“I WAS WORKING IN MY LAB LATE LAST NIGHT...”

Boo!!!! Probably didn’t scare you much did it? But yes, it’s almost Halloween...that time each year when ghosts, goblins, zombies and ghouls all come out to play (and to ask for candy). Our title this week comes from the opening lyric to “Monster Mash”, a 1962 # 1 hit for the late, Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett. Obviously, that song won’t be one of the answers...neither will Rob Zombie or “Racing With The Devil”, but every song except one was a Top 20 hit (and that one made it to # 21), so conjure up your favourite spirit (or spirits if you’re a drinker) and take a whack at these 5 Halloween-y questions.

QUESTIONS: 

1. This ‘soaring’ group named after the U.S. national bird had a song with a title that is perfect for Halloween. The opening lyrics are: “Raven hair and ruby lips, sparks fly from her finger tips. Echoed voices in the night, she’s a restless spirit on an endless flight.” What’s the name of this ‘kitchy’ song? (HNT ALERT – you just passed one)

2. The singer of the song whose title we’re looking for is named Gene Simmons, but he’s not the ‘long tongued’ guy from KISS. This Gene Simmons was born in Tupelo, the same tiny Mississippi town as Elvis Presley, two years before Elvis in 1933. In fact, Gene was also signed to Sun Records (same as Elvis) and used to open for Elvis early on in his career. The song title of his hit is similar to a ‘ghostly’ ride at Disneyland and Disney World. I gave you the name of the singer – can you give me the name of the song?

3. The man who co-wrote (and sang) our next ‘Halloween’ song also wrote several hits for other artists, including Linda Ronstadt, including “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me”. Long before the “Twilight” series of movies, this song highlighted a particular kind of ‘monster’, one that hunts by night (but it’s not a vampire). Think Taylor Lautner rather than Robert Pattison and you’ll probably come up with the answer to the song’s title.

4. He was the ‘King of Pop’ and his hits include thirteen # 1’s. This particularly ‘spooky’ song from 1984 wasn’t one of those # 1’s, although it did make it to # 4. The album that it came from however, became the ‘best selling album of all time’ – a title it still holds, with sales of somewhere around 110 million copies. Vincent Price’s laugh was also featured on this single. Alright, you’ve had enough clues. What’s the name of this ‘thrilling’ hit? Ooops, I guess one more clue won’t hurt.

5. This song went all the way to the top of the singles chart in 1984. You should know this one from the following four words: “Who You Gonna Call?” You know this one, so don’t let me down.

ANSWERS

 1. The Eagles recorded “Witchy Woman” for their debut album, “Eagles”. Eagle Bernie Leadon started writing the song back when he was with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Once they were both in The Eagles, Don Henley helped finish it. “Witchy Woman” was the first Eagles song to break into the Top 10, making it to # 9 in 1972. Their first charted single, “Take It Easy” climbed as high as # 12. Of course, The Eagles went on to have 5 # 1’s from 1975 to 1979.

2. Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (as he was sometimes called) took “Haunted House” to the # 11 spot on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in 1968. At the time, he was signed to Hi Records in Memphis.

 3. In 1978, the late Warren Zevon had his ‘supernatural’ moment with “Werewolves of London” with lyrics like: “I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s. And his hair was perfect. Aaooooo, Werewolves of London. Aaooooo.” The song made it to # 21 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac played bass and drums, respectively on the track. Warren Zevon died on September 7, 2003. He was 56.

4. “Thriller” by Michael Jackson is the answer you should have known. The single made it to # 4 on the Hot 100 chart while the “Thriller” album went to # 1. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008, 25 years after its initial release. It’s also one of 25 albums denoted by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally significant’ and a part of their National Recording Registry. The ‘scary’ video for the song “Thriller” with its dancing zombies and Michael who turns into one himself near the end, was directed by John Landis, who sat in the directors’ chair for hit films such as “Animal House”, “The Blues Brothers” and “An American Werewolf In London” (not to be confused with the Warren Zevon song “Werewolves of London from question # 3).

 5. Ray Parker Jr. wrote the theme from the hit movie “Ghostbusters” which was # 1 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart for 3 weeks in the summer of 1984. The video for that song features quite a few actors and musicians, including Chevy Chase (“National Lampoon’s Vacation”, “Caddyshack” and TV’s “Community”), Irene Cara (“Flashdance [What A Feeling]”), John Candy (“Uncle Buck”, “Trains, Planes & Automobiles”), Sara Gilbert (“Little House On The Prairie”), Jeffrey ‘Hey Now’ Tambor (“The Larry Sanders Show”, “Arrested Development”, “The Hangover”), George Wendt (“Cheers”), Saturday Night Live’s Al Franken (now a U.S. Senator), Danny DeVito (“Taxi”, “Romancing The Stone”, “Throw Mama From The Train”, “The War of The Roses”), singer Carly Simon (“You’re So Vain”), Peter Falk (“Columbo”) and actress Terry Garr (“Close Encounters of The Third Kind” and “Tootsie”).

