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Music plays an important role in most of our lives. Listening to our favorite songs and artists can lift our spirits, help us process difficult emotions, or evoke intense nostalgia. Music has been found to have a therapeutic effect on humans and can even make plants grow faster.

If you're a music lover, check out the following gallery full of fascinating facts about music and those who make it.

▲Research suggests that our favorite song is likely linked to a significant emotional moment in our lives.

▲Most people prefer the original version of a song. This isn't necessarily because the original is the most authentic or best version of the song, but because we simply like the song the way we first heard it.

▲The "birthday song" is owned by Warner Music. It earns them around US$2 million per year in profits.

▲According to a study by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, the type of music we listen to not only affects our mood, but can also shift our perception of the world around us. For example, we are more likely to spot happy faces while listening to happy music, and sad faces when listening to sad music.

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Not a single member of the Beatles knew how to read or write music!

▲Leo Fender designed the two most popular models of electric guitar for his now-ubiquitous brand. Ironically, he didn't know how to play the guitar!

▲A researcher from the University of Sydney studied the lives of around 13,000 famous musicians who lived from 1950 to 2014. He found that musicians have a significantly reduced life expectancy compared to the average person.

▲A Stradivarius violin was sold for US$15.9 million in 2011.

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In 1989, the US Army blasted rock music in front of the building where Panama's dictator, Manuel Noriega, was hiding out. They played the likes of Guns N' Roses, the Clash, and the Doors. It started on Christmas Day–December 25–and by January 3 he had surrendered.

▲According to several studies, music releases the same amount of dopamine in the human brain as eating or having sex.

▲Metallica is the first and only band ever to perform on all seven continents.

▲Michael Jackson bought the publishing rights to the Beatles' song catalog for US$47.5 million in 1985. Today, Forbes estimates that the catalog could be worth as much as US$1 billion.

▲In 2014, digital music sales surpassed those of CDs for the first time in the US.

▲In 2013, the Guardian reported that British navy ships sometimes play Britney Spears music to scare off Somali pirates.

▲Freddie Mercury's biography reveals that the song 'Under Pressure' by Queen and David Bowie was recorded during one of their 24-hour wine and cocaine marathons.

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Twista is reported to be the fastest rapper in the world, able to produce 10.87 syllables per second.

▲A study performed at the University of Montreal examined the behavior of 30 babies and determined that they remained calm for twice as long when they were listening to a song rather than listening to someone talk.

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In 2015, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield launched the first album recorded entirely in space!

▲The Olympic Games included art competitions between the years 1912 and 1948. Music, poetry, literature, and painting categories were all included.

▲In 2013, Time magazine reported findings that singing in a group lowers stress levels, relieves anxiety, and releases endorphins.

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The piano that Freddie Mercury played while recording 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the same one that Paul McCartney used in 'Hey Jude.'

▲Rod Stewart headlined the largest free concert in history in 1994. He had an audience of 4.2 million people on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach.

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This music genre is especially popular in the Nordic countries. According to Encyclopedia Metallum, Finland is home to the largest number of heavy metal bands per capita.

▲Famous artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Tupac, and Bob Marley never won a Grammy.

▲A study by the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester found 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls to be the most recognizable song out of all the songs tested. On average, participants were able to recognize the song within 2.29 seconds.

▲A piano contains around 12,000 individual parts.

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Mozart sold more records than Beyoncé in 2016!

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In 1997, saxophonist Kenny G broke the record for longest-held musical note by playing an E flat for 45 minutes and 47 seconds without pause.

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Research has shown that plants grow faster when music is played around them. It's theorized that they have genes that enable them to "hear."

Sources: (Best Life) (Slate) (BBC) (History) (Forbes) (ScienceDaily)