Rock Talk

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

2012-01-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s Day is nearly here and in keeping with the mushy sentiments of the season, all of our questions this week have to do with love – either the word ‘love’ is in the song title or it’s in the song lyrics. As usual, there are 5 questions but each one is from a different decade. There’s a 50’s questions, a 60’s questions, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s AND each song in question was a number one hit. One warning though – the questions might not be sequential decade order, so pay close attention to the question.
This week, love will make you happy, especially if you answer all the questions correctly. so let’s give it a go!

QUESTIONS:

1. By 1956, the King of Rock’N’Roll had scored five number one hits. His fifth chart topper had the word ‘love’ in its title and it’s not “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” – that was his second number one in ’56. So what’s the title of this song?
2. Back at the end of May 1966, a singer from Alabama took a certain ‘love’ song to number one on the singles chart for 2 weeks. Thirty years later, the song was number one again, courtesy of another singer/songwriter who also became famous for his mane of long hair. By the time he re-recorded this hit, this singer had already had 8 Top Twenty hits, including one number one. A previous hit for this artist was a re-recording of Otis Reddings’ only number one. Can you name the song and the singer?
3. In 1975, a song written (and originally recorded) by one of the most successful singer/songwriters of the 1960’s, went to number one and stayed there for 4 weeks. The song was recorded by a husband and wife duo that later went on to have a weekly TV variety show and 6 more Top 5 hits. They even made the charts with a Spanish language version of this same number one, although that one didn’t fare as well on the charts. Can you name the duo and their first number one hit?
4. You don’t need to be def to know this ‘love’ song from 1988. It was the only number one single for this ‘hard rock’ British band, but they had many other hit albums and singles, including “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me”. The question is – what’s the name of the band and their number one ‘love’ hit?
5. 1967 is often described as ‘The Summer of Love’. By then, The Beatles had over a dozen hits with three other number ones that had ‘love in the title’. In ’67, they had one only ‘love’ number one. It was a song John Lennon had written that was broadcast live around the world to hundreds of millions of viewers. All you need to do is guess the name of this Beatles ’67 number one.

ANSWERS

1. Elvis took the title song from his first Hollywood movie, “Love Me Tender” to the top of the singles chart for 5 weeks starting on November 3, 1956.
2. In 1991, Michael Bolton, who’d already had a number 11 song with Otis Reddings’ “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay“ took Percy Sledges’ 1966 number one, “When A Man Loves A Woman” back to the top of the charts for one week.
3. That would be The Captain & Tennille who recorded Neil Sedaka’s song, “Love Will Keep Us Together” and put it on their debut album. The song first hit Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at number 98 in April of 1975. Nine weeks later, it was number one. The Captain (real name: Daryl Dragon) and (Toni) Tennille then re-recorded their self titled debut album in Spanish and the Spanish language version of “Love Will keep Us Together”, called “Por Amor Iviremos”, also hit the Hot 100 chart, which only made it as high as number 49.
4. Def Leppard had their only number one single in 1988 with “Love Bites”.
5. The June 1967 TV broadcast was called “Our World”. It was the first global television satellite broadcast, and was watched by 400 million people in 26 countries. John Lennon wrote “All You Need Is Love” and The Beatles performed it live from Abbey Road Studio One, accompanied by a small studio orchestra and surrounded by friends and family, including Mick Jagger, Graham Nash, Donovan, Keith Moon and others. The single that was released a few weeks later featured a new lead vocal by John Lennon. It became number one on Billboard’s single chart the week of August 19.

2012 IS HERE

2012-01-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

Since we're just a couple of weeks into the new year, I thought we'd travel back three decades and see how well you remember the album charts from 30 years ago. For the 52 weeks of 1982, only 10 albums made it to # 1...but which 10? These questions are all about those # 1 albums from '82...so here we go.

QUESTIONS

1. This was the first # 1 album in 1982. It was the week of January 9th and this album by Australian rockers AC/DC had also been the last # 1 album in 1981. It was produced by Mutt Lange, the former husband of Shania Twain. It took nearly a year for this album to make # 1. Can you name this AC/DC classic?

2. A soundtrack album took the # 1 spot for 4 weeks starting the week of April 17th, 1982. This movie won 4 Academy Awards, including "Best Picture". It also spawned a # 1 single. One of the most famous scenes showed a group of runners in slow motion running on a beach near the surf. Can you name this # 1 soundtrack album?

3. Nine weeks is a long time to remain in the # 1 album spot, but this American performer from Indiana did it starting on the week of September 11, 1982. David Bowie's manager gave him a catchy stage name, which this performer, who was no fool (HINT! HINT! HINT!) really didn't like it and eventually reverted to his real name, but for this # 1 album he was still going by his stage name. What's the name of the 1982 # 1 album by this famous Indiana native?

4. This album was # 1 for two weeks starting the week of May 15, 1982. It was replaced at the top of the chart by Paul McCartney's "Tug Of War". The group took back the top spot two weeks later where it remained for an additional 7 weeks. The album title was named for the group who recorded it. It's a one word name. If you know what continent China is in. then you know the name of the group as well as the # 1 album title. So, what is it already?

5. The final # 1 album of 1982 was sitting at the top of the album chart for 14 weeks, 7 of them at the end of 1982. Their success continued well into February 1983, when it was finally replaced at the top of the album chart by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album. They are Australian (sort of) and had two # 1 single hits in '82 as well. This band won the 1983 Grammy Award for 'Best New Artist'. They come from the land down under and their name is...??? While you're at it, what's the name of their 1982 # 1 album?

ANSWERS

1. AC/DC was formed in 1973 and since then has sold nearly 71 million albums in the U.S. alone. The album, "For Those About To Rock We Salute You" was initially released in January 1981 and took almost a full year to make it to the top of the Billboard album chart, which it did for the week of December 26, 1981. It was the bands' 8th Australian album and 7th international studio release and was recorded in a rehearsal space on the outskirts of Paris, France. Not long after the album came out, AC/DC embarked on their first North American arena tour. You can check out the bands website at acdc.com.

2. "Chariots Of Fire" was the true story of two British athletes who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. One, a devout Scottish missionary who ran for God. The other, a Jewish student who ran for fame and to escape prejudice. The film starred Ben Cross, Ian Holm and Ian Charleson. Vangelis wrote the music and had a # 1 Hit with the title theme as well as winning an Oscar for "Best original Score".

3. That would be John 'Cougar' Mellencamp's hot hit album, "American Fool". The name Johnny Cougar was given to him by David Bowie's manager Tony deFries. "American Fool" was the last album released still using that name before he reverted to his real name John Mellencamp. Mellencamp scored two Top 5 hits in 1982 from the "American Fool" album - "Hurts So Good", which made it to # 2, and Mellencamps' first # 1 single, "Jack & Diane".

4. It's "Asia" which was formed in 1981 from various other bands, including Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer were the original members of Asia. The debut self-titled"Asia" album sold 10 million copies worldwide and featured two hit singles, "Heat Of The Moment", which went to # 4 on the singles chart, and "Only Time Will Tell", which only made it to # 17.

5. The Australian group Men At Work (although lead singer/songwriter Colin Hay is actually Scottish) had the final # 1 album of 1982 with "Business As Usual". In 1982, their two # 1 hit singles were "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under". Men At Work performed "Down Under" during the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY HITS

2011-12-19T05:45:00.000-08:00

Well, we're almost at the end of 2011. A new year will soon be upon us. I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday to all those readers who doesn't celebrate Christmas.

This week I thought we'd ask about some of the classic Christmas/Holiday songs of the past 50 years or so and since most of these songs still get played on the radio during this time of year, they're fairly easy questions.

Hopefully everyone's in a holiday mood, so let's have a holly, jolly fun time.

QUESTIONS

1. Elvis Presley took this 'Blue' song to # 1 for two weeks on the Christmas singles chart in 1964. It comes back every year and is one of the top songs of the season. Can you name thhis holiday tune?

2. They're starring in a movie right now, but back in December of 1958, this group of 'furry little animals' had the # 1 song on the singles chart. Who are they and what was their # 1 Christmas hit?

3. Brenda Mae Tarpley was 16 when her 'dynamite' Christmas song hit # 14 on the Pop singles chart and we've been 'rockin' to that holiday hit every year since. Can you guess the song as well as the name Brenda Mae changed to? (HINT: She also scored a dozen Top ten hits throughout her career which began in the 1950's. In 1960, she hit # 1 twice.)

4. In 1984, a group of rock and pop stars from England and Ireland got together in a London studio and recorded a charity Christmas single that raised millions for African famine relief. What was the name of the song and the group of stars who recorded it?

5. He's a huge movie star these days, although his most recent film was severly panned by many critics. Several of his movies have grossed over one hundred million dollars each. Before moving to Hollywood, he was a TV cast member on one of NBC TV's longest running series, which is where he performed his only holiday hit, which reached the Top 10 in 1995. WHo is this performer and what was his holiday hit?

ANSWERS

1. 'The King' of rock'n'roll saw his recording of "Blue Christmas" hit the top of the Christmas singles chart in December of 1964.

2. The Chipmunks were the creation of Ross Bagdasarian, who used the stage name David Seville. Simon, Alvin and Theodore were named after executives at Liberty Records in Hollywood, where Ross aka David recorded. The chipmunk 'sound'was created by recording the background musicians at normal speed, then playing the tape at a slower speed while David / Ross recorded his 'chipmunk' vocals at normal speed. The tape was then brought back to regular speed and while the music sounded normal, the voices were sped up, thus 'chipmunky' and The Chipmunk Song" was born. There latest movie, "Chipwrecked" is in theatres now.

3. The song was "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" as sung by Brenda Lee, the former Brenda Mae Tarpley. Brenda was born on December 11, 1944 in Lithonia, Georgia. She signed with Decca Records in 1956 and first hit the charts the following year when she was only 13 years old. Her nickname back then was 'Little Miss Dynamite'. In 1960, her two # 1 hits were: "I'm Sorry" and "I Want To Be Wanted". In 1964, Brenda took another holiday song, "Jingle Bell Rock" to # 8 on the Christmas singles chart.

4. All those stars, which included Paul mcCartney, Phil Collins, Sting, Bono and George Michael, going under the name Band Aid recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas" at the Sarm West Studios in the Notting Hill district of London in November of 1984. "Do They Know It's Christmas" had been written by Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats and Midge Ure of Ultravox and when it was released, sold a million copies in its first week. The single raised millions for African famine relief efforts.

5. That would be Adam Sandler, who was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" from 1990 to 1995, which was where he performed "The Chanukah Song". Some of Adam's hit movies include "Happy Gilmour", "The Wedding Singer", "Mr. Deeds", "50 First Dates" and "You Don't Mess With The Zohan". His current film, "Jack and Jill" is not getting good reviews from film critics.

Rolling Stone Rock Trivia

2011-12-08T04:32:00.000-08:00

Rolling Stone Magazine has been around since 1967. It's still an important magazine for breaking political stories and for its profiles of, and interviews with, rock musicians. The magazine has gone through several changes over the decades, but continues to be very successful. Many now world famous individuals started with Rolling Stone, including photographer Annie Leibowitz; Writer Hunter S. Thompson was a major political writer for Rolling Stone (Johnny Depp's latest movie "The Rum Diary" was an adaptation of a novel written by the late gonzo journalist). Cameron Crowe, wrote and directed "Almost Famous" about his time as a Rolling Stone jornalist. Crowe also directed the films "Jerry Maguire", "Elizabethtown", "Vanilla Sky" and 2011's "We Bought A Zoo" starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. Joe Eszterhas was a longtime featured writer for Rolling Stone. His movie writing credits include "Flashdance", "Basic Instinct", "Nowhere To Run', "Showgirls" and his latest, "Lust", due to be released in 2012. Recently, the company published a book of trivia titled "Rolling Stone Rock Trivia". It's 120 pages with hundreds of questions spanning six decades of rock history. It's available at your favourite book or magazine store right now. This time out, I thought we'd quiz you with questions about Rolling Stone Magazine itself. They're all fairly easy, so give them a whirl.

QUESTIONS:

1. Which member of The Beatles was the first to have his picture featured on Rolling Stone Issue # 1?

2. Rolling Stone Magazine recently published a list of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. Who made # 1 on the list? (HINT: and not by the skin of his teeth either).

3. Who was the co-founder of Rolling Stone Magazine? He's still listed today as editor and publisher.

4. In What city did Rolling Stone originate? (HINT: It was the home to Flower Power and the hippie movement).

5. It was considered an important milestone in your career to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. One band, who at that point had NOT made the cover, recorded a hit song about it that debuted on the charts in late 1972. Can you name the song and the group?

ANSWERS:

1. Rolling Stone used a film still of John Lennon in his uniform as "Sergeant Gripweed" from Richard Lester's 1966 movie, How I Won The War" on the cover of Issue # 1 dated November 9, 1967. One of the most iconic Rolling Stone covers features a naked John Lennon wrapped around his wife Yoko Ono, who was clothed, for the issue dated January 22, 1981, a month and several weeks after Lennon had been shot and killed in New York City.

2. The # 1 Guitarist, according to the guitarists Rolling Stone Magazine polled, was Jimi Hendrix, who occasionally would play his guitar with his teeth. The rest of the Top Ten included Eric Clapton (#2), Jimmy Page (#3), Keith Richards (#4), Jeff Beck (#5), B.B. King (#6), Chuck Berry (#7), Eddie Van Halen (#8), Duane Allman (#9) and Pete Townshend (#10).

3. A young Jann Wenner (pronounced 'yawn') borrowed several thousand dollars from his family and founded Straight Arrow Publishers Inc with Rolling Stone Magazine as its first (and for many years, it's Only) publication. Jazz and pop music critic and writer Ralph J. Gleason was the co-founder. Gleason died in 1975. The company is now called Wenner Media Inc. and along with Rolling Stone Magazine, publishes US Weekly and Men's Journal magazines.

4. These days, Rolling Stone Magazine's headquarters are in New York City, but back in 1967, Jann Wenner and company launched the magazine from San Francisco. They moved to New York in 1977. Jann Wenner had been born in New York in January of 1946, but his family moved to San Francisco while Jann was still an infant.

5. Who could forget the lyrics to that 1973 Dr. Hook hit "The Cover of the Rolling Stone", a song written by humourist Shel Silverstein, a longtime contributor to Playboy Magazine. The song made it as far as # 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and Dr. Hook, although in caricature form, did make the cover of Rolling Stone on March 29, 1973. The cover copy read "What's-Their-Names Make The Cover".

NEIL YOUNG

2011-11-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

Neil Young celebrated his 66th birthday on November 12. So, for this episode of our trivia quiz, our questions are all about Neil. For the record, Neil Young was born in Toronto, Ontario, (Canada for those reading out of the country). When his parents split up, he moved to Winnipeg with his mother, which is where he began his music career in earnest. He later returned to Toronto, then to Los Angeles and world wide stardom. Hey, even if you're not a died-in-the-wool Neil Young fan, this quiz will be fun and if you know your music, relatively easy.

Here we go.

QUESTIONS:

1. Neil Young first came to international fame as a member of Buffalo Springfield, but before that, he was in a Toronto group with Rick James (Yes, the Motown "Superfreak" himself). What was the name of this Canadian band?

2. Buffalo Springfield's first Top 10 hit on the charts was 1967's "For What It's Worth (Hey What's That Sound)". The original members of Buffalo Springfield were Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer. Palmer was replaced by Jim Messina after 2 albums. When the band broke up in 1968, Stills and Young became part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Richie Furay and Jim Messina co-founded a folk/rock group that charted 13 hits between 1970 and 1989, although they only ever had 2 Top 20 hits. "Crazy", huh? Two of this groups' members later left to join The Eagles. Can you name this folk rock band?

3. Which southern U.S. rockers recorded a Top 10 hit in response to several of Neil's songs about the south?

4. Neil never really forgot his roots in Canada and has written several songs that mention his home and native land. We're looking for two specific songs. Can you name either one?

5. Neil's father was also famous, although he didn't write songs. What did he do for a living?

ANSWERS

1. The Mynah Birds was the groups' name. RIck James went on to success at Motown; Neil Young drove down to Los Angeles in a hearse, which is where he connected with Stephen Stills on the Sunset strip. The rest is music history.

2. Poco was the name of the group. Their biggest hit was 1979's "Crazy Love" which made it to # 17 on Billboards' Hot 100 chart. Two Poco members, Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmidt, who were in the band at different times, both ended up as members of The Eagles.

3. Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote and recorded "Sweet Home Alabama" in answer to Neil's "Alabama" and "Southern Man". In "Sweet Home Alabama", the lyrics say, "Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her. Well, I heard ole Neil put her down. Well, I hope Neil Young will remember. A southern man don't need him around nyhow." "Sweet Home Alabama" hit its peak spot, # 8 in the fall of 1974.

4. "Helpless" is one. Those lyrics are: "There's a town in north Ontario..." The town Neil's refering to is Omemee, near Peterborough. The second song we were looking for is "Journey Through The Past". Those lyrics are: "Now I'm going back to Canada. On a journey through the past. And I won't be back until February comes."

5. Scott Young was a Canadian journalist, sports writer and novelist. Scott moved to Toronto in 1941, where he worked for the Canadian Press. After World War II, Scott joined Macleans Magazine, but left in 1948 to write fiction. He later worked for the Globe and Mail newspaper as well as The Toronto Telegram, where he was Sports Editor. Scott Young is inseveral Halls of Fame and in 1993, the Scott Young Public School was named in his honour in Omemee. Scott Young passed
away at 87 in 2004.

The # 1 Albums of 1981

2011-11-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

With just two months to go before we wrap up 2011, this time we're travelling back 30 years to the # 1 albums of 1981. Since these albums were all # 1, they should be easy to identify...and that's exactly what you have to do. Follow the clues and answer which # 1 album from 1981 we're looking for.

Here we go.

QUESTIONS

1. This album was # 1 for the first 6 weeks of 1981 and had been at the top of the album chart for the final week of 1980 as well. The album was recorded by a famous married couple and had only been released late in 1980. Sadly, there is a tragedy surrounding one of these artists, who was living in New York at the time. Can you name the artist and the album?

2. In mid September of 1981, an album from 5 British rockers jumped to # 1 after debuting the week before at # 8. This group had 8 previous # 1 albums, their first happened in 1965 and this one from '81 was their last # 1 album although they continued to tour and record. Some of their later albums did make the Top 5, one in 1995 went all the way to # 2, but they never had another # 1 album. Can you name this 'greatest rock'n'roll band in the world' and their 1981 album?

3. In August of '81, this groups' album went to # 1, replacing Pat Benatar's "Precious Time" album. It stayed at the top for 2 weeks before being knocked off by Stevie Nicks' "Bella Donna" album. Then it returned to # 1 for 5 more weeks starting the week of November 21, 1981. This album kept "Ghost In The Machine" by The Police out of the # 1 spot. This group has sold 70 million albums and had 16 Top 30 hits, including "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Juke Box Hero" and "Urgent", all of which came from this 1981 album. The lead singer was an American from Rochester, New York while the co-founding guitar player was originally from England. Fourteen years later, the lead singer left and had a successful solo career before returning to the group, although he left again in 2003. This group is still touring, so the question is: can you name the group and name the # 1 album? (HINT: The album title was actually a number).

4. This was the most successful album of 1981 staying at # 1 for 15 weeks. This album, which sold 10 million copies, first hit # 1 the week of February 21st and stayed on top for 6 weeks before being toppled by "Paradise Theatre" by Styx. The album returned to # 1 two weeks later (the week of April 18th), and remained for 3 weeks before being knocked off, once again, by "Paradise Theatre". The following week, May 16th, they took over the # 1 spot and fought it out for 6 more weeks until the week of June 27th when Kim Carnes' "Mistaken Identity" album captured the top position. This was the groups'ONLY # 1 album. Their name came from a fire truck manufactured by the man who also launched the Oldsmobile. What's the name of the group and their # 1 album?

5. This artist has written several # 1 country hits over the years, but her only # 1 pop single happened in 1981, in fact it was on her only # 1 album from the same year. Ironically, this artist DIDN'T write her # 1 hit, which went on to win Grammy Awards for Record and Song of the Year. She's written songs recorded by Barbra Streisand and Kenny Rogers and later worked with him on several hit songs. She was a former member of The New Christy Minstrels, which is where she met her husband, Dave Ellingson (yeah that one won't help you at all). So who is this accomplished singer, songwriter? (HINT: Don't be 'Mistaken' about her 'Eyes').

ANSWERS

1. The album was "Double Fantasy" from John Lennon & Yoko Ono. Lennon was fatally shot on the evening of December 8, 1980 as the duo returned home to the Dakota after completing mixing a song of Yoko's at a New York recording studio. Lennons' two previous # 1 albums were in 1974 with "Walls and Bridges" and "Imagine" in 1971.

2. The 5 British musicians should have given it away. So should 'the greatest rock 'n roll band in the world' clue. It was The Rolling Stones with their 1981 # 1 album, "Tattoo You". Their previous #1 albums were: 1965's "Out of Our Heads", "Sticky Fingers" in 1971, "Exile On Main Street" in '72. In '73, it was "Goat's Head Soup" followed by "It's Only Rock 'N Roll" in ';74. Two years later in '76 came "Black And Blue", then "Some Girls" in 78. It was another two years in 1980 before "Emotional Rescue" became their latest # 1 album followed by '81's "Tattoo You".

3. Foreigner was the group we were looking for. Their '81 album was titled "4". The group was founded in 1976 by Brits Mick Jones and Ian McDonald along with American singer Lou Gramm. Gramm left in 1990, returned in '92, then left for good in 2003. Jones is the only original member still with the group "4" was Foreigner's only # 1 album, although they came close on a number of occasions (1978's "Double Vision" made it to # 3). Foreigner is currently touring and for those in the Southern Ontario area, they will be playing Casino Rama in Orillia the nights of December 2 and 3rd, then it's on to Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland etc until early March of 2012. Their official website is foreigneronline.com.

4. This 15 week # 1 champion was "Hi Infidelity" by REO Speedwagon. The band formed in 1967 and built their reputation during the 1970's, culminating with this album in 1981. Their debut album "REO Speedwagon" was released in 1971. 2011 is the 30th anniversary of "Hi Infidelity" and this past June, the group played a Milwaukee summer fest.

5. Kim Carnes took "Bette Davis Eyes" (written by Jackie DeShannon and Donna Weiss) to # 1 for 9 weeks in the late spring of 1981. The year before, she had two Top 10 hits, including a # 4 success with "Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer", a duet with Kenny Rogers and a # 10 hit with her cover of the Smokey Robinson song, "More Love". The album that "Bette Davis Eyes" was on, "Mistaken Identity" hit # 1 on the album chart for 4 weeks starting the week of June 27, 1981. "Bette Davis Eyes" is song # 268 on the "Songs of the Century" list, compiled by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment For The Arts. Kim never again had a # 1 single or album, but her current album is called "Chasin' Wild Trains". She lives in Nashville these days and her official website is kimcarnes.com.

SHINE ON, SHINE ON HARVEST MOON

2011-10-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well here we are, in the second half of October already. Traditionally, it's harvest season, so in honour of the time of year, this time we've got questions about 'moon'songs such as Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" (although that won't be one of the questions) or the famous jazz song from the 1930's "Moon Over Miami" (although we won't be going THAT far back). How about "Moondance" from Van Morrison or Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark At The Moon". Pink Floyds' most famous album was "Dark Side of The Moon". So, the title of the song in question may have the word 'moon' in it, or it could be in the name of a group or solo artist, but all of these songs/artists were/had major hits. To help you out, I'll even give you the decade and sometimes the exact year the song or group/artist came from. Alright, if you're ready, let's get to it.

QUESTIONS:

1. This group from the 1950's was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. One of the members went on to become a major player with Motown Records. They were an R&B group originally from Louisville, Kentucky who charted 4 hits in the latter half of the 1950's. Three of the 4 songs made it into the Top 30. Even though they didn't have one song with 'moon'in the title, it is in the groups' name. Who is this legendary group?

2. In 1961, "Blue Moon" by The Marcels wasn't the ONLY Top 20 song with the word 'moon' in the title. There was another one, by a doo wop group from Queens, New York, who only ever charted one Top 10 song. They did chart 3 other times, but never higher than 74 other than this one. This 'moon' song was originally released in 1959, but nothing happened and the group broke up. The song was re-released in 1960 and zoomed up to # 3 the following year. The groups name is a style of women's pants. There you should have it now. Can you name the song and the group?

3. Your first hint is: this song was a hit in the early 1960's for TWO artists; and the second hint is: Holly Golightly. If you know your songs, that should be enough. But just in case it isn't, it was the featured song in a very successful '60's movie whose title is about a meal you eat in the morning and a very famous New York jewellery store (although they have branches in most major cities these days). Now do you have the title?

4. This 'moon' song was written and recorded years before the 1999 movie about the life of comedian/actor Andy Kaufman starring comedian/actor Jim Carrey. The group that had the hit recently announced their break up. So what's the name of the song and the group?

5. The year is 1976, right in the heart of disco mania, but this song was totally different and really stood out. It used marimbas as a lead instrument. This groups' debut single zoomed all the way up to # 3. The band was formed in Atlanta, Georgia, but that won't help you much. If you think of that expensive coffee chain that's on practically every street corner, take off the 's' at the end and you'll have the name of the group, but what's the name of this 'moon'hit?

ANSWERS

1. We were looking for The Moonglows, who scored with Top Ten hits, "Sincerely" (# 20 in 1955); "See Saw" (# 25 in 1956); and "Ten Commandments of Love" (# 22 in 1958). "Ten Commandments of Love" was released as Harvey Fuqua and The Moonglows and featured Marvin Gaye, but Marvin wasn't the only future Motown superstar from The Moonglows. Harvey Fuqua went on become a successful producer at Motown as well as head of their Artist Development Department.

2. That would be "There's A Moon Out Tonight" by the Capris, which hit # 3 in 1961

3. The song was "Moon River" and it was the featured song in the Audrey hepburn, George Peppard, Mickey Rooney film, "Breakfast At Tiffany's". "Moon River" was a # 11 hit in 1961 for both Jerry Butler and the songs' composer, Henry Mancini.

4. REM wrote and recorded the song "Man On The Moon (Automatic For The People)" that was used in the Andy Kaufman biography, "Man On The Moon". The REM song went as far as # 13 hit in 1993.

5. The group was called Starbuck and their hit "Moonlight Feels Right" went to # 3 on Billboards' Hot 100 chart in 1976.

NAME THAT 80's TUNE

2011-10-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had excellent response with lyrics from the 1960's and '70's that this time, we're moving on into the 1980's.
It was a decade with a lot of great hits and hitmakers, including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Madonna, Wham!, Queen and more Michael Jackson.

Ok, here's the premise. There are 5 separate lyrics listed below. You have to guess the song. Pretty easy right? AND all of these songs were bona fide number one hits. So, as auctioneer Dan says on the TV series "Storage Wars", "If you're ready to go, I'm ready to do, let's go."

QUESTIONS:

1. These lyrics come from a 1986 song. "You can't sleep, you can't eat. There's no doubt, you're in deep. Your throat is tight, you can't breathe. Another kiss is all you need." Can you name the song those lyrics come from? HINT: The writer, who's also the singer, is no longer with us.

2. 1980 was the year that these lyrics were in a number one song. "We don't need no education. We dont need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teachers leave them kids alone." C'mon, if you don't get this one, what were you listening to back in 1980? Name this song if you can.

3. These are some of my favourite lyrics of all time. "Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart."
Can you name the song those lyrics came from? The year was 1983 and this singer had quit her job in a candy store to sing in nighclubs in her native Wales. OK, I'm sure that didn't help you much, but at least you now know it's a female who sang the song, although she DID NOT write it and she came from Wales. Can you name the song?

