BOND. JAMES BOND

For James Bond fans, there can never be enough movies about their favourite MI6 British agent with the license to kill.  We just celebrated James Bond’s 50^th anniversary last year and the latest film, “Skyfall”, the 23^rd movie in the series, is still in movie theatres.  Over the decades, we’ve had a half dozen actors portray 007.  Sean Connery was the first (and some say, the best), followed by George Lazenby (although he only starred in one Bond film, 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”), Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.  Many of the Bond theme songs have also done well on the music charts.  For this weeks’ quiz, we’re asking you to name some of those songs.  The first two Bond films, 1962’s “Dr. No” and “From Russia With Love” didn’t have any hits, but “Dr. No” did introduce that haunting guitar based instrumental theme.  Throughout the series, the Bond themes have been sung by many performers, including Madonna, Tom Jones, A-Ha, Sheryl Crowe, Rita Coolidge, Gladys Knight (without The Pips), Nancy Sinatra, Lulu, someone named Chris Cornell (who?) and of course Adele who sings the latest theme from “Skyfall”.  Naturally, I didn’t mention any of the artists who are in the following questions (I’m not giving up the answers that easily), but I’m sure you’ll be able to figure them all out without too many hints from me. Good luck.  

                                               

QUESTIONS:

1.  This James Bond theme went into the Top Ten in 1965.  It was sung by a British female singer who also sang the theme to 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever” (although that song only made it to # 57) as well as the theme to “Moonraker”, but the less said about that theme, the better.  Sean Connery was still double 0 7 for this flick and the evil genius villain is trying to raid Fort Knox and take the ‘gold’ (OOOPS.  HINT ALERT).  See if you can put your ‘finger’ (HINT ALERT      # 2) on the name of this James Bond theme.                                                                                                                     

2.  Roger Moore played James Bond in his final 007 film.  It was the 14^th film in the series and a British group had a # 1 hit with their theme song from this Bond film.  C’mon, if you don’t have a clue, here’s a hint.  It’ll ‘kill’ you when you find out the answer.  So what’s the name of this Bond theme song as well as the name of the group who sang it?     

3.  In 1981, this beautiful Scottish born singer took her James Bond theme song to # 4 on the singles chart.  Roger Moore was James Bond once again in this, the 12^th Bond film.  Debbie Harry and Blondie turned down the opportunity to sing this theme which Harry and Blondie was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Song’, although it didn’t win.  This singer was also on screen singing the theme during the opening credits.  She later worked with Prince and had a Top Ten hit with his song, “Sugar Walls”.  What’s the name of her Bond theme and who’s the singer? 

4.  This artist was used to having # 1 hits, but that didn’t happen with the theme from this James Bond film, even though it did make it to # 2.  It was the first Bond film to star Roger Moore and the 8^th one in the series.  This theme was the first true rock’n’roll song used in a Bond film to that time.  The musical score for the movie was composed by George Martin, who’d worked with the theme songs composer/singer for many years.  Who performed this theme and what was the name of the 1973 hit?       

5.  This 1977 James Bond theme song didn’t have the title of the movie in it, but it was a huge hit nonetheless, zooming up the charts to # 2 where it remained for 3 weeks.  The female singer of this theme was once married to James Taylor and had many other hits, including “You’re So Vain”, a # 1 hit in 1973.  The Bond film this song is from was the 10^th in the series and the third one for Roger Moore.  It also co-starred Beatle Ringo Starr’s future wife, Barbara Bach.  (HINT ALERT) You’d ‘better’ think long and hard about this one.  So what is the name of this James Bond song and its singer? 

ANSWERS

1.  Some of you probably didn’t need the two hints I gave you, for by now, you probably know that Shirley Bassey took the theme from “Goldfinger” to the # 8 spot on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in March of 1965.  Shirley’s theme from “Diamonds Are Forever” made it to # 57 on the singles chart in 1972.                      

2.  Duran Duran were riding high on the singles chart during the 1980’s with such hits as “Hungry Like The Wolf”, “New Moon on Monday” and “The Reflex” (their first # 1).  In 1985, they had their second # 1 with the theme to “A View To A Kill”.  Sadly, it was to be their last # 1.               

3.  Sheena Easton sang the title song to “For Your Eyes Only” and it stayed at # 4 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart for four weeks in October and the first week of November in 1981 after which it dropped out of the Top Ten.  It was Sheena’s 2^nd Top 5 hit in ’81.  She hit the top of the charts for two weeks in May that same year with her smash hit “Morning Train (Nine To Five)”.  Although the song was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Song’ for 1981, it lost to “The Best That You Can Do” from “Arthur”. 

