1960s Music Trivia

31. Sue Thompson had a couple of pretty big hits in 1962. Both included the name of a boy in the song title. What were the two boys' names?

From Quiz Early 1960s Potpourri

Answer: Norman and James

"Norman" was the #3 follow-up to Thompson's debut #5 hit, "Sad Movies". In "Norman", she couldn't do anything, go anywhere, nothing, without thinking of her "Norman". Blind devotion! BUT, later in the year, she's singing "James (Hold The Ladder Steady)" as she's about to elope with him. It was a #17 hit. Sue had what could best be described as a "little girl's voice" even though she was 36 years old in 1962 and had been married three times. Obviously, singing songs decidedly geared for the teeny-bopper crowd when you're pushing 40 is not a strategy geared for long term success. So it was. She had one more chart entry in 1965, the #23 "Paper Tiger", then gravitated to the Nevada casino circuit where she performed well into the 1990s with a repertoire leaning to country music and more adult themes.

From Quiz The Early 60s - Let's Dance

Answer: Big Girls Don't Cry

The Four Seasons followed up their debut five week #1 single hit "Sherry" with "Big Girls Don't Cry" that duplicated the feat... five weeks at #1. To my knowledge, they remain the only group to have had such auspicious chart success with their first two singles. The group remained a significant force on the music scene through 1968. Their fortunes waned somewhat thereafter and despite a return to the charts in the mid 1970s, the comeback was brief. Like many groups of that era, they remain popular attractions on the nostalgia circuit and in Las Vegas. Frankie Valli remains the star as lead singer and the supporting cast of singers in the Four Seasons has undergone numerous personnel changes over the years.

From Quiz 1960s Hits - Non Rock and Roll

Answer: Theme from "A Summer Place"

The theme from the movie which starred Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee topped the pop charts in April of 1960. It remains a favorite to this day.

From Quiz Musical Questions: Oldies

Answer: The Honeycombs

"Have I the right?" was a hit for the British group of Honey and the Honeycombs. It was their first hit - and their most popular song.

From Quiz Sixties Super Hits

Answer: Dion

"The Wanderer" was originally a UK hit for Dion in 1962. It had a second UK chart outing when re-issued in 1976. Dion, full name Dion DiMucci, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

From Quiz My 45 rpm Record Collection

Answer: #'s 12 and 35

Born Robert Zimmerman, Dylan was a folky who transformed himself -- and rock & roll -- with the album 'Highway 61 Revisited'. His back-up band became famous in their own right. After a name change, The Hawks became... The Band. (Someone should do a quiz on rock and roll name changes.)

From Quiz Dreamin' of the 60s

Answer: Monday, Monday

"Monday, Monday" reached number 1 on the Billboard in May of 1966, while "California Dreamin'" only managed to reach number 5 two months earlier.

From Quiz Once Upon the 60s

Answer: clown

Gary Lewis and the Playboys released "Everybody Loves a Clown" in 1965.

From Quiz I Dig 60s Music

Answer: heavens

It's from the Doors' "Touch Me" of 1969.

From Quiz Groovin' with the 60s

Answer: car

This is from one of the Beach Boys' earlier songs, "Don't Worry Baby." Originally, this song was supposed to be have been sung by the Ronettes, but Phil Spector did not approve. The Beach Boys decided to perform it, after some lyric changing.

From Quiz 60s All the Way

Answer: when the sun appears

The Cowsills' "The Rain, the Park, and Other Things" was made in 1967.

From Quiz Sing-A-Long With The 60s

Answer: 'Daydream Believer' - The Monkees

'Daydream Believer' - The Monkees. You guess it, this tune went straight to the top.

From Quiz Personal Theme Songs

Answer: Beatles

'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'?

From Quiz Oldies But Goodies, Pre-70s Mixture

Answer: Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry also had hits with 'Maybellene', 'Roll Over Beethoven' and 'Johnny Be Good' among others.

From Quiz Remember the 60s?

Answer: Fenway Park in Boston

Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" has proven to be very popular since its release in 1969. Besides reaching the top ten in weekly charts in the US, Canada, Australia, and South Africa in 1969, it has had an enduring appeal in various sporting venues. The Boston Red Sox, a Major League Baseball team, have played the song at home games in Fenway Park since 1997. The Carolina Panthers, a National Football League team, have played the song at all of their home games in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina since 1996. A number of universities in the US also play "Sweet Caroline" as part of their sports rallies.

From Quiz More 1960s Deja Vu

Answer: Sam Cooke

And I thought the Animals did it first!

From Quiz Do You Know Your '60s Albums?

Answer: Pink Floyd

This was Pink Floyd's debut album. The title was taken from the title of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel "The Wind in the Willows" regarding the nature god Pan playing his flute at dawn. It reached number six on the U.K. album charts but apparently because of poor distribution and promotion of the album in the U.S. by Capitol Records (who decided to release it on their low-budget label Tower Records) it only reached number 131 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Still, it is considered by many critics as an important psychedelic music album.

From Quiz Songs Of The Late 60s

Answer: Tommy James and the Shondells

From Quiz Baby Boomers 1960s Music

Answer: midnight

From Quiz Music Of The 60s

Answer: Otis Redding

'Respect' was arguably the song that established Aretha as the 'Queen of Soul'.

