A Kiss on the Charts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wednesday

Wednesday formed in Ontario and reached number thirty-four on the US charts with their recording of "Last Kiss" in 1973. It was their only Top Forty hit in the US. The group made it to number seventy-nine in 1974 covering Mark Dinning's Teen Tragedy song "Teen Angel". Wednesday enjoyed chart success in their native Canada with "Fly Away", "Loving You Baby", "Ruby Baby" and "Roses Are Red" in the seventies. The group changed their name to Wenzday in 1976 and continued releasing singles and albums until 1981.
The group reformed in 2003 for reunion concerts.
The Bells formed in Montreal in 1965. The Stampeders came from Calgary and had a Top Ten US hit in 1971 with "Sweet City Woman". Bachman-Turner Overdrive topped the US charts with "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" in 1974.

Answer: The Shangri-Las

The year 1964 was a big year for The Shangri-Las. Their single "Wishing Well" didn't made an impression on the charts but "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" became a US Top Ten hit followed by the Number One "Leader of the Pack". "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" made the Top Twenty and "Maybe" clocked in at a dismal number ninety-one before the year was over.
Two pairs of sisters from Andrew Jackson High School formed a singing group and played sock hops and dances in school before giving themselves a name. When they recorded their first single, "Simon Says", they took their name from a local restaurant.
The Ronettes formed in New York and relocated to Los Angeles and made the Top Forty in 1964 with "Do I Love You?" and "The (Best Part Of) Breakin' Up". Detroit based Martha and The Vandellas almost topped the charts with the Number Two "Dancing in the Street" the same year. "I Have a Boyfriend" made number thirty-six for Bronx group The Chiffons.

Answer: Navy Blue

Diane Renay went to high school at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. She began taking voice lessons from the manager of Danny and the Juniors and obtained an audition with Atco Records. After Renay released two unsuccessful singles Atco dropped her from their label.
Bob Crewe of The Four Seasons had been involved in the Atco recordings. He signed her to 20th Century Records and co-wrote "Navy Blue". The 17-year-old Diane Renay had a Number Six hit in the US and released her last Top Forty single, "Kiss Me Sailor", later the same year.
"Blue Winter" was done by Connie Francis in 1964. "Don't Forget I Still Love You" was a 1964 Top Twenty US single from Bobbi Martin. "Every Little Bit Hurts" by Brenda Holloway reached number thirteen in 1964.

Answer: Paul Anka

Canadian singer Paul Anka burst onto the American music scene in 1957 when "Diana" topped the charts. "You Are My Destiny", "Lonely Boy" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" were among his US Top Ten follow up singles. He kept releasing hit singles through the early sixties and "Kissin' On the Phone", "Dance On Little Girl", "The Story of My Love" and "Tonight My Love Tonight" were US Top Forty hits for Anka in 1961.
In addition to enjoying a career as a singer Paul Anka composed many hits including "She's a Lady" by Tom Jones, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" by Buddy Holly and the theme for "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson".
Bobby Rydel released "Kissin' Time" in 1959. "Kissin' And Twistin'" was recorded by Fabian in 1960. "One Last Kiss" was released by Bobby Vee in 1960.

Answer: Quick

"Kiss Me Quick" went to number thirty-four by Elvis Presley. The single release was not from a movie soundtrack or album released by Elvis in 1964. Elvis had another Top Twenty hit the same year when "Kissin' Cousins" from the movie of the same name reached number twelve.
When "Ask Me" also reached number twelve "Kissin' Cousins" and "Ask Me" would be the highest charting singles by Elvis in 1964, beating the number twenty-nine "Viva Las Vegas".
The only albums released by Elvis Presley in 1964 were the soundtrack LPs for "Kissin' Cousins" and "Roustabout".

Answer: Japan

Pink Lady and Kyu Sakamoto were the only two Japanese artists to have reached the US Billboard Top Forty through the twentieth century. Kyu Sakamoto had a hit with "Sukiyaki" in 1963.
Between 1976 and 1979 Pink Lady had a string of hits on the Japanese charts but only had one hit in the US when "Kiss in the Dark" reached number thirty-seven. In 1980 the group briefly had a US television show on NBC called "Pink Lady", later released as "Pink Lady and Jeff".
The two friends who formed the band appeared in a Japanese talent search show in 1976 as Folk artists. They formed Pink Lady and changed their image recording "Monday Mona Lisa Club" during the Disco era. They were exposed to the US audience during a Leif Garrett special but their difficulty with English led to an early demise of their US television show. Pink Lady disbanded in 1981.

Answer: Ronnie Dove

Ronnie Dove began singing in the Baltimore area with a group called The Belltones. The group played East Coast venues for four years and released "Lover Boy" and a cover of Buddy Knox's "Party Doll" in 1959. Ronnie left the group and began his solo career with "Sweeter Than Sugar" in 1964.

The song failed to rise up the charts but his follow up single, "Right or Wrong" placed him in the US Top Twenty. Dove released several other successful singles on the US Pop charts, recorded ten albums before 1975 and opened his own club in his native Baltimore in the early eighties. "Ain't It True" by Andy Williams hit number forty in 1965. Glenn Yarbrough had a Top Twenty single in 1965 with "Baby, The Rain Must Fall" and Perry Como charted with the number twenty-five "Dream On Little Dreamer".

Answer: The J. Geils Band

In 1971 "Looking for a Love" was the first major chart single for The J. Geils Band. The group had formed four years earlier in Worcester, Massachusetts, as a trio calling themselves Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels. They landed a contract with EMI America Records in the late seventies and began releasing singles showcasing their harmonica player, Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz.

In 1981 their "Freeze Frame" album contained their Number Four single "Freeze Frame" and the chart-topping "Centerfold". After recording a song for the 1985 film "Fright Night" the group disbanded. "Old Time Rock & Roll" was a hit for Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band in 1979. Electric Light Orchestra hit the Top Ten in 1979 with "Shine a Little Love" and "Spooky" was a number seventeen single by Atlanta Rhythm Section.

Answer: True

"Kiss and Say Goodbye" bumped "Afternoon Delight" by the Starlight Vocal Band from the top slot the week of July 24, 1976. The group originally formed as The Dulcets and later changed their name to The Manhattans after the cocktail drink, not the New York borough.

The forming members of the group grew up in New Jersey. They won a talent contest at the famed Apollo in New York and were signed to Carnival Records in 1964. They began charting successful singles on the Rhythm and Blues charts but the Billboard Pop charts eluded them until they changed to Columbia Records and had a number forty-three single called "There's No Me Without You".

The group set their sights on getting into the Top Ten and when group member Winfred Lovett composed "Kiss and Say Goodbye" they achieved their goal.

Answer: Kiss Me Goodbye

Petula Clark began singing on the radio during World War Two. In the fifties she began singing in French and enjoyed success in France and England. She was 32 when she released the US Number One single "Downtown" in 1964. She promptly followed up with "I Know a Place", "My Love" and "Don't Sleep in the Subway".

She was still making an impression on the charts in 1968 when "Kiss Me Goodbye" went to Number 15 in the US. When "Don't Give Up" reached number thirty-seven later the same year it would be her final US Top Forty single. "Kissing My Love" was released by Bill Withers in 1973. "And Then He Kissed Me" was a sixties hit for The Crystals and "Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" was recorded by Betty Everett and later by Cher.