4.  “Live And Let Die” by Paul McCartney & Wings is the Bond theme we were looking for.  It was # 2 on the charts for 3 weeks in August of 1973.  The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Song’, but lost to “The Way We Were”, which was written by the late Marvin Hamlisch along with Marilyn and Alan Bergman.  Barbra Streisand, who co-starred in the movie with Robert Redford, had a # 1 chart hit with it in 1974.

5.  Marvin Hamlisch and Carol Bayer Sager wrote the song “Nobody Does It Better” for the 1977 James Bond film, “The Spy Who Loved Me”.  Carly Simon recorded it and it went to # 2 on Billboards’ Hot 100 singles chart for 3 weeks in October and November of ‘77.  Only Debbie Boone’s massive hit, “You Light Up My Life” kept it from the # 1 spot.  Once again, the song was nominated for an Academy Award, but was beaten out by, you guessed it, “You Light Up My Life”, from the movie of the same name, written by the films’ director Joe Brooks (Debbie Boone, by the way, did NOT sing the song in the movie.  That honour went to session singer Kasey Cisyk, who also appears as a bridesmaid in the film).  

ANOTHER YEAR OVER, A NEW ONE JUST BEGUN...

Well, the calendar made a drastic change.  2013 is a clean slate when anything can happen... hopefully, all for good.  For this weeks’ quiz, we’re taking you back to the beginning of various years to see how your memory holds up about songs that were # 1 during the first week of January.  See, all these songs were # 1.  It can’t get much easier than that...can it?  I didn’t think so.  If you’re not too exhausted from all the holiday partying, this should be a breeze (and not a frigid North wind either.  We’ve had plenty of that already, thank you very much). 

          

QUESTIONS:

1.  This January 1976 # 1 hit came from a group of four Scottish lads who took the world (and the record charts) by storm.  The specific song we’re looking for was # 1 for just one week, and in fact, it was this groups’ ONLY # 1 single, but they did chart 8 songs on Billboards Hot 100, including three Top Ten hits.  What’s the name of this group and what was their 1976 # 1 smash? (HINT:  How’s your spelling?)                                                                                                                  

2.  For the first week of January 1966, this song by an American duo knocked the Dave Clark Five from the top of the charts, but was itself knocked off one week later by The Beatles “We Can Work It Out”.  Both members of this duo had attended the same high school and started singing together.  Their first chart hit, called “Hey Schoolgirl” came in late 1957 when they recorded as Tom & Jerry.  It was 8 years before they next hit the charts, but that one was a doozie.  A # 1 smash around the world under their real last names.  Their career together lasted until the mid 1970’s when they broke up, then got back together a few years later for a one off reunion at New York’s Central Park.  Both performers went on to have successful solo careers, although only one of them would ever hit  # 1 again on the singles chart.  Can you name this duo and their January 1966 chart topper?   

3.  This Philadelphia duo was a hit making machine during the 1970’s and ‘80’s with songs like “Rich Girl”, “Kiss On My List”, Private Eyes”, “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” – all # 1 songs.  Their next # 1 happened in 1982 and I’ll give you a couple of lines of lyrics, “The woman is wild, a she-cat by tamed by the purr of a Jaguar.  Money’s the matter.  If you’re in it for love, it ain’t gonna get too far.”  What’s the name of this # 1 smash?

4.  She’s one of the new judges for the 2013 edition of “American Idol”.  This # 1 hit, hit # 1 in the first week of January 1994 and stayed at the top of the singles chart for 4 weeks.  It’s just one of 15 # 1 hits this performer has had so far.  No one has ever had to ‘carry’ this performer.  So what’s the name of her 1994 # 1?  (HINT:  The song title is also the name of a sandwich)      

5.  This # 1 song was HUGE...remaining at the top of the singles chart for 14 consecutive weeks in 1992 and ‘93.  Country music legend Dolly Parton, who wrote it, originally had a # 1 hit with it on the country charts, but this singer took it to a whole other level.  It was featured in this performer’s debut movie and was a showstopper.  Sadly, this performer died in February of last year, but her memory and her music will be with us forever.  Who’s the performer and what’s the name of this smash # 1 hit?    

