15 Songs: Diverse Diaspora Trivia Quiz

Answer: Beach Boys

"Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys was a stand-alone single released in 1966. It was to be included on their eleventh studio album "Pet Sounds", but unfortunately wasn't finished in time. The music and tone of the song was a departure from their usual style, as Brian Wilson began experimenting with different sounds. The music came as a mosaic of various fragments, or "feels" as Wilson called them, pieced together inside the studio. He also used an Electro-Theremin to give the eerie vibe he wanted, to mimic cosmic vibrations. At the time, this made the production of "Good Vibrations" the most expensive song ever recorded.

It paid off though, as the song became an immediate hit, reaching Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the band's first UK Number One. From critics and fellow musicians alike there were mixed reviews. Some lauded the song as innovative and brilliant while others thought it was overdone and disjointed. It has however, stood the test of time and 50 years later it's still popular, instantly recognisable and regarded as a classic.

The song earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Vocal Group performance in 1966 and in 1994 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2016 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted "Good Vibrations" as a Song That Shaped Rock and Roll.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 got good vibes about inducting this song into the quiz.

Answer: America

"Ventura Highway" (1972) from their "Homecoming" album (1972) was a typical America soft rock hit that reached number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, but only number 45 on the UK Single Chart.

Band member Dewey Bunnell, who wrote the song, explained in a 2006 interview with the "Los Angeles Times" that his Air Force father was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Barbara. In 1963 when Bunnell was 12 they had a flat tyre near the coast and while he was standing by the side of the road he saw a signed that pointed towards Ventura. (There was no Ventura highway but the flat tyre occurred near the Pacific Coast Highway.

The imagery in the song, "Seasons crying no despair, alligator lizards in the air" came from his brother and himself looking at the shape of clouds whilst they were waiting. The song contains a line about purple rain. Might not be as famous as the Prince song but it preceded it by more than 20 years: "Wishin' on a falling star / Waitin' for the early train / Sorry boy, but I've been hit by purple rain".

This question written by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1, a big America fan.

Answer: Paul McCartney and Wings

Wings had a number of personnel but when the group went to Lagos, Nigeria in 1973 to record the album, "Band on the Run", there was just guitarist Denny Laine, Paul, and his wife, Linda. The album was difficult to make and the tapes and demos of the title track were stolen at knifepoint in Nigeria. The song was McCartney's most successful single post-Beatles but it had no right to be: It was long for a single (5:09), it was a three-part medley: slow ballad, funk-rock-style piece, and a country-rock finale. The song contained a melange of concepts: criminalisation of marijuana, the difficulty of recording in Lagos and an off-hand comment made by George Harrison years ago.

Possibly only Paul McCartney could bring all these disparate parts together to make a number one song. The man's talent knows no bounds.

Question written by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1 who has made the requisite pilgrimage to Liverpool.

Answer: Queen

"Love of My Life" by Queen was released in 1975 on their "Night at the Opera" album. The song, written by Freddie Mercury, features strong piano and guitar melodies. Brian May then adjusted it to allow for an acoustic 12-string guitar to be used at their live performances.

While not a hit as such, when the band toured South America in 1981, the band realised the audience would sing passionately along to the song. Brian May once remarked that the audience "would sing "Love of My Life" with such passion that brought tears to our eyes". Following Mercury's death in 1991, May often performed the song as a dedication to him.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member leith90 remembers 'borrowing' her sister's copy of "Night at the Opera" purely for this song. But don't tell anyone.

Answer: Fleetwood Mac

Written by Lindsay Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac released "Go Your Own Way" from their album "Rumours" in 1976. It reached number ten in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 38 in the UK charts. Despite not showing as a runaway success in the charts, the track continues to show a longevity of interest, ranking number 120 in Rolling Stones Greatest Hits of All Time.

The song, like its fellow tracks on the "Rumours" album, depicts the relationships within the band at the time. It covers the breakup that occurred between Buckingham and fellow band member, Stevie Nicks.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit always chooses to go her own way, as obedience is not her strong suit.