4. The song these lyrics come from was number one for 3 weeks in the spring of 1987. Here are the lyrics: "My hands are tied. My body bruised. She's got me with...Nothing to win and...Nothing left to lose." The song comes from one of the biggest bands in the world. They're still touring the world today, that is, when their lead singer isn't out saving the world. Can U name this song?

5. Our last lyric comes from 1985. Duran Duran were big that year. So was Phil Collins and Tears For Fears. None of those had anything to do with this song. The lyrics are: "Now that ain't working, that's the way you do it. Let me tell you them guys ain't dumb. Maybe get a blister on your little finger. Maybe get a blister on your thumb." If you think financially, you might be on the right track. What song do these lyrics come from?

ANSWERS:

1. The song is "Addicted To Love", written and sung by the late Robert Palmer, who died on September 26th, 2003. "Addicted To Love" was number one for the week of May 3rd,1986 and was produced by Bernard Edwards, who along with partner Nile Rodgers created the 70's hit group Chic.

2. Pink Floyds' "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" is the song we were looking for. It was number one for 4 weeks starting in March of 1980. The song, as well as the album "The Wall", were produced by Canadian Bob Ezrin, who also was the man-in-the-control-room for hits by KISS and Alice Cooper.

3. It's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" sung by Bonnie Tyler, who many people said sounded like a female Rod Stewart. Although Bonnie's from Wales, the song was written by American Jim Steinman, who also had a lot of success with Meatloaf. Remember "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights", "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" and "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)?" Jim Steinman wrote them all.

4. That would be "With Or Without You" from U2. The song came from U2's "Joshua Tree" album and was written by all four members of U2. The album was co-produced by Brian Eno and Canadian Daniel Lanois.

5. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote it based on an actual conversation he overheard in a New York City appliance store.
"Money For Nothing" was number one for 3 weeks starting the week of September 21st, 1985. The song featured Sting singing "I Want My MTV" to the tune of The Police hit "Don't Stand So Close To Me", so Sting and Mark Knopfler are listed as co-writers of "Money For Nothing" because of that.

NAME THAT 70's TUNE

2011-09-21T04:11:00.000-07:00

Last time we gave you lyrics from 1960'hits and you had to guess the name of the song. This time we're back with lyrics from the 1970's. I'll make it a little easier in that ALL of these lyrics came from # 1 hits. So if you've been listening to the radio anytime in the past 40 years, you've probably heard these songs dozens of times.

So let's get started.

QUESTIONS:

1. The lyric is: "I'm looking at my girlfriend, she's passed out on the floor. I seen so many things I ain't never seen before." Can you name the song these lyrics come from?

2. This lyric goes: "I feel like this is the beginning, 'though I've loved you for a million years. And if I thought our love was ending, I'd find myself drowning in my own tears". What's the title of that 1973 # 1 hit?

3. The lyric is: "And I know what a scene you were learning in. Was there something that made you come back again?" Time to name that tune if you can.

4. OK, here's an easy one, can you name the song these lyrics come from: "Someone left the cake out in the rain. I don't think that I can take it, 'cause it took so long to bake it and I'll never have that recipe again."

5. Get your thinking caps on brothers (HINT HINT): "Well I built me a raft and she's ready for floatin', Ol' Mississippi, she's calling my name. Catfish are jumpin'. That paddle wheels thumpin'". What song do those lyrics come from, brother?

ANSWERS

1. "Mama Told Me Not To Come" is the song. Three Dog Night is the group that made it a hit. It climbed to # 1 on July 11, 1970 and remained there for 2 weeks. The song was written by singer/songwriter/actor Hoyt Axton. You might remember him as the not-so-successful inventor dad in the 1984 movie "Gremlins". Hoyt's mother, Mae Axton, co-wrote Elvis Presley's first
# 1 hit for RCA Victor Records in 1956, "Heartbreak Hotel".

2. Stevie Wonder wrote it, sang it and took "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" to # 1 for the week of May 19, 1973.

3. It was a number one hit for the week of May 8, 1976. John Sebastian, formerly of The Lovin' Spoonful, wrote and sang "Welcome Back", and it was the theme song for Gabe Kaplan's hit TV show, "Welcome Back Kotter". The series also starred a young actor by the name of John Travolta.

4. This one was actually a hit twice. "MacArthur Park", written by Jimmy Webb, first hit the charts in 1968 with actor Richard Harris singing. That made it to # 2 on the singles chart. In 1978, Donna SUmmer re-did the song with a disco beat and took it all the way to # 1 in November of 1978. It remained # 1 for 3 weeks.

5. "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers is the song we were looking for. It was # 1 for the week of March 15, 1975 and was originally released as the 'B' side of a 45 rpm single with "Another Park, Another Sunday" as the 'A' side. That's the song the record company thought would be a hit. It wasn't. A DJ in the southern U.S. flipped the 45 over and the rest is record history.

THE LYRICS HAVE IT

2011-09-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

This week, we're going to give you a line from a song lyric. You have to come up with the title of that song. There are no extra points for the artist and since there are no points or prizes in this quiz anyway, it really doesn't make a difference. All of the songs were Top Ten hits and all came from the 1960's and you can still hear all of them on oldies radio or classic rock radio.
If you're ready, here we go.

QUESTIONS:

1. The lyric is: "And time goes by so slowly. And time can do so much." What's the title of this song?

2. The lyric is: "Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep." What's the title of this song?

3. The lyric is: "I don't believe you, you're not the truth, no one could look as good as you." What's the title of this number one hit?

4. The lyric is: "Love was out to get me, that's the way it seemed, disappointment haunted all my dreams." Can you name the title of this song?

5. Our final lyric is: "If I didn't tell her, I could leave today." What's the name of this 60's # 1 hit?

ANSWERS

1. That lyric comes from "Unchained Melody" a # 4 hit for The Righteous Brothers in 1965.

2. Those lyrics are from The Buffalo Springfield 1967 # 7 hit, "For What It's Worth".

3. Fans of Roy Orbison should have had no problems with the title of the song those lyrics came from. It's "Oh, Pretty Woman", a # 1 hit for Roy in 1964.

4. The Monkees first took this song, "I'm A Believer" to # 1 in 1966. Then Smash Mouth recorded a new version for the 2001 animated classic "Shrek". That version made it to # 25 on the singles chart. By the way, the song was written by one of this years Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees - Neil Diamond.

5. John and Michelle Phillips wrote this song. Canadian Denny Doherty was the lead singer. They, along with Cass Elliot were The Mamas and The Papas. The song is "California Dreamin'"and it went to # 4 on the singles chart in 1966.

Next week, more lyrics, this time from the 1970's.

AS ALBERT EINSTEIN ONCE SAID, IT'S ALL RELATIVE

2011-08-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

You're probably familiar with the game, "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon", in which almost anyone can be connected to actor Kevin Bacon within six movies. This week's quiz is kinda like that, except Kevin Bacon's not in it. I'm vegetarian, ya see, so no bacon at all for me. This one is about relatives of famous people who most likely are famous themselves, otherwise how would you know of them? The questions are also true or false, so if you have absolutely no idea, then you've a 50/50 chance of getting it right anyway.
Let's take a shot, shall we?

QUESTIONS:

1. One of actress Angelina Jolie's relatives is a music legend, having written several major hits over the years. True or false?

2. Television evangelist Jimmy Swaggert is related to country rocker Jerry Reed. True or false?

3. The son of Motown founder Berry Gordy had a charted hit that also featured Michael Jackson. True or false?

4. At least one relative of each of the four Beatles has recorded and released a record (or CD). True or false?

5. Rapper L'il Wayne is the son of pioneering rocker Little Richard. True or false.

ANSWERS:

1. That's absolutely true. Chip Taylor, real name James Wesley Voight, is Angelina's uncle (and brother of Mrs. Brad Pitt's father Jon Voight). Chip wrote several hit songs, including the 1966 # 1 smash for The Troggs, "Wild Thing" as well as Merilee Rush's 1968 Top Ten hit, "Angel OF The Morning".

2. False. Jimmy Swaggart is the cousin of wildman piano rocker Jerry Lee Lewis. He's also the cousin of country performer Mickey Gilly.

3. That one is True. Berry Gordy's son Kennedy used the stage name of Rockwell and had a number two hit with "Somebody's Watching Me" and asked his pal Michael Jackson to sing the chorus with him, which he did.

4. Yep, it's true. George Harrison's sister, Louise Harrison Caldwell, released an album of Beatle stories in 1965 titled "All About The Beatles" on Recar Records. Both of John Lennon's sons, Julian and Sean also recorded CDs with Julian having the most commercial success. Paul McCartney's brother, using the stage name Mike McGear, was in the group The Scaffold, who hit the North American record charts only once with "Thank U Very Much" in 1969, and Ringo's son, drummer Zak Starkey, has toured and recorded with The Who, Oasis and was a founding member of Johnny Marr & The Healers. He's also performed as part of Ringo Starr's All Star Band.

5. Oh c'mon, this one's a gimme. It's False. L'il Wayne's real name is Wayne Carter. Little Richard's real name is Richard Penniman and they are definitely NOT related.

JAILHOUSE ROCK

2011-08-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

This week, we're goin' to jail. OK, don't panic. It's only the trivia quiz questions. And since it's still summer in the northern hemisphere anyway, we'll make it kinda easy, with a multiple choice. So the questions will be about music celebrities who've been to the big house...or the little house...or just a room with bars. And we're not just talking DUI here, some of the crimes committed were, as Larry David, creator and star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" might say..."pretty, pretty, big". I've purposely not given a lot of clues, so take your best guess.

QUESTIONS:

1. This legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member served several years in prison for transporting a minor over state lines in 1959...a 'berry' serious charge. So was it a. James Brown b. Jerry Lee Lewis or c. Chuck Berry?

2. This country legend was in San Quentin prison after an attempted burglery of a Bakersfield, California bar. Was he:
a. George Jones b. Merle Haggard or c. Buck Owens?

3. Another Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was convicted of illegal possession of drugs and firearms and with assault with intent to murder in 1988. Was it: a. James Brown b. Jerry Lee Lewis or c. Sam Cooke?

4. He's a little bit country, but a whole lot of rock'n'roll. This Hall of Famer was arrested for narcotics possession in 1979 and once shot his bass player (he lived). He was involved in several other gun related incidents, but still found the time to marry 7 times. Was he: a. Jerry Reed b. Jerry Lee Lewis or c. Steve Earle?

5. And yet another Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was charged with 'lewd and lascivious behavior' in the state of Florida in 1969. He later left the country. Was it: a. Jimmy Page b. Jimi Hendrix or c. Jim Morrison?

ANSWERS:

1. C'mon, I practically gave this one to you. The answer is c. Chuck Berry, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and received Kennedy Center Honours in 2000. Chuck had already been awarded a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in 1984.

2. b. Merle Haggard is the correct answer. Merle was pardoned in 1972 by then California Governor, and later President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. The Hag received his Kennedy Center Honors just last year, along with Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey and several others.

3. That would be the Godfather of Soul, the hardest working man in Show Business, Mr. Dynamite himself...a. James Brown.
Brown was released from prison in 1991 and in 2003, he was pardoned for all past crimes committed in South Carolina by the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. James Brown was one of the first inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and died on December 25, 2006.

4. Come on, could it be anyone but b. Jerry Lee Lewis? Lewis was part of the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1986. In 1989, a movie based on Jerry Lee's life called "Great Balls Of Fire" was released with Dennis Quaid in the role of 'The Killer' (Jerry's nick name since childhood).

5. c. Jim Morrison was charged with 'lewd and lascivious behavior' for supposedly exposing his genitals on stage during a 1969 Miami concert. Jim moved to Paris in March of 1971 and died there on July 3 that same year. He's buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Jim Morrison was 27 years old when he died.

And away we go...

2011-07-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

I was watching a hit TV show the other night and just happened to be taping the end credits. I saw a name I recognized as the person who'd written the theme song. I had no idea that he'd done this theme, so that got me to thinking about other TV show themes written by musicians you might not have thought did those things. Now, I'm not talking about the CSI franchise that uses The Who's songs for their themes. These are, for the most part, original theme songs written for the specific programs although for the purpose of this quiz, one of the themes was re-recorded from a hit song.

So that's the basis of this week's quiz. Hopefully, I explained it well enough...so as Jackie Gleason used to say when he finished his opening monologue and segued into the rest of his weekly TV program..."And away we go".

QUESTIONS:

1. The theme from "The Office", the North American version (not the Ricky Gervais British original), starts with a short, catchy piano tune. It's a very distinctive theme. There are no words, but none are really needed. The composer of "The Office" theme is a former member of the rock groups Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne and scored two Top hits on his own. In 1978, he went Top Ten with "Thunder Island" and in '79 'Cruised' into the Top 40 with his second chart hit. Can you name this artist/TV theme composer?

2. Unfortunately, this singer/songwriter recently passed away, but during his career, he had one Top Ten hit and one that made the Top 30. His father and mother were famous musicians, although not in the rock field, and this artist wrote the themes for not one, but two successful TV series. One featured three 'Golden Girls' in Florida and the other theme was for a hit series set in New York starring Paul Riser and Helen Hunt. Big props if you can name the singer/songwriter AND the two hit series his songs were featured in as the theme.

3. "You're gonna make it after all" is a lyric that was made famous as part of the theme song for a super successful TV series starring a female actress who worked in a fictional TV newsroom with an angry boss and a kinda-sorta dumb anchorman. The series was usually # 1 during its run from 1970 until 1977. The theme was titled, "Love IS All Around" and another lyric from the theme was "Who can turn the world on with a smile. Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile." Sure, now you know the theme don't you? Ok, here's the tough part. Who wrote and sang that theme? (HINT: Think Buddy Holly, but remember he died in a plane crash in 1959).

4. The Disney Channel hit TV series "Hanna Montana" starred Miley Cyrus as a average everyday teen who lived a secret life as a pop star. The theme song that ran at the beginning of every episode was called "Best of Both Worlds" and was co-written by a man who had two Top Ten hits and a couple of other lesser hits during the late 1980's, early '90's. Who co-wrote the "Hanna Montana" theme song? (HINT: It's not singer Aaron Neville, but the name is somewhat similar).

5. Women tuned in to this hit TV series to see Bo and Luke, but men were glued to the screen when Daisy came on with her tight fitting outfits. This series, set in the southern U.S., also featured a famous car painted like a Confederate flag. The theme song was written and sung by a country music legend, who also narrated this series. Can you name both the singer and the TV series?

ANSWERS:

1. Jay Ferguson, the man who had a Top Ten hit in 1978 with "Thunder Island" and a Top 40 hit in 1979 with the song "Shakedown Cruise" is the gentleman who wrote the catchy theme for "The Office".

2. The late Andrew Gold wrote the theme for Paul Riser's TV series, "Mad About You" that ran from 1992 until 1999. The song was called "Final Frontier". Andrew's prior success was when his # 25 hit, "Thank You For Being A Friend' was adapted as the theme to "The Golden Girls" which aired between 1985 until 1992. Andrew Gold died on June 3 of this year at the age of 59. His father was Academy Award winning composer Ernest Gold and his mother, Marni Nixon, supplied the singing voice for actresses such as Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady", Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and Deborah Kerr in "The King And I". Gold had played on records by and toured with Linda Ronstadt from 1973 until '77 and then occasionally during the '80's and '90's.

3. The Mary Tyler Moore theme song, "Love Is All Around", was written and performed by Sonny Curtis, who was the lead guitar player in Buddy Holly's Crickets. Sonny was also in Buddy's pre-Crickets group, The Three Tunes. After Buddy's plane crash, Sonny worked with The Everly Brothers. He's written several hit songs, including "I Fought The Law" which was a hit for the Bobby Fuller Four; "Walk Right Back" recorded by The Everly Brothers; "More Than I Can Say' which was a minor hit in 1961 for Bobby Vee and in 1980, went to # 2 with a version by Leo Sayer. Sonny also co-wrote the # 1 country hit, "I'm No Stranger To The Rain", sung by Keith Whitely. His songs have been recorded by Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Perry Como and Andy Williams as well as The Clash and Dead Kennedys.

4. Robbie Nevil and co-writer Matthew Gerrard wrote the "Hanna Montana" theme song, "Best of Both Worlds". Robbie's biggest hit, 1988's "C'est La Vie", went to # 2 on Billboard's singles chart.

5. The title song to "The Dukes of Hazard" TV series was written and performed by Waylon Jennings, who was credited as "The Balladeer". The hit TV show aired from 1979 to 1985 and Waylon's work was featured in 132 episodes, ironically more than episodes than the two stars, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, who are credited on 128 programs. The two held out for more money and left the show for a time. There were 146 episodes in the series in total. The Dukes car, known as the General Lee was featured in 142 episodes.

Hurray! Huzzah! Whooppee!!!

2011-07-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

The Collingwood Elvis Festival is finally here (Thursday July 21 to Sunday July 24th), so if you're in the Collingwood, Ontario area (oh heck, even if you're in Columbus Ohio or Hartford, Connecticut), c'mon up to Collingwood and join in the celebrations of the King of Rock and Roll. There are hundreds of Elvis Tribute artists to enjoy, lots of incredible music and plenty of fun, fun, fun (wait that was a Beach Boys song, not an Elvis one).

True Elvis fans will once again have no problems with any of these questions.

QUESTIONS:

1. While living and filming movies in Hollywood during the 1960's, Elvis met The Beatles. True or false?

2. Elvis worked with many female actresses throughout his movie career, including Barbara Stanwyck (1964's "Roustabout"), Tuesday Weld (1961's "Wild In The Country"), Mary Tyler Moore (1969's "Change Of Habit"), Shelley Fabares (1965's "Girl Happy",'66's "Spinout" & '67's "Clambake") and Ann-Margaret (1964's "Viva Las Vegas"). Which one of the following three actresses did Elvis NOT work with in any of his movies: a. Mary Tyler Moore b. Nancy Sinatra c. Ava Gardner

3. In 1968 Elvis starred in a TV special for Singer Sewing Machines as the sponsor. It later became known as the Comeback Special, but it was simply titled "Elvis", Which television network aired this special?

4. Where did Elvis and Priscella get married?

5. Linda Thompson was Elvis' girlfriend from 1972 until '76. Although she never married Elvis, she did later marry two other famous men (separately of course). One was an Olympic champion and the other was a 15 time Grammy Award winner. Can you name these two former husbands of Linda Thompson?

ANSWERS:

1. You betcha those musical icons of the 1960's met. Elvis was living at 565 Perugia Way in Bel-Air (an exclusive area of Los Angeles) and on Friday night, August 27, 1965, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came a-callin'. They arrived at 10 o'clock at night, stayed until 2AM and a good time was had by all.

2. No trick question this time. The correct answer is c. Ava Gardner, although Ava DID co-star in a real-life marriage with another music idol. From 1951 until '57, she was married to Frank Sinatra. It was Ava's third and final marriage. Frank's daughter Nancy Sinatra (from his previous marriage) co-starred with Elvis in 1968's "Speedway"

3. NBC aired the "Elvis" special. NBC and RCA Victor, Elvis' record label, were both owned by General Electric so that may have helped NBC snag the King's special. Colonel Tom Parker had wanted Elvis to end the special with a Christmas tune, but producer Steve Binder convinced Elvis to sing a song especially written for the TV special called "If I Can Dream". "Elvis" aired at 9PM on December 3, 1958 and was the most watched TV special of 1968 by women 18 to 49 years of age.

4. Elvis and Priscilla Beaulieu became man and wife on May 1, 1967 in a suite at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The two honeymooned in Palm Springs, California, then moved into a mansion in Beverly Hills. They divorced in 1973.

5. Linda Thompson went on to marry Olympic Gold Medal decathlete Bruce Jenner (he's now Kim Kardashian's step-dad) in 1981. They had two sons and divorced in '84. In 1991, Linda married Canadian born musician, record producer and composer David Foster. She filed for divorce from David in 2005.

The Collingwood Elvis Festival

2011-07-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

It's that wonderful time of year again. Time to celebrate all things Elvis. The annual Collingwood Elvis Festival is almost here, so in honour of 'The King of Rock 'N' Roll", for the next two weeks, the questions will be all about Elvis. True Elvis fans won't have a problem with any of these, so good luck.

Well, I guess there's not much else to say, except "thank you! Thank you very much!"

QUESTIONS

1. Elvis' mom Gladys was 46 when she died in 1958. Elvis was 42 when he died in 1977. At what age was Elvis' father when he passed away?

2. After Elvis received his draft notice in 1957, the Draft Board gave him a 60 day deferrment to complete a movie. Which movie was it?

3. Any Elvis fan knows that his full name is Elvis Aaron Presley (although his birth certificate issued by the state of Mississippi misspelled it as Aron. His Social Security card also spelled it Aron). He had a twin brother who died at birth. What was the full name of Elvis' twin?

4. Sam Phillips of Sun Records was the man who signed and recorded Elvis for the first time. His first release on Sun was "That's All Right". Which popular Memphis disc jockey played it for the very first time?

5. There are dozens of names that Elvis was given for various movies. One of the following three names was not an Elvis movie character's name. Can you guess the wrong one? a. Danny Fisher b. Lonnie Beale c. Jimmy Tomkins.

ANSWERS

1. Elvis' dad, Vernon Elvis Presley, died on June 26, 1979 at the age of 63. He outlived his son by less than two years.

2. The movie Elvis completed before he reported for induction into the U.S. Army was "King Creole". Elvis received a 60 day deferrment from the Army to finish the movie and reported for induction on March 24, 1958.

3. The full name of Elvis' twin was Jesse Garon Presley. He was delivered stillborn on January 8, 1935.

4. Although he wasn't related to Sam Phillips, the DJ's name was Dewey Phillips who worked at WHBQ in Memphis.

5. Sorry, this one was a trick question. Elvis played all three of these characters in various movies. Danny Fisher was the name of Elvis' character in 1958's "King Creole"; He played Lonnie Beale in "Tickle Me", released in 1965; Elvis played Jimmy Tomkins in 1956's "Loving You". It was only Elvis' second movie. A few of the other names Elvis was given for movie characters include: Clint Reno ("Love Me Tender"), Tulsa McLean ("G.I. Blues"), Pacer Burton ("Flaming Star") and Toby Kwimper ("Follow That Dream") .

SUMMER

2011-07-09T05:17:00.000-07:00

Just in case you hadn't noticed, summer is officially here (unless you live in Australia where it's now winter), so we thought this week we'd make our trivia quiz fit the season. As usual, there are 5 questions and each one is about a song with summer in the title. There's one question from the 1950's, '60's, '70's, '80's and '90's but they aren't in chronological order, so good luck.

QUESTIONS:

1. During the 1970's, there were a couple of 'summer' songs that made the singles chart, including "Summer Nights" from Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in 1978, "Summertime Blues" from The Who in 1970 and "Summer" by War in 1976, but the summer song we're looking for charted in 1972 from a duo that were former members of The Champs from 1958 until 1965. That's the group that had the 1958 hit "Tequila", although these two joined the band after the hit happened. One of them had a hit making brother who was also one half of a duo, if that helps at all. Think Summer and see if you can come up with the duo and the hit song that made it to # 6.

2. There'll be no tag days for this superstar. He easily made a successful transition from music to TV acting to movie star. He's originally from Philadelphia and, as part of a recording duo, had hits from 1986 until 1993 when he went solo, starred in a TV series based on his recording character, then hit the motherlode with film stardom. He's also scored three # 1 hits as a solo performer, two of which came from movies he starred in. In the summer of 1991, he and his musical partner had the biggest hit of their career with a 'summer' song. Can you name the this Ten hit as well as the name of the performer?

3. This singer/songwriter died at the age of 21, but not before he had 7 hits on the singles chart. His first hit, "Sittin' In The Balcony", came in 1957 and made it to # 18. His biggest though happened the following year (1958) when a song he wrote zoomed all the way up to # 8. Several other performers have recorded this hit, including Blue Cheer, The Who and country artist Alan Jackson. The question is - who's the artist and what was his 'summer' hit?

4. He was a founding member of a 'high flying' group that formerly backed up Linda Ronstadt on tour. Many, many hits from that group hit the charts, they were the darlings of both FM and AM radio. They famously broke up, saying they'd get back together "When Hell Freezes Over". Naturally, they did get back together and named their 1994 reunion album, "Hell Freezes Over". This performer also had a hugely successful solo career in the 1980's and '90's with 6 Top Ten hits (although he never made # 1, something his old band did 5 times in the 1970's. The song we're lookin for went Top 5 in 1985. So who's the performer and what was his 'summer' song? (HINT: If you think baseball, you'll be very close)

5. "Summertime", "A Summer Song", "Summer's Comin'" and "In The Summertime" are just four 'summer' songs from the 1960's. The song we're looking for though, came from a group that had 3 American members and 1 Canadian. This was their first and only # 1 hit. From 1965 until 1967, this group had 7 Top Ten hits. They supplied the musical for several '60's films, including Woody Allen's "Waht's Up Tiger Lily" and Francis Ford Coppolla's "You're A Big Boy Now". Can you name the group and their # 1 'summer' hit?

ANSWERS:

1. In 1972, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, better known as Seals & Crofts, had the # 6 song with "Summer Breeze". Jim Seals brother, Dan Seals was one half of England Dan & John Ford COley, who had such hits in the '70's as "I'd Really Love To See You Again" and "Nights Are Forever Without You".

2. Before he became an 'A' list movie star, Will Smith was known as The Fresh Prince. In 1991, D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince took the song "Summertime" to # 4 on Billboards' Hot 100 singles chart. Two of the # 1 hits he had as a solo artist were "Men In Black" and "Wild Wild West", both films Will starred in.

3. In 1958, Eddie Cochrane recorded "Summertime Blues", which as the question states, has been covered by several other artists over the years. Cochrane died in a car crash during a British tour in 1960. While his recording career was short, his legacy lives on with songs he wrote, including "C'mon Everybody", being performed by the likes of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The White Stripes and The Sex Pistols.

4. Don Henley, a founding member of The Eagles, took his solo song, "The Boys Of Summer" to # 5 on February 9, 1985.

5. The 1960's summer hit we were looking for was "Summer In The City" by The Lovin' Spoonful, which was # 1 during the week of August 13, 1966 and remained # 1 for 3 weeks. It was replaced by Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". The Lovin' Spoonful were lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian, Canadian Zal Yanovsky on lead guitar, Steve Butler on bass and drummer Joe Butler. The group was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and not a second too soon as Zal Yanovsky died two years later.

BROADWAY HITS THE CHARTS

2011-06-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

Broadway's annual Tony Awards were awarded a few weeks back (anyone remember who won?), and we thought that it might be fun to test your musical knowledge about Broadway plays that launched hit songs. This won't be EVERY Broadway play from the beginning of time, that would be way too tough, but only those from 1960 on. And all of the hits were at least Top 30, so this weeks quiz shouldn't be all that difficult.

So get out your Playbill because the orchestra's tuning up and the curtain's about to rise.

QUESTIONS

1. "Grease" first hit Broadway in June of 1972 after its initial 1971 debut in Chicago and an Off Broadway run that started in February of '72. The play ran for 3,388 performances, a Broadway record until "A Chorus Line" surpassed it a few years later. It won 7 Tony Awards. Three of its biggest songs were not in the original play but were written when the play was made into a movie. It's since had one not-so-successful sequel that starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield (and what has he done lately?). So the question is, what song from "Grease" that was a Top 5 hit, was in the original play as well as the original movie?

2. This play starred Carol Channing (that should be enough to give it away right there) as a New York matchmaker and was first mounted on Broadway in 1964. That same year, a legendary jazzman took the title song straight to # 1 on the singles chart right at the height of Beatlemania. If you know the play, then you know the title of that # 1. So what was it and who was the jazz performer who took it to the top?

3. The actors got nude in this play (again, I just gave it away) and its subtitle was "The American Love-Rock Musical". No less than 4 songs became hits - One made it to # 1 while another went to # 4. A third was a # 3 hit and the fourth went to # 2. It should be easy to guess the title of this 1968 Broadway production which has been performed all over the world. There have been over a thousand vocal and or instrumental versions of songs from this hit play. So what's its name already?