From Quiz Songs From the 1960s

Answer: The Who

The Who is a British rock band that was established in 1964. Some albums by The Who include "Live at Leeds", "Tommy", "The Kids Are Alright", and "Who Are You". "Pinball Wizard" ranked number nineteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 weekly charts in 1969. "Pinball Wizard" was written by Pete Townshend.

From Quiz Which one was it?

Answer: Gene Pitney

The Oscar nominated song from the movie of the same name "Town Without Pity" was a number thirteen hit for Gene Pitney in 1961. The song just made the top forty in Australia and made it to number thirty two in the UK. Renowned as a songwriter, Gene did not write this song.

From Quiz US Billboard Hot 100 Hits of the 60s

Answer: Tossin' and Turnin'

"Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis spent seven weeks at the top beginning on July 10, 1961. It was also the number one song on the Billboard's 1961 Year-end chart of Pop Singles. "Runaway" spent four weeks at the top for Del Shannon in April/May 1961. "Runaround Sue" was a chart topper that year for two weeks in October for Dion. "Big Bad John" topped the chart also in 1961 for Jimmy Dean for five weeks in November/December.

From Quiz The Fabulous '60s

Answer: Time Won't Let Me

"Time Won't Let Me" was easily the band's biggest hit, peaking at number five in April of 1966. The group released three more singles that year, all of which reached the top 40, but subsequent releases failed to chart and they disbanded in 1970. Following the break-up, lead singer Sonny Geraci formed a new band in Los Angeles, California that initially was also called The Outsiders, but shortly thereafter changed the name to Climax. The band struggled early on, releasing three unsuccessful singles, but on their fourth try they had a huge it with "Precious and Few", which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1972.

From Quiz Between Rock 'n' Roll and Beatlemania

Answer: The Ventures

"Perfidia" written by Alberto Domínguez peaked at number four on the UK singles chart for The Ventures in 1960. It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year. "Perfidia" must be one of the oldest songs to have reached the UK singles chart in the '60s. It was written by Mexican songwriter Alberto Domínguez and published in 1939. It was first a hit for Xavier Cugat in 1940. The Ventures were formed in Seattle, Washington, USA. They had hits on the Billboard Hot 100 throughout the '60s, "Walk-Don't Run", number two in 1960 and "Hawaii Five-O", number four in 1969.

From Quiz My Boomerang Just Came Back (& hit me in the face)

Answer: The Coasters

All these were successful groups from the time period, but The Coasters take the novelty cake for recording groups. They produced a seemingly unending string of clever, funny, musically coherent pop hits; "Searchin'" and "Charlie Brown," as well as "Yakety Yak," "Along Came Jones," "Little Egypt," "Down In Mexico," and others. The first hit for the original personnel grouping was actually recorded under the name "The Robins." It was 1955's "Smokey Joe's Cafe." This tongue in cheek rendering of a dangerous confrontation over a plate of beans in a greasy spoon barroom set the tone for the Coasters' comedic style. All these song lyrics came from the fertile imagination of Jerry Leiber and were augmented by music from his partner in songwriting, Mike Stoller. The duo is rightly ensconced in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, having written and produce a huge catalogue of hits from Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" to Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."

From Quiz Billboard Hot 100 Hit Songs 1967 - 1969

Answer: The Status Quo

The Status Quo from England is the answer. Their song, "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", peaked at Number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968. In an interview with Songfacts, lead singer Francis Rossi said that the song was basically about his wife. He also said "I'd just got married, and I thought, Oh, this is a mistake, what have I done"? "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" was released in mono and stereo. Mono is the better of the two recordings because it contains the trademark wah-wah lead guitar in the song. It's a definite highlight and cannot be heard on the stereo version. As far as the bands go that were the wrong answers to this question, Fever Tree was known for their song "San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)", Bubble Puppy was known for their song "Hot Smoke and Sassafras" and Beau Brummels was known for their song "Laugh Laugh".

From Quiz 1960s Music: Hits on Either Side of "The Pond"

Answer: Brian Hyland

Brian Hyland is from Queens, New York City and he formed his own harmonica group called The Delfis at age 14. He then went solo and had little success with "Rosemary" and "Four Little Heels (The Clickety Clack Song)" before hitting number one with the novelty song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". Patti Page (1927-2013) was an American singer who recorded a number one hit with "(How Much is That) Doggie in the Window" in 1953. Jerry Samuels under the name of Napoleon XIV released "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa" which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966. Sheb Wooley (1921-2003) was an actor and singer and released the number one hit on the US Billboard Top 100 with "The Purple People Eater" in 1958. Sheb appeared in many western movies and portrayed Pete Nolan the scout on the TV series "Rawhide" from 1959-1966.

From Quiz 1960s Music: Male Solo Artists

Answer: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) was an American who helped shape Motown in the early 1960s. He was also a songwriter and musician. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records. The phrase "I heard it through the grapevine" is associated with black slaves during the American Civil War and Barrett Strong heard the phrase quite often in Chicago in the 60s. He decided to put lyrics together about the betrayal of a singer's romantic partner, where the singer heard of the betrayal via gossip (through the grapevine). The other three songs are also by Marvin Gaye with "Try It, Baby" reaching number 15 in July 1964, "Let's Get It On" peaking at number one in September 1973 and "Sexual Healing" peaking at number three in January 1983.

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Last Updated Mar 29 2025 5:45 AM

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