Crooner, Torch or Rock and Roll Quiz

Answer: Crooner

Perry Como wasn't the only crooner to record "Papa Loves Mambo" in 1954, but it was his version, released by RCA Victor in September of that year that reached number four on the "Billboard" chart the next January.

Born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1912, Pierino Ronald Como trained as a barber before turning to a career in entertainment. I recall at least one number on his television variety show (which I watched with my mother every week) which Perry performed dressed as a barber, on a set made to resemble a barber shop.

Answer: Crooner

"Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" is a happy, energetic song. One can't help but smile when singing along to it, or even just listening. Perry recorded this one in February 1956, and it went to number one on the "Billboard" chart the next month. It was well-liked in the UK too, reaching number four in May.

Perry's marriage to Roselle Belline was unusual amongst entertainment marriages, in that it endured for 65 years, from 1933 until her death in 1998. They had two sons and a daughter.

Answer: Crooner

Como recorded "Round and Round" for RCA Victor in 1957, and it reached number one on the "Billboard" chart. It is another happy song, and I remember listening to my mother's 78 recording of it with pleasure.

Before his recording career took off, Perry had been a singer with big bands, and he also appeared in four films between 1945 and 1948. People of my own vintage will remember him best from his weekly television show in the late fifties, always featuring him singing "Dream Along with Me" and a segment about letters.

Answer: Crooner

"Catch a Falling Star" recorded and released by Perry Como in 1957, is another song I recall listening to on a 78, with my Mum. Como won a Grammy for this one, for Best Vocal Performance (male) and it was certified "gold" in 1958.

Perry Como, long known for his laid back and casual style, passed away in his sleep in 2001, less than a week before his 89th birthday. His music lives on.

Answer: Torch

"I Can't Give You Anything But Love" by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields is a jazz standard that has been recorded many times, including a very upbeat version by Peggy Lee in 1951, released by Capitol Records.

Born in North Dakota in 1920, Lee's birth name was Norma Egstrom (or Ekstrom). She took the stage name Peggy Lee in 1937, and soon after moved to California for the first time to pursue a singing career.

Answer: Torch

Peggy Lee's version of Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" reached number 14 in the "Billboard" chart in 1952, and Lee also performed this song in the 1952 movie "The Jazz Singer", in which she played a leading role.

Lee's recording career took off during the 1940s, with her recordings of a number of sentimental love songs (described as "torch" songs). During that decade she also appeared as a "girl singer" with Benny Goodman's band, marrying a guitarist with that band. Dave Barbour became the first of four husbands in 1943. He was also the father of her only child, a daughter born in November of that year.

Answer: Torch

Another Cole Porter tune, "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" was recorded in 1953 by Peggy Lee as part of her first album, titled "Black Coffee".

Lee was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as an alcoholic blues singer in "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955) in which she performed several songs, including "Somebody Loves Me". Another memorable film appearance was as the voice of the Siamese cats in "Lady and the Tramp" (1955).

Answer: Torch

Peggy Lee's 1958 recording of "Fever", by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, was a cover version with "additional lyrics", said to have been written largely by Lee herself. It is probably the song that most people think of first when you mention Peggy Lee.

Peggy Lee, having divorced her fourth and final husband in 1964, continued to perform into the 1990s. She died in 2002 at the age of 81.

Answer: Rock and Roll

Buddy Holly wrote "That'll Be the Day" with Jerry Allison, and first recorded it in 1956 with the Three Tunes for Decca. That version was not released and Holly recorded the song again the next year with the Crickets, who became famous as his backup band. The song reached number one in both the UK charts and the "Billboard" Top 100 in 1957.

Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was born in Lubbock, Texas in September 1936. He got his first Fender Stratocaster guitar at a young age, and that became one of his trademarks, along with his thick-rimmed glasses and highly individual vocal style.

Answer: Rock and Roll

"Peggy Sue" was named for the girl who eventually married Jerry Allison, the Crickets' drummer, and co-writer of the song with Holly and Norman Petty. Holly recorded it in September 1957 with Allison on drums and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. It reached number three on the "Billboard" Top 100 chart.

In 1958 Holly married Maria Elena Santiago, who was pregnant with their first child when Buddy died. She miscarried soon after that.

Answer: Rock and Roll

Paul Anka wrote "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" specifically for Buddy Holly, and after the latter's death donated his author's royalties to Buddy's widow. Buddy recorded this song in late 1958, and it was released in January 1959. It peaked at 13 on the "Billboard" chart, but went to the top in the UK.

In late January 1959 Holly and a variety of other musicians embarked on something called the Winter Dance Party Tour which was scheduled to play a number of cities in the Midwestern US. The show on February 2 in Clear Lake, Iowa would be Holly's last, as it would also be for Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper").

Answer: Rock and Roll

"Raining in My Heart" was recorded in October 1958, and released in 1959 as the B-side of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". The songwriters were Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.

Buddy Holly was just 22 years old when the chartered airplane on which he was travelling to his next tour stop crashed in the early hours of February 3, 1959 - the "Day the Music Died". Also killed were the even younger Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (Richardson) and their pilot Roger Peterson. Their music lives on.