Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Feel free to sing along:
"You are my special Angel sent from up above
The Lord smiled down on me and sent an Angel to love
You are my special Angel through eternity
I'll have my special Angel here to watch over me"
Such was the blissful reverie of a young man about the object of his affection. "My Special Angel" (1957) was a "Billboard Hot 100" hit for a country singer/ guitarist who also recorded the perennial yuletide tune, "Jingle Bell Rock" the same year. Can you recall who sang this special song?
2. Being a teenager isn't always what it's cracked up to be, what with peer pressure, the quest for someone to go steady with, and trying for good report cards, (not to mention acne!). In 1975, a 24 year old young woman, who sang from her memories of adolescence, gave us the mournful, "At Seventeen". The song hit several charts, topping a couple, and won the artist a Grammy. Seventeen seems like a hundred years ago to me, but can you remember the songstress who both sang and wrote, "At Seventeen"?
Here's a taste to help jog your memory:
"I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desp'rately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "Come dance with me"
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems, at seventeen"
3. "Happy Together" may be the most optimistic song I've ever heard. The tune was brought to us in 1967, when it was a "Billboard Hot 100" chart topper. The group of guys who released it on The White Whale label, were originally formed in Los Angeles, as The Crossfires.
By what name did we know them when they released their signature song?
Sing along to these lyrics, and the answer may slowly come to you:
"Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night, it's only right
To think about the girl you love
And hold her tight, so happy together
I can't see me loving nobody
But you, for all my life
When you're with me, baby
The skies will be blue for all my life"
4. Hey folks, talk about a long term commitment, how would you feel if somebody had this to say to you?
"Baby, I'm Yours
Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the stars fall from the sky,
Yours (yours) until the rivers all run dry
In other words, until I die".
Those very sentiments were heard in a beautiful song called "Baby, I'm Yours" (1965), a million-plus selling number released by a Michigander who had a previous hit with "Hello Stranger" (1963).
Who was this singer-songwriter?
5. Some guys just can't get enough of a good thing. Back in 1960, we heard "Stay" (just a little bit longer), and we heard it often as it reached Number One on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart in late November. It was recorded by a septet that went through name changes like Liz Taylor went thru husbands. The lead singer also wrote the tune, can you name the singer and his back-up group?
See if this helps:
"(Stay)
A-a-ah, just a little bit longer
(Please)
Please, please, please, please
Tell me you're going to
Now, how your daddy don't mind
And your mommy don't mind
If we have another dance
Yeah, just one more
One more time"
6. "One, two, three, hey, look at Mr. Lee
Three, four, five, hey, look at him jive
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, oh, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee"
You never know what is going to serve as the inspiration for a song. In one, somewhat bizarre instance, the tune "Mr. Lee" (1957), came about as the result of five students who had a teacher (whom they didn't care for), with that moniker. When it was time to record "Mr. Lee", the lyrics told quite a different tale. The quintet, originally called The Harlem Queens, was one of the earliest all-girl groups. Oh, say can you see who sang "Mr. Lee"?
7. "Surf City" was the first of the surfing style songs, most popularly associated with The Beach Boys, to become a number one hit. The artists who cashed in on this early 60s music craze with "Surf City", had their beginnings in La-La Land, Los Angeles, CA.
The unique sounds of that genre propelled them to 15 tunes which cracked the top 40 between 1958-1966, with "Surf City" hitting Number One on both the "Billboard Hot 100" and "Cashbox" charts.
These lyrics will likely bring back some pleasant memories, but will they help you ID the group who recorded them in 1963?
"Two girls for every boy.
I got a '34 wagon
And we call it a Woody
Surf City here we come
You know it's not very cherry
It's an oldie but a goodie
Surf City here we come
Well, there's two swingin'
Honeys for every guy
And all you gotta do
Is just wink your eye"
8. "I love how your eyes close, whenever you kiss me
And when I'm away from you, I love how you miss me
I love the way you always treat me tenderly,
But, darling, most of all, I love how you love me"
These sweet sentiments were sung by a special set of siblings from San Francisco. Musical talent ran in the family as their momma was an opera singer and she was the inspiration for her daughters becoming sibling singers.
"I Love How You Love Me" was the group's most successful number, reaching the number five spot on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart in 1961. From oldest to youngest, their first names were Albeth, Sherrell, and Priscilla, who was the trio's lead singer. What was the name they sang under?
9. Back in the days of "The British Invasion", a male group began a multi-year tour of America in 1969. They were already immensely popular, and one of the most influential rock bands in the U.K. In 1964, they released, "You Really Got Me". The song became an international smash hit, reaching number one on the U.K. chart, while also becoming a top 10 tune in Australia, Canada, and peaked at number seven on the "Billboard Hot 100".
Sample a taste of "You Really Got Me":
"Girl, you really got me goin'
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin'
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night"
OK, now can you can name this British Band?
10. Sometimes those three little words every enamored person wants to hear aren't all that easy to say. An artist mused about this, when she released, "I've Told Every Little Star" (1961), and took it to number three on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart. Can you name this somewhat shy singer?
See if these lyrics give you some inspiration:
"I've told every little star
Just how sweet I think you are
Why haven't I told you
I've told ripples in a brook
Made my heart an open book
Why haven't I told you"?
11. "Take Good Care of My Baby" was a 1961 "Billboard Hot I00 chart topper. Here's how it started:
"My tears are fallin'
'Cause you've taken her away
And though it really hurts me so
There's somethin' that I've got to say
Take good care of my baby
Please don't ever make her blue
Just tell her that you love her
Make sure you're thinkin' of her
In everything you say and do"
The gracious in defeat singer hailed from Fargo, ND. Between 1959-1975 he/she released over 45 singles and a couple of dozen albums, almost all on the Liberty Records label. A year earlier, this artist had a big hit with "Rubber Ball", which reached number six on "Billboard". Can you name this performer?
12. "Why does the sun go on shining
Why does the sea rush to shore
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me any more
Why do the birds go on singing
Why do the stars glow above
Don't they know it's the end of the world
It ended when I lost your love"
If this song doesn't bring a tear to your eye, nothing will. In 1963, a singer-songwriter born in Kentucky named Mary Penick took, "It's the End of the World" to number two on the "Billboard Hot 100". By the time that she recorded her signature song, she had a new sobriquet...do you know what it was?
13. There are probably several more methods to use, but in 1976 a singer told us about "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". I'm not quite sure of the motivation of the music lovers who bought it, but they drove the song to the number one spot on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart. The singer-songwriter-musician who recorded it was born in The Garden State of New Jersey, and is a two time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. This one should be "simple"... can you name the artist?
Perhaps this will help:
"The problem is all inside your head
She said to me
The answer is easy if you
Take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle
To be free
There must be fifty ways
To leave your lover"
14. Thinking of pleasant fantasies is a great way to escape from the hum-drum existence of everyday life. In 1976 a song told of a somewhat controversial but very successful piece of hopeful reverie. Apparently millions of people could relate to "Afternoon Delight", as it became the most popular tune in America.
Here are some of what at the time, were considered to be somewhat controversial lyrics:
"Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
Gonna grab some afternoon delight
My motto's always been, when it's right it's right
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day
Then we know the night is always gonna be here anyway"
Who sang this steamy song?
15. "It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.
So I was the one with all the glory,
while you were the one with all the strain.
A beautiful face without a name for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain".
OK, some of the previous 14 questions might have been a bit tough, so without further ado, can you just name the divine artist who sang the hauntingly heartfelt, beautiful number, "The Wind Beneath My Wings"?
Source: Author
paulmallon
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
agony before going online.
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