4. She got her start on Broadway before becoming a Hollywood legend. She's a two time Academy Award winner and has 12 Grammy Awards, which includes a Lifetime Achivement Award, a Grammy Legend honour and two Hall of Fame Awards. Her Broadway debut was in the play "I Can Get it For You Wholesale" in 1962. After a highly successful album and several appearances on TV shows, she returned to Broadway in 1964 to star in "Funny Girl" as Fanny Brice, a part she also played in the hit movie version. This performer took one of the most famous songs from "Funny Girl" to # 5 on the singles chart in 1964. It became her signature song even though she's since had six # 1 hits. Can you name the singer and her first chart hit?

5. It was a play that launched the careers of Murray Head and Yvonne Elliman, although it began as an album BEFORE it was a play on Broadway and in London's West End. This 'rock opera' was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (OK I gave it away again) and two Top 30 hits came out of it. One, sung by Elliman, made it to # 28 and Murray Head took the title song to # 14 on the singles chart (although it took two separate attempts to achieve that success). The 'rock opera' eventually became a movie that was released in 1973 with Canadian Norman Jewison directing. A second film adaptation was released in 2000 and apparently yet a third version is due to be released in 2014. Can you name the album/play/movie?

ANSWERS

1. "Grease", "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You're The One That I want", all major hits, were NOT in the original Broadway production. They were written specifically for the film that starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The only hit that was in "Grease" from the beginning (and written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, the co-creators), was "Summer Nights", sung by Travolta and Newton-John. That song went to # 5 on Billboards' Hot 100 chart in 1978. Both the title song, sung by Frankie Valli and "You're The One That I Want", sung by John & Newton-John were # 1 hits.

2. If you said "Hello Dolly" by Louis Armstrong, then you really know your Broadway. Louis' version was # 1 for the week of May 9,1964 and replaced The Beatles "Can't BUy Me Love" which had been # 1 for the previous 5 weeks. Louie was 63 at the time and his # 1 hit was replaced the next week by Mary Wells and "My Guy". Louis Armstrong died 2 days after his 71st birthday on July 6, 1971. The Broadway version of "Hello Dolly" won 11 Tony Awards in its first run. The movie version starred former Broadway legend Barbra Streisand.

3. The play was "Hair" and the four hits included the 1969 title song sung by The Cowsills (# 2); Three Dog Night took "Easy To Be Hard" to # 4 also in '69 while Oliver sang "Good Morning Sunshine" (# 3). The biggest hit from "Hair" was the Fifth Dimensions' version of "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" which was # 1 for six weeks beginning with the week of April 12, 1969.

4. Barbra Streisand starred in "Funny Girl" on Broadway and on film and in 1964, made her debut on the Billboard singles chart with the play's signature song "People". Barbra's most recent movie role is that of Roz Focker, the mother of Ben Stiller's character of Gaylord Focker in "Meet The Fockers" and "Little Fockers".

5. "Jesus Christ SUperstar" is the correct answer to this question. Yvonne Elliman, who performed on the original album and on Broadway, is best known for her 1978 # 1 hit, "If I Can't Have You" from "Saturday Night Fever". Murray Head's first release of "Superstar"in 1970 only made it as far as # 74. A re-release the following year saw the song zoom up to # 14on the singles chart. In 1985, Head hit the charts again with "one Night In Bangkok" which went to # 3. That song was from the musical project "Chess" and was written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Alvaeus of ABBA fame along with Murray's old "Jesus Christ Superstar" pal, Tim Rice.

So, how'd you do?

THE LONG AND LONG OF IT

2011-06-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Traditionally back in the late 50's and early 60's, hit songs were an average length of two to two and a half minutes. There were some exceptions, but not many. They got longer as the years went on. This time out, we're going to quiz you on some of these longer songs. All of these songs made the Top Ten and several went to # 1.

QUESTIONS

1. The man who changed the music business forever was raised in Hibbing, Minnesota and was born Robert Zimmerman. Although he wasn't really known for hit singles, he still managed to rack up quite a few, although he never had a number one single. In the fall of 1965, he released his longest 45 single and it 'rolled' up the Billboard charts to # 2. Who is the singer and what was his 'long' song from '65?

2. This song talks about 'The day the music died'. Back in the time of 45 rpm records it was so long that they had to split it into two parts with Part 1 on Side 1 and Part 2 on the second side of the 45. The singer went on to have several other hits including "Vincent" and "Crying", but this was his only # 1. Who's the singer and what was his super long hit from 1972?

3. The Beatles were certainly no strangers to the top of the charts. This hit from 1968 was their 16th number one and their longest single ever. 'Hey', What's the name of this song?

4. Mike Myers made this song an even bigger hit than it was in his 1992 movie "Wayne's World". This 'royal' group had originally released this 'long' song in 1976 and it shot up to # 9 on Billboard's singles chart. After "Wayne's World" came out, the song re-entered the Billboard chart where it went to # 2. Can you name the group and the song?

5. This hit making singer was one of the first country artists to cross over to the pop charts. His 'long' song went to # 1 in the early months of 1960. This singer had his own TV show and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry from 1953 until his death in 1982 at the age of 57, The song was set "out in the West Texas town of..." and was about a lovely senorita named "Felina" and her hot headed cowboy boyfriend. What was the song and who was the singer?

ANSWERS

1. "Like A Rolling Stone" was a gift for disc jockeys. Now they could run to the washroom and still make it back before the song ended as Bob Dylan's hit clocked in at 6 minutes in length.

2. The singer was Don McLean and his 'long' song was 1972's "American Pie - Parts 1 & 2" which had a listed time of 8:36.

3. "Hey Jude" by The Beatles clocks in at 7:11 and could never be confused with the convenience store chain with the same name.

4. Queen's "Bohemenian Rhapsody" times out to 5 minutes and 50 seconds...both in 1976 and 1992.

5. "El Paso" from Marty RObbins clocks in at 4:40, a very long time for that era. Marty Robbins first hit the Billboard pop charts in 1957 with "Singing The Blues". His 1961 hit, "Don't Worry" was one of the first records to use a fuzztone guitar. One of Marty's other big crossover hits was "Devil Woman" in 1962, but "El Paso" was Marty's only pop # 1.

TO THE MOON AND BEYOND

2011-05-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

50 years ago in 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy said, in a speech to Congress, "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." And of course, the U.S. did exactly that in the summer of 1969.

Well in the 50 years since JFK made that speech, there have been plenty of songs recorded about space travel. For example, there's "Moon River", both instrumentally by Henry Mancini and with lyrics by Andy Williams. KISS took their hit, "Rocket Ride" to # 39 on the singles chart in 1978. David Bowie had a # 15chart hit with "space Oddity" in 1973 (so obviously those aren't questions in this quiz - or are they?). This week's quiz is based on songs about space and space travel. See how many you can guess.

Thanks to our pal John H. in Kingston, Ontario for the idea.

QUESTIONS

1. This singer, songwriter, producer discovered the group Genesis and produced their first album, 1967's "From Genesis To Revelation". By then, he'd already had a top 20 'space' hit of his own all over the world. In fact, he wrote and produced several hits during the mid 1960's. He also later worked with 10cc and The Bay City Rollers and was the 'King' of the record charts for several years. Who is this singer and can you also name his 'space' hit from 1965?

2. Reginald Kenneth Dwight is a legend in pop music with dozens of hits to his credit. Well actually, they're credited to the name he took when he entered the music business. His 'space' hit happened in 1972 and 'rocketed' up the charts. OK, I practically gave you this one, but if you know your music, you should already have known it. Can you name the singer and his 'space' hit?

3. This musician was a member of Lester Lanin's dance band out of New York in the 1950's and later worked as an accompanist for Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier and Peggy Lee. Later on in the 1970's, he became the band leader for TV's Mike Douglas Show. His name was Joe Harnell and in 1963, his instrumental 'space themed' hit zoomed up the charts, landing in the Top 20. You'll need to rhyme with June and spoon for this one. So what's the name of this hit?

4. He played keyboards on several hits for The Beatles. In fact, he was the only 'outside' musician credited on a Beatles record. Previously, he'd been in Little Richards' band and met The Beatles while on tour with him in the early 1960's. This amazing performer had a couple of 'space themed' hits during the 1970's. Can you name either one?

5. It wasn't Sputnik, but this 'spaced themed' song was named after a famous satellite and was the first North American # 1 hit for a British group. It was an instrumental and the year was 1962. The same group, The Tornados, had another minor hit the next year called "Ridin' The Wind" but that one only made it to # 63 on Billboard's singles chart. Do you know the name of this 'space' hit?

ANSWERS

1. Jonathan King was an undergraduate at Cambridge University in England in 1965 when he hit the charts with "Everyone's Gone To The Moon", which went to # 17 on Billboard's Hot 100. For many years, he was the BBC correspondent on pop culture based in New York. Other hit songs he wrote and produced include 1965/66's"It's Good News Week" by Hedgehoppers Anonymous.

2. Elton John took his 'adopted' name from two other members of the group Bluesology, Elton Dean and Long John Baldry. Elton's first North American Top Ten hit was "Your Song" in 1970. His 'space' song was "Rocket Man" from the summer of 1972.

3. Joe Harnell recorded the bossa nova instrumental "Fly Me To The Moon", which debuted on the charts in December of 1962 eventually making it to # 14 on Billboard's singles chart. He was a producer at Kapp Records in New York and was asked to record some Bossa Nova instrumentals. He decided to record "Fly Me To The Moon" and in 1963 it became a hit. In 1973, Harnell moved to Hollywood where he wrote many film and television scores for which, in 1986, he won an Emmy Award. Joe Harnell died of heart failure in 2005.

4. Billy Preston had a couple of 'space' songs hit the Top Ten during the 1970's. In 1973, his "Space Race" song made it to # 4 on the charts, but two years prior to that, Billy took "Outta-Space" to # 2.

5. It was the first 'rock' hit by a British group in North America. English producer Joe Meek recorded the instrumental "Telstar" as the 'A' side of a 45 single along with the B side, "Jungle Fever" in 3 just hours. Ironically, the same year as The Tornados # 1 success, another British artist, Acker Bilk, took his clarinet instrumental, "Stranger on The Shore" to the top of the North American singles chart.

EVERYBODY'S BREAKIN' UP

2011-05-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well, well, there've been a lot of break ups recently - Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver (25 years together) as well as Tipper & Al Gore (after 40 years. Although that happened last year). That got me to thinking about all the break up songs that have been written over the past 40 years. Some may have 'Goodbye' in the titleSo let's see how many you can guess.
Here we go.

QUESTIONS

1. This singer had a Top Ten song in 1959 with a 'break up' song. Although he was born in Canada, his success happened in the U.S. He charted 19 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1958 until 1961. His first hit, "My True Love" went Top 5. You shouldn't have to 'Burn Bridges' to come up with his name. The 'break up' song we're looking for from this artist made it to # 8. Can you name this artist as well as the song in question?

2. Phil Collins was a member of Genesis as well as a super successful solo artist. His 'break up' song was featured on the 1980 Genesis album "Duke". Not many clues here, but let's see how good you really are. Name that 'break up' song.

3. OK, this one should be really easy if you know your '60's music. Neil Sedaka was a prolific hit maker with 30 songs charted on Billboards Hot 100 chart (including 9 Top 10s and 3 number ones). His 'break up' song was actually a hit for him twice - once in 1962 and again in 1976, although that version was slower. Can you name Neil's song?

4. This Philadelphia duo had over 30 chart hits during the 1970's and '80's. They made it to number one 6 times with songs such as "Rich Girl", "Kiss On My List", "Private Eyes" and "Out of Touch". This 'break up' song was actually a hit twice, although it was much bigger the second time around. What's the name of this 'break up' song and who sang it?

5. Time to throw your mind back to the 1970's (even if you weren't born yet). This duo became famous for their intricate harmonies and for being brother and sister (you know who we're talking about now don't you?). They had nearly 30 hits on the singles chart. Their 'break up' song made the Top 10 in 1972. And with this last question, I'll say 'Goodbye' til next time.

ANSWERS

1. Jack Scott (real name Jack Scafone, Jr) took his hit "Goodbye Baby" to # 8 in the Spring of 1959. Some of Jack's other hits include "Burning Bridges", "What In The World's Come Over You", "The Way I Walk" and "Leroy". Fleetwood Mac also recorded a song called "Goodbye Baby", but it was totally different than Jack Scott's version.

2. Phil Collins wrote "Misunderstanding" while he was recording his debut solo album "Face Value". The lyrics, about missed communication, were inspired by the divorce that Phil was going through at the time.

3. It was "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" which made it to # 1 in 1962. A slower version went to # 8 in 1976 while Neil was signed to Elton John's Rocket Records label.

4. "She's Gone", written and recorded by Daryl Hall & John Oates, first hit Billboards' singles chart in 1974. It came from the duos RCA Records album, "Abandoned Lunchonette". That time it only made it as far as # 60. Two years later, the single was re-released and jumped all the way to # 7. Hall & Oates met while both were students at Temple University in Philadelphia.

5. "Goodbye To Love" was the 11th hit in a row for Karen and Richard Carpenter. It was written by Richard and John Bettis and two lines from the lyric, "What lies in the future is a mystery to us all. No one can predict the wheel of fortune as it falls", took on a whole new meaning after Karen Carpenters' untimely death from a heart attack brought on by her anorexia nervosa in February of 1983 at the age of 32.

CHARLIES, CHARLIES, CHARLIES...EVERYWHERE

2011-05-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well you can't watch or read the news without hearing about Charlie Sheen's antics on his current tour. He got booed in Detroit and New York, but did much better in Chicago, Cleveland and Connecticut. His tour is still out there (and I mean that in more ways than one), so that got me to thinking about the name Charlie. Over the decades, there've been several songs by Charlies and about Charlies...there was even a rock group from England called Charlie that had several minor hits in the late 1970's/early '80's...so let's see how good your music trivia knowledge really is. All of these questions come from the 1950's, 60's and '70's.
And away we go.....

QUESTIONS

1. This band was fronted by a Charlie who plays a mean fiddle. For a time, he was a Nashville session musician and played on Bob Dylan's 1969 album "Nashville Skyline". His biggest hit came in 1979 about the devil and a southern U.S. state. So who is this famous Charlie?

2. From 1984 until 1990, there was a TV series called "Charles In Charge" starring Scott Baio, but he was never called Charlie. In 1976, a new hit TV series debuted featuring 3 female investigators, but you never saw the title character throughout the entire run of the show which ended in 1981. Since then, there have been several movie remakes of this series and in 1977, Henry Mancini had a Top 50 hit (but just barely) with the instrumental theme song to the TV series. Name this TV Charlie if you can.

3. "Pilot of the airwaves...here is my request" are the opening lyrics from a hit song from 1980. It was sung by a British female performer and was very popular at the time. Can you name this Charlie?

4. This songwriting/producing duo wrote and produced many, many hits from the 1950's through to the '80's. They're in the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, as well they should be. The artists they've worked with include Elvis Presley, The Drifters, Stealers Wheel, Peggy Lee, Ben E. King and The Coasters. Some of their biggest hits are "Hound Dog", "There Goes My Baby", "Jailhouse Rock", "Is That All There Is?", "Love Potion #9", "Yakety Yak", "Kansas City" and "Stand By Me". In 1958, they had a number one hit with The Coasters' "Yakety Yak". The following year, they made it to number two with a song that had "Charlie" in the title. Do you know the name of this 1959 classic?

5. So far, these questions have been pretty easy. This one may not be. During the years 1960 to 1972, there was a successful TV series about a widower named Steve Douglas who was raising his family. The star of this TV series had been a major movie actor who'd acted in such features as "Double Indemnity" (1944), "The Caine Mutiny" (1954), The Apartment" (1960) and "The Absent Minded Professor" (1961). On the TV series, he smoked a pipe and was constantly having to deal with the everyday problems of his sons, Chip, Ernie and Robbie. In this series, there was an older relative who lived with the family to help out. What was this character's name? (Remember the theme of this trivia quiz)

ANSWERS

1. Charlie Daniels is the Charlie we were looking for. The Charlie Daniels Band biggest hit (# 3 on the singles chart) was "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". The Charlie Daniels Band was featured in John Travolta's 1980 movie, "Urban Cowboy". For Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" album, Charlie played guitar and bass.

2. The Tv series and the subsequent movies were called Charlie's Angels. The TV series starred Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jacklyn Smith. In 2000, the first "Charlie's Angel" movie was released starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Bill Murray. "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" came out in 2003 with Barrymore, Liu and Diaz reprising their roles. This time, Bill Murray was gone and Bernie Mac was in. Later this fall (maybe), there's a new "Charlie's Angels" series set to hit TV starring Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh with Ramon Rodriguez as Bosley. The new voice of Charlie is rumored to be Robert Wagner since the original voice of the 70's TV series, John Forsythe, died a year ago this month. By the way, the 1977 Henry Mancini theme song only made it to #45 on the singles chart.

3. Charlie Dore is the female singer in question. She was born in London, England and she was also an actress and songwriter. Her debut album was released on Island Records, who thought she'd be Britain's answer to Emmylou Harris. As an actress, Charlie has appeared in number British television programs as well as films such as "The Ploughman's Lunch". From 1990 til'96, she had a comedy/improv group in London. With a partner, she's written the scores to several BBC television productions. In 2009, Charlie Dore released an album of American hillbilly music, western swing and popular standards from the 1930's called "The Hula Valley Songbook".

4. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller are the hit making duo. Leiber & Stoller were born one month apart in 1933. The song we were looking for was the Coasters 1959 smash "Charlie Brown", "Fe Fe Fi Fi Fo Fo Fum, I smell smoke in the auditorium. Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown. He's a clown, that Charlie Brown. He's gonna get caught, just you wait and see. Why is everybody always pickin' on me?"

5. You really have to know your TV trivia from the 1960's to know that Uncle Charlie was a character on the TV series, "My Three Sons" starring Fred MacMurray. Uncle Charlie O'Casey was played by William Demarest from 1965 until '72. Demarest had replaced William Frawley, who'd played 'Bub' from 1960 until '65 when he retired due to poor health. Frawley, who died in 1966, had played Lucille Ball's apartment building neighbour Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy" from 1951 until that series ended in 1960. William Demarest, a former professional boxer, who played Uncle Charlie, began his career in vaudeville. He acted in 140 films and was nominated

ROCK ROYALTY

2011-04-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Royal watchers are calling it 'the Wedding of the Century' as Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot April 29th.Congratulations to the newlyweds. But that got us here at Rock Talk to thinking about the royalty in rock, so the following 5 questions are all about rock's elite...those that have nicknames of King or Queen or some sort of royal title in their name or in one of their song titles.That's a fairly simple explanation and all 5 of the following questions are fairly simple to answer - IF you know your rock'n'roll. So let's see now, shall we?

QUESTIONS.

1. This performer currently lives in Detroit and for decades has been known simply as 'The Queen of Soul'. She gets all of the 'respect' she deserves from the recording industry with award after award. She was the first female performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1985. Who can she be now?

2. Our next question is about the man who formerly drove a truck for a living. He stopped into a Memphis recording studio one day...and the rest is rock'n'roll history. Somewhere along the way someone nicknamed him 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll'. It was not a title he'd ever give himself as he was from humble southern roots. Y'all know who we're talkin' about here?

3. This artist was a country/pop crossover who in the early 1960's, seemingly came from nowhere with hit after hit on the charts. His first Top Ten song was called "When Two Worlds COllide" on RCA Victor Records, but his most famous hit came in 1965 and was about a hobo who travelled the country, riding the rails, doing what he wanted. Some of the lyrics from this Top 4 hit were 'No phone, no pool, no pets....ain't got no cigarettes." What's the 'royal name of this hit and who was the writer/performer?

4. He survived and prospered after a 'Purple Rain'. He even survived having no name for a while. This incredibly talented superstar surrounded himself on stage with beautiful women and for a time, used a uniquely shaped guitar. No more clues, but can you name this one-name star?

5. Twenty five years before there was Lady Ga-Ga...there was "Radio Gaga". This British group had hit after hit on the charts and first became famous in the mid 1970's. Their lead singer was a flamboyant performer who was fearless on stage. While their musical styles changed over the years, the hits never stopped. The movie "Wayne's World" brought them to a new generation of fans. So who is this 'royal' British group?

ANSWERS

1. 'The Queen of Soul' is Aretha Franklin, but you knew that right away, didn't you?

2. He died in August of 1977, but his legend lives on decades past his death. Long live 'The King of Rock'n'Roll'...Elvis Presley. In May of 1994, his daughter Lisa Marie, married the self nicknamed 'King of Pop', Michael Jackson. Their marriage lasted less than two years. By the way, that truck that Elvis drove was for his job at the Crown Electric Company in Memphis.

3. That would be the "King of The Road' himself, Mr. Roger Miller. Miller's other Top Ten hits included "Dang Me", "Engine Engine # 9", "Chug-A-Lug" and "England Swings". In 1965, he won 6 Grammy Awards. He also wrote the music for the 1985 Broadway hit, "Big River". Roger Miller died of cancer in October 1992 at the age of 56.

4. Prince Rogers Nelson, yep that's his real name, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1958. His hits included "Purple Rain", "Little Red COrvette", and his 5 number one's, "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss", "Batdance" and "Cream". He insisted on using an unpronounceable symbol instead of a name from 1993 until 2000. The media dubbed him, 'the artist formerly known as Prince'. He resumed using the Prince name in 2000.

5. Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Brian May and Freddie Mercury were Queen, whose hits included "Bohemian Rhapsody", We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (a # 1 hit), "Another One Bites The DUst" (another # 1) and the aforementioned "Radio Ga-Ga" in 1984. Lead singer Freddie Mercury died on November 24, 1991.

ROCKIN' THE COUNTRY

2011-04-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards were presented on April 3rd with Taylor Swift being named 'Entertainer of the Year'. Swift is the youngest performer ever to win this prestigious award. Brad Paisley won 'Male Vocalist of the Year' with Miranda Lambert as 'Female Vocalist of the Year' and although country and rock stay pretty much on their own side of the street these days, back in the 1950's, '60's, '70' and even into the 1980's, country artists and their hits were standing side by side on the singles chart with their rock pals. So this week, we're taking a look at some of those country artists who crossed over into the op charts. These were household names at the time, so it shouldn't be too hard now, should it? Here we go now ya'll.

QUESTIONS:

1. J.R. Ewing (played by actor Larry Hagman) was an nasty dude on the TV series "Dallas". A disc jockey named Gary Burbank had a minor hit in 1980 with "Who Shot J.R.?", a song based on the plot of one of the TV show's season ending cliff hangers. There was one country singer, who's initials were J.R. that had quite a few hits on both the country and the pop charts. His first pop 'crossover' hit, "Four Walls" made it to # 11 on the pop chart in 1957. His last Top 50 hit came in 1966. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the COuntry Music Hall of Fame in 1967. Do you name his name?
2. Another country/pop cossover singer/songwriter whose initials were also J.R. had two of his songs become hits for Elvis Presley. He went on to make the country & pop charts on his own several times. In fact, two of his pop hits made the Top ten chart in 1970 and '71. He later had his own TV series called "Concrete Cowboys" and he co-starred in severalmovies, including "Smokey Anmd The bandit 1 & 2". So who was this 'Hot' country/pop performer?
3. This singer was born in Delight, Arkansas and was a member of a group of elite and very busy Los Angeles session musicians known as 'The Wrecking Crew', who played on hundreds of hit records during the 1960's. This particular guitar player also became a touring member of The Beach Boy for a short while. His singing, and later his TV and movie careers took him to the upper heights of show business fame and fortune. From 1968 until 1972, he had his own TV show called "The ________ __________ Goodtime Hour". He co-starred in several movies, including one with John Wayne. Just wHo is this country/pop superstar?
4. Throughout Hollywood history, there have been many singing cowboys - Tex Ritter, Gene Autry, Jimmy Wakely, Rex Allen and 'The King of The Cowboys' himself, Roy Rogers. Roy and Gene both had long lasting careers in the movies, on record and on TV. Roy Rogers TV theme song, "Happy Trails", written by Roy's wife and TV show co-star Dale Evans, was used at the end of their weekly TV show. A cover version of "Happy Trails" was recorded by a 1980's heavy metal band. What's the name of this band? Extra props if you can name the album it was on.
5. This country/pop crossover singer was born in Texas and in the early 1960's, was a member of The Kirby Stone Four and The New Christy Minstrels. He then formed a pop group called The First Edition and they had two Top 10 hits in the late 1960's. This performer then went solo and his career skyrocketed with hit after hit on both the country and pop charts. His first number one pop hit happened in 1980 with a song written by Lionel Richie of The Commodores. His second number one, in 1983, was a duet with a female country/pop superstar. The singer we're we're looking for also became an actor in movies and TV. He branched out into the restauarant business for awhile, but that didn't last very long. Who is he?

ANSWERS

1. Jim Reeves was the man in question. Reeves' biggest pop hit was 1960's "He'll Have To Go". Reeves died in a plane crash on July 31,1973 at the age of 40. He charted 80 country hits during his life and even after it from 1953 until 1984. His last 7 songs that hit the pop charts came after his tragic death.
2. Remember "Amos Moses"? How about 1971's "When You're Hot, You're Hot"? Jerry Reed wrote 'em and 'sang 'em. The two songs he wrote that Elvis recorded were "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man".
3. Glen Campbell was the name we're looking for. Glen charted almost 40 songs on the Pop singles chart, but his only two number one hits were "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1975 and "Southern Nights" in 1977. That movie he co-starred in with John Wayne was "True Grit". He also was in "Norwood" and "Strange Homecoming". He charted some 75 country hits.
4. Roy Rogers famous theme song, "Happy Trails" can be heard on Van Halen's 1982 album, "Diver Down". David Lee Roth did a fine job singing it too. Roy and Dale would have been proud.
5. Did you ever eat at a Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant? It was actually pretty good food. One episode of the TV series "Seinfeld" centered around a Kenny Rogers restaurant. Kenny charted over 40 songs on the Pop singles chart and many more on the country charts. His only number one pop hits were "Lady" in 1980, written by Lionel Richie and "Islands In The Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton in 1983.

CANADIAN MUSIC QUIZ

2011-03-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

All of the JUNO Awards for this year have now been handed out (for those reading this from outside Canada, the JUNOS are the Canadian Grammy Awards). By the way, you don't need to have an intimate knowledge of Canadian music to get any of these questions correct as they deal with international superstars who happen to be Canadian. So here we go.

QUESTIONS:

1. This international superstar was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1982. He's lived in California for decades but was born in Toronto and grew up in Winnipeg. He was once in a Toronto band called The Mynah Birds with Rick 'Superfreak' James. He later drove a hearse to LA and connected with someone who would be a part of this artists next two groups. Who is he?

2. This singer has 13 older brothers and sisters who also sang, but the 'baby' of the family is the one who became the international legend. She's won an astounding 21 JUNO Awards and several Grammies as well. She always has her 'heart' in the right place, even when the ship is sinking. OK I can't be much clearer than that. She has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto and one on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Who is this singing superstar?

3. She was once known in Canada as a 'disco' artist. She co-starred on a children's television show that also aired in the U.S. This angst ridden singer/songwriter turned her life around by moving to Los Angeles and writing songs from her heart and her emotions. Her first album in this vein sold over 30 million albums. She's won some 15 JUNO Awards as well as 7 Grammy Awards. Who is she?

4. The nation's capitol is where this superstar hails from, although he hasn't lived there in over 40 years. He made it in the music business 'his way' and millions of people around the world know his music. His first hit was a song he wrote about his babysitter. Since then, he wrote songs that were huge hits for Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley among others. Within the last few weeks, he's gone into the recording studio with TMZ's Harvey Levin to record a version of one of his most famous songs. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. Do you know shis name?

