The Early 1960s - Reprises Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shop Around

The Miracles made this the first big hit for the Tamla label in 1961. Eventually, they would become Smokey Robinson and The Miracles and would have 27 top forty songs together, including one #1 hit, "Tears Of A Clown" in 1970. Robinson would leave the group in 1972 to pursue a reasonably successful solo career while the Miracles would also carry on and have another #1 hit, "Love Machine", in 1976. As of this writing in 2004, both Robinson and The Miracles are active and touring independently on an occasional basis.

The 1976 cover of "Shop Around" was performed by Captain and Tennille. It was their fourth consecutive top five hit, all of which were million selling Gold Records.

Answer: Handy Man

Jimmy Jones had written the song in the mid-50s while a member of a doo wop group, The Sparks Of Rhythm, but never got around to putting it on vinyl until he went solo in 1959. He followed that up with the #3 hit "Good Timin'" but despite continuing to record throughout the 1960s, he would have no other significant chart successes. Born in 1937, Jones would be 67 years hold at this writing but I could find nothing to indicate that he is still active in the music business.

Del Shannon covered the song in 1964 and it rose to #22 on the charts. His career was winding down by this point as he would only have a couple of more charting hits in 1965 and one other blip in 1980 before being relegated to the "Oldies circuit". He had significant difficulty in adjusting to "has been" status and in a bout of depression, committed suicide in 1990.

The 1977 cover of this song by James Taylor charted at #4, his last top ten single. He is now a much respected elder of the pop music world and still is an active performer touring world wide.

Answer: When Will I Be Loved

The Everly Brothers recorded the original version in 1960, another in a long series of hits for the brothers but one of the last they would have on the Cadence label - they were just in the process of jumping to Warner Brothers. It was also one of the very few hits they had that wasn't composed by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant or Don Everley. This was the one and only creation of Phil Everley's to become a hit. A variety of factors ultimately led to their gradual decline as hit makers and to their acrimonious split in 1973. In 1983, their differences resolved, they resumed touring together but have not done any recording since the late 1980s.

Linda Ronstadt recorded the 1975 version as a follow up to her only #1 hit, "You're No Good".

Answer: Break It To Me Gently

When Brenda Lee recorded this song, she was arguably one of the most popular recording acts in the business at the time. Within a couple of years her fortunes would gradually start to decline with the "British Invasion" and her last entry on the pop charts would occur in 1967. By then, she was firmly entrenched as a country artist and remained popular in that genre well into the mid 1970s. Although hitless since the end of that decade, she still tours regularly with a continuing focus on country music.

Juice Newton did the cover in 1982 and it was her first release not to achieve top ten status - her previous four releases were all top tens. She would have two more hits in 1983, both charting in the #20s. To this point, all of her releases were cross over hits on both the pop and country charts. After 1983, she, like Brenda Lee, abandoned pop for country music and did alright. She presently resides in the San Diego area with her family and although she still performs fairly regularly, she devotes as much or more energy into her passion for horses as a polo player and equestrian. Her hubby is a professional polo player.

Answer: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Neil Sedaka has had one interesting career. He started off as a student of classical piano at Juillards, began writing songs with neighbourhood chum Howard Greenfield in his mid-teens, then became a teen idol recording the stuff he and Greenfield created. From 1959 to 1963, he would have thirteen top 40 hits including this #1. This was followed by an eleven year hiatus when he had no personal chart success at all although he was still creating hit songs for others. Then he had a two year renaissance as a performer in 1975-6 with two #1 hits and another five top forties. The revival was short lived. Although he continued to record well into the 1990s, the hit well ran dry as a performer... however, as before, other recording acts were still having success with his compositions.

"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" was recorded by The Happenings in 1968 and charted at #67. Lennie Welch recorded a #34 version in 1970 and The Partridge Family's cover peaked at #28 in 1972. As part of Sedaka's resurgence in 1976, he recorded a slower, more mellow version of the song and managed a #8 hit.

Answer: If I Had A Hammer

The song was written by Lee Hays, a member of the famous folk group from the early 1950s, The Weavers. The Weavers recorded the song themselves, part of a "Greatest Hits" album released in 1957.

Peter, Paul and Mary revived the song as a single release in 1962 and took it to #10, their first top ten hit. Around that time, Trini Lopez, the son of a poor sharecropping Mexican from Dallas, was making his mark in L.A. He released an album in 1963 entitled "Trini Lopez Live At P.J.'s" and his cover of this song garnered a lot of local attention. Released as a single, it flew up the charts to peak at #3 about eleven months after the Peter, Paul and Mary hit.

As of 2003, "If I Had A Hammer" has been recorded by over eighty different acts - it's become a folk and pop standard.

Answer: Sealed With A Kiss

Brian Hyland scored first with this song, a #3 in 1962. Hyland originally barged onto the charts as a 16 year old in 1960 with the #1 novelty number "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini". This was his second top ten entry and in 1970, he had his last top ten hit, and hit of any kind, with a cover of The Impressions' "Gypsy Woman" from 1961. Despite his recent lack of chart success, Hyland continues to pursue recording projects and is an active tour performer.

