John Lennon and The Beatles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anna (Go To Him)

"Anna (Go To Him)" was written by Arthur Alexander. It was track three on side one of The Beatles' 1963 UK album "Please Please Me".

"Anna (Go To Him)" was a personal favourite of John Lennon but unfortunately, he had a bad cold on the day The Beatles recorded the song and it had an adverse effect on his voice.

The Beatles' UK record label Parlophone's US sister record label, Capitol, showed little interest in releasing records by The Beatles. The small Vee-Jay record label released "Anna (Go To Him)" on the "Introducing... The Beatles" album on January 10, 1964. Vee-Jay records also released "Anna (Go to Him)" on the E.P. "Souvenir of Their Visit: The Beatles in the US", on March 23, 1964. Capitol Records then released it on the "The Early Beatles" album on March 22, 1965.

Answer: All I've Got To Do

"All I've Got To Do" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track two on side one of The Beatles' 1963 UK album "with the beatles".

John Lennon said he was "trying to do Smokey Robinson again," and Music critic, journalist and author Ian MacDonald, compared it to "(You Can) Depend on Me" by the Miracles, both musically and lyrically. Richie Unterberger of Allmusic commented that it sounded like Robinson but also like Arthur Alexander (the writer of the song and who made the original recording of it).

According to the author of "The Beatles and their Revolutionary Bass Player" Dennis Alstrand, the song is the first time in rock and roll or rock music, in which the bass player plays chords as a vital part of the song.

Answer: I Should Have Known Better

"I Should Have Known Better" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track two on side one of The Beatles' 1964 UK album "A Hard Day's Night".

"I Should Have Known Better" was released as the B-Side of "A Hard Day's Night" in the U.S.A. and peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Beatles in 1964. It was released in the UK as the B-Side of "Yesterday", in 1976.

It was also a number one hit in Chile, The Netherlands and Norway. A version by the British group The Naturals on The Beatles' record label, Parlophone, peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964.

Answer: No Reply

"No Reply" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track one on side one of The Beatles 1964 UK album "Beatles For Sale".

"No Reply" was given to The Beatles stablemate Tommy Quickly; it was recorded by him but never released. Maybe if it had been released, Tommy Quickly would have had more than a minor hit on the UK Top 40 and been more than a footnote in The Beatles' history.

John Lennon began writing the song in Tahiti while on holiday there in May 1964 with George Harrison and their wives, Cynthia and Pattie. It could have been The Beatles' follow up single to "A Hard Day's Night" but "I Feel Fine" was released and "No Reply" was included on The Beatles "Beatles For Sale" album.

Answer: Slow Down

"Slow Down" was written by Larry Williams. It was a track on The Beatles' 1964 UK E. P. (Extended Play 45). It was released as a single in the U.S.A. with "Matchbox" on the A-Side and peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. It was also a track on The Beatles' album "Something New" also released in the U.S.A. in 1964.

The original recording of "Slow Down" by Larry Williams was released in 1958 with "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" which peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Top 100. "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" was also recorded by The Beatles and appeared on their 1965 UK album "Help!".

Answer: Doctor Robert

"Doctor Robert" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track four on side two of their 1966 UK album "Revolver".

There have been many theories as to who Dr. Robert may have been or if indeed he was based on a real person at all. A likely candidate was Dr. Robert Freymann. who was around 60 years old when the song was released in 1966.

Dr. Freymann was a German born New York doctor, well known to New York's finest and various artists for his vitamin B-12 injections, which also may have contained liberal doses of amphetamine. He once bragged that in ten minutes, he could rattle off a list of 100 names of his celebrity patients.

Answer: Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!

"Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney.

Many of the lyrics came from a 19th-century poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal, appearance at Rochdale, Lancashire, England, in 1843. John Lennon found the poster in a antiques shop in Sevenoaks, Kent, England, when The Beatles were filming promotional films for "Strawberry Fields Forever" in 1967.

"Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" was banned from being played by the BBC along with two other songs from the "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and "A Day In The Life".

Answer: Bungalow Bill

"The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" was wrtten by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track six on side one of The Beatles 1968 UK album "The Beatles" (The White Album)

"The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" was written while John Lennon was at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikes, India. it was written about an American named Richard A. Cooke III (known as Rik), who was visiting his mother at the ashram. Rik went out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun, this mocking song shows Lennon's views about Rik's unenlightened attitude.

Answer: Mean Mr. Mustard

"Mean Mr. Mustard" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track five on side two (the third song of an eight song medley), of The Beatles' 1969 UK album "Abbey Road".

The ten bob note that Mr. Mustard kept up his nose, refers to a 10 shilling note before decimalization in the UK (D-Day) on February 15, 1971. That bank note has now become a 50p coin.

It is believed that John Lennon wrote the song after reading an article under the headline "A Mean Husband Shaved in the Dark", in the UK newspaper the "Daily Record". It is about a man named John Mustard who lived in Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK.

Answer: Across The Universe

"Across The Universe" was written by John Lennon but credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was track three on side one of The Beatles 1970 UK album "Let It Be"

The original version appeared on the charity compilation album "No One's Gonna Change Our World" in 1969. David Bowie recorded a version of the song for his 1975 album "Young Americans". This version featured John Lennon on acoustic guitar and backing vocals.

John Lennon started to write the song after his first wife Cynthia had fallen asleep after going on at him for some time. He kept hearing her words flowing like an endless stream. I wonder if she ever got any song writing royalties?