5. She was Elvis Presley's favourite female singer, but all she wanted was to be a high school gym teacher, which she was for a time. She's famous for performing on stage in her bare feet and although she recently retired, she still has her 24 JUNO Awards and 4 Grammy's to keep her company. She's one of Canada's best known performers and even though she doesn't fly to Florida for the winter seasons, she's always be associated with a 'snowbird'. If you don't get this one, you're going to have to turn in your Canadian passport. So, who is this songbird?

ANSWERS:

1. He's Neil Young, who on Sunday March 27, won two JUNO awards (Artist of the Year and Adult Alternative Album of the Year) as well as the Allan Waters Humanatarian Award. When he drove that hearse to LA, he ran into Stephen Stills and formed Buffalo Springfield. Later, when Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, it was many times amended to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

2. That would be Celine Dion who sang the song "My Heart Will Go On" at the end of director James Cameron's movie, "Titanic". Celine has sold over 200 million albums around the world since she began her career. As of this past March, Celine's back in Las Vegas for another 3 year run at Caesar's Palace.

3. Alanis Morissette is the artist we're looking for. Her "Jagged Little Pill" album in 1995 became the best selling album by a female artist in the U.S. She was engaged to fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds, but they mutually broke up in 2007. In May of 2010, she married rapper Mario 'MC Souleye' Treadway and last December gave birth to the couples' first child, a daughter. That children's TV show she co-starred in was called "You Can't Do That On Television".

4. It's Paul Anka, who wrote "Diana" for his babysitter. Tom Jones had a hit with the Anka written "She's A Lady" and both Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley hit the singles chart with Paul's "My Way".

5. Anne Murray is the name that should have immediately sprung to mind. By the way, Anne holds the record for winning the most JUNO awards with 24.

RECORDING STARS FROM THE TV SCREEN

2011-03-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

This week, we look at the TV screen (but not too closely, you'll ruin your eyes). Starting back in the 1950's and on through the 80's, when the record industry saw an opportunity to cash in on a hit TV show's success, you know they did it. The list of TV actors who recorded singing?? albums is a very long one...it includes: Three Star Trek (the original series) cast members - Nicelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner recorded albums (who could ever forget Bill's version of The Beatles' song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"). Both stars of "Miami Vice", Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas, had LPs released. Alyssa Milano ("Who's The Boss"/"Charmed"); Tony Randall & Jack Klugman ("The Odd Couple"); Jim Nabours ("The Andy Griffith Show"/"Mayberry R.F.D."/"Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C."); Scott Baio ("Happy Days'/"Joanie Loves Chachi") all ventured into the recording studio to warble a tune or two. John Travolta of "Welcome Back Kotter" fame, had a successful recording career even before he teamed up with Olivia Newton-John in the movie "Grease". "Bonanza" star Lorne Greene (a former newscaster at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during World War II) even made it to number one with his 1964 hit, "Ringo". Telly Savalas, star of movies such as "The Dirty Dozen" and the hit TV series "Kojack", had a number one hit in England with "If". So, how many questions about TV stars who became recording artists can you name? Good luck.

QUESTIONS:

1. This televison performer had a successful weekly TV show that was mostly sketch comedy and some variety. It ran for 11 years from 1967 until 1978. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has recently turned in great dramatic performances on such TV series as "Law And Order: Special Victims Unit". At the end of every one of her own shows, she'd tug her earlobe. Can you guess this star's name?

2. This TV star played a cop on a hit series from the 1970's and did actually have a siccessful singing career for a while. Although he wasn't really a 'soul' singer, he did manage to score 3 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, including a number one hit in 1977. Don't give up on this one, I know you know who this actor is, don't you? If not, how many hints do you need?

3. Someone at Atlantic Records decided that these two stars from a hit TV show should record a singing album. Their show was extremely successful, but the album certainly wasn't. They began as characters on "Happy Days", then spun off to star in their own weekly show about two female roomates who worked at a beer bottling plant, hung around a pizza/bowling alley and had two weird male neighbours with strange sounding names. One of the actresses went on to have a successful career as a film director and is the sister of another famous director. Who are they?

4. This TV star was an in demand character actor in movies before jumping to the small screen to portray a lovable bigot. He later starred as a southern Police Chief in another long running TV series based on a movie starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier. The living room chair he famously sat in for 12 TV seasons is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Who is this Emmy Award winning actor?

5. This actor co-starred for 3 years on the long running western TV series "Gunsmoke". He went on to have a hugely successful movie career and was known for dating some of Hollywood's hottest actresses. He later infamously posed nude for Cosmopolitan Magazine. His hit TV series, "Evening Shade" aired during the first half of the 1990's. Who is he?

ANSWERS:

1. Carol Burnett is the star we were looking for. Carol was born in 1933 in San Antonio, Texas. Her hit CBS weekly series, "The Carol Burnett Show" featured Vicki Lawrence, Tim Conway and Harvey Corman. In 1959, she successfully starred in the Broadway play, "Once Upon A Mattress". Also in '59 she became a regular on "The Gary Moore Show". She won an Emmy for that series and 23 Emmy Awards for "The Carol Burnette Show". Carol's solo album featured such songs as "It's Too Late" (originally sung by Bobby Goldsboro);"Rainy Days And Mondays" (The Carpenters); "Rose Garden" (Lynn Anderson); "Those Were The Days" (Mary Hopkin) and "Who's Sorry Now" (Connie Francis)

2. David Soul is the star in question. Soul starred as Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the hit TV series "Starsky & Hutch" that aired on ABC from 1975 until 1979. His 1977 hit, "Don't Give Up On Us" was his only number one. In the mid 1990's, Soul moved to London, England where he acted in a number of plays, including the part of Jerry Springer in "Jerry Springer: The Opera" (seriously). He's also had a successful career acting on British television. David became a British citizen in 2004 although he retained his U.S. citizenship.

3. That hit TV show was "Laverne & Shirley" starring Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams. Marshall later directed such hit movies as "Big", "Awakenings", "A League Of Their Own" and "The Preacher's Wife". Her brother Garry Marshall was the director of movies such as "Beaches", "Pretty Woman" and "The Princess Diaries". Cindy williams continues to act. She co-starred in 1973's "American Grafitti" and she has appeared in recent TV series such as "Girlfriends", "Drive" and Law And Order". The "Laverne & Shirley Sing" album included such '50's and '60's hits as "All I Have To Do Is Dream","Da Doo Ron Ron", "Easier Said Than Done" and "Chapel Of Love". You might find some of these songs on itunes, but why bother? Stick with the originals, they're so much better

4. The man who made the words 'dingbat' and 'meathead' famous, Carroll O'Connor, starred as Archie Bunker in "All In The Family". Carroll's album was titled "Remembering You" and features the title song, which Carroll co-wrote, along with 40's big band hits such as "So Rare" and "Sweet And Lovely".

5. Burton Leon Reynolds, aka Burt Reynolds, starred in such movies as "Deliverance", "Smokey And The Bandit", "The Longest Yard", "White Lightning", "Gator" and "Boogie Nights" among many others. He dated Sally Field, Adrienne Barbeau ("Maude") and Loni Anderson from "WKRP In Cincinatti". His "Gunsmoke" career ran from 1962 until 1965. The movie "Boogie Nights" won Burt a Golden Globe statue as well as an Academy Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" but lost to Robin Williams for "Good Will Hunting". Burt's album, titled "Ask Me What I Am", is probably not worth looking for on eBay.

TV MUSIC TRIVIA

2011-03-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

This week, I thought we'd take a look at some of the hit TV shows that spawned music careers and vice versa. I think that's fairly self explanatory, so let's get right to it.

QUESTIONS

1. James Darren had several hits in the 1960's."Goodbye Cruel World" in 1961 and "Her Royal Majesty" in '62 were both Top 10 hits. Darren also starred in several movies, including "Gidget", "Gidget Goes Hawaiian", "The Guns of Navarone" and "Because They're Young" with Dick Clark - but what was the name of James Darren's sci-fi TV series that aired on ABC TV for one season from September 1966 until April of 1967?

2. This actor/singer played a police detective on a hit TV series that aired in the 1970's. He's a British citizen now, but was born and raised in the U.S. In 1977, he landed at # 1 on the singles chart. Who's the 'soulful'actor/singer and what was the name of his # 1 hit?

3. Over the years, several TV cop and private detective show themes have made it big on the record charts. "Peter Gunn" went top ten for Ray Anthony in 1959; composer/producer Mike Post took two of his themes, "The Rockford Files" (1975) and "The Theme From Hill Street Blues" (1981) into the TOp 10; In 1969, The Ventures recorded the theme from the hit TV series "Hawaii Five-O" and made it all the way to # 4. There were others, but for this particular question, what was the name of the group and the hit TV show that the theme came from, that went all the way to # 1 in 1975?

4. "The Partridge Family" was a hit TV series that also had hit records. David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce and Shirley Jones were the main actors on the series. David sang lead on their hits, including 1970's number one, "I Think I Love You". "The Partridge Family" TV show was inspired by a 'real life' hit making family - who was it?

5. "The Golden Girls", starring Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White and Estelle Getty, aired from September 1985 until May of 1992. The theme song the show used had already been a Top 30 hit in 1978 for a singer who had formerly been in Linda Ronstadts' band. Can you name the singer AND the song? HINT: He had a Top 10 hit in 1977.

ANSWERS

1. The TV series that James Darren starred in, that ran for one season in '66 and '67 was "The Time Tunnel". Darren played Dr. Anthony Newman, a scientist, who along with his partner, played by Robert Colbert, flipped back and forth in time as they tried, in vain, to return to their original era. "The Time Tunnel" theme was written by John "Star Wars" Williams. Incidentally, James Darren's son by his first wife, Gloria, is reporter Jim Moret, formerly with CNN and Inside Edition.

2. David Soul is the guy we're looking for. His hit TV series, "Starsky & Hutch" aired from 1975 until 1979. In April of 1977, Soul's hit "Don't Give Up On Us Baby" was # 1 on Billboards' Hot 100 chart. David moved to England in the mid 1990's and became a British citizen in 2004.

3. In 1975, producers Steve Barri and Michael Omartian took a group of LA studio musicians into the recording studio and came out with a # 1 hit. They called the session players, Rhythm Heritage and that # 1 hit was "Theme From S.W.A.T."

4. That would be The Cowsills - Bill, Bob, Paul, Barry, John, Susan and mom Barbara, who had hits from 1967 until 1969, including "The Rain, The Park & Other Things" (1967), "Indian Lake" (1968) and "Hair" (1969) all of which made the Top 10 chart.

5. Andrew Gold had been a member of Linda Ronstadts' band and had done session work and arranging for Linda as well. His biggest hit in 1977 was "Lonely Boy", which made it to # 7 on Billboard's Top 100 singles chart. The following year, Andrew had another hit "Thank You For Being A Friend" (#25) and that song was later adapted as the theme for "The Golden Girls".

ACADEMY AWARD WINNING SONGS

2011-03-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

Well, the Academy Awards are over for another year. Congratulations to all of this years Oscar winners. This week, continuing with our new format, we're going to test your knowledge of Academy Award winning 'Best original Songs'. And for those of you that aren't over 80, we'll confine the quiz to the 1960's, '70's, '80's and '90's. And to make it even easier, at least a little bit, all 5 questions are true or false. Take your best guess if you don't have a clue. And there may just be a trick question thrown in just for fun.
So here we go.

QUESTIONS

1. Neil Young has never won an Academy Award for 'Best original Song' - true or false?

2. Composer Henry Mancini won back-to-back Oscars for 'Best original Song' in the 1970's - true or false?

3. "Unchained Melody" from the 1990 movie "Ghost" won the Oscar for 'Best Original Song' - true or false?

4. Rocker Huey Lewis won the 1985 'Best Original Song' Oscar for "The Power of Love" from "Back To The Future" - true or false?

5. Burt Bacharach and Hal David won the 'Best Original Song' OScar in 1970 for "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" from the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". B. J. Thomas sang the song in the movie, but B.J. was not the composers first choice. Burt and David actually wanted Neil Diamond, but he turned them down - true or false.

ANSWERS

1. True, although Neil Young was nominated in 1994 for his song "Philadelphia" from the 1993 Tom Hanks/Denzel Washington film, "Philadelphia". The Oscar for 'Best original Song' that year went to Bruce Springsteen for "Streets of Philadelphia", also from the same movie.

2. Trick question here. The answer is false, although Henry Mancini DID win back-to-back Oscars for 'Best Original Song' in the 1960's. In 1962, Mancini and lyricist Johnny Mercer won for "Moon River" from the 1961 film, "Breakfast At Tiffany's". The following year, the duo repeated their win with "Days of Wine and Roses" from the movie of the same name. Interestingly, the '62 Oscars, hosted by Bob Hope for the 7th time no less, ran over 2 hours for the very first time. These days, they're usually over 4 hours.

3. False. Although "Unchained Melody" worked fabulously for the pottery scene between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in "Ghost", the song wasn't eligible to be nominated, having been previously written for the 1955 film, "Unchained". At the 28th annual Academy Awards ceremony in 1956, "Unchained Melody" was nominated as 'Best original Song' for authors Alex North and lyricist Hy Zaret, but lost to "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing".

4. False. While Huey Lewis WAS nominated for 'Best Original Song' in 1986 for "Power of Love", Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me" from the movie "White Nights" took home the Oscar.
SIDE NOTE: Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. over the theme from 1984's"Ghostbusters" theme song, claiming it was a rip off of his song, "I Want A New Drug". Huey won in court.

5. That too is false. Burt Bacharach and Hal David had originally wanted Bob Dylan to sing "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head", but HE turned them down.

Our New Shorter Trivia Quiz

2011-02-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

Hey, we're back again...but this time with a slighter newer format on a regular basis. We've gotten a lot of feedback from readers and the majority seem to like a shorter quiz on a weekly basis.

So that's what we're doing.

Starting with this edition, there'll be 5 questions each and every week.

This time out, our questions are all about The Grammy Awards, the latest round of which were handed out just a few weeks ago. The Grammy Awards have been around since 1958, so there's a lot of ground to cover. See how comprehensive your musical knowledge is with this quiz.

QUESTIONS

1. The 1981 Grammy award for Record of the Year went to a singer who used to sing with Kenny Rogers. This song was her only pop number one hit. She was once a member of the New Christy Minstrels at the same time as Kenny Rogers and in fact, the duo had a Top 5 hit together in 1980. The Record of the Year also won Song of the Year for its' writers,Donna Weiss and Jackie deShannon. In the title is the name of a Hollywood acting legend. OK, no more clues, can you name the artist and the Record of the Year winning song?

2. At the 1967 Grammy Awards, presented on February of '68, this LP won Album of the Year as well as Contemporary Album of the Year. It also won a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording as well as Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts. This album has gone on to win critics poll after poll as the greatest album ever. Peter Blake was the winner for Best Album Cover and the cover itself became an instant classic . Geoff Emerick won the engineering Grammy for this album. Think back to 1967, the so-called 'Summer of Love' and see if you can guess the title of this album?

3. The 1993 Grammy Awards, held in New York in March of '94, saw a soundtrack win Album of the Year. The movie that the soundtrack came from starred Kevin Costner and the woman who also won Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. Can you name the woman AND the movie?

4. The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on February 28th, 1980 was the location for the 1979 Grammy Awards. The winner of the Album of the Year Grammy and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male Grammy was a man who during a 'down' time in his career, played piano in local LA bars and went by the name of Bill Martin. In 1974, he had a Top 40 hit song about that experience and since then, has topped the singles chart 3 times. He's been married several times and one of his ex-wives was a world famous fashion model. Who is this Grammy Award winner?

5. The group that won the 1969 Best New Artist Grammy is still together. Their performance at the Woodstock Festival in the summer of '69 was only their second professional gig. At the '69 Grammy Awards, given out on March 11, 1970, this group beat out both Chicago and Led Zeppelin. The following year, their debut album was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year They came together from 3 other hit making groups and have gone on to have many hit singles and albums of their own. They're noted for their intricate harmonies and occasionally add a 4th member to the group. What's the name of this Grammy Award winning group?

ANSWERS

1, The Grammy for Record of the Year in 1981 went to "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. Kim's written 3 number ones on the country charts thus far - "Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer", her 1980 duet with Kenny Rogers; "The Heart Won't Lie" a song recorded by Reba McEntire and Vince Gill; and "Make No Mistake, She's Mine", recorded by Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap. In 1994, Kim moved to Nashville where she quickly became a part of the creative community.

2. That would be The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

3. The answer is Whitney Houston and the soundtrack Album of the Year was "The Bodyguard". Canadian David Foster produced the award winning single from the movie and soundtrack, "I Will Always Love You", a song written by country superstar Dolly Parton.

4. Does the name Billy Joel ring a bell? The album that won Billy his Grammy Awards that year was "52nd Street". William Martin Joel was born in the Bronx on May 9th, 1949. He was in the group The Hassles before striking out on his own. During a contractual dispute with his then management company, Billy slipped off to LA where he played piano in bars as Bill Martin. His 3 number one hits are: "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" in 1980; "Tell Her About It" in '83 and 1989's "We Didn't Start The Fire". Billy wrote his 1983 hit "Uptown Girl" for his then girlfriend, later wife and even later ex-wife, Christie Brinkley. Their daughter Alexa Ray is also a singer. In 1990, Billy was honoured with the Grammy Living Legend Award.

5. The 1969 Grammy Award for Best New Artist went to Crosby, Stills & Nash. David Crosby came from the group The Byrds, Stephen Stills had been in Buffalo Springfield with Neil Young (who sometimes adds a 4th voice to the group, becoming Crosby,Stills, Nash & Young) and Graham Nash who'd previously been a member of The Hollies. Besides Chicago and Led Zeppelin, CS&N beat out Neon Philharmonic and Oliver to take home the 1969 Best New Artist Grammy.

Elvis Trivia - How Good Are You?

2011-02-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

On January 8th this year, Elvis Presley, had he lived, would have been 76 years old. The King is still as relevant today as he ever was with millions of fans around the world. Every year on the anniversaries of his birth and death in August, fans making the pilgrimage to Graceland in Memphis. The Collingwood Elvis Festival, one of the largest annual events in the world, is visited by thousands and thousands of fans. So in honour of 'E' (as his close pals called him), it's Elvis Trivia this time. As usual there are 10 questions and the answers are below the questions. So, 'thank you. Thank you very much' for playing.

QUESTIONS

1. Elvis had 19 number one hits (according to Billboard Magazine). His first one was "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956. His last was "Suspicious Minds" in 1969. What was his SECOND number one? Was it: a. Don't Be Cruel b. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You c. Hound Dog

2. Which famous songwriting team wrote the Elvis hits "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock"? They're in the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame. (HINT: They also wrote hits for The Coasters, Ben E. King and Peggy Lee). Are they: a. Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman b. Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil c. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

3. Where did Elvis perform his final concert in 1977? Was it: a. Memphis, Tennessee b. Indianapolis, Indiana c. Jacksonville, Florida

4. Here's an easy one for you, hopefully. SUN Records in Memphis was the first label to sign and record Elvis. A few years later, the owner of Sun Records (who's in the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame himself) sold Elvis' contract to RCA. What was his name? a. Dewey Phillips b. Sam Phillips c. Knox Phillips

5. Elvis only ever performed in one country other than the U.S. In 1957, Presley gave concerts in 3 Canadian cities. Were they: a. Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa b. Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto c. Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa

6. How many times did Elvis perform live on Ed Sullivan's Sunday night CBS television show? Was it: a. Once b. Twice c. Three times

7. The "Elvis" TV special (sometimes referred to as the 'comeback' special) aired on NBC on December 3, 1968. Where did they tape it? Was it in: a. Burbank b. New York c. Nashville

8. Elvis worked with many actresses in 31 feature films for Hollywood, including Mary Tyler Moore, Nancy Sinatra, Barbara Eden ("I Dream of Jeannie") and Donna Douglas ("The Beverly Hillbillies), but can you name the only actress to co-star in 3 Elvis films? Was she: a. Shelley Fabares c. Ann Margaret c. Juliett Prowse

9. When Elvis started touring, he worked with Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass (they later added drummer D.J. FOntana). What was the name that Elvis, Bill and Scotty sometimes used early on. Was it: a. The Black Hills Boys b. The Blue Ridge Boys c. The Blue Moon Boys

10. What was the nickname of the entourage that always surrounded Elvis? Was it: a. The Memphis Mafia b. The Memphis Mob c. The Presley Posse

ANSWERS

1. The second number one for Elvis was b. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You. Don't Be Cruel was his 3rd and Hound Dog was his 4th number one.

2. That legendary songwriting team was c. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller who wrote 24 song that Elvis recorded, among them hits such as Don't, King Creole, Loving You, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Treat Me Nice, Trouble and Bossa Nova Baby.

3. Elvis final concert was in c. Jacksonville Florida in 1977.

4. SUN Records was owned by Sam Phillips, who also produced Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins among others. Dewey Phillips was the Memphis disc jockey who, in 1954, first played an Elvis song on the radio and Knox Phillips was Sam's son.

5. On April 2nd 1957, Elvis performed 2 shows at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, on April 3rd he performed in Ottawa and on August 31, he performed at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, so the correct answer is a.

6. Elvis performed 3 times on the Ed Sullivan Show, so the correct answer is c. The first time (with guest host, actor Charles Laughton as Ed Sullivan had been in a car accident) was September 9, 1956. The second time (Ed was back by then) was October 28, 1956 and the final appearance was January 6, 1957. This is the famous performace where Elvis was only shown from the waist up as Ed and CBS had had negative comments after his first two appearances.

7. The NBC TV special "Elvis" was taped at NBC's Studio 4 in Burbank in June of 1968 and aired at 9PM (EST) on December 3, 1968. It was the highest rated television program of the week and was the most watched TV special of 1968 by women 18 to 49.

8. The correct answer is a. Shelley Fabares who co-starred with Elvis in 3 feature films, 1965's "Girl Happy", "Spinout" in 1966 and "Clambake" in 1967. Juliette Prowse was only in one Elvis film, "G. I Blues" in 1960. Ann Margaret's only Elvis film was 1964's "Viva Las Vegas".

9. Early on, Elvis, Soctty and Bill sometimes went by the name Blue Moon Boys, so the correct is c.

10. Elvis entourage was known as The memphis Mafia.

2011-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

The 2011 ROck and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City (as usual) on March 14th this year. Alice Cooper, Dr. John (Mac Rebanak) and Darlene Love are just three of this years honourees. This time out, our trivia questions are all about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As usual, some are easier than others, although if you really know your rock and roll, they should all be a snap. So, get your rock and roll cap on and let's get rollin'.

QUESTIONS

1. She was the first female inducted into the Hall of Fame and that didn't even happen until the second year. She's lived in Detroit, Michigan for most of her life, but the sound that made her famous came together in a recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, the city where she was born. Her first album was released when she was just 14 years old. She's only had 2 # 1 hits and they came 20 years apart, although she's had 17 Top Ten singles. She's gets a lot of respect from other performers. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked her Number One on its list of the greatest singers of all time. WHo is this legendary singer?

2. In 2003, six performers were inducted into the Hall of Fame, including this duo who first got together in a group called The Paramours in 1962. These two singers formed their own group not long after and began recording under the name that made them famous in 1963. One of their hit songs is featured in the movie "Ghost". (oh dear, now I've gone and given it away). Can you name this duo?

3. This group was inducted in 2006. Their hits included a Top Ten song that referenced both Watergate and Neil Young. Their name comes from a slightly different spelling of the name of their high school gym teacher. Several members were killed in a plane crash in 1977. What's the name of the group?

4. His guitar sound was, and is, unique. His debut album was called "have Twangy Guitar, Will Travel". His hits include, "Cannonball", "(Dance With) The Guitar Man" a"Because They're Young" (all Top 20 hits). Who is this 'Rebel Rouser?

5. Last year (2010), Steve Van Zandt, aka Little Steven, aka Miami Steve, inducted this group into the Hall of Fame. They first hit the singles chart in 1964. Their harmonies were legendary and their hits plentiful. They survived the departure of a founding member and continued to have hits into the 1980's. Who is this group? Oh and I forgot to mention, they were British.

6. OK, I'm going to hand you one on a silver platter. This Hall of Famer was inducted in the very first year, 1986. He was known as 'The Godfather of Soul' and 'The Hardest Working Man In Show Biz'. Although he never had a number one single, "It's A Man's Mans Mans World", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and ""Cold Sweat" are just 3 of his Top Ten hits. So who is this legendary performer?

7. Also inducted during the first year was a bombastic performer who once showed up at the gates of Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion waving a gun. He's been married 6 times and was once signed to Sun Records. His life story became the 1989 movie, "Great Balls OF Fire", which was named for one of his biggest hits. He's a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. Who is this piano playin' legend?

8. He was one of the most respected guitar players in the world. The Beatles George Harrison was a huge fan as was Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler. He was also one of the top producers in the record industry starting in the 1950's. Elvis Presley, country star Jim Reeves, The Everly Brothers, Wayklon Jennings and pop crooner Perry Como were some of the artists he's produced. The Gretsch 'Country Gentleman' is his signature guitar. Who is this Nashville legend?

9. This group was led by a Florida native who once took guitar lessons from The Eagles Don Felder. He met Elvis Presley on the set of his 1961 film, "Follow That Dream". As a solo artist and a member of two hit groups, he's sold 60 million albums, cassettes and CD's. Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne were briefly, his 'family'. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Who is he?

10. One of this year's inductees sang in the high school choir with Barbra Streisand. He wrote a number one hit for The Monkees even though his own version only made it to # 51 on the singles chart. He sometimes wrote under the name Mark Lewis. He later became an actor, starring in a 1980 remake of the first 'talking picture' in 1927. He's a 'jewel' of a performer - can you name him?. (NEIL DIAMOND 2011)

ANSWERS

1. Aretha Franklin is the lady we're looking for. She was born in Memphis in 1942. Her family moved to Buffalo, New York when she was 2, then Detroit when Aretha was 4 years old. Her two Number One hits were "Respect" (written by Otis Redding) in 1967 and "I Knew Your Were Waiting (For Me)" with George Michael in 1987. She had a cameo role as a waitress in the 1980 hit film, "The Blues Brothers".

2. The duo would be Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield who became The Righteous Brothers. After a couple of minor hits on the Moonglow label, the duo signed with Phil Spector's Philles label and had their biggest hit of their career "You"ve Lost That lovin' Feeling" which went to # 1 in February 1965. The following year, after they'd left Philles Records for the Verve label, they hit # 1 again with "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration". "Unchained Melody", produced by Phil Spector, became a Top 5 hit in '65, but went on to greater glory in the 1990 film "Ghost". Bobby Hatfield was found dead in his hotel room in Kalamazoo, Michigan on November 5, 2003.

3. It's Lynyrd Skynyrd, who took their name from their Florida high school gym teacher Leonard Skinner.

4. That twangy guitar man is Duane Eddy, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

5. They were The Hollies, who had hits with "Bus Stop" and "Stop, Stop, Stop". After co-founder Graham Nash left to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Hollies hits continued with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)" and "The Air That I Breath".

6. James Brown was 'The Godfather of Soul', as if you didn't know.

7. Jerry Lee Lewis is the name we're looking for. Jerry's career took a major nose dive in 1958 when it was revealed that he'd married his 13 year old first cousin (once removed). Jerry Lee continues to perform in his 76th year.

8. Chet Atkins is the man we're looking for. Chet was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, a year after he'd died. He won 14 Grammy Awards during his lifetime and went into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.

9. He's Tom Petty, who's two groups were The Heartbreakers and the Travelling Wilbury's.

10. Neil Diamond will be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this March.

TRIVIA 2011

2011-01-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

Hey, it's 2011 and here's our first trivia challenge for the new year. This time out, they're multiple choice to make it easier for you. As always the answers are below the questions. Here we go...