The other covers, which coincidently both peaked at #19, were done by Gary Lewis and The Playboys in 1968 - the group's last top forty hit, and Bobby Vinton in 1972.

Answer: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

The 1965 original was recorded by Marvin Gaye and was a #6 hit. The 1966 version was a #18 hit for Junior Walker and The All Stars. The 1975 cover was the biggest hit of the three, a #5 for James Taylor. Of these versions, Taylor's seems to get the most play on oldies stations and the song now seems to be most closely identified with him.

Answer: Silhouettes

"Silhouettes" was first released by an all black doo wop group from New York City called The Rays. As the song made it's mark on the charts and true to common practice at the time, a white group, The Diamonds on this occasion, covered the song. As often as not, the "white" version did better on the charts due to better distribution and promotion. Not this time! The Rays version stayed on the top 40 charts for 17 weeks and peaked at #3. The Diamonds version did okay... 8 weeks on the charts and a peak of #10. However, The Rays were one hit wonders, The Diamonds hung in there 'til 1961 and would have fifteen top 40 hits over the course of their career.

Herman's Hermits did the 1965 version during that period when they reeled off nine top 10 songs in a row. This one was the third link of that chain, peaking at #5.

Answer: Lemon Tree

This song, recorded by 71 different acts over the years ranging from Bobby Bare's countrified version to the reggae offering of Tyrone and The Clouds, was composed by Will Holt and it appears that it was his one and only to become a hit.

Again, it was the Peter, Paul and Mary/Trini Lopez connection that charted with this number. It was PP&M's debut chart success at #35, Lopez' release made it to #20.

Answer: Dedicated To The One I Love

The 1961 hit version was recorded by The Shirelles, the 1967 cover by The Mamas and The Papas.

The "real" original version charted at #81 in 1958 by a group known as The Five Royales. They had several R&B hits in the early 1950s but were struggling somewhat by this time. The song was written for them by their producer, Ralph Bass, who also influenced and produced James Brown early in his career for King records out of Cincinnati. Unfortunately, while Brown's fortunes soared, The Five Royales disbanded in 1965.

The Shirelles didn't exactly set the world on fire either when they first released this song in 1959 - it only reached #83. Suffice to say, the re-release did much better!

Answer: Da Doo Ron Ron

Writing credits for this hit are accorded to Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector and it was through the latter that The Crystals accessed the song. Spector, who owned the Crystals name and had creative control of everything the group did, posed Darlene Love as "The Crystals" on their previous two recordings, "He's A Rebel" and "He's Sure the Boy I Love". On "Da Doo Ron Ron", it was the real Crystals who did the singing. Eventually, Spector spent more time managing The Ronettes to the neglect of The Crystals and by the time they were able to free themselves from Spector's control, the "girl group" phase of pop music was the domain of Motown records and their time had passed. They disbanded in 1966.

Meanwhile, Shaun Cassidy essentially came out of nowhere to the top of the charts with his remake. The son of actors Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones, Shaun actually recorded a couple of songs in 1976 that did very well abroad but this was his debut release in North America. His music career would turn out to be brief indeed and by 1978, just a year later, he was totally committed to a career as a TV actor. By the end of the 1980s his acting career was also done. With the new millennium, Cassidy keeps active with writing and producing TV programs.

Answer: Stand By Me

Ben E. King wrote this song and when he left the Drifters to go solo, this was the song he earmarked for his debut. He asked Lieber and Stoller to produce the song and they also did some cosmetic work on the lyrics and melody. King's release was a huge #4 smash and when the song was featured in the movie of the same name in 1986, it was re-released to a new generation of consumers and charted at #9. This ode to friendship can now safely be termed an everlasting and much loved "standard".

The other six artists who released charting versions of the song were: Earl Grant - 1965 - #75; Spyder Turner - 1967 - #12; David & Jimmy Ruffin - 1970 - #61; John Lennon - 1975 - #20; Mickey Gilley - 1980 - #22; Maurice White - 1985 - #50.

Answer: Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

This was one of the string of folkie numbers that became hits for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1963 and the second consecutive top ten they would have with a Dylan composition following "Blowing In The Wind". If you were paying attention and this quiz was true to form, Trini Lopez would have had the cover hit in 1965 right? Well, he did record it as part of an album of Dylan songs in 1965 but if it was ever released as a single, it went nowhere.

The '65 cover was recorded by none other than "The Wonder Who", a pseudonym for The Four Seasons.

Their version could be best described as a "fun, doo-wop mock" of the original.

Answer: On Broadway

"On Broadway" was composed by an all-star team of writers - Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller. Lieber and Stoller were producing for the Drifters at the time - that was their link to recording the song.

George Benson made the 1978 recording. He had made his name as a virtuoso guitar player in the 1950s, but his 1976 album "Breezin" illustrated that he was a talented vocalist as well. He won the 1978 Grammy for Best Male Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance for this song. Although capable of playing and singing almost any song in any genre, he currently is devoting his energies to his first love, jazz.