Dead Singers Society USA Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bill Haley (Bill Haley And His Comets)

Bill Haley was born William John Clifton Haley in Michigan, USA, in 1925. He died in Texas, USA, in 1981 aged 55. An alcoholic, he apparently died in his sleep of a heart attack although there was some suspicion of a brain tumor. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Bill Haley And His Comets first hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Shake Rattle And Roll" which reached number seven in 1954. Their last US hit was the re-released "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" which reached number 39 in 1974, after being used as the opening music for the US TV show "Happy Days". It reached number 12 on the UK chart the same year. Between 1954 and 1974 Bill Haley And His Comets had ten US Top 20 hits. Three of those were Top Ten hits. One of them, "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" was number one for eight weeks in 1955. It was featured in the 1955 movie "Blackboard Jungle" starring Glenn Ford, Anne Francis and Louis Calhern. Bill Haley And His Comets' first hit on the UK chart was "Shake Rattle And Roll" which reached number four in 1954. Their last UK hit was "Haley's Golden Medley" which reached number 50 in 1981 but was not released in the US. Between 1954 and 1981 Bill Haley And His Comets had ten UK Top 20 hits of which eight were Top Ten hits. One of those was "Rock Around The Clock" which was number one for five weeks in 1955/56. It was their only US/UK number one and entered the UK chart on eight separate occasions, number 17 in Jan 1955, number one in Oct 1955, number five in Sept 1956, number 24 in Dec 1956, number 25 in Jan 1957, number 22 in Jan 1957, number 20 in Apr 1968 and number 12 in Mar 1974.

Answer: Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley was born Ellas Otha Bates in Mississippi, USA, in 1928. He died of heart failure in Florida, USA, in 2008 aged 79. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Bo Diddley's first hit on the Billboard R&B chart was "Bo Diddley" which was number one for two weeks in 1955. It was his only US number one and did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 or the UK chart. His last hit on the Billboard R&B chart was "Ooh Baby" which reached number 17 in 1966. Between 1955 and 1966 Bo Diddley had eight Top 20 hits on the Billboard R&B chart. These included three Top Ten hits. He had five hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Say Man" was the only Top 20 hit at number 20 in 1959. His first hit on the UK chart was "Pretty Thing" which reached number 34 in 1963. His last UK hit was "Hey Good Lookin'" which reached number 39 in 1965. Those two singles were his only UK chart hits and neither of them made the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison was born Roy Kelton Orbison in Texas, USA, in 1936. He died in Tennessee, USA, in 1988 aged 52 from a heart attack. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

His first hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Ooby Dooby" (with The Teen Kings), it reached number 59 on the chart in 1956. It did not chart in the UK. His last US hit was "I Drove All Night" which reached number 74 in 1992. It reached number seven on the UK chart the same year. Between 1956 and 1992 he had 11 US Top 20 hits of which ten were Top Ten hits. Two of these reached number one; "Running Scared" was number one for one week in 1961 and "Oh, Pretty Woman" (his only transatlantic number one) was number one for three weeks in 1964. His first hit on the UK chart was "Only The Lonely" which was number one for two weeks in 1960. His last UK hit was a re-issue of "I Drove All Night" which reached number 47 in 1993. In the UK between 1960 and 1993 he had 19 Top 20 hits of which 12 were Top Ten hits. Three of these reached number one. "Only The Lonely" was number one for two weeks in 1960. "It's Over" was number one for two weeks in 1964. This was the first UK number one by an American artist since "(You're The) Devil In Disguise" by Elvis Presley 11 months previously, which was the only UK number one by an American artist in 1963. "Oh, Pretty Woman" was number one for two weeks in 1964.

Answer: Nervous Norvus

Nervous Norvus was born James William Drake in Tennessee, USA, in 1912. An alcoholic he died in California, USA, in 1968 aged 56 from cirrhosis of the liver. His body was donated to the anatomy department of the University of California.

His first US chart hit was "Transfusion" which reached number eight in 1956. His last US hit was "Ape Call" which reached number 24 in 1956. Neither record charted in the UK. That was it for Nervous he never bothered the US chart again. He did record some gems such as "Does A Chinese Chicken Have A Pigtail", "The Lean Green Vegetable Fiend (From Tuther Side Of The Moon)" and "Boris The Blue Nosed Baboon". They don't make records like that anymore.