QUESTIONS:

1. Nanker Phelge is the pseudonym occasionally used by which '60's hit songwriting team? Was it ...
a. John Lennon and Paul McCartney
b. Mick Jagger and keith Richards
c. Don and Phil Everly

2. Before John Fogerty changed the name of his group to Creedance Clearwater Revival, what was the band called? Was it ...
a. The Rockets
b. The Psychedelic Rangers
c. The Golliwogs

3. Linda Ronstadt's first hit was as the lead singer for the group The Stone Poneys. The song was 1967's "Different Drum". Which world famous musician wrote the song? Was it ...
a. Glen Campbell
b. Mike Nesmith
b. Burt Bacharach

4. Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter becker were members of what hit group from the 1960's? Was it ...
a. Jay & The Americans
b. Tommy James & The Shondells
c. The Dovells

5. The mother of what female 90's superstar sang back up for Elvis Presley? Was it ...
a. Ce Ce Peniston
b. Toni Braxton
c. Whitney Houston

6. Which British Invasion duo had a Top Ten hit in 1965 with the Del Shannon written song, "I Go To Pieces"? Was it ...
a. Chad & Jeremy
b. David & Jonathan
c. Peter & Gordon

7. Chuck Berry, one of the original archetects of rock'n'roll music, has a degree in what subject? Is it ...
a. Cosmetology
b. Mathematics
c. Politcal Science

8. Elton John was among the first major British musicians to tour behind the Iron Curtain. But they weren't THE first. Who was? Was it ...
a. Manfred Mann
b. The Yardbirds
c. The Animals

9. Peter Frampton's father taught art in high school to what future superstar? Was it ...
a. John Lennon
b. Mick Jagger
c. David Bowie

10. Sonny Curtis was a member of The Buddy Holly's Crickets wrote the theme song for what 70'ds hit TV series? Was it ...
a. Rhoda
b. Mary Tyler Moore
c. The Bob Newhart Show

ANSWERS
1. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards used the name Nanker Phelge, so the correct answer is b.

2. Creedance Clearwater Revival first recorded as the Blue VelVets, then in 1964, after they signed to Fantasy Records, they became known as The Golliwogs, so the correct answer is c. They re-named themselves Creedance Clearwater Revival in 1967.

3. The world famous musician who wrote "Different Drum" was none other than Mike Nesmith of The Monkees (he's the one who wore the wool cap) so b. is the right answer.

4. Give yourself a pat on the back if you answered a. Jay & The Americans. Becker and Fagen joined thaty band in 1971.

5. It was c. Whitney Houston's mom Cissy who sang with Elvis on tour for many years as a member of the gospel group The Sweet Inspirations.

6. c. Peter & Gordon is the correct answer. Peter & Gordon's first two hits, "A World Without Love" and "Nobody I Know", both from 1964, were written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Their version of Del Shannon's "I Go To Pieces" made it to number 9 on Billboard magazine's singles chart.

7. If you're ever in need of a physical make over, Chuck Berry's your man, as he has a degree in cosmetology from the Gibbs Beauty School, so a. is the correct answer.

8. That would be a. Manfred Mann who was the first British group to tour Communist countries in the fall of 1965. The Animals followed a month later.

9. a. David Bowie was an art class student of Peter Frampton's dad.

10. You probably watched a lot of television during the 1970's if you answered b. Mary Tyler Moore, because that's, the correct answer. The theme song was called "Love IS All Around". Sonny Curtis joined Buddy Holly's Crickets in January of 1956 and was one of the pallbears at Holly's funeral.

CHRISTMAS EDITION (HO HO FREAKIN' HO)

2010-12-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

It’s Christmas time and as politically incorrect as that may be (as opposed to saying ‘The Holiday Season’), this time, we’re asking questions about Christmas and holiday songs over the years (and decades). Score yourself 10 points for each correct answer and see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the final question.

1. This Christmas album has since become a classic, but at the time of its original release (November 22, 1963), it crashed and burned, through no fault of its own. The death of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on that date far overshadowed everything else that was going on in the world. The album featured different artists singing their versions of Christmas songs. It was produced by a legendary 60’s producer, who’s recently fallen from grace. Do you know the original title of this album?

2. “White Christmas” can be heard everywhere this time of year. It’s been sung by The Drifters, Dean Martin, The Supremes, Otis Redding, New Kids On The Block, Michael Bolton, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and dozens more, including Bob Marley. The earliest version was sung by Bing Crosby. Can you name the movie in which “White Christmas” was originally sung?

3. In 1958, a number one Christmas novelty was performed by Simon, Theodore and Alvin. What was the group name of these three that was listed on the original 45 rpm record?

4. “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” are the opening lyrics to an iconic Christmas song. It’s been covered by hundreds of performers, but can you name the writer? He’s a world famous jazz singer and was the obsession of the character of Judge Harry Stone on the hit TV series “Night Court” which aired from 1984 until 1992 and is still in reruns today.

5. Band Aid started a trend in 1984 with the charity record, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The 1985 Canadian contribution to African famine relief, featuring a plethora of famous Canadian musical performers collectively known as Northern Lights For Africa, was called “Tears Are Not Enough”. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie co-wrote America’s contribution, which was sung by Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen among many others. Do you know the title of the record and the collective name for the American superstars?

6. There are literally dozens of Christmas novelty songs. See how many performers for the following holiday songs you can name.
a. “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”
b. “Snoopy’s Christmas”
c. “The Chanukah Song”

7. Bruce Springsteen is certainly no stranger to the record charts, but ironically, his only number one hit was a Christmas song. Can you name it?

8. The following three Christmas songs were ALL number one hits on the Christmas singles chart. Can you name the performers?
a. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” (There are 2 correct answers)
b. “Step Into Christmas”
c. “Blue Christmas”

9. The Band were a successful mix of Canadian and Arkansas musicians, that included Robbie Robertson (Canadian), Rick Danko (Canadian), Garth Hudson (Canadian), Levon Helm (Arkansas) and Richard Manuel (Canadian). They worked with Arkansas rocker Ronnie Hawkins, then left to work with Bob Dylan. Two of their most famous songs are, “The Weight” and “Up On Cripple Creek”. They released the song, “Christmas Must be Tonight” on their 1977 album “Islands”. Subsequently, The Bands’ Robbie Robertson recorded a solo version of that song that was featured in a 1988 Christmas film starring comedian Bill Murray. Can you name this movie?

10. The Beatles never released a Christmas song while they were still together (although they did record many Christmas messages for their fans and in one of those, they sang the original song, “Christmastime Is Here Again”.) In 1999, Ringo Starr released his Christmas album titled, “I Wanna Be Santa Claus”. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded classic Christmas songs in the 1970’s that are played every holiday season. Can you name both of these Christmas songs?

ANSWERS

1. The 1963 original title of the album was “A Christmas Gift For You From Phillies Records” and it featured Christmas songs from The Ronettes, The Crystals, Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans and Darlene Love. Over the years, the album has been
re-released many times and in 2003, it was # 142 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

2. “White Christmas” was written by Irving Berlin and was featured in nthe 1942 movie, “Holiday Inn”, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Crosby had the hit version of the song, which has been played year after year. The song has sold some 50 million copies. In 1954, Crosby starred in the film “White Christmas”, which also featured Danny Kaye and George Clooney’s aunt, Rosemary Clooney.

3. Simon, Theodore and Alvin were The Chipmunks. In actual fact, they all were the sped up voices of Ross Bagdasarian, who went by the stage name of David Seville. The songs full title was “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late”)

3. "The Christmas Song” was co-written by jazz great Mel Torme, nicknamed ‘The Velvet Fog’ (although Torme himself detested it). Mel co-wrote “The Christmas Song” with Bob Wells. During his career, Torme wrote some 250 songs. He was also an accomplished actor and appeared on “Night Court” 9 times. Mel Torme died on June 5, 1999.

4. USA For Africa was the name of the superstar singers. The title of the song was “We Are The World” and it went to number one on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart on April 13, 1985 where it remained for four weeks. The producer of “We Are The World” was Quincy Jones.

5. The answers to the novelty Christmas song quiz are:
a. Patsy and Elmo sang “Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer”
b, The Royal Guardsmen sang “Snoopy’s Christmas”
c. Saturday Night Live alum and movie star Adam Sandler sang
“The Chanukah Song’.

7. Some of Bruce Springsteens’ Top Ten chart hits have included “Hungry Heart”, “Dancing In The Dark”, “Born In The U.S.A.”, “Glory Days”, “The Streets of Philadelphia”, but his only number one single happened in December of 1985 with “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”.

8. a. For “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”, the two correct answers are Bruce Springsteen and The Jackson 5
b. “Step Into Christmas” was sung by Elton John
c. Did anyone NOT know that “Blue Christmas” was by Elvis Presley?

9. “Christmas Must be Tonight” was featured in the movie and the soundtrack for the Bill Murray Christmas movie, “Scrooged”, which is a relatively modern adaptation of the classic holiday film, “A Christmas Carol”.

10. In 1971, John Lennon released “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” under the name John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band. Paul McCartney released his holiday conribution, “Wonderful Christmastime” in 1984. Both are play constantly around this time of year.

Music In The Movies - The Reel Deal

2010-11-21T15:55:00.001-08:00

Sorry it's been a while, but we're back with more rock and roll trivia. This week, it's back to the movies. These questions aren't necessarily hard, but you do have to think a bit. OK, give yourself 10 points for every correct answer and see how close you can get to 100%. Answers are below the final question.

QUESTIONS

1. Director John Boorman became famous after his 1972 film, "Deliverance" was
released. The film starred Jon Voight (father of Angelina Jolie) and Burt Reynolds.
Seven years before "Deliverance", Boorman had directed a movie starring one of the
biggest British Invasion groups besides The Beatles. If you 'catch' my clues, you'll
know both the group as well as the name of their movie. Do you know both answers?
I'll be 'Glad All Over' if you do.
2. Martin Scorsese is an Academy Award winning director of such movies as
"Goodfellas", "Casino", Aviator" and "Taxi Driver", but relatively early in his career,
he directed a concert film that starred a 'who's who' of legendary performers, including
Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, plus some other famous
performers. Can you name this Scorsese directed documentary?
3. Frank Zappa is a legendary musician, but in his time, also directed a film or two. "@00
Motels" was one of those films. Keith Moon drummer with The Who was in it, as was
actor Theordore Bikel and one of The Beatles. The question is - which one?
4. I don't think anyone would disagree that Jack Nicholson is a Hollywood icon. The
Academy Award winning actor did many other things in show business before he
made it as an actor. In 1968, he was one of the writers of a film that starred a 'bunch' of
TV actors from a hit TV series. Can you name the movie Jack co-wrote?
5. Richard Lester directed "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help", both of which starred
The Beatles. Richard later directed "The Three Musketeers", "Superman II' and
"Superman III" as well as Paul McCartney's 1991 concert film, "Get Back". Two years
after "Help" was released in 1965, Richard directed one of The Beatles in a dramatic
role. Can you guess which Beatle and what was the name of the film?
6. Phil Collins, besides being a member of Genesis and having a successful solo career,
starred in the 1988 film, "Buster". He also had a role in Steven Spielberg's
1991 version of 'Peter Pan' called "Hook". Phil's also been a voice for Disney's
animated features, "Balto" and "Jungle Book 2", but way back in 1964, Phil had an
uncredited role in one of the most influential movies of the 1960's, also starring
musicians. This shouldn't really be that 'Hard'. Can you name the movie?
7. This dancer, singer and actress was a cast member on the hit TV series, "In Living
Color". She went on to bigger things both as an actress and singer and soon, she'll be
launching a whole new career as a judge. Who is she?
8. This singer had her first number one hit in 1965 when she was only 19 years old. Back
then, she had a singing partner, but also had quite a few hits under her own name.
She successfully branched out into television, then found herself with a flourishing
movie career. In fact, she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1984 and won
one in 1988. She's still performing today to sold out crowds. Who is this
actress/singer/icon?
9. He's a member of a family of successful Hollywood actors. He's appeared in quite a
few movies himself, including one of his earliest, 1971's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller". he's
also done quite a lot of television, including recurring roles on "Dexter" and
"Damages". In 1976, he had a Top 20 hit on the record charts with a song he sang
in one of his movies. Can you name the actor and the song? Bonus points for the
movie!
10. Peter Frampton was extremley successful in rthe 1970's with his multiple
platinum selling album "Frampton Comes Alive" and the hit singles, "Baby I Love
Your Way", "Show Me The Way" and "Do You Feel Like We Do". In 1978, he co-
starred on the big screen in the film adaptation of one of the most influential albums of
all time. Can you name the movie Peter co-starred in?

ANSWERS

1. The movie was "Having A Wild Weekend". it was also known as "Catch Us If You
Can" and starred The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Mike Smith, Lenny Davidson, Rick
Huxley and Denis Payton). John Boorman went on to direct 1977's "Exorcist II:
The Heratic", "Excalibur" in 1981, "Hope And Glory" in '87 among many others.
2. Martin Scorsese directed "The Last Waltz" in 1976, although the documentary didn't
get released until 2 years later. "The Last Waltz" was final concert for The Band, held
at the Winterland in San Francisco. By this time, Scorsese had already directed
"Boxcar Bertha", "Mean Streets" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". "Taxi
Driver", starring Robert DeNiro and directed by Scorsese came out the same year as
the concert.
3. 1971's "200 Motels" featured Beatle RIngo Starr as Larry The Dwarf. Frank Zappa and
Tony Palmer co-directed.
4. Jack Nicholson was one of the writers on The Monkees' 1968 movie "Head". The Pre-
Fab Four - Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones and Mickey Dolez starred along with
former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello, who played a character named Minnie. "Head"
has gone on to become a cult classic.
5. John Lennon was one of the stars of Richard Lesters' 1967 film, "How I Won The
War". Michael Crawford also starred. He'd also been in Lester's 1966 farce, "A Funny
Thing Happened On The War To The Forum".
6. Phil Collins was an uncredited extra in the final concert scene of The Beatles 1964
classic "A Hard Day's Night". You can spot Phil quite clearly once you know where he
is. He got the gig because his mother was a casting agent. Phil hosted the DVD
documentary, "The Making Of 'A Hard Day's Night'".
7. Jennifer Lopez is the lady in question. She was one of the 'Fly Girls' on "In Living
Color" that ran from 1991 until '93. Her movies include: "Selena", "The Wedding
Planner", "Maid In Manhattan", "Monster-In-Law" and 2010's "The Back Up Plan". In
2003, Jennifer co-starred with her then boyfriend, Ben Affeck in the seriously scorned
film "Gigli".
8. She's the one and only...Cher. Her 1984 Academy Award nomination was for her role
in the film "Silkwood". Her Oscar win in '88 was for "Moonstruck". Cher can currently
be seen in the movie "Burlesque" co-starring Christina Aguilera.
9. Keith Carradine, of the acting Carradine family, had the Top 20 hit, "I'm Easy" in 1976.
The song came from the Robert Altman directed film "Nashville" in which Carradine co-
starred. Keith's father, veteran character actor John Carradine (d. 1988), appeared in
such classic films as "Stagecoach" (1939) starring John Wayne; "The Grapes Of
Wrath" (1940) starring Henry Fonda; and Woody Allen's 1972 comedy "Everything You
Always Wanted To Know About Sex * But Were Afraid To Ask" among many others.
John also acted on television series, as did Keith's half brother David Carradine who
died in 2009. Keith's other brother, Robert, starred in the "Revenge Of The Nerds"
movies and had a regular role as the dad in the TV series Lizzie McGuire".
10, Peter Frampton starred as Billy Shears in the 1978 movie, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band" along with Maurice, Robin & Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees. Steve
Martin co-starred as Dr. Maxwell Edison with musician Billy Preston as Sergeant
Pepper himself. The Beatles record producer, George Martin, was the films' music
director.

70's Number One Hits Trivia

2010-10-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

This week, in honour of a long time friend in Kingston, Ontario, John Hanlon, we’re asking trivia questions about the # 1 hits of the 1970’s, based on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100 singles chart. There’s one question for every year of the ‘70’s, so score yourself 10 points for each correct answer and see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the final question.

1. This song was # 1 for four weeks in January 1970. It was featured in a classic

movie starring two movie icons and written by two songwriting Hall of Famers.

The singers’ first name is Billy – he was born in Oklahoma and raised in

Texas. Although he’d had previous hits on the charts, this one was his biggest.

Can you name the movie, the song and the artist? (FULL POINTS FOR ANY

TWO)

2. In 1971, this former grave digger had his first solo number one, Although he

was born in London, England, he had a passion for all things Scottish. His early

groups include the Hoochie Coochie Men and Steampacket. Later, he became a big name in a ‘small’ group. So far in his career, he’s had three number one

singles, the last coming in 1979. Do you know this red headed stranger?

3. She is the daughter of one of the pioneers in pop music as well as a direct

descendant of a legendary frontiersman and explorer from America’s first

century. Her only number one was locked at the top of the singles chart for 10

weeks during the last 3 months of 1977 and was finally knocked from the top

spot by The Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love”. Can you name this female

singer as well as her # 1 song from 1977?

4. She was a regular on the Carol Burnett TV show and later went on to star in a

hit TV series of her own. In April of 1973, she made it to the top of the Billboard

Magazines’ singles chart for 2 weeks with her only number one hit. Who is the performer and what’s the title of the song?

5. In 1979, this performer hit the number spot 3 times. She was as hot as a

summer’s day in Mexico. It was all good for this artist, there was no 'Bad Stuff'

that year. Who is this singer and can you name any two of her three 1979

number ones?

6. For the week of November 2nd 1974, the number one song on Billboards’ Hot

100 chart was “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” by Stevie Wonder. The following

week that song was replaced at the top of the chart by a similar sounding title,

but it was a totally different song by a totally different group. Can you name

the song AND the group. (HINT: DON’T PUT YOUR BRIAN IN OVERDRIVE TO

ANSWER THIS ONE)

7. During the 1960’s, this performer had 6 Top Ten hits, which included one

number one. He returned to the charts in the 1970’s and scored two # 1’s – both

in 1975. Ironically, his second # 1 was knocked out of his two week run in the

top spot in ’75 by the owner of the record label he was signed to,although there

was no 'bad blood' between the two artists. Who is this singer/songwriter and

what was the title of his second 1975 # 1?

8. This performer was one of The Beatles favourite American singer/songwriters.

In 1972, he was at the top of the Billboard singles chart for 4 weeks with a song

written by two members of a group signed to The Beatles Apple Records label.

Who is this performer and what was his # 1 hit? (HINT: COME AND GET

THIS ANSWER. IT SHOULD BE EASY FOR YOU)

9. During 1976, two TV theme songs made it to number one. One came from a

show about a teacher. The other was the theme about an elite unit on the

police force. Can you name these 2 hits and who performed them?

10. This performer had some very successful brothers. In 1978, this younger

brother topped the Billboard singles chart for 7 weeks with a song he and

his brothers wrote. This was not his first # 1, in fact he’d had two previously.

Although initially, he lived in his brothers’ ‘shadow’, he became a major star

on his own, even to the point of hosting a TV show. Do you know who this little

brother is?

ANSWERS

1. The movie was “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” starring the late Paul

Newman and Robert Redford. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ (On My Head)” was the

song. The singer was Billy Joe Thomas or B. J. Thomas as he was better

known. Legend has it that the Hall of Fame songwriters, Burt Bacharach and

Hal David had originally asked Bob Dylan to sing it, but fortunately for B. J.,

Bob took a pass.

2. Rod Stewart’s career as a grave digger ended when he ran into Long John

Baldry in 1964 who heard Rod singing while waiting for a train. Baldry asked

Rod to join The Hoochie Coochie Men and later Steampacket. In 1966, Rod

joined The Jeff Beck Group as their vocalist and in ’69, he joined future Rolling

Stone Ron Wood in The Faces”, who’d changed their name from the Small

Faces. Although Rod had had previous singles released in England, it wasn’t

until 1971 that he hit it big when “Maggie May” climbed to # 1 on Billboards’

Hot 100 chart. His other two number one hits are “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna

Be Alright)”, which stayed number one for 7 weeks in November and

December of 1976 and “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” which lasted 4 weeks at the top

of the singles chart in January and February, 1979.

3. Debbie Boone is the daughter of 1950’s/1960’s pop star/acto Pat Boone and is

a direct descendant of Daniel Boone, who fought in the Revolutionary War and

was a legendary frontiersman and later statesman. Debbie’s single, “You

Light Up My Life”, which sold over two million copies, was the theme song to a

movie with the same title. Debbie never again made it to the top of the singles

charts, although she did have other charted hits.

4. Vicki Lawrence, one of the stars of the Carol Burnett Show, made it to the top of

the charts with a song written by her then husband, Bert Russell. “The Night

The Lights Went Out In Georgia” was # 1 for two weeks in April of 1973. The

song that replaced it at the top was the mega smash by Tony Orlando & Dawn,

“Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree”.

5. Donna Summer had an incredible year in 1979 and she’d had a great ’78 with

“MacArthur Park”, which topped the singles chart for 3 weeks in November of

that year. But on to 1979’s feats – “Hot Stuff” was Donna’s first # 1 in ’79. It

first hit the top of the singles chart on June 2, but was replaced the following

week by The Bee Gees “Love You Inside Out”. “Hot Stuff” jumped back to # 1

the next week where it stayed for two more weeks and was finally knocked off

by Anita Wards’ “Ring My Bell”, which after two weeks on top, was itself

knocked off by Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” which had a 5 week run at # 1 in

July and August of ‘79. Donna didn’t see the top of the singles chart again

until November 24th, when her duet with Barbra Streisand, ”Enough Is

Enough (No More Tears)” landed in the top spot for two weeks.

6. Stevie Wonder’s number one for the week of November 2nd 1974, “You Haven’t

Done Nothin’” was replaced at the top by “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” from

Canadian rockers Bachman-Turner Overdrive, which had a two week stay at

# 1.
7. OK, if you were paying attention, we gave you the title of this 1975 number one.

“Bad Blood” was 60’s hitmaker Neil Sedaka’s second # 1 in 1975 (his first was

“Laughter In The Rain” which landed atop the singles chart for one week on

February 1st). Neil had signed with Elton John’s Rocket Records label and hit

the top spot on the singles chart a second time with “Bad Blood” on October

11th of ’75 and hung there for two weeks. Neil’s record label boss, Elton John,

then replaced Neil at # 1 with “Island Girl” on November 1st, 1975.

Incidentally, Neil was responsible for a third # 1 in 1975, having written The

Captain & Tennille's hit “Love Will Keep Us Together”. If you listen closely

near the end, you’ll hear them sing, “Sedaka Is Back”.

8. Harry Nilsson was the performer we were looking for. His 1972 hit, “Without

You” was written by two members of Badfinger, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, both

of whom later committed suicide. Badfinger was signed to The Beatles Apple

label and had several hits, including “Come And Get It”, “No Matter What” and

“Day After Day”.

9. “Welcome Back”, written and sung by John Sebastian, was # 1 for the week of

May 8th, 1976. It was the theme song for the hit TV series “Welcome Back

Kotter” starring Gabe Kaplan and a young John Travolta. The “Theme From

SWAT”, a # 1 for the week of February 28th, 1976 was performed by Rhythm

Heritage, although in Canada, the song was covered by, and became a hit for

the THP Orchestra. The initials THP stand for Three Hats Productions.

10. Andy Gibb (born Andrew Roy Gibb in 1958) was the younger brother to

Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees. Andy’s first hit, “I Just Want

To Be Your Everything” (written by brother Barry) was # 1 for 3 weeks in July

and August 1977. “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” (written by Barry and

Andy). topped the singles chart for two weeks starting on March 4th, 1978. It

replaced the other Gibb brothers # 1, “Stayin’ Alive” and was replaced by The

Bee Gees yet again with their next hit from “Saturday Night Fever”, “Night

Fever”. “Shadow Dancing”, which was # 1 for 7 weeks throughout most of

June and all of July 1978, was co-written by all 4 Gibb brothers. Andy co-

hosted the “Solid Gold” TV show during the 1980 to ‘82 seasons. As well, he

appeared on TV sitcoms, “Punky Brewster” and “Gimme A Break!”. Five days

after celebrating his 30th birthday, Andy Gibb died on March 10, 1988.

JOHN LENNON TRIVIA

2010-10-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here we are once again rock trivia fans, this time we’re celebrating the life of the legendary John Lennon, who, this year would have turned 70. As a member of The Beatles, Lennon helped change the world, not only in music, but in fashion, hairstyles and social mores. He campaigned for peace during his honeymoon with Yoko Ono in 1969 and continued to advocate peace and love throughout the rest of his life. John Lennon was tragically murdered on December 8th, 1980. As usual, score 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the final question.

1. In 1969, John formally changed his middle name to Ono. What was his original
middle name?

2. John had two sons, the oldest was with first wife Cynthia. His second, with wife
Yoko Ono, was born in 1975. John wrote the song “Beautiful Boy” for him. Can
you name Lennon’s two sons?

3. One of John’s solo hit, “Give Peace A Chance” was recorded during John and
Yoko’s honeymoon in their hotel hotel room. In what city did they record “Give
Peace A Chance”?

4. John’s final public performance came on Thanksgiving Day 1974 at Madison
Square Garden. It happened during a concert by another British superstar.
Whose concert was it?

5. The original bass player in The Beatles was a close friend of John’s from his art
school days. Paul McCartney, at that time, was playing guitar in the group.
When John’s friend left the band, Paul took up the bass. Can you name The
Beatles first bass player?

6. In one of John’s later solo hits, he speaks the words “For the other half of the
sky” over the introduction music at the beginning of the song. Can you name
this John Lennon hit?

7. When John Lennon split from Yoko Ono in 1973, he temporarily moved to Los
Angeles, where among other things, he hung out with and produced an album
for a longtime friend who'd had several hits of his own. Can you name this
friend and the album John produced?

8. Besides The Beatles films “A Hard Days Night”, “Help” and “Magical Mystery
Tour”, John Lennon acted in only one other movie. Can you name this 1966
release, which was also directed by Richard Lester, who’d been behind the
camera for both “Help” and “A Hard Days Night”.

9. What was John Lennon’s ‘magic’ number. In other words, what number was
most significant in his life?

10. In September of 1969, John brought an impromptu group of musicians over
from England to perform at the Rock and Roll Revival Show in Toronto under
the name Plastic Ono Band. Yoko came as did Klaus Voorman, The Beatles
pal from Germany, who played bass along with Alan White, later of the group
Yes, who was the drummer. Which British superstar did John bring over with
him as lead guitar?

ANSWERS

1. John Winston Lennon was his birth name. John was born on October 9th 1940,
during World War II. His middle name was in honour of then British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill.

2. John’s two sons are named Julian and Sean. Both became musicians, although
of the two, Julian was the more commercially successful, charting several
albums and singles, including “Valotte” and “Too Late For Goodbyes” in 1985.
Sean Lennon has recorded 3 solo albums and others with Cibo Matto and The
Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger.

3. “Give Peace A Chance” was recorded in room 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel
in Montreal, Quebec on June 1, 1969 during John & Yoko’s ‘Bed-In For Peace’
campaign. It was released in 1969 on The Beatles’ Apple label under the name
The Plastic Ono Band. Two of the other performers on the record were 60’s star
Petula Clark and Tommy Smothers of The Smothers Brothers. The song
reached # 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on September 6th, 1969.

4. It was an Elton John concert on November 28, 1974. Elton & John sang three
Lennon/Beatles songs, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”, “Lucy In The
Sky With Diamonds” and “I Saw Her Standing There”.

5. Stuart Sutcliffe was John’s friend from the Liverpool Art College. Stu met and
fell in love with a German student and photographer named Astrid Kirchherr
while The Beatles were playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany. He left the band
to study and continue as a painter and abstract artist. Stuart Sutcliffe died in
Hamburg on April 10th, 1962 at the age of 22.

