Incomplete Instrumentals of the '50s & '60s Quiz

Answer: Rag

"Britannia Rag", written by Winifred Atwell, peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart for Winifred Atwell in 1953. It did not chart in the U.S.A.

Una Winifred Atwell came from Tunapuna in Trinidad and Tobago and took the UK and Australia by storm in the '40s and '50s. She first went to America in the early '40s and played at The Town Hall in New York on 10 May 1945. She was part of a presentation by the Altruss Opera Company, starring the tenor Paul A. Smith. Later in 1945 she left for England to make broadcasts for the BBC on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

She released a number of records in the early '50s, "Britannia Rag" was the first of 11 Top Ten hits on the UK Singles Chart between 1953 and 1959. Two of those hits made it to number one, "Let's Have Another Party" (number one for five weeks in 1954) and "The Poor People Of Paris" (number one for three weeks in 1956). She was the first black artist and female instrumentalist to hit the top of the UK Singles Chart.

She made many tours of Australia and had her own TV show which led her to settle in Sydney in the '70s. She became an Australian citizen in the '80s.

Winifred Atwell died of a heart attack in Seaforth, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the 28 February 1983 aged 69. She had been staying with friends after a fire destroyed her home in Narrabeen, Sydney, Australia.

Answer: Saddle

"Side Saddle" written by Russ Conway was number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart for Russ Conway in 1959.

Russ Conway was born Trevor Herbert Stanford in Bristol, England, on the 2 September 1925. He taught himself to play the piano during a three-year term in a Borstal detention centre, for stealing from his employers. He was in the Royal Navy during WWII and was awarded the DSM. During his service he lost the tip of the third finger of his right hand while using a bread slicer. In 1955 he was playing in a London club, got talent-spotted, and was signed to EMI's Columbia record label.

Despite Rock'n'Roll in the '50s, Russ Conway was the UK's top-selling artist in 1959. Between 1957 and 1963 he had 20 hits on the UK Singles Chart which included 11 Top 20 hits, seven of which were Top Ten hits and two were number one hits. His second number one hit was "Roulette", it was written by Russ Conway and it was number one for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1959. He received a silver disc for sales exceeding 250,000 and became the first solo instrumentalist to achieve consecutive number one hits on the UK Singles Chart.

Russ Conway died of cancer in Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, on the 16 November 2000 aged 75.

Answer: Gunn

"Peter Gunn", written by Henry Mancini, peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 for Duane Eddy in 1960. It peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in 1959.

The original recording by Henry Mancini was used as the theme tune for the TV show "Peter Gunn" starring Craig Stevens. It ran for 114 episodes from 1958 to 1961. The music from the show earned Mancini an Emmy Award and two Grammys. The album "The Music from Peter Gunn", was voted Album of the Year at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959 and was number one on Billboard's album chart.

Duane Eddy's version of "Peter Gunn" was originally released on his 1959 album "Especially for You". It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard album chart in 1959 and at number six on the UK album chart the same year. The English trio Art Of Noise released a version of "Peter Gunn" featuring Duane Eddy in 1986 and it peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year.

Answer: Walk

"Sleep Walk" written by Santo Farina/Johnny Farina/Ann Farina was number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for Santo and Johnny in 1959. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart the same year.

Santo and Johnny Farina were born in Brooklyn, New York. The brothers formed a duo while in school and started to perform at events in the New York boroughs. When Johnny turned 16 in 1957, he told their father that they wanted to quit school to pursue a career as rock stars. Two years later they were at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, with a song they wrote when they couldn't get to sleep and it earned them a Gold Record.

Santo And Johnny had five more hits on the Billboard chart between 1959 and 1964 but none of them reached the Billboard Top 20. The duo broke up in 1976 and they were inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2002.

Answer: Beat

"Teen Beat" written by Sandy Nelson/Arthur Egnoian, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 for Sandy Nelson in 1959. It peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart the same year.

Before he released any singles of his own, Sandy Nelson was a session drummer. He played on such hits as "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by The Teddy Bears (1958), "Alley-Oop" by The Hollywood Argyles (1960) and "A Thousand Stars" by Kathy Young and The Innocents (1960).

He first hit the charts with "Teen Beat" in 1959. He followed that up with "Let There Be Drums" written by Sandy Nelson/Richard Podolor which peaked at number seven in 1961. It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart the same year. Co-writer Richard Podolor (later a songwriter and record producer), played guitar on both "Teen Beat" and "Let There Be Drums".

In 1963 Sandy Nelson lost his right foot and part of that leg in a motorcycle accident. He returned to performing in 1964 but had no more hits after "Teen Beat '65" peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. He did however release more than 30 albums.

Sandy Nelson died of complications of a stroke (he had in 2017), in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on February 14, 2022 aged 83.

Answer: Fly

"Beatnik Fly" written by Tom King/Ira Mack peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 for Johnny and The Hurricanes in 1960. It peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart the same year.