Answer: Eagles

"New Kid in Town" was the first single released off the Eagles' fifth studio album "Hotel California" (1976). The song was written by founding members and co-lead singers Glenn Frey and Don Henley, along with musician J.D. Souther. Souther had written the chorus a year previously, but it wasn't until they were writing for the "Hotel California" album that the song was finished.

The song's lyrics are a reference to the way the band members saw their success. While the band was popular at the time, they knew that success could be fleeting, that in the eyes of their fans, one day they would be replaced by new bands and new singers.

Once released, "New Kid in Town" was popular with fans and critics alike. It took the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for "Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices".

Phoenix Rising's leith90 admits to 'finding' the Eagles when she was older and had control of the radio.

Answer: AC/DC

"Highway to Hell" was the title track of AC/DC's sixth album. ("High Voltage" was released twice in successive years as an Australian version and an International version). Released in July 1979, It was the last to feature Bon Scott on lead vocals.

As a title, "Highway to Hell" caused raised eyebrows at the time, but it was what the band described their time on the road to be. Excerpts from interviews paint a picture of broke band members spending too much time on the road.

Lead singer Bon Scott passed away in February 1980 not long after the release of "Highway to Hell" and his death is thought to be a product of that life as his cause of death was listed as acute alcohol poisoning.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member jaknginger might have played "Highway to Hell" and "Back in Black" on repeat during her high school years.

Answer: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

Paul McCartney wrote "Ebony and Ivory" after being inspired by the Irish actor, comedian, and poet Spike Milligan. Paul lived a few minutes from Mr. Milligan and visited him often. Mr. Milligan was quoted as saying, "Black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!" Paul used "black" and "white" to refer to piano keys and racial harmony. When he was in the studio, he realised the song needed another singer. To fit with the theme, he asked Stevie Wonder to collaborate and luckily, he agreed.

"Ebony and Ivory" was released in 1982 and was part of Paul's third solo album, "Tug of War". It was his first album after John Lennon's death. The single and album were nominated for Grammy Awards but did not win the honors. The album was nominated for "Album of the Year". The single was nominated for "Song of the Year", 'Record of the Year", and "Best Pop Vocal Performance - Duo or Group".

A funny story on the website "The Paul McCartney Project" talks about the scheduling and the recording session. Paul and Stevie were to meet in the AIR Studios Montserrat. Paul was uncertain if Stevie would come to that distance for the recording, although Stevie assured him he would. Stevie eventually showed, but it was days later than Paul originally scheduled. During the recording, Stevie quickly told Paul he was not "in the pocket", which meant he was not keeping time. Paul shared that Stevie was a perfectionist in the song's timing, but on Stevie's own time.

Jaknginger of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew watched this video too many times to count.

Answer: Cyndi Lauper

"Time After Time" was the second single released off Cyndi Lauper's 1983 debut album "She's So Unusual". Lauper co-wrote the song with Rob Hyman, "Hooters" founding member, and she took the title from the 1979 film of the same name. Lauper's producer, Rick Chertoff, had wanted another song for the album, so introduced her to Hyman, a musician he'd known from University. Together they penned this song.

Upon its release in January 1984, "Time After Time" garnered critical acclaim from musical magazines and critics and was the Number One song on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. It peaked at number one in Canada, two in Europe, three in the UK and six in Australia. The song won several awards for Lauper including the American Video Awards (1984) for Best Female Performance and Best Pop Video. In 1985 it was nominated for a "Song of the Year" Grammy. "Time After Time" was featured in the 1993 movie "Strictly Ballroom" and also the 1997 "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion".

Phoenix Rising's leith90 got an earworm from this song and found it distracted her from the writing of this question, time after time.

Answer: Culture Club

"Karma Chameleon" was the second big hit by the band, Culture Club, and was sung by the androgynous front man for the band, Boy George (George O'Dowd). The song was written as a group effort by the band and included Phil Pickett, (from the band Sailor), who played keyboards and sang backup vocals. It appeared on the 1983 album "Colour by Numbers".