“A MOUNTAIN HERE, A MOUNTAIN THERE...”

Skiing season is almost here, and in the Georgian Bay region of Ontario, there is no better place to ski then Blue Mountain.  Beautiful ski hills, great accommodations, excellent restaurants (and no, I’m not being paid for this endorsement.  I believe it).  So, in light of all that, this time out, the questions are all about songs and/or groups that deal with mountains.  It’s actually a lot easier than you think.  All these songs and/or groups all made the Top Twenty singles chart, so let’s climb that mountain and go get ‘em.    

QUESTIONS:

1.  Berry Gordy Jr., the man who launched the Motown Records empire wrote this 1960 Top Twenty ‘mountain’ song.  Marv Johnson was the artist who sang it.  This artist hit the Top Twenty 3 times and was the first artist released on Gordy’s Tamla label.  So ‘move’ your butt and come up with the name of the song.                                                                                                                  

2.  Our question this time is not about a song, but a group.  Their biggest hit was “Mississippi Queen” in 1970.  They performed at Woodstock, but their bass player is more famous as the producer of 3 Cream albums.  Think about our current topic and you’ll easily come up with thr name of the group.        

3.  This ‘mountain’ song was planned to be producer Phil Spector’s ultimate masterpiece, but it sank like a stone in a mountain lake.  Ike & Tina Turner are listed on the record label as the artists’, but only Tina performed.  Phil had Ike barred from the studio.  The song, released in 1966 climbed only to # 88 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart, although it made it to # 3 in England.  ‘Deep’ thought will bring forth the title of this song.  

4.  This California based male/female duo had several hits during the 1960’s, but their ‘mountain’ song in 1961 was their biggest ever hit.  Another one of their hits was “Thou Shalt Not Steal” in 1965.  No need to get ‘high’ to guess the answer to this ‘mountain’ song title.    

5.  This country/pop ‘mountain’ hit ‘climbed’ all the way to # 6 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart, # 3 on the Easy Listening chart and # 1 for 9 weeks on the Country singles chart in 1962.  It’s a song about Clifton Clowers and his daughter.  That ole Clifton’s ‘mighty handy with a gun and a knife”.  It was the biggest hit for singer Claude King, who co-wrote the song.  Can you name it?    

ANSWERS

1.  Marv Johnson had the # 20 hit, “(You’ve Got To) Move Two Mountains” in the fall of 1960.  Marv’s two biggest hits also happened in 1960 – “You Got What It Takes” made it to # 10 and the follow up, “I Love The Way You Love” went to # 9.  The Detroit native was the first artist released on Berry Gordy’s Tamla label (#101) with the song, “Come To Me” in 1959, which made it to # 30.  Berry Gordy either wrote or co-wrote all of Marv’s hits, except for two of his British successes, “I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose” (written by J. Dean, M. Weatherspoon and Marv Johnson) and “I Miss You Baby” (written by Motown writer/producer Clarence Paul).  Marv Johnson died in May of 1993 at the age of 54.                                                                                                               

2.  The group was called Mountain.  The members of the band were Leslie West – guitar whiz, Felix Pappalardi – bass, Steve Knight – keyboards, and drummer N.D. Smart, who was replaced after their Woodstock performance by Canadian drummer Corky Laing.  “Mississippi Queen´ was their biggest hit, reaching #21 on Billboards Top 100 chart.  The album that that song came from, “Climbing” went to # 17 on the album chart.  Felix Pappalardi produced 3 Cream albums, “Disraeli Gears”, “Goodbye” and “Wheels of Fire”.  He was shot in the neck by his wife in their East Side Manhattan apartment on April 17, 1983 and died at the scene.     

3.  “River Deep, Mountain High” was a NON hit for Ike & Tina Turner in North America in 1966.  The song, co-written and totally produced by the legendary Phil Spector (now a California prison inmate convicted of murder), was planned to be his biggest triumph.  Although it was a medium success in Great Britain, the song only made it to # 88 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart.  The British band, Deep Purple took the same song to # 54 in 1969 and two years later, in 1971, The Four Tops & The Supremes re-did it and it shot to # 14.     

4.  “The Mountain’s High” was the first charted hit for Dick & DeeDee, going all the way to # 2 in 1961.  Dick St. John and DeeDee Sperling were Dick & DeeDee.  Two of their other hits were: “Young And In Love” (# 17 in 1963) and “Thou Shalt Not Steal (# 13 in 1965).     

5.  “Wolverton Mountain” is an actual mountain in Arkansas, although it’s spelled Woolverton.  Clifton Clowers.  The song was written by Claude King and Clifton’s nephew, Merle Kilgore Clowers.  Clifton was a veteran of WW I and he was also a Deacon in his Baptist Church.  He lived on the northern edge of the mountain and died at the age of 102 in 1994.   

