Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. "Please Please Me" was released on March 22, 1963 in the UK as an effort to capitalize on singles previously released which were burning up the charts. One of the singles released was the album's title track. Can you name the other single which preceded the album's release?
2. The album "Please Please Me" contains the first Beatles song featuring George Harrison on lead vocals. Which song was it?
3. The first Beatles album to feature a song written by George Harrison was "With The Beatles", originally released in the UK on November 22, 1963. Which song featured the crafty writing of Mr. Harrison?
4. Which song from "With the Beatles" was the first song played on the "Ed Sullivan Show", the much hyped introduction of The Beatles to the American people?
5. The fifth song on "A Hard Day's Night" is the ballad "And I Love Her". This song was a crowd pleaser when played in concerts, usually as the opening number, but sometimes played near the end of the show.
6. The album "A Hard Day's Night" features the only Beatles song (English-speaking) that was not recorded in the UK. Which song was this?
7. The UK release of "Beatles for Sale" on December 4, 1964 marked the fourth Beatles album to be released in a 21 month span of time. This album, due to high demand and little opportunity for song writing, saw The Beatles record cover songs, something they had not done on "A Hard Day's Night". Two songs on this album were covers by the same artist. Which artist wrote two of the songs on "Beatles for Sale"?
8. There was a medley of two songs on the UK release of "Beatles for Sale". The song "Medley: Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" was the last song on side one of the album. The "Kansas City" portion of the medley was written by the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller. Which prolific artist was responsible for the "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" part of the song?
9. Many people think that the cover art for the album "Help!", released in the UK on August 6, 1965, is the spelling of the word "help" in flag semaphore. In fact, that is not true. Which letters are indicated, in semaphore, on the album's cover?
10. The UK release of "Help!" had the song "Yesterday" included as the sixth song on side two of the album. One of the most perfect songs ever written, the working title of the song was somewhat less than perfect. What was this culinary title?
11. The album "Rubber Soul", released in the UK on December 3, 1965, was where The Beatles started experimenting with psychedelic sounds and recording techniques. Which song from this album was the first to have George Harrison experiment with a sitar?
12. The album "Rubber Soul" features the first song where credit was given to Ringo Starr as a co-songwriter. Which song did Ringo lend his efforts to?
13. The album "Revolver", released in the UK on August 5, 1966 saw the band move further toward psychedelia and drug influenced music. This album saw George Harrison's drift toward Indian influenced music. Which song did he write and sing playing a sitar and tabla?
14. The Beatles seemed to be focused on expanding their sound on the "Revolver" album, sometimes even from one song to the next. The band seamlessly represented several genres of rock music including baroque pop, raga rock, acid rock, psychedelic rock, electronic rock and even one track resembling the Memphis soul sound which was so popular during that time in the US. Which Paul McCartney track could be described as soul rock, complete with a horn section reminiscent of the Stax Records sound?
15. The album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (released June 1, 1967 in the UK) is obviously one of the most respected works of popular music ever. It would be hard to find many people familiar with popular music who could not instantly recognize the cover art for the album. Featuring over 70 artists, writers, musicians, gurus, actors and other iconic figures, this album cover is truly unique. Which of these men was not included on the cover art?
16. The original premise for the album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was that each member of The Beatles would assume an alter identity in this fictional band. As it turns out, there was only one character developed, the band leader Billy Shears. Which Beatle was going to portray this character throughout the album?
17. "The Beatles", popularly known as "The White Album" was released in the UK on November 22, 1968. By the time of the recording of this album, the band had become very individual and separate. It marked the first time that there were no true Lennon and McCartney collaborations (although credit was still issued to them as a team). This double album saw four songs written by George Harrison and one song completely credited to Ringo Starr. What was the name of this song?
18. "The Beatles" is the album which included the song "Helter Skelter". Many people identify this song with Charles Manson, due to the book of the same name written by LA Deputy District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi about the Manson trial. Manson had organized a movement, which he called "Helter Skelter", as a way that he and family may take over control of the world. What was the basis of his philosophy that would give him world control?
19. January 17, 1969 saw the release of "Yellow Submarine" in the UK. The Beatles never considered this a true studio release, more of a soundtrack to the film of the same name. This album had two tracks on it that had been released prior to this album. Can you name them?
20. The song "All You Need is Love" was written by John Lennon to be performed live on a global television opportunity featuring artists from 18 countries and transmitted to over 400 million viewers. What was the name of this program?
21. The album "Abbey Road" was released on September 26, 1969. This album was to be a reconciliation for the band, as things had deteriorated to the point where they knew the band was likely to break up. They decided to join together, set aside their differences, and put together one last great album.
George Martin, who had lost so much studio control on "The Beatles", regained his position as studio leader and the band worked more amicably in these sessions. This album had historic implications as it featured the first and only Beatles number one single not written by the Lennon/McCartney duo. Which song was this? (The single was a number one single in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week November 29, 1969.)
22. Which song from "Abbey Road" did not appear on the original album jacket as the band had no intention of releasing the tune?
23. Although "Let it Be" was the last original Beatles album released in the UK (May 8, 1970), most of the songs had already been recorded prior to the studio sessions in which "Abbey Road" was recorded. This album was originally intended to be titled "Get Back", sort of an attempt to find the original chemistry and cohesiveness that was the Beatles' magic. The album's recording was going to be a film documentary of how the band worked in the studio. After several scrubbed attempts, the album was shelved and the band went their separate ways, before reuniting to record "Abbey Road". Once "Abbey Road" was released, the "Get Back" material was brought out and handed over to a noted American producer to work it into a album worthy of release. The album eventually saw the light of day with the title "Let it Be". Who was this producer?
24. The album "Let it Be" features three songs which were part of the rooftop concert held at the Apple Building in London. There are also three other live recordings on the album, but these were recorded in the studio. Two of the songs from the rooftop concert were "Dig a Pony" and "One After 909". Which is the other song from the rooftop?
25. What is the only musical composition ever to be intentionally transmitted into deep space from the planet Earth? Hint, it's a tune by The Beatles.
Source: Author
ralzzz
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agony before going online.
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