WOMEN WHO’VE DONE IT MORE THAN ONCE

Aretha Franklin’s done it.  So has Roberta Flack, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Diana Ross and Cher, but it isn’t easy.  That accomplishment is to have more than one # 1 hit on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 chart.  Most of the singers in our quiz have had a lot more than just two # 1’s, so this really should be easy.  Let’s have a go then, shall we?    

       

QUESTIONS

1.  From 1990 until the end of 2002, this singer hit # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart 15 times. She has a five octave vocal range and has sold over 60 million albums.  Some of her # 1’s include: “Always Be My Baby” and “Thank God I Found You”.  She was married to the President of her record company for several years, but her current husband works with Howard Stern, Mel B. Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel on a ‘talent’ TV show.  Can you carry (HINT ALERT) the day and guess who she is?        

      

2.  She was once a Fly Girl dancer on the Fox TV comedy series, “In Living Color” starting in 1991, then had a successful career in acting and singing. Her first leading role was in the bio-pic “Selena”.  Her first # 1 hit was “If You Had My Love”.  For a brief season, she was a judge on another one of those ‘singing talent’ shows.  Who is she?                        

                

3.  This singers’ mother once sang with Elvis Presley.  Dionne Warwick is her cousin and ‘The Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin is her godmother.  She was 22 years old when her debut album was released in 1985 and she promptly scored three # 1 hits.  Her second album did even better with four # 1’s.  Her most successful # 1 in 1992 came from her starring role in “The Bodyguard”, with Kevin Costner.  This performer did go down a wrong road for several years with a serious drug problem, but had supposedly cleaned up her life when she suddenly passed away nearly two years ago.  Can you name this legendary singer?                           

                   

4.  Our singer in question is a part of a famous (some might say infamous) musical family, although she’s certainly had her own share of chart success, racking up 10 # 1 hits since 1983.  Some of those # 1’s include the songs “Again”, “Together Again”, “Escapade”, “Doesn’t Really Matter” and “Miss You Much”.  She’s also an actress and was a regular on several TV series from the 1970’s, “Good Times”, “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Fame”.  Who is this singer ?           

    

5.  The youngest of 14 children, this Quebec born singer went on to become one of the most successful performers in the world.  One of her # 1’s was the love theme from the movie “Titanic”.  She’s won enough awards to fill a house.  Currently she’s performing in Las Vegas to sold out performances.  C’mon, this one shouldn’t be tough at all.  Who is she?            

             

ANSWERS

1.  Mariah Carey had 15 # 1 hits between 1990 and the end of 2002 with songs that included .  Her wedding to CBS Records President Tommy Mottola lasted 4 years.  Nick Cannon, her present husband, is the host of the hit TV series “America’s Got Talent”.  Mariah’s sold over 200 MILLION records worldwide.  She said her one season as a judge on “American Idol” was “…like going to work every day in hell with Satan.“            

2.  ‘J-Lo’, ‘Jenny From The Block’ or Jennifer Lopez…take your pick, that’s the lady we were looking for.  Before her dancing gig on “In Living Color”, she was a backup dancer for the New Kids On The Block 1991 tour. Just prior to leaving the TV show in ’93, J-Lo was offered a slot as a dancer for a Janet Jackson tour, but passed on the opportunity, deciding to strike out on her own.  That worked out pretty well for Ms. Lopez.               

    

3.  The late Whitney Houston is the correct answer.  The Guinness Book of Records in 2009 called her ‘the most awarded female act of all time’.  Her 15 year marriage to Bobby Brown was sometimes turbulent and her sudden death in February of 2012 at the age of 48 stunned the world.                       

    

4.  Janet Jackson is the youngest of the 9 Jackson children born to Katherine and Joe Jackson.  She debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 30 years ago this month with the song “Young Love”.  Don’t worry if you don’t remember it – it only went to # 64.  It would be four more years before Janet hit # 1 with “When I Think Of You”.  Janet’s had many more # 1 hits since then.  In 1991, she signed a record breaking, multi-million dollar deal with Virgin Records, making her one of the highest paid artists in the industry (male or female).  Her ‘wardrobe malfunction’ at Superbowl XXXVIII caused a lot of controversy (and an FCC fine) for TV network CBS.  Earlier this year, Janet announced that she married a Qatari billionaire in 2012.            

5.  Celine Dion has had million selling albums in both English and French.  She debuted on Billboards’ Hot 100 single chart in December of 1990 with “Where Does My Heart Beat Now?”, which climbed to # 4.  Her first # 1 hit was 1993-94’s “The Power of Love”.  “My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic)” was NOT her most successful chart topper (it was # 1 for only 2 weeks).  1996’s “Because You Loved Me” stayed on top much longer, fighting off all comers for 6 weeks in March and April of 1996.  Since 1994, Celine has been married to her manager Rene Angelil.