Of the alternative answers, Sheb Wooley had a number one hit for six weeks on the US pop chart with "The Purple People Eater" in 1958. It reached number 12 on the UK chart the same year. Larry Verne had a number one hit for one week on the US pop chart with "Mr. Custer" in 1960. It did not chart in the UK. Stan Freberg had a number 16 hit on the US pop chart with "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" in 1955. It did not chart in the UK.

Answer: Ricky Nelson

Rick Nelson (he dropped the y in 1961) was born Eric Hilliard Nelson in New Jersey, USA, in 1940. He died in a plane crash in Texas, USA, on New Year's Eve in 1985 aged 45. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Ricky Nelson and Dean Martin sang "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" in the 1959 John Wayne movie "Rio Bravo".

His first US chart hit was "A Teenager's Romance" which reached number two in 1957. The B-side reached number four. Neither side charted in the UK. His last US hit was "Palace Guard" which reached number 65 in 1973. It did not chart in the UK. His last four US hits were with The Stone Canyon Band. Between 1957 and 1973 he had 27 US Top 20 hits, 19 of which were Top Ten hits. Two of those reached number one, "Poor Little Fool" was number one for two weeks in 1958 and "Travelin' Man" was number one for two weeks in 1961. His first UK chart hit was "Stood Up" which reached number 27 in 1958. His last UK hit was the re-issue of "Hello Mary Lou" which reached number 45 in 1991. Between 1958 and 1991 he had 11 UK Top 20 hits, four of which were Top Ten hits. In 1961 the double A-side "Hello Mary Lou/Travellin' Man" at number two was his highest UK chart position.

Answer: Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin was born Walden Robert Cassotto in New York, USA, in 1936. He died in Los Angeles, USA, in 1973 aged 37 without regaining consciousness after a six hour heart operation. He left his body to science for medical research. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. He had a number 30 hit on the US pop chart with "Multiplication" (the song mentioned in the question) in 1962. It reached number five on the UK chart the same year.

His first US chart hit was "Splish Splash" which reached number three in 1958. His last US hit was "Happy" which reached number 67 in 1973. Between 1958 and 1973 he had 14 US Top 20 hits, of which ten were Top Ten hits. He had one US number one hit, "Mack The Knife" was number one for nine weeks in 1959. His first UK chart hit was "Splish Splash" which reached number 18 in 1958. His last UK hit was the double A-side re-issue of "Dream Lover/Mack The Knife" which reached number 64 in 1979. Between 1958 and 1979 he had ten UK Top 20 hits, of which nine were Top Ten hits. He had two UK number one hits, "Dream Lover" was number one for four weeks in 1959 and "Mack The Knife" was number one for two weeks in 1959.

Answer: Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney was born Gene Francis Alan Pitney in Connecticut, USA, in 1941. He died in Cardiff, Wales, in 2006 aged 65. He was found dead in the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff while on a tour of the UK. It was later established that he had a heart disease, atherosclerosis (a thickening of the artery wall). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Gene Pitney's connection to the people and places in the question is that he had a number four hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" in 1962 which was the title of the 1962 movie that Lee Marvin starred in as Liberty Valance. He had a number 12 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 with "Mecca" and a number 17 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" in 1963. He wrote "Rubber Ball", a number six hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for Bobby Vee in 1961 and also wrote "Hello Mary Lou", a number nine hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for Rick Nelson in 1961. He sang "That Girl Belongs To Yesterday" a number 49 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for himself in 1964, which was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.

His first US chart hit was "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away" which reached number 39 in 1961. It reached number 26 on the UK chart the same year. His last US chart hit was "She Lets Her Hair Down (Early In The Morning)" which reached number 89 in 1970. Between 1961 and 1970 he had ten US Top 20 hits, of which four were Top Ten hits. He never achieved a US number one hit. Between 1961 and 1989 he had 12 UK Top 20 hits, of which 11 were Top Ten hits. The last of those 10 was "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" a duet with Marc Almond which was number one for four weeks on the UK chart in 1989. It was a re-recording of Gene Pitney's own hit which had reached number five on the UK chart in 1967. The original did not chart in the US and the 1989 re-recording was not released in the US, as it was thought that it might be assumed that it was a gay love duet as Marc Almond is gay. It was Gene Pitney's only UK number one hit.