6. The song was “Woman” from 1980’s “Double Fantasy” album. Listen closely as
the song first starts and you’ll hear it. Ironically, during The Beatles days, Paul
McCartney had also written a song called “Woman”, which became a hit for
Peter & Gordon in 1966. McCartney wrote the song under the name Bernard
Webb because he wanted to see if it could become a hit without his Beatle
credentials. It did, making it to # 14 on Billboards’ Hot 100 singles chart.
Lennon’s “Woman” went to number 2 in 1981.

7. Harry Nilsson was a longtime pal of The Beatles and when in 1973, Lennon
came out to LA, where Nilsson lived, the two hung around together and Lennon
produced Nilsson’s album “Pussycats”. Harry Nilsson died on January 15,
1994.

8. In “How I Won The War”, which was shot in Spain, John played Sgt. Gripweed.
John’s co-stars included British actors Michael Crawford and Roy Kinnear,
who’d previously worked with Lennon in The Beatles 1965 film “Help!”.

9. That would be the number 9. John was born on October 9th, as was his son
Sean (although obviously in different years. John in 1940, Sean in 1975).
Although he was shot and killed on December 8th, in England (Lennon’s
birthplace), it was already December 9th. John wrote several songs with his
special number 9 in the title, including “Revolution # 9” from The Beatles’
'White Album' and “# 9 Dream” from 1974’s solo “Walls And Bridges” album.

10. The Rock and Roll Revival show, which took place at Varsity Stadium in
Toronto on September 13, 1969 before a crowd of nearly 20,000, featured
Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Alice
Cooper, The Doors and many more. The guitarist for The Plastic Ono Band set
that September night was Eric Clapton.

ROCK TALK DJ TRIVIA

2010-09-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

OK rock’n’roll trivia fans, we’re gonna put you to the test this time. Rock’n‘roll wouldn’t have become as popular as it did without radio DJ’s. Back in the late 50’s, all through the 1960’s, 70’s and even well into the 1980’s the disc jockey was king. In some cities, the DJ was as popular as the artists whose records he or she spun. So, this time, 10 questions about famous DJ’s. This quiz will be limited to North American disc jockeys ONLY for the time being. Like always, score yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the final question – here we go.

1. This influential New York DJ became even more famous
when The Beatles hit big in North America. He became
friends with ‘the Boys’ and even began calling himself ‘the 5th
Beatle’. He appeared in several movies, often as himself.
His ‘Holiday Revues’ at the Brooklyn Fox theatre were
legendary and he and his listeners shared their own unique
language. He was the official leader of the ‘swingin’ soiree’.
Who was this pioneering DJ?

2. This LA DJ was as ‘real’ as they get. His fast talking, hip style
was beloved by Los Angeles radio listeners. He appeared in
many TV shows and movies, including “The Monkees”. Who
was he?

3. There are several examples of DJ’s who become recording
stars. This guy may have been one of the first. He was a ‘big’
DJ in Texas who also wrote songs for other artists. He was
killed in 1959 in a very famous plane crash. Who was this
DJ?

4. Here’s another example of a San Francisco DJ who went on
to become the leader of a very successful group in the
1960’s. He brought ‘sly’ soul to the radio, then formed the
group that went on to have nearly a dozen Top 40 hits in the
late 1960’s and ‘70’s. Three of their songs went to number
one on the Billboard charts. Who was this former DJ and
musical superstar?

5. He probably wasn’t really related to you, but this New York DJ
had a very special connection to his listeners, treating them
like family. Over the years, he worked for New York City radio
stations WINS, WABC, WNBC, WCBS-FM and later, Sirius XM
Satellite Radio, where he can still be heard today. Can you
name him?

6. This famous DJ is much better known as an actor, who had
successful roles in 2 TV series. One series co-starred two other
actors who had several hit records between them, including at least
one number one. On his biggest TV series, he played the leader
of a group of POW’s during WWII. His Hollywood morning radio
show on KNX was highly rated, but he gave up radio for TV and
never looked back. His life story was made into a movie in 2002
with Greg Kinnear playing the lead role. This former DJ has a
star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Who was he?

7. He was the very first DJ to play an Elvis Presley record.
Naturally, he worked in Memphis, Tennessee and was friends
with Sun Records President and Elvis’ producer, Sam Phillips.
In fact, a lot of people thought the two were related, although
they weren’t. Elvis’ first radio interview was with this DJ in
1954, the same night he played “That’s All Right” for the first
time. He’s been mentioned in nearly every book written about
Elvis since. Can you name this DJ?

8. This DJ first made a name for himself in Buffalo, New York, and
has worked on stations in Boston, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and
Chicago, where he can still be heard on the radio. He says he’s
been fired 23 times. His nickname is the ‘Wild I-tralian’. Who
is this pioneering fast talking, super hip, ‘wild and crazy’ DJ?

9. This famous DJ started as a child actor in Detroit radio and
eventually made it to Hollywood where he became a star on
radio, TV and in the movies. He was a programming pioneer
with his nationally syndicated weekly ‘countdown’ radio show
and became famous for his ‘long distance dedications’. He
was the voice of NBC TV for several years, has voiced
thousands of commercials and is the voice of a character on
a long running TV cartoon show about a famous dog. So,
who is this ‘Scoob-a-licious’ DJ/actor?

10. This superstar DJ is credited with coining the phrase ‘rock’n’roll’. He became famous in Cleveland, then New York and later all over the world for his love of rhythm & blues and rock. He starred in several ‘rock’n’roll’ movies in the late 1950’s. The 1978 movie, “American Hot Wax” was a fictionalized version of his life and career. Unfortunately, he became caught up in a radio related scandal and died a broken man. Who is this DJ?

ANSWERS

1. Submarine race watchers from the New York area will
remember Murray the K. Murray Kaufman was a major radio
influence from 1958 when he began at WINS New York until
well into the mid 1970’s. The language he invented and often
used on the air was called “Meusurrsay’. Murray appeared as
himself in the film, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and played
opposite Harvey Keitel in 1975’s “That’s The Way Of The
World”. Murray died of cancer in February of 1982, not long
after celebrating his 60th birthday.

2. The Real Don Steele (Don Revert), who was actually born in
Hollywood, California was revered by not only Los Angeles
radio listeners, but also the TV and movie industry. He was
a disc jockey on LA radio stations KHJ, KIQQ, KTNQ, KRLA,
KODJ, KCBS-Fm and KRTH. Don’s TV and movie credits
include TV appearances on “The Monkees” and “Bewitched”
as well as movies such as “Death Race 2000”. His voice was
heard, as a disc jockey naturally, in the films, “Gremlins”,
“Rock’n’Roll High School” and “Grand Theft Auto”. The Real
Don Steele received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in
1995. Don died two years later on August 5, 1997.

3. Jiles Perry Richardson, aka The Big Bopper was a DJ on
KTRM in Beaumont Texas. He later became the station’s
program director. While still a DJ, he wrote several hit songs,
including “White Lightning”, which was the first number one
country hit for co-writer, and later country music legend,
George Jones. JP also wrote “Running Bear”, which was
another number one in 1959 for Johnny Preston. He was
a touring member of the Winter Dance Party on the success
of his own hit, “Chantilly Lace” when he died in the plane
crash that also killed Richie Valens and Buddy Holly on
February 3rd, 1959, a date that singer, songwriter Don McLean
declared ‘the day the music died’ in his song “American Pie”.

4. Sylvester Stone, better known to music lovers as Sly Stone,
was a DJ on KSOL in San Francisco. He was a musical
prodigy and was deeply involved in the San Francisco music
scene of the mid 1960’s. He formed Sly & The Family Stone
and went on to have hits such as “Dance To The Music”, “Hot
Fun In The Summertime” and “I Want To Take You Higher”.
Sly & The Family Stone songs hit number one. They were
“Everyday People”, “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin”
and “Family Affair”. Sly has only occasionally performed
over the past twenty or so years, but in 2009, he signed a new
recording contract and his latest CD might come out
sometime this year.

5. Cousin Brucie or Bruce Morrow (real name Bruce Meyerowitz)
was the nighttime DJ to listen to in the New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut area. He was born in Brooklyn and started
his radio career at ZBM in Bermuda. Cousin Brucie was
heard all over the eastern seaboard on WINS, but most
famously from 1960 until 1974 on 77WABC. He also had
shows on WNBC and WCBS-FM. His “Crusin’ America”
syndicated radio series was heard all over the world. He’s
wrote his autobiography in 1987 and has co-authored several
books on rock’n’roll. He’s still on the air on the ‘60’s on 6’
channel on Sirius XM.

6. Remember Bob Crane? Robert Edward ‘Bob’ Crane was born
in Waterbury Connecticut in 1928. After WWII, he began his
radio career in Hornell, New York and worked at several
station in his home state of Connecticut before CBS wisked
him out to Hollywood to be the morning star on KNX. Many
Hollywood stars guested on Cran’e radio show, including
Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Bob Hope. After a guest
Spot on the “Dick Van Dyke Show”, Crane was cast as the
dentist neighbour on “The Donna Reed Show”. In 1965 and
for six successful seasons, Crane played Colonel Hogan on
the CBS TV series “Hogans Heroes”. In June of 1978, after
performing in a play in Scottsdale, Arizona, Bob Crane was
murdered. Although an associate of Crane’s was charged
and eventually stood trial, he was found not guilty. The 2002
movie, ”Auto Focus”, starring Greg Kinnear was about
Crane’s life and death.

7. Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips started on that city’s WHBQ
in 1949 and his ‘Red, Hot & Blue” radio show later became a local
Memphis television show. In June of 1954, Sun Records Sam
Phillips brought Dewey an acetate (test pressing) of Elvis’ first
recording “That’s All Right”. Dewey loved it and continued to play
it until Elvis himself came down to the station for an interview.
Dewey was fired from WHBQ when they changed format in 1958
and subsequently worked for smaller stations for the rest of his
life. Dewey Phillips died of heart failure on September 28, 1968.
He was 42 years old.

8. That ‘wild I-tralian’ is Dick Biondi. While at KRLA in Los
Angeles, he was one of the DJ’s who introduced The Beatles
at the Hollywood Bowl (and that was because fellow KRLA
disc jockey Bob Eubanks was the promoter of the concert).
In 1961, when Dick was a DJ at WLS in Chicago, he won the
Bill Gavin “Top 40 Disc Jockey Of The Year” award. While at
KRLA in ’66, he won a Billboard magazine award. Dick was
inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998 and in May of
2010, he was honoured by the Governor of Illinois with a ‘Dick
Biondi Day’. Chicago City Council named a street “Dick
Biondi Way” in tribute as Biondi has been on radio in
Chicago for many decades.

9. Casey Kasem launched American Top 40 in 1970 and
continued to ‘count them down’ until 1988. He returned to his
radio creation in 1998 and carried on until 2004 when Ryan
Seacrest took over. Casey also hosted “America’s Top 10”
as a regular series on TV from 1980 until 1989 and then again
from 1991 to 1992. He’s been the voice on dozens of cartoon
shows, including his most famous creation – Shaggy on the
“Scooby-Doo” series. Sirius XM radio carries Casey’s AT40
shows from various decades and even though he’s now 78
years old and is in semi-retirement, Casey Kasem shows no
sign of slowing down.

10. Alan Freed is the legendary DJ we’re looking for. He’s sometimes known as ‘the father of rock’n’roll’ and was the first non performer inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in 1986, its first year of existance. Freed was in early rock movies such as “Rock Around The Clock”, “Rock Rock Rock”, “Mr. Rock and Roll” and “Don’t Knock The Rock”. Alan Freed died at the age of 43 in a Palm Springs California hospital in 1965. His ashes are now in a place of honour at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building in Cleveland, where it all began.

2010-08-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hey rock trivia buffs. Welcome to another edition of Rock Talk. This week – a potpourri of questions. That means it could be about anything in the rock genre. You’ve got three choices, so if you don’t have a clue as to the answer, you’ve got a 33 1/3 chance of getting it right. As usual, there are 10 questions, so score yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the final question – here we go.

1. Which British musician once played guitar on a Cheech &
Chong hit record? Was it:
a. Peter Frampton
b. Jeff Beck
c. George Harrison

2. Which Hollywood movie icon co-wrote a film for The Monkees?
Was it:
a. Jack Nicholson
b. Peter Fonda
c. Dennis Hopper

3. Which Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame member once was in the group Attila? (HINT: His
songs have been covered by such diverse performers as Frank Sinatra and Barry
White). Was he:
a. Elton John
b. Billy Joel
c. Stevie Wonder

4. Which guitar player once opened for The Supremes in front of 10,000 + people with his
then group when he was 13 years old? (HINT: He’s from the same state as The
Supremes and is still performing today). Is it:
a. Bob Seger
b. Ted Nugent
c. Stevie Wonder

5. Which legendary Canadian group was originally known as Chad Allen & The
Expressions? Was it:
a. The Guess Who
b. Rush
c. Loverboy

6. Which legendary singer/songwriter and member of a Rock’N’Roll Hall of Fame group
has a brother who won a Silver medal for swimming in the 1968 games in Mexico City?
(HINT: He’s also a producer and quite the guitar player). Is it:
a. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds
b. Pete Townshend of The Who
c. Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac

7. One of this groups’ members had a father who worked for the C.I.A. Was it:
a. Cheap Trick
b. The Eagles
c. The Police

8. This performer, who’d previously played with Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and
Joey Dee & The Starlighters, was the opening act for The Monkees in 1967. Was it:
a. Barry White
b. Jimi Hendrix
c. Marvin Gaye

9. This famous producer once played a drug dealer in a classic film from the 1960’s and
didn’t utter even one word? Was he:
a. Phil Spector
b. George Martin
c. Smokey Robinson

10. This superstar played guitar on recording sessions for The Rolling Stones, The
Kinks, Petula Clark, The Who, Brenda Lee, Joe Cocker and Them (with lead singer
Van Morrison). Is he:
a. Pete Townshend
b. Keith Richards
c. Jimmy Page

ANSWERS

1. c. George Harrison played guitar on Cheech & Chong’s hit record, “Basketball Jones”,
which reached # 15 on Billboards’ Hot 100 singles chart in the fall of 1973.

2. That would be a. Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson who co-wrote the script for
The Monkees 1968 movie “Head”. Jack also starred in 1969’s “Easy Rider” with Peter
Fonda and Dennis Hopper.

3. b. Billie Joel, born William Martin Joel, was in Attila, which was actually a duo
consisting of Billy and drummer Jon Small. Both had previously been in the band The
Hassles. Attila had one album released in July 1970 and they broke up 3 months later.

4. b. Detroit native Ted Nugent, who was born in December of 1948, has been performing
since 1958 when he was 10. His early success came with the group The Amboy
Dukes, who had the hit, “Journey To The Center of Your Mind” which made it as far as
# 16 on the charts in 1968. A longtime advocate for hunter’s rights. Ted almost
decided’ to run for Governor of Michigan in 2006.

5. a. The Guess Who were once known as Chad Allen & The Expressions and had the hit,
“Shakin’ All Over” in 1965. They had originally been called Chad Allen & The
Reflections, but changed their name to The Expressions after the U.S. group The
Reflections hit with “Just Like Romeo & Juliet”. After Chad Allen left, the group
recruited a new lead singer named Burton Cummings and the rest, as they say…is
rock’roll history.

6. c. Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame was also into athletics, but music was
a stronger draw. It was Lindsey’s brother Greg who won the Olympic Silver medal in
Mexico City in 1968.

7. Stewart Copeland, drummer with c. The Police, had a father who worked for the CIA.
Copeland, who was once ranked ‘the 5th greatest drummer of all time’ by Rolling Stone
Magazine, grew up in Cairo, Egypt and Beirut, Lebanon. Stewarts’ older brother, Miles
Copeland III, who managed Squeeze, The Police and later Sting, formed a record
company called I.R.S. Records and a company to book bands called F.B.I.

8. It was b. Jimi Hendrix, who was born in Seattle on November 27, 1942, who opened for
The Monkees on that 1967 tour. Jimi joined the tour, already in progress, on July 8th
in Jacksonville, Florida and left on July 16th after a concert in Forest Hills, New York. In
total, Jimi only played 7 tour dates with the Pre Fab 4.

9. a. Phil Spector was the legendary producer who played a non speaking drug dealer in
the landmark film “Easy Rider”. In the credits, Phil is listed as ‘Connection’.

10. That session guitar player would be c. Jimmy Page. Before launching Led Zeppelin,
Jimmy played guitar on hundreds of other peoples sessions. In that studio world,
Jimmy was known as ‘Little Jim’ as the other session guitar player was ‘Big Jim’
Sullivan.

2010-08-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

This week is not for the faint of heart – or for the casual music fan. The questions are all about specific song titles – days of the week, girls names, colours, love songs, you get the drift. If you know your music, you’ll be fine. I do suggest that you get a pen and paper and write your answers down, as it’ll be a whole lot easier that way. There are 10 questions, as usual, so score yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the questions, so let’s get rolling.

1. There are 7 hit songs that made the top twenty on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart with
‘Saturday’ in the title from 1963 until 1976. Elton John, Chicago and The Drifters had
three of them. How many of those 7 hits can you name? (You must name the song and
the performer – half points if you only get one or the other correct).

2. Now, let’s move to Sunday. 9 songs with ‘Sunday’ in the title made Billboard’s Hot 100
chart in the 1960’s, although two of those were the same song performed by two
different artists. All 9 songs made it into the top thirty. How many can you name?

3. Monday had the third most songs written about it. There were only 5 'Monday' songs
that made the Top Ten in Billboard’s Hot 100 chart from 1957 until 1986. Can you name
them all?

4. This one is about the late Michael Jackson. How many number one hits in the 1980’s
did Michael Jackson have with a girl’s name in the title? How many can you name?

5. Let’s get a little bit sweeter now. The word ‘Sugar’ shows up in the title of five Top 10
Billboard hits. The first one charted in 1958 and the last one in 1988 and they all made
it to the number one or number two position. Can you name all 5?

6. ‘The eyes are the window to the soul’ is a very famous quote. According to Billboard’s
Hot 100 chart, 9 songs with the word ‘eye’ or ’eyes’ in the title became top five hits
during the 1980’s. Female singers had 3 of those, male solo singers had 2, the rest
were sung by duos or groups. You’ll be considered a musical genius by your friends if
you can name them all. Good luck.

7. The most important muscle of the body is the heart. Literally, hundreds of hit songs
have the word ‘heart’ in the title, but this time, we’re looking for solo female artists who
made it into Billboards’ Top Ten with songs about the ‘heart’. There are 15 songs in
total from 1960 until 1998. How many can you name?

8. There are 6 songs about the colour blue that made it to Number One on Billboards’ Hot
100 singles chart from the late 1950’s through to the early 1970’s. How many of those 6
songs and their performers can you name?

9. How many of Elvis Presley’s seven top ten charted hits with the word ‘love’ in the title
can you name? (HINT: The first one charted in 1956 and the last in 1972. 1957’s
“Loving You” only made it to number 20, so that one obviously doesn’t count).

10. We couldn’t do a rock’n’roll trivia column about song titles without including
‘rock’n’roll’, or more specifically, the word ‘rock’. There are hundreds of songs with
‘rock’ in the title, but this time, we’re only looking for hits from the 1970’s with
either the words ‘rock’, ‘rockin’’ or rock’n’roll’ in their title and all of them made the Top
10, so how hard can it be? Do your best and come up with at least 7 out of 10 titles.

ANSWERS

1. “Another Saturday Night” Sam Cooke 1963 # 10
“Saturday Night At The Movies” The Drifters 1964 # 18
“Come Saturday Morning” The Sandpipers 1970 # 17
“Saturday In The Park” Chicago 1972 # 3
“Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” Elton John 1973 # 12
“Another Saturday Night” Cat Stevens 1974 # 6
“Saturday Night” The Bay City Rollers 1976 # 1

2. “Never On Sunday” Don Costa 1960 # 19
“Never On Sunday” The Chordettes 1961 # 13
“That Sunday, That Summer” Nat ‘King’ Cole 1963 # 12
“Sunday And Me” Jay & The Americans 1965 # 18
“Pleasant Valley Sunday” The Monkees 1967 # 3
“Sunday Will Never Be The Same” Spanky & Our Gang 1967 # 9
“Sunday Mornin’” Spanky & Our Gang 1968 # 30
“Sugar on Sunday” The Clique 1969 # 22
“Beautiful Sunday” Daniel Boone 1972 # 15

3. “Blue Monday” Fats Domino 1957 # 5
“Monday Monday” The Mamas & The Papas 1966 # 1
“Rainy Days And Mondays” Carpenters 1971 # 2
“New Moon On Monday” Duran Duran 1984 # 10
“Manic Monday” The Bangles 1986 # 2

4. Michael Jackson only had two number one hits with a girl’s
name in the title during the 1980’s. Those songs were “Billy
Jean” in 1983 and “Dirty Diana” in 1988.

5. “Sugartime” The McGuire Sisters 1958 # 1
“Sugar Shack” Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs 1963 # 1
“Sugar Sugar” The Archies 1969 # 1
“No Sugar Tonight” The Guess Who 1970 # 1 (This one was the flip side of The Guess
Who’s “American Woman” 45 which was a number one hit – so, this one counts as a
number one as well).
“Pour Some Sugar On Me” Def Leppard 1988 # 2

6. “Sexy Eyes” Dr. Hook 1980 # 5
“For Your Eyes Only” Sheena Easton 1981 # 4
“Private Eyes” Daryl Hall & John Oates 1981 # 1
“Bette Davis Eyes” Kim Carnes 1981 # 1
“Eye Of The Tiger” Survivor 1982 # 1
“Eye In The Sky’ The Alan Parsons Project 1982 # 3
“Eyes Without A Face” Billy Idol 1984 # 4
“Hungry Eyes” Eric Carmen 1988 # 4
“Lost In Your Eyes’ Debbie Gibson 1989 # 1

7. “My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own” Connie Francis 1960 # 1
“Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You” Connie Francis 1962 # 1
“My Heart Belongs To Me” Barbra Streisand 1977 # 4
“Heart Of Glass” Blondie 1979 # 1
“Total Eclipse Of The Heart” Bonnie Tyler 1981 # 1
“Queen Of Hearts” Juice Newton 1982 # 2
“Heart Attack” Olivia Newton-John 1982 # 3
“Two Of Hearts” Stacey Q 1986 # 3
“Change Of Heart” Cyndi Lauper 1987 # 3
“Open Your Heart” Madonna 1987 # 1
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” Whitney Houston 1988 # 1
“Tell It To My Heart” Taylor Dayne 1988 # 7
“With Every Beat Of My Heart” Taylor Dayne 1989 # 5
“Where Does My Heart Beat Now” Celine Dion 1991 # 4
“My Heart Will Go On” Celine Dion 1998 # 1

8. “Mr. Blue” The Fleetwoods 1959 # 1
“Blue Moon” The Marcels 1961 # 1
“Blue Velvet” Bobby Vinton 1963 # 1
“Blue Christmas” Elvis Presley 1964 # 1
“Love Is Blue” Paul Mauriat 1968 # 1 (Instrumental)
“Song Sung Blue” Neil Diamond 1972 # 1

9. “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You’ 1956 # 1
“Love Me Tender” 1956 # 1
“Love Me” 1956 # 2
“I Need Your Love Tonight” 1959 # 4
“A Big Hunk O’ Love” 1959 # 1
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” 1961/62 # 2
“Burning Love” 1972 # 2

10. “Rockin’ Robin” Michael Jackson 1972 # 2
“Crocodile Rock” Elton John 1973 # 1
“Rockin’ Pneumonia – Boogie Woogie Flu” Johnny Rivers 1973 # 6
“Rock On” David Essex 1974 # 5
“Rock The Boat” The Hues Corporation 1974 # 1
“Rock Me Gently” Andy Kim 1974 # 1
“Rock’n Me” Steve Miller 1976 # 1
“Rock And Roll Music” The Beach Boys 1976 # 5
“That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” Shaun Cassidy 1977 # 3
“We Will Rock You” Queen 1978 # 4

2010-08-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

They are the unsung heroes of the record business. The producer is the man who helps and guides the artist in the recording studio. Sometimes they are in complete control, but most producers work WITH the artist to get the best recording they can. This week, we’re asking questions about some of these producers. Many are household names, and all are certainly well known enough to not send you screaming from the room. This one may be a little tougher than usual, but if you know your music, you should do just fine. As always, there are 10 questions, so score yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the questions, so let’s have a go, shall we?

1. This producer, who is also a songwriter and performer, makes Miami his home
base, but he was born across the ocean from the U.S.A. His songs have been
recorded by everyone from Elvis Presley to Celine Dion. The list of artists he’s
produced includes Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, and Barbra Streisand. His
brothers were extremely helpful in his career. What is the name of this
producer?

2. A pioneering producer, this man almost single handedly changed the course of
contemporary music by recording many legendary performers. He loved the
blues and the ‘sun’ shone brightly on his career. His studio later became
a mecca for artists such as U2. He died in 2003 in his 80th year. Who is this
southern gentleman?

3. Although he’s not known primarily as a producer, this multi platinum selling
singer/songwriter has done quite well in that department. His productions
include several number hit singles as well as albums. He started out playing
the trumpet, but switched to left-handed guitar for a few years until he started
playing the instrument he’s most known for in the early 1960’s. He’s one of the
richest men in the music industry and holds the record for having the most
covers of one of his songs. Who is this sometimes producer?

4. This one should be easy. This pioneering producer created a hit making ‘wall
of sound’ in the 1960’s that many others tried to copy. He was born in the
Bronx, but started in the record industry with two school mates in Los Angeles.
The artists he’s produced include Canadian poet Leonard Cohen, Celine Dion,
Ike & Tina Turner and ‘60’s musical icon Dion and those aren’t even his most
famous clients. He’s known for being rather eccentric. These days, he’s not
producing anyone and has a lot of time on his hands. Can you name
this producer?

5. This artist/producer was born in Chicago but when his family moved to Seattle,
he met and became close friends with Ray Charles. He later played trumpet
with Lionel Hampton’s big band and became an accomplished musical
arranger. Some of the artists that he created arrangements for include Frank
Sinatra, Count Basie and Ray Charles. One of his most famous musical
compositions is the theme for the Austin Powers films. Lesley Gore, Michael
Jackson are two artists whose records he’s produced. His close friends call him
by the first initial of his first name. He’s scored dozens of movies and won
Academy Awards as well as a whole lot of Grammys. One of his daughters stars
on a hit NBC TV series. Who is this music business legend?

6. Before he met the group that would make him world famous, this British
producer was creating records for comedians Peter Sellers and Charlie Drake
(“My Boomerang Won’t Come Back”) as well as hits for British crooner Matt
Monroe. America, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion, Cilla Black, Jimmy Webb, Little
River Band and Neil Sedaka are just a few of the artists he’s produced, although
I have left out his most famous group. He’s been knighted by Queen Elizabeth
and has officially retired from producing. Can you name this producer?

7. AC/DC, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, The Cars and Foreigner all owe a debt of
gratitude to this producer, whose skills have made them all millions of dollars.
He got very close to one of his artists and eventually married her. He lives
a reclusive life in Switzerland and hasn’t given an interview in several decades.
He lets his work speak for itself. His nickname is something you’d call a stray \
dog. Who is he?

8. This duo wrote and produced hits for The Drifters, The Coasters, Peggy Lee,
Ben E. King and Procol Harum. They turned the ‘hillbilly cat’ into a ‘hound dog’
and sentenced him to ‘rock’ in the ‘jailhouse’. They ‘stood by’ each other
throughout their decades long career. Both were inducted into the Rock ‘N’
Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Who is this dynamic duo?

9. Billy Joel and Paul Simon call this recording engineer/producer their secret
weapon. Other artists this South African born legend has recorded or produced
include Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Karen Carpenter, Julian
Lennon, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Liza Minnelli,
George Michael, Aretha Franklin and Clay Akin. He was one of the owners of
A&R Studios in New York (HINT: He’s not the ‘A’ part). Who is this 14 time
Grammy Award recipient?