ROLLING STONES @ 50

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of ‘the world’s greatest rock’n’roll band’, The Rolling Stones.  It was in 1962 that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and Brian Jones got together as The Stones...and they’re still going strong (although Brian Jones died in July of 1969 at the age of 27 and Bill Wyman retired from the group in 1993).  The Stones first hit Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in 1964 with their version of the Buddy Holly song, “Not Fade Away”.  Since then, they’ve charted 60+ singles.  Not all of them were huge hits, but they charted nonetheless.

Although we did ask questions about the Stones 50^th anniversary a few months back, this time we’ll give you a lyric line or two and you have to supply the song title.  Every song was a Top 10 hit and you’ve probably sung them in your car or around your house or apartment dozens of times.  You’ll get a lot of “Satisfaction” if you answer all these questions correctly.    

QUESTIONS:

1.  What Rolling Stones song do the following lyrics come from?  “I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.  I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.”                                                                                                             

2.  The lyrics to this 1966 Stones song went like this:  “Well it seems to me that you have seen too much in too few years .  And though you’ve tried, you just can’t hide, your eyes are edged with tears.”  What’s the title of this 11^th charted Stones single (HINT:  Numbers can be fun).   

  

3.  This song comes from the Stones 1981 album, “Tattoo You”.  It didn’t make number one in North America, but was the runner up for 3 weeks.  The lyrics are:  “You make a grown man cry.  Ride like the wind at double speed.  I’ll take you places that you’ve never, never seen.”

4.  If you can’t get the answer to this one, you might have to turn in your Rolling Stones fan club card.  The opening lyrics are:  “I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis.  She tried to take me upstairs for a ride”.  And the song title is...?  

5.  This Stones hit made it to # 3 in 1980.  The name of this song is also the title of the Stones album.  The lyrics are:  “Don’t you know promises were never made to keep.  Just like the night dissolve off into sleep.  I’ll be your saviour, steadfast and true...”  The title is in the very next line, so what’s the name of the song?

ANSWERS

1.  That would be “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, a # 3 song on Billboards Hot 100 chart in 1968.   Whoopi Goldberg starred in a movie titled, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” in 1986 - the plot revolved around a bank employee who gets caught up in a spy ring.  I don’t think Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had this scenario in mind when they wrote the song.  But hey, they got a ton of cash for letting the producers use the title and their song in the movie.  Britain’s Q magazine, in its 2005 list of “100 Greatest Guitar Tracks”, placed “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” at # 2.              

2.  The song in question was “19^th Nervous Breakdown”.  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote it during the Stones 4^th tour of the United States in 1965 and recorded it in the RCA studios in Hollywood in December of that year.  On a “Saturday Night Live” program earlier this year, guest host Mick Jagger sang this song, accompanied by The Foo Fighters.  If anyone remembers the short lived TV series from 2010, “Miami Medical”, then they might remember that “19^th Nervous Breakdown” was used as the theme song.  That series only last for 13 episodes, so chances are nobody remembers it at all.       

3.  “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” by Christopher Cross and Daryl Hall & John Oates hit, “Private Eyes” kept “Start Me Up” from the # 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart in the late fall of 1981, although the song did hit the top spot in Australia.  The Stones had recorded the song many different times.  During the “Some Girls” sessions in 1978, the song was called “Never Stop”.  The next year, while the Stones were recording the “Emotional Rescue” album, it was known as “Start It Up”.  It was eventually finished, renamed “Start Me Up” and released on 1981’s “Tattoo You” album, which itself, was # 1 on the Album chart for 9 weeks from September 19^th until November 14^th.            

4.  You know it.  You love it.  You turn up the radio every time that opening cowbell comes on.  “Honky Tonk Women” triumphed at # 1 for four weeks in 1969.  The hit version was only released as a single and first showed up on an album on the “Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Volume 2)” released later in 1969.  According to Rolling Stone magazine, the song is # 116 in its 2004 list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.  Stones producer Jimmy Miller played the cowbell, by the way.   A country-fied version called “Country Honk” appeared on the Stones album, “Let It Bleed” released in December of 1969.  The opening lyrics to that version are:  “I’m sittin’ in a bar, tipplin’ a jar in Jackson.”   

5.  The next lyric line was “I’ll come to your emotional rescue”.  The title “Emotional Rescue” was also used as the title for the album, which was # 1 on Billboards’ Album album chart for 7 straight weeks during the summer of 1980.  The single was truly an international hit, having been recorded in Nassau, Paris and New York City.  It was a disco influenced hit, partially because Mick Jagger spent a lot of time at the legendary Studio 54 in New York and absorbed the sound and feel of those disco songs they were playing there during the late 1970’s.