Answer: Del Shannon

Del Shannon was born Charles Weedon Westover in Michigan, USA in 1934. He died in California, USA in 1990 aged 55 from a self inflicted gunshot wound while suffering from depression. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

His first US chart hit was "Runaway", it was number one for four weeks in 1961. His last US chart hit was "Sea Of Love" which reached number 33 in 1982. It did not chart in the UK. Between 1961 and 1982 he had four US Top 20 hits of which three were Top Ten hits. His first UK chart hit was "Runaway" which was number one for three weeks in 1961. His last UK chart hit was "Stranger In Town" which reached number 40 in 1965. He had eight UK Top 20 hits, all of them reached the Top Ten. "Runaway" was his only US/UK number one hit. He was the first artist to have a US hit with a Lennon/McCartney song when he took "From Me To You" to number 77 in 1963. It was not released as a single in the UK.

Answer: Levi Stubbs (The Four Tops)

Levi Stubbs was born Levi Stubbles in Michigan, USA, in 1936. He died in Michigan, USA, in 2008 aged 72. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 1995 and later suffered a stroke that prevented him touring with the group; he died in his sleep. Levi Stubbs was the lead singer of The Four Tops who never had a line up change from 1953 to 1997. They were formed in Detroit as The Four Aims with lead singer Levi Stubbs, Renaldo "Obie " Benson, Abdul "Duke" Fakir and Lawrence Payton. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Their first US chart hit was "Baby I Need Your Loving" which reached number 11. It did not chart in the UK. Their last US chart hit was "Indestructible" which reached number 35 in 1988. It reached number 30 on the UK chart in 1989. Between 1964 and 1988 The Four Tops had 18 US Top 20 hits of which seven were Top Ten hits. They had two US number one hits, "I Can't Help Myself" was number one for two weeks in 1965 and "Reach Out I'll Be There" was number one for two weeks in 1966. Their first UK chart hit was "I Can't Help Myself" which reached number 23 in 1965 and number 10 in 1970. Their last UK hit was "Indestructible" which reached number 30 in 1989. A UK-only mix reached number 55 in 1988. Between 1965 and 1989 they had 18 UK Top 20 hits of which 11 were Top Ten hits. Their only UK/US number one hit was "Reach Out I'll Be There", it was number one for three weeks in 1966.

Answer: Jim Morrison

The Doors' lead singer Jim Morrison was born James Douglas Morrison in Florida, USA, in 1943. He died in Paris, France, in 1971 aged 27. There is still speculation about his death because there was no autopsy. Cocaine and heroin overdoses have been suggested as well as bleeding to death following a hemorrhage. Asthma and a respiratory condition while coughing blood for a period before his death has also been speculated as a contributory factor in his death. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Doors' first US chart hit was "Light My Fire" which was number one for three weeks in 1967. It reached number 49 on the UK chart the same year and number seven in 1991. Their last US chart hit was "Gloria" which reached number 71 in 1984. Between 1967 and 1984 The Doors had six US top 20 hits of which three were Top Ten hits. They had two US number one hits, "Light My Fire" was number one for three weeks in 1967 and "Hello, I Love You" was number one for two weeks in 1968. Their first UK chart hit was "Light My Fire" which reached number 49 in 1967 and number seven in 1991. Their last UK hit was the re-issue of "Riders On The Storm" which reached number 68 in 1991. Between 1967 and 1991 they had two UK Top 20 Hits, of which one reached the Top Ten. They never had a UK number one hit.

Of the alternative answers, Eddie Cochran died in Bath Somerset, UK, in 1960 and is buried in Cypress California, USA. Jimi Hendrix died in Kensington London, UK, in 1970 and is buried in Renton Washington, USA. Cass Elliot died in Mayfair London, UK, in 1974 and is buried in Los Angeles California, USA. Strange but true, Keith Moon the drummer with The Who died in the same apartment four years later. The apartment belonged to singer Harry Nilsson who died in Agoura Hills California, USA in 1994.