10. This native New Yorker was the first to make Tiny Tim a chart success.
He ‘pointed’ a sister group to the top of the charts, made a solo ‘Starr’ out of
Ringo and made Burton Cummings “Stand Tall”. A cushion in his Los Angeles
office reads, “Rich. Richer. Richard”. I’ve given you his first name. Now all
you have to do is come up with his last.

ANSWERS

1. That would be Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, who was born on the Isle of Man,
England. Although he didn’t produce his own group, he was responsible for
writing most of their hits, including “Stayin’ Alive”, “Jive Talkin’” and dozens
more. Barry wrote “Islands In The Stream”, a 1983 number one hit for Dolly
Parton & Kenny Rogers. He also wrote hits for, and produced his younger
brother Andy Gibb, who died in 1988.

2. Sam Phillips launched Memphis Recording Service in January, 1950. In 1954, a
young truck driver for the Crown Electric Company walked in to cut a record for
his mother. That truck driver was Elvis Presley. For his Sun Records label,
Phillips produced all of the early Elvis recordings, including “That’s All Right”,
“Blue Moon Of Kentucky”, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, “Baby, Let’s Play House”
and “Midnight Train”. RCA bought Elvis’ contract from Sam in 1955 for
$35,000. Phillips invested some of that money in a new venture called Holiday
Inn and became very wealthy. Sam also produced Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison,
Rufus Thomas, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. He was inducted into the
Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of existence, 1986.

3. Sir Paul McCartney is that sometimes producer. As a member of The Beatles,
he worked with producer George Martin. On his own, he wrote and produced
Badfinger’s 1970 Top Ten hit, “Come And Get It”, Mary Hopkin’s “Those Were
The Days”, a number two hit in 1968. He also self produced the albums
“McCartney”, “Ram” and “McCartney 2”, plus 7 Wings albums, including, “Wild
Life”, “Red Rose Speedway”, “Band On The Run’, “Venus And Mars”, “Wings At
The Speed Of Sound” and “London Town”. McCartney’s song “Yesterday”,
originally recorded by The Beatles, has been covered by 2,200 artists.

4. If you’re looking for producer Phil Spector these days, you’ll find him in a
prison cell. Spector, who created that ‘wall of sound’ in the 1960’s and
produced hits for The Ronettes, The Crystals and The Righteous Brothers as
well as albums for John Lennon, George Harrison, The Beatles (“Let It Be”)
and The Ramones, was convicted in 2009 of the murder of actress Lana
Clarkson and is currently serving a 19 years to life sentence in California.

5. That would be Quincy Jones, whose friends call him ‘Q’. In the early 1960’s,
Quincy went to work for Mercury Records in their New York office. He
discovered Lesley Gore in 1963 and produced all of her ‘60’s hits, “It’s My
Party”, “Judy’s Turn To Cry”, “You Don’t Own Me”, “Maybe I Know”,
“Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” and “She’s A Fool” among others. Quincy
has won over 40 Grammy Awards, including 3 in 1984 for Michael Jackson’s
“Thriller” album. 'Q' has released 40 albums under his own name and written
the scores for dozens of hit movies, including “In Cold Blood”, “In The Heat Of
The Night”, “The Wiz”, “The Pawnbroker”, “Enter Laughing”, “The Color
Purple”, “The Getaway” and “The Italian Job”. His composition, “Soul
Bossa Nova” is the recurring theme song for the 3 Austin Powers movies. In
1985, Quincy produced the charity song “We Are The World”. Rashida Jones,
Quincy’s daughter with TV actress Peggy Lipton (The Mod Squad), co-stars on
the hit TV series, “Parks And Recreation”.

6. It’s The Beatles’ producer George Martin. A classically trained musician, Sir
George was the head of the Parlophone label for EMI in England when he signed
those four lads from Liverpool. During the time he was recording all of the Fab
Four’s material, (Martin didn’t produce “Let it Be”, that was Phil Spector),
George also produced Cilla Black, Gerry & The Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer.
The group America hired him to produce 7 of their albums. After The Beatles
broke up, George produced the “Pipes Of Peace” and “Tug Of War”albums for
Paul McCartney. He was named a ‘knight bachelor’ in 1996.

7. Robert John ’Mutt’ Lange is the name we’re looking for. His production credits
include “Highway To Hell”, “Back In Black” and “For Those About To Rock” for
AC/DC; Def Leppard’s “High ‘n’ Dry” and “Pyromania” albums plus
Foreigner’s “4”. ‘Mutt’ was born in Northern Rhodesia, now known as Zambia
and moved to England in 1970. His work with Canadian singer Shania Twain
resulted in their marriage, the birth of their son, many successful albums
(including 1997’s “Come On Over” album, which became the best selling album
by a female of all time), and their divorce.

8. That duo is Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller. The two met in school in Los Angeles
and discovered they both had a deep seeded love for the blues. For The
Coasters, they wrote 24 songs that made Billboards’ singles chart, including
“Yakety Yak”, “Youngblood”, “Searchin’”, “Along Came Jones”, “Poison Ivy” and
“Charlie Brown”. Elvis Presley took their song “Hound Dog” to the top of the
charts. For ‘The King’, they wrote classics like “Don’t”, “Jailhouse Rock”, “King
Creole” and “Loving You”. Ben E. King recorded Jerry & Mike’s song “Stand By
Me” which made it to number four on the Hot 100 and later was the title song
for the 1986 movie “Stand By Me” starring River Phoenix, COrey Feldman and
Keifer Sutherland. In 1959, Wilbert Harrison’s version of “Kansas City”, a song
Leiber & Stoller had originally called ‘K.C. Lovin’”, went to number one. Other
classic Leiber & Stoller written songs include: “Tell Him” (The Exciters), “She
Cried” (Jay & The Americans), “Love Potion # 9” (The Clovers/The Searchers,
“Is That All There Is?” (Peggy Lee). The Stealers Wheel song, “Stuck In The
Middle With You” was produced by the duo. The Broadway Play, “Smokey Joe’s
Café” features the songs of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller.

9. He’s Phil Ramone. A&R Studios in Manhattan was once his home base. He
recently finished producing Canadian singer Nikki Yanofsky’s new album. You
might remember her from the opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010
Olympics. Ramone was born in South Africa and was playing violin from the
age of 3. He played for Queen Elizabeth when he was 10 years old. Phil was a
longtime engineer producer for both Billy Joel and Paul Simon, producing such
classic albums as “52nd Street” and “The Stranger” for Joel – “There Goes
Rhymin’ Simon” and “Graceland” for Simon. Phil Ramone has also produced
music for many television specials and motion pictures, including “A Star is
Born”, “Flashdance” and “Midnight Cowboy” and “Yentl”.

10. Richard Perry is the man who produced Tiny Tim’s “Tip Toe Through The
Tulips” and his “God Bless Tiny Tim” album. Other artists Perry has worked
with include The Pointer Sisters, Burton Cummings, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon,
Harry Nillson, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart and Art Garfunkel. For the 1978
movie, “American Hot Wax”, based on the life of pioneering disc jockey Alan
Freed, Perry played a New York record producer. He produced the first three
albums for Rod Stewart’s “Great American Songbook” series.

2010-07-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

“Rock’n’Roll is here to stay…it will never die”. Those lyrics from the Danny & The Juniors 1958 hit are still true today. Rock’n’roll is still going strong. Unfortunately, rock’n’rollers do die….some tragically. This week, we’re looking at some of those souls who passed way before their time. As always, there are 10 questions, so score yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the questions, so let’s have a go, shall we?

1. This female singer was a member of The Mugmumps before joining the group that made her
world famous. She died in London, England. If it helps, her real name was Ellen Naomi
Cohen, but she hit the top of the charts under a different name. Who is this talented singer?

2. This singer made the successful transition from gospel to pop. He was the son of a Baptist
minister and sang in the church choir from the age of 6. His first number one hit
happened in 1957. Although he never hit the top of the Billboard singles chart again, he did
have 28 Top 40 hits. He was killed in 1964 under mysterious circumstances. Can you name
this singer?

3. His life ended just as his career was ‘taking off’. He was born in the Los Angeles area, but
died tragically in the midwestern United States. He may be the youngest performer to die in
rock history. He was a singer/songwriter who also played guitar. His nickname was ‘The
Little Richard of The Valley’. Who can this be?

4. She was a singer who also played an instrument not usually associated with females at that
time. She worked with a member of her family for most of her successful career and
won two Grammy Awards. She and her sibling had many charted hits which included four
number ones. This one should be easy if you love soft pop ballads. She was born in
New Haven Connecticut and died in Downey, California. She’s also the subject of a brand new
biography currently in stores by author Randy L. Schmidt. Can you name this
sensational singer?

5. He was a country singer who made the pop charts several times in the early 1960’s, usually
with songs about historical events. His only Billboard charted pop number one was
about a famous British/American skirmish in 1814, which won a Grammy Award in 1960 for
‘Best Country & Western Recording’. He’s a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
1960 was also the year of his death from a car crash. Who is this country/pop hitmaker?

6. This LA born singer met one of his future bandmates at film school. In fact, he’d planned to
become a filmmaker, but never got around to it after his groups’ musical career took off. He
was born in 1943 in Florida, but he later became a poster boy for the California lifestyle. His
career was steeped in controversy as drugs and alcohol played a large part in his life. He was
only 27 when he died. Can you name this singer?

7. This singer/songwriter practically grew up on television. His family had a hit TV show. His
first name was Eric, but he became world famous using a nickname for his real one. He
became a singer to impress a girlfriend and his career spanned several decades. He had two
number ones and over two dozen Top Twenty charted records. A ‘party’ at Madison Square
Garden gave him one of his biggest hits in the 1970’s. He died the age of 45 on New Years
Eve, 1985. Who is this TV star and recording legend?

8. This soul singer had his only number one hit after he died. He was born in Georgia and wrote
hits for other performers including Sam & Dave and Aretha Franklin. He was known as
‘The King Of Soul’ and became an international sensation after his tour-de-force performance
at the Monterey Ray Pop Festival in 1967. Sadly he died in December that same year. Can
you name him?

9. She was a hard drinking, hard livin’ sassy Texan who died at at the age of 27. Her ‘big
brothers’ helped her succeed in the music biz. She was a staple on rock album radio stations
This performer only had one number one hit, and, like Otis Redding, it came after her death.
Who is she?

10. This British musician was also 27 years old when he died. He was a member of one of the
worlds’ most famous rock groups, although he’d been kicked out of the group he helped
create. He could play practically any instrument, but got caught up in the world of drugs and
was found drowned in his swimming pool. Can you name this famous musician?

ANSWERS

1. Mama Cass Elliott was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore,
Maryland on September 19, 1941. She was a member of The
Mugwumps, which also featured Canadians Zal Yanovsky,
who later joined The Lovin’ Spoonful and Denny Doherty who
was one of her bandmates in The Mamas And Papas. After
the group disbanded, she became a successful solo
performer, racking up her own Top Ten hits and starring in TV
specials. Cass died on a heart attack on July 29, 1974 after
performing several weeks of sold out concerts at the London
Palladium. She was only 32 years old at the time of her
death.

2. That would be Sam Cooke, who was a member of the gospel
group The Soul Stirrers before embarking on a successful
pop career. Sam’s only number one was 1957’s “You Send
Me”. Some of his other hits included “Chain Gang”, “Tiwstin’
The Night Away”, “Cupid”, “Only Sixteen” and “Shake”. Sam
was shot and killed by a Los Angeles motel owner on
December 11, 1964 under mysterious circumstances that
have not been fully explained to this day. Same Cooke was
33 when he died.

3. Ritchie Valens, real name Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela, was
only 17 years and 9 months old when he died in the plane
crash that also killed The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly as well
as the pilot Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959. After a
concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly
chartered a plane to take the trio to their next gig in Fargo,
North Dakota when their plane went down. The 1987 movie
“La Bamba” was the story of Ritchie Valens life. It starred
Lou Diamond Phillips. Ritchie was inducted into the
Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 2001.

4. Karen Carpenter is the singer we’re looking for. She was a
drummer, which she learned to play in high school. Karen
and her brother Richard, along with college friend Wes
Jacobs formed The Richard Carpenter Trio which played jazz
in various nightclubs around the Los Angeles area. In 1969,
A&M Records signed Karen and Richard to a recording
contract with almost instant success. Their hits included
“(They Long To Be) Close To You”, “Rainy Days And
Mondays”, “Top Of The World”, “Please Mr. Postman” and
“We’ve Only Just Begun”, which is still a song many couples
use as their wedding song. Karen had Anorexia Nervosa.
She died from heart failure on February 4, 1983 at the age of
32.

5. John Gale Horton, better known as Johnny Horton had hits
on the country charts as well as the pop charts. His songs
included his only number one, “The Battle Of New Orleans”,
“North To Alaska” and “Sink The Bismark”. Johnny loved to
fish and in his early years was known as ‘The Singing
Fisherman’. In 1953, he married country legend Hank
Williams widow, Bilie Jean. Horton died on November 5, 1960
after his car was struck by a drunk drive in Milano, Texas.

6. James Douglas Morrison, aka Jim Morrison was the singer
we’re looking for. Jim was attending UCLA film school when
a fellow student, Ray Manzarek, read some of his poetry
and though they’d make great songs. Ray was right. The
Doors became hugely successful around Los Angeles,
playing clubs like The Whiskey A-Go-Go. Elektra Records
signed the group and massive hits like “Light My Fire”,
“People Are Strange”, Hello, I Love You”, “Touch Me” and
“Love Her madly” followed. He achieved world wide
adulation with The Doors, but had several run ins with the
law. To escape his problems and get away from fans, Jim
and his wife Pamela moved to Paris, France where he died on
July 3rd, 1971 of a heart attack, although an autopsy was
never performed. He’s buried in Pere-lachaisse cemetery,
where, even today, his gravesite is one of the most visited
tourist attractions in all of Paris.

7. Ricky Nelson was born Eric Hilliard Nelson in 1940. He was a
cast member on his family’s TV show, “The Adventures of
Ozzie & Harriet”. His music career took off in 1957, thanks to
great songs and the fact that his father had Ricky sing many
of them on the TV series. His two number one hits were
“Poor Little Fool” in 1958 and “Travelin’ Man” in 1961,
although he charted 25 songs in the Top Twenty. Ricky
eventually got fed up with being a ‘teen idol’ and dropped the
‘y’ from his first name becoming Rick Nelson. His musical
styles changed to include country and a Rock Revival concert
at Madison Square Garden in New York that he performed on,
gave him his biggest hit of the 1970’s. “Garden Party” went
to number six in 1972 and gave his career a new boost. He
died in a plane crash in DeKalb, Texas on New Years Eve,
1985. Rick Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame in 1987.

8. Otis Redding was ‘The King Of Soul’. His hits included “I’ve
Been Lovin’ You Too Long” and “Try A Little Tenderness”.
He wrote “Respect”, which became a number one for Aretha
Franklin. He co-wrote “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay with
guitar player Steve Cropper, who was a member of Booker T
& The MG’s and one of Stax Records session musicians. Otis
and four members of his back up group The Bar Kays, were
killed when their Beechcraft plane crashed into Lake Monona
in Madison, Wisconsin on December 10, 1967. Three months
later, in March of ’68, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” was
number one on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart. It remained there
for four weeks.

9. Janis Joplin was the lead singer for Big Brother & The
Holding Company. Their biggest charted hit was “Piece Of
My Heart” in 1968 which made it to number twelve on
Billboard. Janis died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles on
October 4, 1970. Her solo hit, “Me And Bobby McGee”,
written by Kris Kristofferson hit number one for two weeks on
March 20th, 1971. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine gave
Janis the rank of 46th on their ‘100 Greatest Artists of All
Time” list.

10. Brian Jones helped create The Rolling Stones and was a founding member. He had un-rock like instruments like marimbas, flutes and sitars to the Stones records. Brian left the group in 1969 (although he was asked to leave by the other members of The Stones). Mick Taylor replaced him in the band. Brian’s body was found floating in his swimming pool in July of ’69. The official cause of death was listed as ‘death by misadventure’. There were claims that Brian was murdered, but no one was ever charged.

2010-07-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

It’s Rock’n’Roll trivia time again and this week, we’re looking back at number one songs from the 1980’s. Remember the 80’s? It was the decade of Live Aid, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, John Lennon was tragically murdered, the TV series “Mash” set a new viewership record with its final episode, the space shuttle Challenger exploded and the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. If you think you know ‘80’s rock’n’roll, then most of these should be easy peasy pardner. As usual, there are 10 questions, so score yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. There are no prizes, just the inner satisfaction of knowing that you know your stuff. Answers are below the questions, so let’s have a go, shall we?

1. This song wasn’t the first TV show theme to make it to number one and it
wouldn’t be the last. It was an uptempo instrumental created for an ‘80’s
weekly TV series about cops. Can you name this famous theme?

2. This female singer became the first artist born during the 1970’s to have a
number one hit. She went by her first name, like Cher, but this isn’t Cher. Who
is she and what was the name of her first number one? (HINT: It was a remake
of a Top Ten hit from 1967)

3. This group started in San Francisco during the ‘flower power’ days of the
1960’s. They were contemporaries of and played many gigs with The Grateful
Dead. Their original female lead singer left the band early on and she was
replaced by a ‘slick’ performer with an incredible vocal range. Over the years,
they changed their name several times until finally sticking with the name they
used when this song reached number one in 1984. Can you guess the group as
well as their hit song?

4. This group had a lead singer named Frederick Bulsara who was born in
Zanzibar, South Africa. He joined up with two former members of a British
group called Smile, added a bass player and in 1971, started the new band. In
1974, they became rock ‘royalty’ when a poll in the British music magazine
Melody Maker named them ‘Band of The year’. Although they had many hits
from 1974, this song was their very first number one. Can you name this group
and their 1980 chart topping hit?

5. There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of songs written and sung about
love. In 1981, when this particular song went to number one, there were 4
songs that reached the top spot that had the world ‘Love’, or a variation, in the
title. This hit went on to become Motown’s most successful single of all
time. It was also the most successful soundtrack single of all time as well as
the most successful duet of all time. The two performers were huge Motown
stars, although the ‘lady’ singer had left the label by this time. Can you name
the song and both of the artists?

6. This Queens, New York born female singer/songriter recently appeared on
Donald Trumps’ TV series, “Celebrity Apprentice”. When she was 17, she quit
school and hitchhiked through Canada with her dog. After returning to the
States, she studied art, sold karate lessons, worked as a secretary and walked
horses at Belmont Park. She won the Grammy Award for ‘Best New Artist of
1984’ (no fair looking it up). She had a lot of ‘fun’ in the recording studio but
this was the first ‘time’ she had a number one hit. What’s the name of this song
and who’s the singer?

7. Tommy James of Tommy James & The Shondells had many hits during his
career, including “Hanky Panky”, “Crystal Blue Persuasion”, “Mirage”,
“Crimson and Clover” and “Draggin’ The Line” to name a few. Several of his
songs went on to become huge hits for other artists. This particular Tommy
James co-written song, leaped to number one in 1987 for a British pop
‘idol’. I think I just gave it away just now, but can you name the singer and the
song?

8. This singers’ first charted hit, back in 1960, had the word ‘Love’ in the title. In
1984, she had her first number one single which also had the word “Love” in its
title. She first became famous as part of a performing duo, but later went on to
solo success. In the movies and on records, she was a ‘Queen’. Can you name
this leggy singer as well as her only number one hit (although she’s come close
a couple of other times)?

9. It’s the only number one hit (so far) sung by more than 40 performers. Even
though some of the artists didn’t think it was rock’n’roll enough, it went on to
sell over seven million copies around the ‘world’. What’s the name of this 1985
number one smash?

10. This British female trio had a rather ‘fruity’ sounding name. One of them
worked for the BBC, while the other two were students at the London School of
Fashion. Their first single was sung in Swahili, but this hit, sung in English,
went to number one in the fall of 1986. It had already been at the top of the
charts once before in 1970. Can you name the song and the group?

ANSWERS

1. Composer Jan Hammer wrote and performed the “Miami Vice Theme” that
went to number one for one week in November 1985. Hammer, who was born in
Czechoslovakia, came to America just before the Russians invaded his
homeland in 1968. Prior to writing original music for every episode of “Miami
Vice”, Jan had composed the soundtrack for the film “A Night In Heaven” in
1983. The next year, Hammer met with producer/director Michael Mann to
discuss Mann’s new TV project about two Miami/Dade cops. The“Miami Vice”
soundtrack album/CD from the NBC series also went to number one on
Billboards’ Album chart where it remained for 11 weeks, making it the most
successful TV soundtrack of all time.

2. That would be Tiffany, who in November of 1987, took the Tommy James and
The Shondells 1967 hit, “I Think We’re Alone Now” to number one I n
November of 1987. Tiffany Darwisch began performing at 9 years of age. She
was 12 when she met producer George Tobin who suggested she record “I Think
We’re Alone Now”. Tiffany didn't really know the original version, but at 13,
she walked into a studio with Tobin and recorded the song. When Tiffany
signed with MCA Records, the label came up with a unique way of promoting
her by having er perform in shopping malls in 14 different cities across the
U.S. to sing for free. In 1988, Tiffany again went to number one with another
George Tobin produced single, “Could’ve Been”.

3. Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” was the group and the song we were
looking for. The band began in the 1960’s as Jefferson Airplane. By the mid
‘70’s, they’d become Jefferson Starship and in 1985, due to legal problems, they
dropped Jefferson and became Starship. Signe Anderson had been Jefferson
Airplane’s original lead singer. She was replaced by Grace Slick, who was the
only ‘original’ member left by the time the band became Starship. Mickey
Thomas, the other lead singer on this hit had formerly been a member of the
Elvin Biship Band and had sung their only Top Ten hit, “Fooled Around And
Fell In Love” in 1976.

4. Remember “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen? Queen’s lead singer,
Freddie Mercury (the former Frederick Bulsara) had written the song while
soaking in his bathtub. Previous hits such as “Killer Queen”, Bohemian
Rhapsody”, “Somebody To Love”, “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions”,
“You’re My Best Friends” were all Top Twenty hits, but “Crazy Little Thing
Called Love” was Queen’s first number one. Later that same year (1980), Queen
did it again, topping the singles chart a second time with “Another One Bites
The Dust”. Sadly, Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS in
November 1991. The Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame inducted Queen in 2001.

5. Diana Ross and Lionel Richie are the two performers and “Endless Love” is the
song. Richie wrote it for the movie, which starred a young Brooke Shields.
Lionel, who, at the time, was still a member of The Commodores, was
recording an album with the group in Los Angeles. Diana Ross was performing
at a casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and didn’t have time to fly to LA to record
the duet, so Lionel found a studio in Reno, Nevada (about an hours by car from
Lake Tahoe). Richie flew into Reno from LA; Diana drove there from Tahoe
after her concert and they met in the studio at 3AM. They began recording by
3:30 in the morning and had ‘the final take’ by 5AM. “Endless Love” stayed
number one for 9 weeks in the summer of 1981.

6. She’s Cyndi Lauper and her number one hit was “Time After Time”, a song
Cyndi co-wrote while in the recording studio with keyboard player Rob
Hyman. Before her success as a solo performer, Cyndi had been singing with
the group Blue Angel, who’d had an album released on the Polydor label in
1980. Her debut album, on Portrait Records, “She’s So Unusual”, and the
singles from it set new records on the music charts. Up to that time, ‘60’s
singer Petula Clark (“Downtown”, “Don’t Sleep In The Subway”, “Colour My
World”, “I Know A Place”, “My Love” etc.) was the only female artist of the
rock/pop era to have her first two chart entries make top three on the singles
chart. Cyndi beat that by one with “Girls Just Want To have Fun” going to
number two, “Time After Time” at number one and the follow up hit, “She Bop”
going to number three. When her next single, “All Through The Night” went
top five, Cyndi Lauper became the first artist in the rock/pop era to have four
Top Ten singles from a debut album. And by the way, she didn’t win
“Celebrity Appentice”, Brett Michaels did.

7. He was born William Broad, but it was as Billy Idol that the world first noticed
this British born singer. “Mony Mony” had been a number three hit for Tommy
James in 1968. Billy had been in the band Generation X which didn’t have any
North American hits, although “Dancing With Myself” was highly popular in
dance clubs. In the ‘80’s as a solo artist, Billy hit the Billboard singles chart
with “Hot In The City”, “White Wedding”, “Rebel Yell” and “Eyes Without A
Face”, which went to number 4 in July of 1984. On November 21st, 1987,
“Mony Mony” became Billy Idol’s only number one hit (although 1990’s “Cradle
Of Love” came close at number two).

8. Tina Turner, the former Anna Mae Bullock from Nutbush, Tennessee was the
performer. 1986’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was the hit. Tina’s
manager Roger Davies disliked the song, but Terry Britten, the co-writer and
producer, convinced Davies to let Tina record it. And wow, what a hit it
became. Not only was it number one for three weeks, it also won Grammy
Awards for ‘Record of The Year’, ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Pop Vocal Performance –
Female’ and ‘Rock Vocal Performance – Female’.

9. That would be “We Are The World” by USA For Africa, recorded at the A&M
Records studios in Los Angeles on January 29th, 1985 immediately following
the American Music Awards. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie had written
the song and Quincy Jones had produced it. Gathered around the various
microphones in the studio was a literal who's who of the music biz, from all
genres of music – Harry Belafonte, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Lindsay
Buckingham, Ray Charles, Bob Geldof, most of the Jackson clan – LaToya,
Marlon, Jackie, Randy and Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan,
Willie Nelson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Waylon Jennings, Smokey Robinson,
Billy Joel, Bette Midler, The Pointer Sisters, Paul Simon, Kenny Loggins,
Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Daryl Hall & John Oates and Dionne Warwick,
just to name 28. The song was number one for four weeks beginning on the
chart of April 13, 1985. It went on to sell over seven million singles and over 4
million albums. Total sales of various “We Are The World” merchandise had
sold over 40 million dollars. Later that summer, the Live Aid concert from
London and Philadelphia would bring in millions more for African Famine
Relief.

10. Siobahn Fahey, Sarah Dallin and Keren Wood formed the group Bananarama
in 1979 and had early hits in England such as “Shy Boy” and “Robert DeNiro’s
Waiting”, but it wasn’t until their song, “Cruel Summer” was featured on the
soundtrack of the movie “The Karate Kid” (the original movie, by the way, not
the recent re-make) that Bananaram had their first North American Top Ten
hit in the fall of 1984. They followed that success with “Venus” which went to
number one on September 6, 1986. It only lasted one week at the top.
“Venus” had been at number one once before, back in 1970 for the Dutch group
Shocking Blue.

2010-07-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

It’s time for more rock’n’roll trivia gang. This week, we’re going back to the British Invasion, which was launched when The Beatles first came to North America to appear on CBS TV’s Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964. The floodgates then opened and dozens of British musical acts became international super stars. If you know rock’n’roll, then most of these should be fairly easy. As usual, there are 10 questions, so give yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers are below the questions. Have fun.

1. Which British performers, after The Beatles, were next to have a ‘world wide’ number one hit
on Billboards’ Hot 100 singles chart?

2. Horror film actors Boris Karloff, Bela Lagosi and Vincent Price would have been right at home
in this British band. There’s ‘no telling’ how big this group could have been had they not
broken up in 1967. What's the name of this group?

3. This legendary guitar player was nicknamed ‘Slowhand’ and played in several successful
British groups before striking out on his own. His only North American number one hit,
‘shot’ up the charts in 1974. Can you name him?

4. ‘Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan’ was actually a Scottish born folksinger who was anything but
‘mellow’. He first hit the Billboard singles chart in 1965 with a couple of folkie songs, but 1966
was by far his biggest year with both a number one and a number two to his credit. Can you
name this hit maker?

