IT WAS THE THIRD OF JUNE – ANOTHER SLEEPY, DUSTY DELTA DAY

There must be something about the third of June, because not only does Bobby Gentry’s 1967 hit, “Ode To Billy Joe” begin that way, but Neil Diamond also uses that date in the lyrics to his song “Desiree” – “it was the third of June, on that summer’s day, when I became a man at the hands of a girl almost twice my age.”  

As you may have already surmised, this quiz is about hit songs with specific dates either in the title or in the lyrics.  As with pretty much all of our quizzes, these songs all made the Top Ten and several got to the coveted # 1 spot on the singles chart.  Here we go... 

             

QUESTIONS

1.  This legendary ‘60’s group was the subject of a successful Broadway play (that later had many touring companies throughout North America).  The movie, based on the play, opens Friday June 20^th and was directed by ‘Dirty Harry’ himself, Clint Eastwood.  It’s the story of a singing group formed in Newark, New Jersey who make it big with their unique sound.  They first charted in 1956 as The Four Lovers, but later took the name of a Jersey bowling alley.  In 1976, they shot straight to # 1 with their 5^th and final chart topper and that’s the ‘date’ song we’re looking for.  It’s a c-c-c-cold time of year, so can you name the song as well as the name of this group?                     

2.  They originally named themselves after their home town transit system, then shortened it to just the single name of the city.  Their 1972 ‘date’ song also has a day of the week mentioned in the title.  One of this group’s members accidently shot himself while playing a game of Russian Roulette.  They’re still together (minus a few original members) and continue to tour.  What’s the name of this group and the name of their weekend ‘date’ song?         

                

3.  The lyrics to this 1972 # 1 hit include the following, “It was the 3^rd of September, that day I’ll always remember.”  The Motown group that recorded it had had 3 previous        # 1’s, including “I Can’t Get Next To You” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me”.  This three time Grammy Award winning song was ranked # 168 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.  Who’s the group and what’s the name of the song?    

4.  This ‘date’ song starts out “Ah, Breaker 1-9, this here’s the rubber duck.  You gotta copy on me pig pen, c’mon.”  Not only was this a hit song, but Hollywood turned the premise of the song into a movie in 1978.  It became a pioneer in the CB (citizen’s band) craze of the 1970’s.  Can you name the song? 

    

5.  The Civil War was the subject of this hit, written by a member of a (mostly) Canadian band that had formerly worked with Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan.  Although this group recorded the song first, their version did not chart.  The hit version came from Joan Baez in 1971.  In fact, it was her biggest chart success, climbing all the way to # 3 (although she did change the lyrics slightly).  John Denver, The Allman Brothers Band, Charlie Daniels Band, The Black Crowes and Johnny Cash have all recorded versions of this tune.  The lyric is “In the winter of ’65, we were hungry, just barely alive.  By May 10th, Richmond had fell.  It’s a time I remember oh so well.”  Do you know the name of this ‘date’ song?                                 

ANSWERS

1.  The Four Seasons took the song “December 1963 (Oh What A Night)” to # 1 in March of 1976.  The unique falsetto ‘sound’ of Frankie Valli plus the hit songwriting talents of producer Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio took The Four Seasons to the singles chart nearly 50 times.  As The Four Lovers, they made it to # 62 with “You’re The Apple of My Eye” in 1956.  As The Four Seasons, they charted 14 Top Ten hits, with 5 of those climbing to # 1.  The Four Seasons first # 1 was 1962’s “Sherry”, which was followed the same year by “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, then “Walk Like A Man” in ’63.  1964’s “Rag Doll” was their final # 1 until March of ‘76 when “December 1963 (Oh What A Night”) climbed to the top of the singles chart and hung on for 3 weeks.  By this time, producer Bob Crewe was gone, and there was a new members of the Four Seasons – only songwriter Bob Gaudio and his longtime business partner and lead singer Frankie Valli remained.       

2.  “Saturday In The Park” by Chicago is the answer.  This 1972 hit climbed to # 3 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in September 1972.  “Saturday in The Park” was written by Chicago’s Robert Lamm, after having experienced the sights and sounds of New York’s Central Park.  Lamm also sang lead.  “Chicago V”, the album that “Saturday In The Park” came from, went to # 1 from the week of August 19^th until the week of October 14^th, 1972, (9 consecutive weeks).             

    

3.  “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” from The Temptations was the # 1 song on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 chart for the week of December 2, 1972.  The Temptations first # 1 was 1965’s “My Girl”.  “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” was their last.  Originally, “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” had been recorded by The Undisputed Truth.  That version only made it as high as     # 63 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart, but later that year, Motown producer and co-writer Norman Whitfield (Barrett Strong was the other writer), re-recorded it with The Temptations and the rest is history.  Initially, the song was 12 minutes long with a nearly four minute instrumental opening, but Whitfield and Motown cut it down to approximately 7 minutes for radio play.  The following year (1973), “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” won three Grammy Awards, including ‘Best R&B Song’ for composers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong.    

                    

4.  “It was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June” are the opening lyrics to C. W. McCall’s 1976 # 1 hit “Convoy”.   McCall’s real name is Bill Fries and he was an advertising Legendary blood-and-guts movie director Sam Peckinpah turned the songs’ premise into a rip roaring, (also called “Convoy”), starring Ali MacGraw, Kris Kristofferson and Ernest Borgnine.                  

5.  It’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” from The Band.  Written by The Bands’ guitar player Robbie Robertson about the end of the Civil War in the U.S. in 1865, it was recorded on their 1969 self-titled second album.  It also appeared as the ‘B’ side to The Bands’ “Up On Cripple Creek” 45rpm single.   Joan Baez decided to record the song, but wrote down the lyrics from The Band version instead of buying the sheet music.  In the process, she changed a few lines.  For example, instead of “By May 10^th, Richmond had fell”, Joan sang “I took the train to Richmond…”.  She changed the second line of the song from “Till Stoneman’s cavalry came…” to “Till so much cavalry came.”  In the last version, Joan sang, “The blood below my feet” instead of Robbie Robertson’s original line “The mud below my feet.”  In recent years, Joan has sung the original lyrics as written.  “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of ‘500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll” as well as Time Magazine’s All Time 100 list.