ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE...

It’s Christmas week.  Here’s hoping everyone has a safe, happy and warm holiday... especially the people of Toronto and the GTA, many of whom went without heat or power for several days (including your humble quizmaster – that would be me).  If you know your Christmas songs even only slightly, then you won’t have ANY problems this week.  They’re well known lyrics from Christmas songs you hear every year.  Guess which song....and slice yourself another piece of fruitcake.  Your brain won’t get too much of a workout this week since all the questions are quite simple and besides, we’re all busy celebrating the holidays.     

      

QUESTIONS

1.  “Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.  And since we’ve no place to go…”.  The next line is the title of this song.  What is it?

      

2.  Here’s the lyric – what’s the song?  “There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found.  For when they placed it on his head, he began to dance around.”                          

                

3.  “Just hear those sleigh bells jingling.  Ring Ting Tingling too.  Come on it’s lovely weather for a _____ _____ together with you.”  If you know the two words missing in these lyrics, you know the title of the song, so what is it?

                   

4.  Burl Ives made had a hit with this Christmas song: “Have a _____ ______ ______.  It’s the best time of the year.  I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer.”  Do you name the name of this song?              

    

5.  “Sleigh bells ring – are you listening?  In the lane, snow is glistening.  A beautiful sight, We’re happy tonight, walking in a _____ ________.”  What’s the name of this Christmas classic?

             

ANSWERS

1.  It’s “Let It Snow!  Let It Snow!  Let it Snow!”.  This song was written in 1945 by legendary songwriters Sammy Cahn and Julie Styne, the duo who also wrote “Three Coins In The Fountain”.                   

2.  “Frosty The Snowman” is the song in question.  In 1950, cowboy singing star Gene Autry had a huge hit with “Frosty” that followed his success with “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer”.

3.  You got it!  It’s “Sleigh Ride”.  Leroy Anderson wrote the lyrics in 1946 with the lyrics being added by Mitchell Parish in 1960.  According to ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) “Sleigh Ride” is one of the ten most performed songs written by ASCAP members during the holiday season.                                 

    

4.  “A Holly Jolly Christmas” is the name of that song.  One of the most famous versions is sung by Burl Ives.  That one has been played on the radio every year since it was first released in 1965.  Johnny Marks, the man who wrote “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer” also penned this one.  Marks is also responsible for writing Brenda Lee’s Christmas classic, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.”       

5.  “Winter Wonderland”.  This Holiday standard has been recorded by well over 150 performers including Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Radiohead, Selena Gomez, Lionel Richie, Demo Lovato, Blake Shelton, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.

IT’S A MARSHMALLOW WORLD IN THE WINTER...

Well, ho ho ho.  Another Christmas/Holiday season (take your pick) is upon us once again.  Since Christmas is so close, our quiz this week is about classic Christmas songs.  There’s really not much more to say.  These songs all made Billboard Magazine’s Christmas chart. Some even made it to Billboards’ Hot 100 (and since it’s the holiday season, the questions are not really very hard).  Grab yourself a glass of eggnog, curl up by the firplace and have at it.        

   

QUESTIONS

1.  “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”.  Those classic Christmas lyrics are from “The Christmas Song”, written in 1944 and has been recorded by the likes of Nat ‘King’ Cole, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, The Partridge Family, Carpenters, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Herb Alpert and James Brown.  Bob Wells was one of the two writers of the song.  The other is a singer whose nickname is ‘The Velvet Fog’.  This singer became an obsession for the character of Judge Harry Stone on TV’s “Night Court”.  Judge Stone kept a photo of this singer on his desk and the singer appeared on the show many times throughout its TV run (1986-1992).  Can you name this singer/songwriter?              

      

2.  “Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose.  And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glowed”.  Those lyrics come from the Christmas classic “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer”.  Many performers have recorded “Rudolph” but the first (and possibly the most famous) version was recorded by a singing cowboy star.  But which one?  Was it:  a. Roy Rogers  b. Gene Autry  c. Tex Ritter                       

                

3.  “So this is Christmas and what have you done?  Another year over and a new one just begun.”  The lyrics to this Christmas song was written and recorded by a former member of The Beatles, but which one?  Was it:  a. George Harrison  b. Paul McCartney  c. John Lennon   

                   