ANSWERS

1.  The Bay City Rollers had “Saturday Night”, their only # 1 hit, at the top of the singles chart for the first week in January 1976.  Who could ever forget the opening to that song? “S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night”.  Later that same year, the Rollers next hit, “Money Honey” stalled at # 9.  They didn’t hit the Top Ten again until ’77 with “You Made Me Believe In Magic”, which made it to    # 10.                    

2.  Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel had pretty much gone their separate ways before their song, “The Sounds of Silence” went to # 1.  They’d recorded the song, originally for their 1964 Columbia Records debut album, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” which initially didn’t sell a lot of records.  Paul Simon was away in London, England performing wherever he could, when their producer Tom Wilson added drums, electric bass and electric guitars to the acoustic track without checking with either Paul or Art.  Columbia released the single and it shot to # 1, replacing the Dave Clark Five’s “Over And Over”.  After one week, The Beatles “We Can Work It Out” took the # 1 singles spot for the next two weeks, then “The Sounds Of Silence” leaped back on top for an additional week, only to be replaced by “We Can Work it Again” again.  Simon & Garfunkel had two more # 1 hits, “Mrs. Robinson” in 1968 and “Bridge Over troubled Water” in 1970.  As a solo artist, Paul Simon topped the singles chart only once with 1976’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”.  Art Garfunkel had a successful acting career while continuing to record.           

3.  The song in question was “Maneater” from Daryl Hall & John Oates.  It had been # 1 for the last two weeks of 1982 and stayed there for the first week of ’83.

4.  Mariah Carey is the singer.  ”Hero” is the name of the song.  Her first # 1 was “Vision of Love” in 1990, followed by “Love Takes Time” that same year.  In ’91, she hit the top of the charts 3 more times with “Somemday”, “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and “Emotions”.  “Can’t Let Go’ hit # 1 in 1992 as did “Make It Happen” and “I’ll Be There”.  1993 saw two # 1’s, “Dreamlover” and “Hero”.  Then in ’95 came “Fantasy” and “One Sweet Day” followed by “Always Be My baby”, a # 1 hit in ’96, followed by the # 1 hit “Honey in ’97 and “My All” in ’98.  “Heartbreaker” was Mariah’s next # 1 in 1999 and the following year, came “Thank God I Found You” with Joe & 98.

 
5.  “I Will Always Love You” is the hit we were looking for.  Whitney Houston had the # 1 song on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart for 14 consecutive weeks at the end of 1992 and the first few

JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BELL ROCK...

This is the week before Christmas and quite a few radio stations across North America are playing NOTHING BUT Christmas music.  Some of those songs have become annual classics, such as Bobby Helms “Jingle Bell Rock”, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and nothing can beat those Singing Dogs barking out “Jingle Bells” for a holiday treat.  Who will ever forgot those immortal lyrics: Arf Arf Arf, Arf Arf Arf, Arf Arf Woof Woof Woof!  And where are the Singing Dogs today anyway?  Probably enjoying the annual residuals from that song living the life of Riley in Dogpatch, USA.  So for this pre-Christmas week, our quiz is about contemporary Christmas songs (from the 1960’s ‘til the 2000’s), some you might even call rock’n’roll Christmas.  All of these songs are played every holiday season, so get in the yuletide spirit, but not too heavily, there are RIDE programs out there (for those outside Canada, those are police checkpoints/roadblocks set up on a regular basis over the holidays to see who’s been naughty while drinking and driving when they shouldn’t).

Ho ho ho, a very merry Christmas to everyone.     

    

QUESTIONS:

1.  This holiday ditty was # 1 on the Christmas charts for 5 weeks in 1967.  The lyrics to the majority of the choruses were: “Christmas bells, those Christmas bells.  Ringing through the land.  Bringing peace to all the world.  And good will to man”.  It was a story about a certain fearless pooch from the Charles Shultz cartoon strip “Peanuts”.  It was the holiday version of a previous hit for this ‘Royal’ group.  Can you name this Christmas song?                                                                                                                  

2.  This annual Christmas classic has been around since 1934 and has been recorded by dozens of performers, including The Supremes, The Four Seasons, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, The Jackson 5, The Partridge Family, Mariah Carey, Gene Autry, Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen.  What’s the title of this song?  I suppose you want a lyric or two to help you out.  Well, since it is the season to give...here you go:  “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why...” Sing the next line and you’ve got the answer. 

