The Beach Boys and Rolling Stones are both celebrating their 50th anniversaries this year. Both The Stones and The Beach Boys have lost members over the years, but both groups keep on rockin’. The reformed Beach Boys, including Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnson and original BB David Marks are out on tour this year. This week, trivia questions about both of these groups. And you don’t have to have been around for 50 years to know the answers. So, here we go….
QUESTIONS:
1. The Beach Boys first hit the Billboard singles chart in 1962 with the song “Surfin’” on the Candix label. That led to a deal with Capitol Records and many other hits followed. The Beach Boys scored 4 number ones during their career. “Good Vibrations” was their last number one of the 1960’s in 1966. They wouldn’t hit the top of the charts again for 22 years and they did it with a song written by John Phillips of The Mamas and Papas. What was the name of this Beach Boys number one hit from the 1980’s?
2. The Rolling Stones gave a ‘secret’ concert at a club in downtown Toronto in 1977. It was the first time they’d played a small club in 14 years. What was the name of the Canadian group that was their opening act?
3. Between 1964 and 1998, The Rolling Stones charted 57 songs. Out of that number, 8 went to number one. Which ONE of the following THREE Rolling Stones songs was NOT a number one hit for them? Was it a. “Get off My Cloud” b.”Jumpin’ Jack Flash” or c. “Miss You”
4. A rather bizarre man and his cult of young girls hung around with Dennis Wilson for a time in the latter 1960’s. The Beach Boys even recorded one of his songs (although they changed the name and some of the lyrics). This man is still in jail for the crimes his cult committed. What is his name?
5. The Rolling Stones and Rolling Stone magazine both took their names from a song written and recorded by a blues legend. Was that person a. Robert Johnson b. Howling Wolf or c. Muddy Waters?
ANSWERS
1. That would be “Kokomo”, which was featured in the 1988 Tom Cruise/Bryan Brown movie “Cocktail”.
2. The Canadian group was April Wine. The venue was the El Mocambo club on Spadina Avenue in downtown Toronto. The Stones were billed as “The Cockroaches”. Margaret Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was in attendance that night and later partied with the Stones at their hotel.
3. If you said b. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, then you are correct. That one only got as high as number 3 on the singles chart. “Get off My Cloud” went to number one in 1965 and “Miss You” was a number one in 1978
4. That rather bizarre man was Charles Manson, who would later be convicted in the killings of Sharon Tate and others. Manson has consistently been denied parole and he will most likely live the rest of his natural life in prison. The Manson song The Beach Boys recorded was originally titled “Cease To Exist” but The Beach Boys changed it to “Never Learn Not To Love“ and put it on their 1969 album “20/20”.
5. c. Muddy Waters was the blues legend who inspired The Rolling Stones to call themselves that. The song he’d recorded was “Rollin’ Stone” released on the Chess label in 1950. It was Muddy’s interpretation of the traditional, “Catfish Blues”. Muddy Waters was an early, important influence on the Stones and they took their name from that song. As did Rolling Stone magazine, founded by Ralph Gleason and Jann Wenner in San Francisco in 1967.