4.  The singer’s real name is Ross Bagdasarian, but that’s not the name he used on the record label for his 1958 Billboard Magazine Hot 100 # 1 single.  There are only 4 singers on the record and all four are Bagdasarian, better known under his show buiz name David Seville.  Three of the voices were sped up to sound like, well, chipmunks.  What is the name of this million selling # 1 Christmas hit?  Is it:  a. Alvin’s Harmonica  b. The Chipmunk Song  c. The Chanukah Song     

    

5.  Bing Crosby’s version of “White Christmas” is the most successful Christmas single of all time, having sold over 50 million copies (although the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records says over 100 million copies have been sold, but that would include vinyl albums, cassettes and CD’s and I assume now, downloads).  It was originally written by composer Irving Berlin for what Academy Award winning motion picture?  Was it:  a. The Road to Morocco  b. White Christmas  c. Holiday Inn.            

 ANSWERS

1.  That would be Mel Torme.  The hero of Harry Anderson’s character on the TV series “Night Court”, Torme co- wrote “The Christmas Song” in the middle of a blistering summer.  Torme is credited with writing or co-writing over 250 songs, many of which have become jazz standards.  Herb Alpert’s instrumental version with the Tijuana Brass took “The Christmas Song” to # 1 on Billboards Christmas chart in 1968.               

2.  Gene Autry is that singing cowboy.  His version of “Rudolph, the Red Nosed sold 2 and a half million copies its first year (1949) and went on to sell 25 million copies in total.  Rudolph had his start as a colouring book for the U.S. department store chain Montgomery Ward in 1939.  Robert May created Rudolph and it was his brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, who wrote the song.                  

3.  The song is “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” and was co-written by former Beatle John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono.  It was recorded at the Record Plant in New York City in late October 1971 and released (in the U.S.) on December 1^st that year on green 45 rpm vinyl singles.  On the label, it’s listed as John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir.  Phil Spector (the legendary record producer now serving a life sentence for murder) produced the original recording session.  Most radio stations usually cut this part out, but at the beginning (before the singing), Yoko whispers “”Happy Christmas Kyoko” to her daughter and John whispers “Happy Christmas Julian” to his son (second son Sean wouldn’t be born for 4 more years).  In 1974, George Harrison wrote and recorded “Ding Dong, Ding Dong” (actually more for New Years than Christmas).  Paul McCartney’s annual musical contribution to the Yuletide season is 1979’s “Wonderful Christmastime” and in 1999, Ringo Starr recorded an entire album of Christmas songs entitled “I Wanna Be Santa Claus”                             

    

4.  It’s b. The Chipmunk Song.  Ross Bagdasarian, using the name David Seville, had experimented with a sped up voice on his previous 1958 # 1 hit, “Witch Doctor”.  For “The Chipmunk Song”, he created The Chipmunks – Alvin, Simon and Theodore, all named for executives at his record label, Liberty in Los Angeles.  Alvin was named for Al Bennett (then President of Liberty), Simon for Si Waronker (a co-founder of Liberty records) and Theodore for engineer Ted Keep.  The voices were created by playing the musical background at half speed while Ross Bagdasarian/David Seville sang the three parts (separately of course) at normal speed.  When the music was played back at its normal speed, the voices sounded like chipmunks.  “The Chipmunk Song” sold 4 million copies in the first seven weeks of release and remained in the # 1 spot for 4 weeks (Dec 22^nd and December 29^th, 1958 as well as January 5^th and January 12^th, 1959).  The following year, at the very first  Grammy Awards, “The Chipmunk Song” took home 3 statues for ‘Best Recording For Children’, ‘Best Comedy Performance’ and ‘Best Engineered Record – Non Classical’.  Ross Bagdasarian aka David Seville passed away in 1972, but The Chipmunks have continued under the direction of son Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and his wife Janis Karman.              

5.  It’s c. Holiday Inn, a 1942 Paramount Picture that starred Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.  The movie “White Christmas” came along 12 years later and starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney (George’s aunt).  “The Road To Morocco” was released the same year as “Holiday Inn” in 1942 and starred the comedy duo of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, who then went on to film several more ‘The Road To’ pictures.        

WOMEN WHO’VE DONE IT MORE THAN ONCE

Aretha Franklin’s done it.  So has Roberta Flack, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Diana Ross and Cher, but it isn’t easy.  That accomplishment is to have more than one # 1 hit on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 chart.  Most of the singers in our quiz have had a lot more than just two # 1’s, so this really should be easy.  Let’s have a go then, shall we?    