3.  Just about every major British pop star appeared on this 1984 charity Christmas single, including Sting, Bono and Adam Clayton from U2, Phil Collins, Boy George (who flew in from New York that same day at the insistence of co-organizer Bob Geldof), George Michael, Paul Young, Simon LeBon and the rest of Duran Duran, plus the members of Bananrama and many more.  In Great Britain, the song sold a million copies the first week of release and raised many more millions for the starving people in Ethopia.  ‘Do you know’ the name of this important fund raising Christmas song?    

4.  Paul McCartney sang this song on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend.  He wrote it (naturally) and first released it in 1979.  In 1984, it made it to # 10 on a special Billboard Christmas singles chart.  It’s a ‘wonderful’ up tempo holiday hit that you just have to sing along with every ‘Christmastime’.  So what’s the title of this one already?  (HINT:  I already gave you two hints in that last sentence, don’t get greedy).    

5.  Every year around this time, David Letterman features legendary singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love belting out this Christmas classic on his nightly TV show.  It was originally recorded for Phil Spector’s 1963 album, “A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records” and then in 1987, recorded by U2 for the Special Olympics charity compilation album, “A Very Special Christmas”.    What’s the name of this Christmas ‘baby’?     

ANSWERS

1.  “Snoopy’s Christmas” by the Royal Guardsmen made it to # 1 on the Christmas charts of 1967.  The previous year, “Snoopy Vs The Red Baron” made it to # 2 on the pop charts.  The Royal Guardsmen were from Ocala, Florida and took ‘Snoopy’ to the charts several times.  In early ’67, they released “The Return of The Red Baron” which went as high as # 15.  In 1968, they recorded “Snoopy For President”.  Not many people bought it apparently, since it only made it to # 85 on Billboards Hot 100 chart.  But “Snoopy’s Christmas” appears on the radio every year at this time.  The reason I said ‘the majority of the choruses’ in the question is because the first chorus is slightly different:  “Christmas bells, those Christmas bells.  Ring out from the land. Asking peace of all the world.  And good will to man”, so it is slightly different than the rest of the choruses.             

2.  Both The Jackson 5 AND Bruce Springsteen took “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” to # 1 on the Christmas chart.  The original title was “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” but the ‘g’ on ‘coming’ has been dropped for most contemporary versions.  The song was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie and, according to Wikipedia, was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s network radio show in November 1934.  By that Christmas, 400,000 copies of the sheet music had been sold.  Every year, the Rankin-Bass animated feature based on the song plays on TV.  That tradition began in 1970 and will most likely show up on your TV every Christmas until well past 2070.        

3.  The song in question was, of course, “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, which started a major fund raising trend among pop stars at the time.  It was co-written by Bob Geldof (of The Boomtown Rats) and Midge Ure (of Ultravox) to help supply food for the famine in Ethopia.  It was recorded and mixed in one day and night (November 25^th, 1984).  It was released on December 3^rd and went straight to # 1 on the UK charts, where it remained for 5 weeks, eventually selling over 3,000,000 copies, becoming the fastest selling single of all time in the UK.  The total number of records sold around the world were in excess of 6,000,000 copies.  The song made it to # 13 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in December of ’84.  After “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, American pop stars got together the following January as USA For Africa to record “We Are The World”.  Canada’s major music artists came together as Northern Lights for the song “Tears Are Not Enough”.  All 3 charity singles raised tens of millions of dollars for African famine relief with a percentage of the monies received from Canadian sales remaining in Canada to assist Canadian food banks.            

4.  Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” is more of a holiday pop song and not meant to be taken as seriously as Paul’s former Beatles band mate John Lennons’ classic, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”.  Paul recorded it during June and July of 1979, while working on his “McCartney II” album.  Paul played all of the instruments on this song.  “Wonderful Christmastime” was featured in the 1998 animated feature, “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer: The Movie”. 

5.  “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is the song we were looking for.  It was written by Hall of Fame songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, along with producer Phil Spector.  Originally recorded by Ronnie Spector, producer Phil re-recorded the vocals with Darlene Love and that’s the hit version that’s been played every year since 1963.  In December of 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) # 1 on its list of ‘The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs”.  Darlene Love, as part of The Blossoms, sang back up for many music legends, including Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Duane Eddy and Elvis Presley and has sung “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) on the David Letterman show every holiday season since 1986 (the one exception was during the writers’ strike in 2007).

EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY...