Johnny and the Hurricanes were an American instrumental rock band from Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. They were led by saxophonist Johnny Paris (born John Matthew Pocisk, in Walbridge, Ohio, U.S.A). Between 1959 and 1961 they had nine hits on the Billboard Hot 100, two made the Top 20 and one "Red River Rock" made the Top Ten peaking at number five.

During the same period they had seven hits on the UK Singles Chart; six made the Top 20 with four making the Top Ten. The highest placed were "Red River Rock" (1959) and "Rocking Goose" (1960), both peaking at number three.

They had a following in Europe and in December 1962 they played at the Star-Club in Hamburg. A little-known group who had just had a minor hit (number 17) on the UK Chart a few months earlier, named The Beatles, served as an opening act.

Johnny Paris died of sepsis, pneumonia and hypersplenism in the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A., on May 1, 2006, aged 65.

Answer: Date

"Last Date" written by Floyd Cramer, peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for Floyed Cramer in 1960. It did not chart in the UK.

This Louisiana man taught himself to play the piano, and his slip-note or bent-note style, influenced many future pianists. In 1955 he played in Elvis Presley's backing group with Bill Black, Jimmy Day, D.J. Fontana and Scotty Moore but left when Elvis wanted them to move to Hollywood. However, he did play piano on "Heartbreak Hotel".

Remaining in Nashvile he became an in-demand session man and played on many records for such artists as Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, The Everly Brothers, Don Gibson, Brenda Lee and Roy Orbison. His sound became so popular that he began touring as a solo act, instead of just being a sideman.

His follow up single to "Last Date" was the self penned "On The Rebound". It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 and was number one for one week on the UK Singles Chart the same year.

Floyd Cramer died of lung cancer in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., on December 31, 1997, aged 64.

Answer: Land

"Wonderful Land", written by Jerry Lordan, was number one for eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart for The Shadows in 1962. It did not chart in the U.S.A.

They started off as The Drifters in 1958 and served as the backing group for Cliff Richard. The owner of the American group The Drifters threatened legal action so the name of the group was changed to The Shadows. The line up was then Hank Marvin (lead guitar), Bruce Welch (rhythm guitar), Jet Harris (bass guitar, left in 1962) and Tony Meehan (drums, left in 1961).

Not only did they back Cliff Richard on many hits, they also had 16 Top Ten hits on the UK Singles Chart themselves, between 1960 and 1981. This included the five number one hits, "Apache" (number one for five weeks in 1960), "Kon-Tiki" (number one for one week in 1961), "Wonderful Land" (number one for eight weeks in 1962), "Dance On" (number one for one week in 1963) and "Foot Tapper" (number one for one week in 1963).

The Shadows split up and went their separate ways (for the first time) in 1990. They later got back together on an ad hoc basis. They released the album "Reunited", a 50th anniversary album with Cliff Richard in 2009.

Answer: Nagila

"Hava Nagila", written by Abraham Idelsohn/Moshe Nathanson (arr. Bo Winberg), peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart for The Spotnicks in 1963. It did not chart in the U.S.A.

They were a duo, The Rebels, in 1956, then became Rock-Teddy and the Blue Caps in 1957, then became The Frazers in 1958 and finally they became The Spotnicks in 1961. They were an instrumental rock group from Sweden comprising of Bo Winberg (lead guitar), Bo Starander (rhythm guitar), Björn Thelin (bass guitar) and Ove Johansson (drums). They wore space suit costumes on stage and were known for their innovative electronic guitar sound.

They never had a number one hit in Sweden but had a number one hit in Norway in 1964 with "Blue Blue Day" and a number one hit in Japan in 1965 with "Karelia".

Answer: O'Hara

"Scarlett O'Hara", written by Jerry Lordan, peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart for Jet Harris and Tony Meehan in 1963. It did not chart in the U.S.A.

Jet Harris (bass guitar) and Tony Meehan (drums) used to be members of The Shadows. In 1961 Meehan left The Shadows to work as an independent arranger/producer and session drummer and from 1962 for Decca records. In 1962 Harris left The Shadows and signed up with Decca records and released some solo records. He had a Top 20 hit when "Main Title Theme From 'Man With The Golden Arm'" peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1962.

They teamed up at Decca records and released "Diamonds" written by Jerry Lordan and on which Jimmy Page played acoustic rhythm guitar. It was number one for three weeks on the UK Singles chart in 1963. The strange thing is that, "Diamonds" replaced their old group The Shadows, who were at number one with "Dance On" and The Shadows had replaced themselves and Cliff Richard who were at number one with "The Next Time"/"Bachelor Boy". The duo's third hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1963 was "Applejack" written by Les Vandyke/Bridget de Mare. It peaked at number four.

Tony Meehan died of head injuries in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, England, on the 28 November 2005 aged 62. This followed a fall down the main staircase at his home in Maida Vale, London, England.

Jet Harris died of throat cancer in Winchester, Hampshire, England, on the 18 March 2011 aged 71.