       

QUESTIONS

1.  From 1990 until the end of 2002, this singer hit # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart 15 times. She has a five octave vocal range and has sold over 60 million albums.  Some of her # 1’s include: “Always Be My Baby” and “Thank God I Found You”.  She was married to the President of her record company for several years, but her current husband works with Howard Stern, Mel B. Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel on a ‘talent’ TV show.  Can you carry (HINT ALERT) the day and guess who she is?        

      

2.  She was once a Fly Girl dancer on the Fox TV comedy series, “In Living Color” starting in 1991, then had a successful career in acting and singing. Her first leading role was in the bio-pic “Selena”.  Her first # 1 hit was “If You Had My Love”.  For a brief season, she was a judge on another one of those ‘singing talent’ shows.  Who is she?                        

                

3.  This singers’ mother once sang with Elvis Presley.  Dionne Warwick is her cousin and ‘The Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin is her godmother.  She was 22 years old when her debut album was released in 1985 and she promptly scored three # 1 hits.  Her second album did even better with four # 1’s.  Her most successful # 1 in 1992 came from her starring role in “The Bodyguard”, with Kevin Costner.  This performer did go down a wrong road for several years with a serious drug problem, but had supposedly cleaned up her life when she suddenly passed away nearly two years ago.  Can you name this legendary singer?                           

                   

4.  Our singer in question is a part of a famous (some might say infamous) musical family, although she’s certainly had her own share of chart success, racking up 10 # 1 hits since 1983.  Some of those # 1’s include the songs “Again”, “Together Again”, “Escapade”, “Doesn’t Really Matter” and “Miss You Much”.  She’s also an actress and was a regular on several TV series from the 1970’s, “Good Times”, “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Fame”.  Who is this singer ?           

    

5.  The youngest of 14 children, this Quebec born singer went on to become one of the most successful performers in the world.  One of her # 1’s was the love theme from the movie “Titanic”.  She’s won enough awards to fill a house.  Currently she’s performing in Las Vegas to sold out performances.  C’mon, this one shouldn’t be tough at all.  Who is she?            

             

ANSWERS

1.  Mariah Carey had 15 # 1 hits between 1990 and the end of 2002 with songs that included .  Her wedding to CBS Records President Tommy Mottola lasted 4 years.  Nick Cannon, her present husband, is the host of the hit TV series “America’s Got Talent”.  Mariah’s sold over 200 MILLION records worldwide.  She said her one season as a judge on “American Idol” was “…like going to work every day in hell with Satan.“            

2.  ‘J-Lo’, ‘Jenny From The Block’ or Jennifer Lopez…take your pick, that’s the lady we were looking for.  Before her dancing gig on “In Living Color”, she was a backup dancer for the New Kids On The Block 1991 tour. Just prior to leaving the TV show in ’93, J-Lo was offered a slot as a dancer for a Janet Jackson tour, but passed on the opportunity, deciding to strike out on her own.  That worked out pretty well for Ms. Lopez.               

    

3.  The late Whitney Houston is the correct answer.  The Guinness Book of Records in 2009 called her ‘the most awarded female act of all time’.  Her 15 year marriage to Bobby Brown was sometimes turbulent and her sudden death in February of 2012 at the age of 48 stunned the world.                       

    

4.  Janet Jackson is the youngest of the 9 Jackson children born to Katherine and Joe Jackson.  She debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 30 years ago this month with the song “Young Love”.  Don’t worry if you don’t remember it – it only went to # 64.  It would be four more years before Janet hit # 1 with “When I Think Of You”.  Janet’s had many more # 1 hits since then.  In 1991, she signed a record breaking, multi-million dollar deal with Virgin Records, making her one of the highest paid artists in the industry (male or female).  Her ‘wardrobe malfunction’ at Superbowl XXXVIII caused a lot of controversy (and an FCC fine) for TV network CBS.  Earlier this year, Janet announced that she married a Qatari billionaire in 2012.            

5.  Celine Dion has had million selling albums in both English and French.  She debuted on Billboards’ Hot 100 single chart in December of 1990 with “Where Does My Heart Beat Now?”, which climbed to # 4.  Her first # 1 hit was 1993-94’s “The Power of Love”.  “My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic)” was NOT her most successful chart topper (it was # 1 for only 2 weeks).  1996’s “Because You Loved Me” stayed on top much longer, fighting off all comers for 6 weeks in March and April of 1996.  Since 1994, Celine has been married to her manager Rene Angelil.