The song hit number one on the charts in multiple countries' including Australia, the UK and the US; it was the biggest hit of the year in the UK. Boy George admitted in his memoir, "Take it Like a Man" that he had been having an affair with Culture Club drummer Jon Moss, and the lyrics of many songs were a way to communicate with him.

The band was sued for plagiarism for "Karma Chameleon" by the writers of "Handy Man", a 1960 Jimmy Jones hit, but the results were never made public. Years later Boy George was recorded as saying they paid them "ten pence and an apple".

Player pusdoc of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew finds herself humming this tune whenever she passes a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.

Answer: Lionel Ritchie

"Say You, Say Me" was specifically written by Lionel Ritchie for the 1985 movie "White Night".

The song was a big hit for Lionel Ritchie, claiming the number one spot on several charts, including the US Billboard Hot 100. It also won a 1986 Academy Award for "Best Original Song".

Oddly enough, the Motown record label did not want Mr. Ritchie's song to be on another record label, so the movie's soundtrack does not include "Say You, Say Me". The song was instead included in Lionel Ritchie's third album, "Dancing on the Ceiling".

Jaknginger has not seen the movie "White Nights" but must find and add it to her watch list.

Answer: The Choirboys

Australian band The Choirboys released "Run to Paradise" as a single off their second album "Big Bad Noise" in 1987. Written by lead singer Mark Gable and original lead guitarist Brad Carr, the song peaked at Number three in Australia, and made an appearance at 80 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Initially, it was thought the song was a reference to heroin addiction, but Gable said in an interview that it was about the misspent youth of Sydney's North Shore when Gable was growing up. "Jenny", mentioned in the lyrics was a girl Gable had a crush on and "Johnny" is thought to refer to Carr, a close friend of Gable's who left the band in 1987.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 never saw the band live until the "Countdown Spectacular" in 2006 where she reverted to her own youth and was dancing in the aisle.

Answer: Michael Jackson

"Smooth Criminal" was the sixth single off Michael Jackson's 1987 "Bad" album and reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a departure from his usual songs which ostensibly are personal in nature. This song is about a fictional gangster (smooth criminal) and the song is written in the first person. The narrator discovered a bloodstained carpet and an unconscious body and asks "Annie are you OK?" (This chorus line was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training where trainees are taught to say "Annie, are you OK?" when practising resuscitation techniques).

The success of the song was in no way hindered by the film clip in which Jackson, replete with a fedora and gangster suit did his 45-degree lean, hence this was a favourite song live. In 2001 Alien Ant Farm released a cover version (They used excerpts from the Jackson version during sound checks - their fans asked them to do the whole song).

This song was slipped into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1 who asks "Agony, is it OK?"

Answer: Eric Clapton

Englishman Eric Clapton had a son with Italian actress Lory Del Santo. On March 20, 1991, their four-year old son Conor fell to his death from the 53rd floor of Lory's Manhattan apartment building. Eric wrote the first verse of the song "Tears in Heaven" for Conor. Lyricist Will Jennings completed the song and it appeared on the "Rush" film soundtrack.

The song was Clapton's best-selling tune in the US and ranked second on the Billboard 100. The song won three 1993 Grammy Awards: "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance", "Song of the Year", and "Record of the Year".

Jaknginger of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew believes Eric Clapton is one of the greatest guitarists of all-time.

Answer: Robert Palmer

This song is a swirling synth-driven ballad recorded in The Bahamas, which tells of the shallowness and neediness of politicians and the wives of that country, according to a "Melody Maker" interview with Robert Palmer in 1995. The song continues about political wives, tired of the political games and social niceties requirements but not about to give up life of privilege that comes with the position. Sublime writing wrapped up and possibly dominated by a catchy synth sound oh-so-typical of the 80s. It deserved better than the minor it hit was. The song found a new lease of life with various covers written to advertise Renault cars. (Shudder).

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1 who, in silent protest, will never, ever drive a Renault.