Deal Me an Ace, Music Style Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dame Shirley Bassey

Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey was born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, on 8 January 1937 and her talent was discovered while she was still a teenager. She sang the theme song of the 1971 film 'Diamonds Are Forever', which was Sir Sean Connery's sixth and final film portraying Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.

She also sang the theme songs of two other Bond films; 'Goldfinger' in 1964 and later 'Moonraker' in 1979, which starred Sir Roger Moore in the title role. She was honoured with a CBE in 1994 followed by a Damehood five years later.

Answer: Billy Ray Cyrus

'Achy Breaky Heart' was Billy Ray Cyrus's first major hit single in 1992, appearing on 'Some Gave All', his first album. The song did very well in the charts, particularly in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. The song had previously been a hit with slightly different lyrics by the Macey Brothers, entitled 'Don't Tell My Heart' and has been covered (and parodied) by several other singers and bands.

Billy Ray Cyrus is the father of actress and singer Miley Cyrus of 'Hannah Montana' fame.

Answer: Styx

Written by Styx's then lead vocalist Dennis DeYoung, the song 'Queen of Spades' is on the band's eighth album, appropriately called 'Pieces of Eight', which was released in 1978. The album was well received and went platinum in the United States and Canada. Three songs charted particularly well from the album; 'Blue Collar Man (Long Nights), 'Sing for the Day' and 'Renegade'.

The band have had three other platinum albums too, the most recent being ''Paradise Theatre' in 1981. Dennis DeYoung left Styx in 1999.

Answer: Steve Miller Band

A big hit for the Steve Miller Band in 1973 from their album of the same name, 'The Joker' made number one in the US charts with its catchy tune, where it went platinum, selling over five million copies. It also charted highly in several other countries, achieving gold status in the UK and Sweden.

Some years later, in 2005, the song was also a hit for UK singer Fatboy Slim. The Steve Miller Band originated in San Francisco in 1966. Their first album was 'Children of the Future' in 1968.

Answer: 50 Cent

American rapper 50 Cent was born Curtis James Jackson III in New York City in 1975. His hit 'In da Club' came from his first album, 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'', which was released in 2003 to great acclaim. The single released from the album topped the charts and won many awards including two in The American Music Awards in the categories Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. Popular all over the world, he has won many prestigious awards including the BRIT Award in 2004 for Best International Breakthrough Artist and a total of six World Music Awards, five in 2003 followed by a further award in 2007.

Answer: Motörhead

From the 1980 album of the same name, the song 'Ace of Spades' was released as a single just prior to the album and made number 15 in the UK charts. Following the death of lead singer Lemmy Kilmister in 2015, the remaining members of Motörhead discontinued the band the following day. The song was then re-released as a single and peaked at number 13.

Answer: Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, was born in New York City in 1986. 'Poker Face', released as a single from her first album, 'The Fame', was a huge hit for her in 2008 where it topped the singles charts in several countries. She has won several awards for her work including an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category with her recording of 'Shallow' from the 2018 remake of the film 'A Star is Born', in which she starred as the character Ally.

In cards the term 'poker face' came about through the game of poker, where it means to keep your face from displaying your emotions lest you give away what cards are in your hand.

Answer: Wham!

George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in 1963, the same year as his singing partner in the duo Wham!, Andrew Ridgely. They were very successful in the 1980s, topping the charts with songs such as 'Careless Whisper' and 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' before breaking up in 1986. 'Club Tropicana' reached number four in the UK charts in 1983. George Michael tragically died aged 53 on Christmas Day 2016.

Answer: Lonnie Donegan

'Jack O'Diamonds' was sung by Lonnie Donegan in 1957 and charted at number 14 in the UK. It was a traditional song which originally came to fame when sung by American singer 'Blind Lemon' Jefferson (1893-1929) as long ago as 1926.

Anthony James 'Lonnie' Donegan (1931- 2002) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His speciality was skiffle music, in which he became known as 'The King of Skiffle'. The songs for which he is probably best known were 'Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)', which made number three in the UK and number five in the USA, and 'My Old Man's a Dustman' which topped the charts in the UK and other countries in 1960.

Answer: The Beatles

What can I say about The Beatles that hasn't been said already? From their early appearances in Liverpool's The Cavern Club to their memorable rooftop performance at Apple Corps HQ in London in early 1969 they had fans all over the world. With awards too numerous to mention they had an adoring public in the palms of their hands.

The world was shocked at John Lennon's murder in New York in 1980 and again when George Harrison was lost after a battle with cancer in 2021 in Los Angeles, at the comparatively early age of 58.

At the time of this quiz's writing, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr, both now knighted for services to music, are still individually active in the music industry at the time of writing, to great acclaim.