5. The Beatles were known for their ‘Liverpool Sound’ and the ‘Mersey Beat’. This group was
labeled by the media as the ‘Tottenham Sound’, named for the area in England that they were
from. There were ‘five’ guys in this band. Their leader (the group was named after him) was
a former movie stunt man. Can you name the group?

6. This band came from Newscastle, in the north of England. Their debut world wide hit was
recorded on the first take and went straight to number one. They were never a ‘burden’ on
their record company, as they racked up hit after hit. What’s the name of this band?

7. Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien charted 21 songs on Billboards Hot 100, and that
includes seven Top Twenty hits. Of course, those hits were under her stage name. Can you
name this British beauty?

8. This Scottish chart topper also has a name that would choke a horse. It’s Marie McDonald
McLaughlin Lawrie, but she later shortened it to just one word. Led Zeppelins’ Jimmy Page
played guitar (as a session musician) on several of her songs. She made her acting debut in a
1967 film and sang the title song, She later married one of The Bee Gees. Who is she?

9. This legendary club was located on Wardour Street in the heart of London. Just about every
major British group has played there (although The Beatles never did). Can you name this
famous club?

10. 1967 was this groups’ biggest chart year. They’d had several hits previously on the British
charts that had been written by a Jamaican songwriter. But in 67, they climbed into the Top
Ten chart twice. The group was named after the Swansea, Wales born guitar player. What’s
the name of this ‘group’?

ANSWERS

1. The Beatles hit number one on February 1st, 1964. The song that took them there, “I Want
To Hold Your Hand” stayed at number one for 7 weeks. The Beatles replaced themselves
at the top of the charts with “She Loves You” on March 21, 1964. Three weeks later, they
replaced themselves again with “Can’t Buy Me Love” which remained in the top spot for 5
more weeks. The next British group to top the charts was Peter & Gordon’s “A World
Without Love” on June 27. The duo (Peter Asher and Gordon Waller) had several
connections to The Beatles. “A World Without Love” had, in fact, been written by Paul
McCartney and John Lennon and at the time, Paul was dating Peter’s sister Jane Asher. It is
a small world after all.

2. Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, Paul Atkinson , Chris White and Hugh Grundy were The
Zombies. Their first hit, “She’s Not There” made it to number two on December 12th, 1964.
The next year, “Tell Her No” climbed to number six. The group disbanded in 1967. Rod
Argent later formed the group Argent. Nearly two years after they broke up, The Zombies
were back in the Top Ten singles chart (at number three) with “Time Of The Season”, a song
recorded before the boys in the band went their separate ways.

3. Eric Clapton is the man we're looking for. He was in The Yardbirds, Blind Faith with Steve
Winwood and co-founded the group Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. His first
charted hit as a solo artist came in 1970 with “After Midnight”, a top 3 song. Eric's signature
song, “Layla” only made it to number 51 when it was first released in 1971. The following
year, it zoomed up to the number 10 spot. In 1992, Eric’s acoustic version of “Layla” again
climbed the charts all the way to number two. But Eric’s ONLY number one hit (at
least so far) was his version of the Bob Marley written song, “I Shot The Sheriff” in the
summer of ’74.

4. That would be Scottish born Donovan Leitch, who came into the world in Glasgow, Scotland
on May 10th, 1946. His first Billboard charted hits were “ Catch The Wind” (# 23),
“Colours” (# 61) and “Universal Soldier” (# 53). In 1966 he scored his only number one to
date with “Sunshine Superman”. A few months later, he followed with “Mellow Yellow”,
which went to number two. His other Top Ten hits include “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (#5) in 1968
and “Atlantis” (# 7). In 1968. His daughter, Ione Skye and son Donovan Leitch Jr. are both
actors. You may have seen Ione Skye in TV series such as the new “Twilight Zone” in 2002,
an episode of “Arrested Development” in 2005 and “The Dead Zone” in 2003. She was also
in the 1986 film, “The Rivers Edge” which starred Dennis Hopper, Crispin Glover and Keanu
Reeves. In that movie, she’s credited as Ione Skye Leitch.

5. Dave Clark was the leader and drummer for The Dave Clark Five. A few weeks after The
Beatles performed on CBS TV’s Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964, The Dave Clark Five
had a Top 10 hit (# 6 actually) with “Glad All Over”. In April, they struck gold again with
“Bits And Pieces”, a number four hit. Other chart successes include “Do You Love Me”,
“Can’t You See That She’s Mine”, “Because”, “Catch Us If You Can” and The Dave Clark
Five’s ONLY number one, “Over And Over”.

6. The Animals is the name of this band and their first hit, “The House Of The Rising
Sun” (recorded in one take) was number one for 3 weeks beginning on September 5th, 1964.
The Animals other hits include: “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, “We Gotta Get Out Of
This Place”, “It’s My Life” and “Don’t Bring Me Down”.

7. Mary took the name of Dusty Springfield and started having hits with a group called The
Springfields, which included her brother Tom. She had solo success with “I Only want To Be
With You”, “Wishin’ And Hopin’”, “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” and “Son Of A
Preacher Man”. Her last hit, “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” came in late 1987 with
Pet Shop Boys. Dusty died of cancer in 1999 at the age of 59. She was inducted into the Rock
And Roll Hall Of Fame that same year.

8. Mary McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie became Lulu and her biggest hit, “To Sir With Love” was
the title song from the movie starring Sydney Poitier. In 1969, she married Maurice
Gibb of The Bee Gees, but they were divorced in 1973. She’s since remarried a couple of
times and these days officially goes by the name Lulu Kennedy-Cairns. Lulu went on to a
successful TV career in England. Her autobiography, “I Don’t Want To Fight” was published
in 2002.

9. That would be the Marquee Club, which was originally on Oxford Street, but in 1964, moved
to its more famous location at 90 Wardour Street. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink
Floyd, The Who, Yes, Jethro Tull, The Moody Blues, The Jimi Hendrix Experience are just
some of the legendary bands who've played there on a regular basis in the 1960’s. Later,
groups such as The Police, The Cure, Joy Division, Dire Straits, Iron Maiden, and Def Leppard
performed at The Marquee. The club was sold and moved several times. It no longer exists,
but remains a fond memory for all who either played there or went as music fans.

10. The Spencer Davis Group is the correct answer. Reggae musician Jackie Edwards had
written their first British hits, “Keep on Running” and “Somebody Help Me”, but it was lead
singer and organist Steve Winwood, who co-wrote both of their 1967 Top 10 hits, “Gimme
Some Lovin’” and “I’m A Man”, a song that charted in 1971 by the Chicago Transit
Authority, who then shortened their name to Chicago.

2010-07-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hey...we’re back once again with more rock’n’roll trivia.time once. Glad you’re having fun with it. This week, we’re looking at famous places in rock’n’roll. See if you can guess who or what was located at the addresses below. If you know rock’n’roll, then most of these should be fairly easy. We have 10 questions, so give yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the questions. Good luck.

1. What famous record company was and is still located at 706 Union Street in Memphis,
Tennessee?

2. Another equally famous record company was also located in Memphis on East McLemore
Avenue. Originally, it had been a movie theatre that was converted into offices and a
recording studio. Can you name this company that ‘souled’ millions of hit records?

3. This midtown Manhattan venue at 881 7th Avenue has been home to thousands of classical,
jazz and rock’n’roll concerts. The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles and The Beatles have all
performed there. There was even a 1947 movie named after this world famous
institution. Can you name it?

4. This recording studio is located on this world famous street in London and was originally built
by EMI. The Hollies, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Gerry & The Pacemakers are but a few
of the hundreds of hitmakers who recorded here. A year after a 1969 album that sold millions
of copies EMI changed the name of the studio complex from EMI Studios to what?

5. This famous recording studio was located in this tiny, out-of-the-way town in New Mexico.
Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, The Fireballs were just some of the artists whp traveled to this
hit-making mecca. Can you name the town and the studio?

6. In the heart of Hollywood, California sits a building built in 1956 by a record company that
once had Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Beach Boys, Judy Garland, Buck Owens, Frank Sinatra, Tex
Ritter, Anne Murray, Dean Martin, Bob Seger and The Beatles under contract. Many
famous celebrities have their stars located in front of world famous landmark. This is almost
too easy, but I'll ask the question anyhow - What is this building?

7. These days, it’s a museum, but back in the 1960’s this was a hit making factory located at
2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. What record company was located there?

8. This Hollywood hot spot, located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, was home to many legendary
performances during the 1960’s, ‘70’s, ''80's and '90's. Can you name this famous club?

9. This legendary venue is also located in Hollywood. Paul McCartney recently performed there
after an absence of over 40 years. You can come enjoy a concert and have a catered
meal ‘under the stars’ at the same time. What’s the name of this famous Hollywood musical
landmark?

10. The city of Chicago was a hotbed for rhythm & blues. This legendary ‘Windy City’ record
label was founded by 2 Polish brothers who cornered the Chicago R&B market and along the
way, discovered artists such as Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. Can you name this record
label?

ANSWERS

1. That would be Sun Records, originally owned by Sam Phillips. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison all recorded there at one time or another. These days, it’s a
highly popular Memphis tourist attraction as well as a still-active recording studio. U2 is just
one of the contemporary acts who have recorded there in recent years.

2. Stax Records was located on East McLemore Avenue in Memphis. Rufus Thomas, Otis
Redding, Carla Thomas (daughter of Rufus), The Mar-Keys, Booker T & The M.G.’s
Eddy Floyd, Isaac Hayes (also one of the main writer/producers at Stax) and Sam & Dave all
recorded for Stax (although some of these came out on Atlantic Records or one of its’
subsidiaries as Stax had a releasing deal with Atlantic. The name Stax comes from the names
of founding partners (as well as brother and sister) Jim STewart and Estelle AXton (Axton
was Estelles’ married name).

3. The legendary venue at 881 7th Avenue is Carnegie Hall, which was built in 1891 and
financed by wealthy industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The main Hall (there
are several smaller halls in the building) seats 2,804. Carnegie Hall was designated a national
historic landmark in 1962. Bill Haley & The Comets, Harry Belafonte, The Beatles, Judy
Garland, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Count Basie, The Beach Boys,
Ray Charles and Chicago have all performed concerts at Carnegie Hall over the years.

4. That would be the world famous Abbey Road Studios located at 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s
Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was originally a 9 bedroom Georgian townhouse,
but was converted to recording studios by The Gramophone Company in 1931. That
company eventually became EMI.

5. The studio, located in Clovis, New Mexico was owned by Norman Petty. Petty became
famous after producing many of Buddy Holly’s early hits. Norman Petty died from Leukemia
in 1984 at the age of 57. His studio is still open for tours, but is no longer a working recording
studio.

6. The Capitol Records tower was completed in 1956. It’s a 13 story, earthquake proof
building located at 1750 North Vine Street, just north of the corner of Hollywood and Vine in
the heart of Hollywood. In 2006, the building was sold to developers by owner EMI. Beatle
John Lennon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located on the sidewalk in front of
the Capitol tower.

7. That would be the Motown Studios. Founder Berry Gordy lived upstairs in the company’s
early days. Gordy bought several houses beside the studios, which he used for various
aspects of Motown. The studios at 2548 West Grand Boulevard were known as “Hitsville
USA”. Motown artists like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The
Jackson 5, Martha & The Vandellas, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye all recorded in these
studios. “Standing In The Shadow of Motown”, a documentary tribute to the Motown
session musicians known as The Funk Brothers, was released in 2002 and is currently
available on DVD.

8. The Whiskey A Go-Go is the club we’re talking about. The Byrds, The Doors, Led Zeppelin,
Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Guns ‘N’ Roses and The Police are just a few of the artists that
have performed at the Whiskey. Johnny Rivers’ 1964 album, “Johnny Rivers At The
Whiskey A Go-Go” contained the hit, “Memphis”. Later that same year, Johnny released
“Here We Go-Go Again”, again recorded at The Whiskey A Go-Go. The following year
(1965), Johnny returned to record the album, “Meanwhile (Back At The Whiskey A Go Go)”.

9. That’s The Hollywood Bowl, located at 2301 North Highland Avenue. The distinctive
‘bandshell’ Bowl, which opened in July of 1922, can seat just under 18,000 patrons. Artists
who’ve performed there read like a ‘who’s who’ of the music business and include The Beach
Boys, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Al Jolson, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland
and Monty Python. The Beatles recorded their 1964 and ’65 concerts at The Hollywood
Bowl, but those performances didn’t see the light of day until 1977 when “The Beatles
At The Hollywood Bowl” was released.

10. Chess Records is the name we were looking for. Brothers Leonard and Phil Chess bought
Aristocrat Records in 1949, renaming it Chess Records in 1950. They not only owned the
label, they also produced the music and handled the business side as well. Artists signed and
recorded to Chess Records includes Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry,
John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter just to name a
few. The Rolling Stones, who took their name from the 1950 Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’
Stone” (also known as “Catfish Blues”), so loved the Chess sound that they insisted on
recording there early on in their career. Much of that material was released as “The Rolling
Stones Now” album.

2010-06-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

Rock’n’roll trivia time once again gang. This week, we’re traveling back to the 1970’s.
Our topic this week is ONE HIT WONDERS. By this, I mean artists or groups that had
ONE Top 10 hit. They may have had other songs make the charts, but they only made it
into the Top 10 ONCE. Some of these might be a little tough, but there’s usually a clue in
each question. We have 10 questions, so give yourself 10 points for each correct answer
and let’s see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the questions.
No fair peeking. Good luck.

1. This group from the Netherlands ‘shocked’ the world with several million selling singles,
yet they only had one # 1 on the Billboard charts. The group was anything but ‘blue’
about their success. Can you name this 1970 chart topping hit?

2. This artist engineering many of The Beatles hits and went on to produce Pink Floyd
among others. In 1973, a song he wrote AND sang made it to # 2 on the Billboard singles
chart. Oh Babe, can you name him?

3. She was the daughter of one of the pioneers of pop music. In the Fall of 1977, she ‘lit up’
the Billboard singles chart with her only # 1 hit, which stayed at the top of the charts for a
then record 10 weeks. Can you name her? (HINT: She’s a descendent of one of the heroes
of The Alamo.)

4. This soul/funk group originated in Scotland and although they did have several charted hits,
their ONLY # 1 happened on February 22nd, 1974. One of the members of this group
later worked with Paul McCartney. Can you name the hitmakers?

5. This performer actually made the Top 10 twice with the SAME song. It was a ‘Monster’ hit
in 1962 and went all the way to # 1. It was re-released in 1973 and made it as far as # 10.
Can you name this song and artist?

6. This group yodeled their way into the # 9 spot in the summer of 1973. The name of the
group was Focus. “Hocus Pocus” was the song. Which country was Focus from?
a. Sweden b. Norway C. Holland

7. Rappers these days, are on the charts constantly. Everybody’s rapping, but this American
group was the FIRST to make it all the way to # 1 with a song ABOUT a rapper. Can you
name this group?

8. This 1976 # 1 hit about a trucker inspired a movie of the same name. Can you name the
song and the singer?

9. This song was a ‘pop music’ smash in 1979 making it to the # 1 position. ‘Initially’, the
writer/singer said in interviews that his intent was 'trying to create a fusion of styles that
summarized the previous 25 years of music'. What was the songs’ title and who sang it?

10. This California born singer/songwriter was a member of the 1960’s band Spirit and in the
1970’s, he co-founded the group Jo Jo Gunne. In April 1978, his most successful solo hit
‘thundered’ onto Billboards’ Top 10 chart at # 9, where it remained for 2 weeks. Can you
name the artist and his hit?

ANSWERS

1. The song was “Venus” by The Shocking Blue, who hailed from The Hague, Netherlands.
They formed in 1967 and by 1973, had sold over 13 million records, mostly in The
Netherlands. Shocking Blue disbanded in 1974. In 1989, Nirvana, on their debut album
“Bleach” on the Sub Pop label, covered the Shocking Blue song “Love Buzz”.

2. Norman ‘Hurricane’ Smith engineered The Beatles first album in 1963 and continued until
“Rubber Soul” in 1965. He then became a record producer, working with Pink Floyd on their
debut album, “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” as well as “A Saucerful of Secrets” and
“Ummagumma”. He also produced British groups The Pretty Things and Barcley James
Harvest. On Febuary 17th, 1973, his hit, “Oh Babe, What Would You Say?’ was the # 3 song
on Billboard’s singles chart. Norman Smith died in March of 2008.

3. That would be Debbie Boone. Her song was “You Light Up My Life”. Debbie won a Grammy
Award in 1978 as “Best New Artist”. In the 1980’s, Debbie was recorded more country
material. Her father is ‘50’s & ‘60’s hitmaker Pat Boone and yes, she is a decendant of Daniel
Boone, who died at The Alamo.

4. The Average White Band is the name of the group. Their # 1 hit was the classic instrumental
“Pick up The Pieces”. Their original guitar player, Hamish Stuart, later joined Paul
McCartney’s touring band.

5. Remember “Monster Mash” by Bobby (Boris) Pickett? Pickett had a nightclub act in the late
1950’s and got his nickname because of his spot on impression of horror film actor Boris
Karloff. It was # 1 in 1962, then resurfaced on the chart briefly in 1970, then hit the Top 10
again in 1973. Pickett died in 2007.

6. Focus was formed in Amsterdam, Holland. Jan Akkerman, Thijs van Leer, Martin Dresdan
and Hans Cleuver were the Four original members of Focus.

7. The Jaggerz made it to # 2 in 1970 with the song “The Rapper”. The Jaggerz’ lead singer,
Donnie Iris, went on to a successful solo career with a string of hits in the 1980’s. His
two biggest hits were “Ah! Leah!” in 1980/81 which got to # 29 and 1982’s “My Girl” which
went to # 25.

8. C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” was # 1 in 1976. Two years later, a movie inspired by the song was
in theatres. “Convoy”, the film, directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah, starred Kris
Kristofferson as Martin ‘Rubber Duck’ Penwald. The movie also starred Ali McGraw, Ernest
Borgnine and Burt Young (who played Paulie in the “Rocky” series of movies).

9. M (real name Robin Scott) was the lead singer and writer of “Pop Muzik” which hit # 1 for
one week in November of 1979. A cover version of the song appeared on the soundtrack
album for the 1998 movie, “A Night At The Roxbury” starring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan.
The film was based on a recurring skit from TV’s Saturday Night Live.

10. Jay Ferguson was born in Burbank, California (home to NBC, Universal, Warner Brothers
and the Walt Disney Studios) was a member of the groups Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne. In April
1978, his most successful solo hit, “Thunder Island” landed in the # 9 spot on Billboard’s Top
10 chart. The song remained # 9 for 2 weeks, then dropped out of the Top 10.

2010-06-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

It’s time for even more rock’n’roll trivia. Get your brain matter rockin’ and we’ll start rollin’ right now. This time, it’s the ‘WHAT’ quiz. Give yourself 10 points for each correct answer and let’s see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are at the end, so if you’re ready, let’s get started…

1. In WHAT U.S. city was Bob Dylan born?

2. Three British-born brothers formed a musical group in the
late 1950’s and went on to become a world wide phenomenon
with sales of over 200 million records/cassettes/CD’s during
the 1960’s and ‘70’s. WHAT is the name of their group?

3. In the early 1960’s, a hit record by Ernest Evans helped
create a major dance craze around the world. WHAT name
did Ernest Evans perform under?

4. The Grammy Awards have been handed out since 1958.
WHAT is the name of the only solo artist (or group) to have
to return their Grammy?

5. In the history of Billboard magazine, first published in 1894,
only ONE artist (or group) has had the top 5 singles on the
‘Hot 100’ chart. WHAT is the name of this artist or group?

6. In WHAT city is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame located?
a. Memphis b. Cleveland c. Los Angeles

7. This successful actor had several hit TV series. On record,
he recorded a version of The Beatles “Lucy In The Sky With
Diamonds”. WHAT is the name of this actor?

8. Rock’n’roll has a sad history of losing some of its’ hitmakers
at a young age. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison of The
Doors and The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones were each 27 when
they died. Drummers Keith Moon of The Who and Led
Zeppelin’s John Bonham both passed away at the age of 33.
The youngest rock’n’roll star to perish accidentally was only 17
years old. WHAT is his or her name?

9. Rock performers sometimes change their name several times
before becoming successful. Caesar & Cleo became Sonny &
Cher. The Golliwogs changed their name to Creedance
Clearwater Revival. The Four Lovers became The Four
Seasons (aka “The Jersey boys”). WHAT name did Tom &
Jerry choose that took them to the top of the charts several
times?

10. The name Led Zeppelin was given to the group by The Who
drummer Keith Moon. WHAT was the original name of the
group?

ANSWERS

1. Bob Dylan (real name of Robert Allen Zimmerman), was born
in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24, 1941. His family moved to
Hibbing, Minnesota when Bob was 6 years old.

2. Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb formed The Bee Gees and had
many hit records, including “Words”, “To Love Somebody”,
“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, “Stayin’ Alive”, “You
Should Be Dancing”, “How Deep Is Your Love”. Their
younger brother Andy also had several hit records, many
written and produced by brother Barry.

3. Ernest Evans, better known as Chubby Checker (a name
given to him by the then-wife of American Bandstand host
Dick Clark), recorded “The Twist”, a song that was number
one in both 1960 and 1962. Chubby is still performing today.

4. Milli Vanilli, so far, is the only group (or solo artist) that has
been asked to return their Grammy Award. The reason was
because the groups’ two supposed lead singers (Fabrice
Morvan and Rob Pilatus) did not sing on Milli Vanilli’s debut
album. They were recruited as front men by songwriter/
producer Frank Farian after the first album had already been
recorded. Rob Pilatus was found dead of an apparent drug
overdose in a Frankfurt, Germany hotel room in 1998. Milli
Vanilli won their Grammy as ‘Best New Artist’ in February of
1990 and the Grammy organization recalled the award in
November that same year.

5. That would be The Beatles, who, on the Billboard chart of
April 4, 1964 had the number 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 song. # 1 was
“Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Twist And Shout” was # 2, # 3 was
“She Loves You”; “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was at # 4
and “Please Please” was # 5.

6. The Rock and Roll hall of Fame + Museum is located in
b. Cleveland.

7. William Shatner’s version of The Beatles, “Lucy In The Sky
With Diamonds” is a classic, with the actor ‘speaking’ the
song in his best Captain James T. Kirk style. His hit TV
series include “Star Trek” (1966 – 1969), “T.J. Hooker”
(1982 – 1986), “Rescue 911” (1989 – 1996) and “Boston Legal”
(2004 – 2008). He’s also appeared in dozens of other TV
shows, including one iconic episode of “The Twilight Zone”.
Montreal born Shatner has a new TV series airing this fall
titled “S#*t My Father Says”.

8. 17 year old Ritchie Valens was killed on February 3, 1959 in
the same plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly
and J. P Richardson (aka The Big Bopper). Roger Peterson,
the pilot, died as well. The three stars had just finished a
concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa and were on
their way to their next gig when the plane went down.

9. Tom & Jerry decided to use their real last names – (Paul)
Simon & (Art) Garfunkel.

10. Before Led Zeppelin became world famous rock’n’rollers, they were called The New
Yardbirds.

2010-06-15T08:51:00.001-07:00

It’s another round of rock’n’roll trivia. Hope you’re enjoying this feature. This time, it’s the ‘Who’ quiz….and we’re not talking about the ‘60’s group from England who had the rock opera “Tommy” or recorded the theme songs from all 3 CSI television series. You’ll figure it out pretty quickly. Answers are at the end, so if you’re ready, here we go…

1. WHO was the first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame?

2. WHO was the teenager who was pulled up on stage from the
audience in Bruce Springsteen’s video for “Dancing In The
Dark? (HINT: she later became a famous TV star)

3. One of the all time greatest blues performers was born
McKinley Morganfield in 1915 in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. He
influenced rock legends Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and
The Rolling Stones along with many others. In fact, the
Stones took their name from one of his songs. WHO is he?

4. WHO made the following statement: “Rock and roll is phony
and false, and sung, written and played, for the most part, by
cretinous goons”? (HINT: He was a world famous singer and
actor).

5. James Brown was nicknamed ‘The Godfather of Soul’. Guitar
legend Eric Clapton is also known as ‘Slowhand’. Michael
Jackson nicknamed himself ‘The King of Pop’. WHO has the
nickname of ‘The Killer’?

6. WHO is the performer that likes to refer to her audience as
‘monsters’? (HINT: She’s a fashion icon).

7. In 1978, the movie “American Hot Wax” was released. It’s
loosely based on the life of pioneering disc jockey Alan Freed,
who is credited with coining the phrase ’rock’n’roll’. In the film,
Freed’s driver/sidekick is played by a current late night talk
show host. WHO is it?

8. This contemporary hitmaker, whose real name is Katheryn
Elizabeth Hudson is engaged to marry British comedian/actor
Russell Brand. Her current hit is “California Gurls”. WHO is she?

ANSWERS

1. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin was the first female
inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

2. That teenager was Courtney Cox, who went on to star in the
hit TV series “Friends”.

3. That blues great changed his name from McKinley
Morganfield to Muddy Waters.

4. Frank Sinatra, whose nickname was the ‘Chairman of the
Board’, said that about rock’n’roll.

5. ‘The Killer’ is much better known as legendary rock’n’roll
piano man, Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1989, Dennis Quaid starred
as Jerry Lee in the movie “Great Balls Of Fire”. In the film,
“Rock 30” actor Alec Baldwin played Jerry Lee’s cousin and
television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart.

6. That would be Lady Gaga.

7. The late night talk show host who appeared in the movie
“American Hot Wax” is Jay Leno. His character’s name was
Mookie.

8. The “California Gurls” girl is Katy Perry.

Real names Trivia

2010-06-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

Howdy, welcome to the blog. We'll start off with some real name trivia. Enjoy.

BEYONCE – Her real name is actually Beyonce Giselle Knowles. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Beyonce first became famous as a member of the group Destiny’s Child. Her father Mathew was the groups’ manager.

PINK – Whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and was performing in Philadelphia clubs by the age of 14. Her nickname, Pink, was given to her by friends because she blushed often and was easily embarrassed.

GENE SIMMONS – The KISS frontman with the tantalizing tongue and the hit TV show “Family Jewels”, was born in Haifa, Israel as Chaim Klein Witz. One of his early jobs included teaching 6th grade in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City.

LADY GAGA – The woman who changes outfits more often than Elton John goes by the real name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. She enrolled in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts at the age of 17. By 19, she was signed to Def Jam Records, but was dropped from the label 3 months later. She once recorded an EP of ballads with some friends from NYU under the name The Stefani Germanotta Band.

FRANKIE VALLI – The man with the amazing falsetto and lead singer of The Four Seasons, whose history is chronicled in the hit play “The Jersey Boys”, was
born in New Jersey, naturally, as Frank Castelluccio.

BONO – The U2 frontman and social activist is also known by his real name of Paul David Hewson. When U2 began, Hewson used the name Bono Vox, but eventually dropped the Vox.

ALICE COOPER – The ‘shock’ rocker and radio host of “Nights With Alice Cooper” heard on over 100 radio stations around the world, was born in Detroit, Michigan as Vincent Damon Furnier.

FLAVOR FLAV – He’s the guy with the giant clock around his neck, star of the reality TV show, “Flavor Of Love”, and former member of the group Public Enemy. His real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr.

STING – Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner is this former Police man’s real name. He was born in Wallsend, England and his nickname came from performing in a band called The Phoenix Jazzmen and he wore a black and white sweater with stripes onstage. One of his bandmates thought the sweater made him look like a wasp, hence the nickname Sting.

ICE-T – The former rapper and co-star of NBC-TV’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” was born in Newark, New Jersey. His parents named him Tracy Lauren Marrow. After the death of his parents, T moved to Los Angeles to live with his aunt in South Central LA. He got involved with local street gangs and eventually became a member of the West Side Rollin 30’s Original Harlem Crips.