

The Royals team logo emblazoned across his chest really made an impression, and Lorde drew inspiration for the song of the same name.

Speaking of which, that song actually started a bit of a baseball feud in 2014. When the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals met in the 2014 World Series, several radio stations in San Francisco banned the song “Royals” from the airwaves out of superstition. Some Kansas City stations retaliated by broadcasting the tune at the top of the hour, every hour, to boost their luck.

In the end, though, it seemed the luck of the Lorde didn’t quite benefit the Royals. San Francisco won in 7 games.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 41912 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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