This past weekend, I hung out with longtime friends, Julie Card and Dan Plouffe from mycollingwood.ca along with our mutual friend from Kingston, Ontario – John Hanlon.  Even though it was cold, windy and occasionally raining, last Saturday we attended the Thornbury Winter Carnival and just had the best time.  Sunday, Dan, John and I were also the ‘test mouths’ for Julie’s Christmas cookie concoctions...my oh my, they were all super dee-lish.  We ate and ate and ate.  Julie bakes the best cookies ever.  It was a fabulous time spent with good friends.  All those yummy cookies got me to thinking about food mentions in Christmas songs.  And that’s exactly what this weeks’ quiz is about.  The songs in question are all classic Christmas fare that you hear every year...some are pop songs, some are traditional carols.  There’s no Christmas rap here...unless you spell it wrap.  So, put on your thinking toque and have a go.

QUESTIONS:

1.  This holiday season song was featured on Phil Spector’s 1963 album, “A Christmas Gift For You”, sung by Darlene Love.  Some of the lyrics are:  “It’s a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts.  Take a walk with your favourite girl.  It’s a sugar date, what if spring is late.  In winter, it’s a.....”.  If you know the next two words, then you’ve got the yummy answer.  What’s the name of this food related Christmas song?                                                                                                                  

2.  Here’s a lyric from a very famous Christmas song, “It doesn’t show signs of stopping, and I bought some corn for popping.  Since we’ve no place to go....”.  Sing the next line and you’ve got the answer. 

3.  Can you guess the classic Christmas carol that these lyrics come from: “Oh bring us a figgy pudding, oh bring us a figgy pudding, oh bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer”.  (HINT: I ‘wish’ you luck with this one)  

4.  The opening lyrics to this Christmas classic are: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.  Jack Frost nipping at your nose...”.  C’mon you know the title of this holiday hit.  So, what is it?  

5.  “Take a look in the five and ten, glistening once again with candy canes and silver lanes aglow” is part of the lyric for this Yuletide standard.  Johnny Mathis and Bing Crosby were but two famous singers who recorded this song.  ‘See’ if you can guess the name of this song?  

ANSWERS

1.  “Marshmallow World” is the popular song that’s been recorded by the likes of Dean Martin and Johnny Mathis as well as Brenda Lee (“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”).  It was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose.  Crooner Bing Crosby recorded it in 1950 and took it to # 24 on the pop charts (of course, it was Christmas time).  Phil Spector’s “A Christmas Gift For You” album, featuring Darlene Love’s version of the song, was originally released on November 22, 1963, but John F. Kennedy’s death in Dallas overshadowed everything else and the album stiffed.  It’s been released many times since and is considered a rock and roll Christmas classic.  Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it # 142 on their list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.      

2.  You probably guessed “Let it Snow! Let It Snow! Let it Snow! and if you did, then you would be correct.  It was written in California in 1945 during one of the hottest days in July by Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne, two legendary songwriters (they also wrote the standard, “Three Coins In The Fountain”).  “Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let It Snow!” has been recorded by a who’s who of pop performers, including Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Michael Buble, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Chicago, country singer Blake Shelton and Andy Williams.  The song was featured in “Glee” during the 2010 season, although it was drastically altered.  Originally recorded in 1945 by Vaughan Monroe, whose version eventually reached # 1.  If you remember the Bruce Willis movies, “Die Hard” (1988) and “Die Hard 2” (1990), Vaughan Monroe’s version was played during the closing credits. 

3.  You can’t get much more basic than the classic “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”.  Those ‘figgy pudding’ lyrics are from the traditional olde English version.  Bing Crosby is probably the most famous singer of this wonderful holiday ditty.  Figgie pudding by the way, is a spice cake made with figs and walnuts.  Yum.      

4.  Nat ‘King’ Cole probably has the most famous version of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)”, but it’s also been recorded by Christina Aguilera, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Clay Aikin, Tony Bennett, The Carpenters, James Brown (I kid you not), The Supremes, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan (seriously), Celine Dion, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Cee Lo Green, Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer, Michael Bolton, Whitney Houston and The Jackson 5 as well as Justin Bieber & Usher.  Mel Torme and Bob Wells wrote the holiday classic on, you guessed it, a hot summer day.    

5.  “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” is the song we were looking for.  It was written in 1951 by Meredith Willson ( who also wrote “The Music Man”.  Remember ”76 Trombones”?) and has been recorded by many artists, including Michael Buble, Perry Como and even the Chipmunks.  “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” was one of the songs featured in the 1992 movie, “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” starring McCauley Culkin.