My Favorite Songs of the 1950s - Part 1 Quiz

Answer: a cold

Frank Loesser wrote "Adelaide's Lament" in 1950 for the Broadway musical, "Guys and Dolls." The song was first sung by Vivian Blaine, who originated the role of Adelaide on Broadway and reprised it in the 1955 movie version.

Adelaide has a pop-psychology book, and tells Nathan before he leaves that her symptoms, "might be caused by psychology." She believes her common cold is caused by her resentment of Nathan continuously putting off marrying her.

Since then others have recorded the song including Norma Donaldson, Barbra Streisand, Faith Prince, and Debbie Reynolds.

Answer: Killarney

"Christmas in Killarney" was written by John Redmond, James Cavanaugh, and Frank Weldon in 1950. That year it was recorded by both Dennis Day and Percy Faith. In 1951, Bing Crosby recorded the number; his recording is perhaps the most well-known.

In 1981, the song was featured in the Rankin/Bass TV special, "The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold."

Since it was written other artists such as Bobby Vinton, Anne Murray, the Irish Rovers, and Neil Diamond have recorded it.

Answer: city

Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote "Silver Bells" in 1950. The song was originally called, "Tinkle Bells," until Livingston told his wife, who asked, "Are you out of your mind? Do you know what the word tinkle is?" The song was first sung in the movie "The Lemon Drop Kid." William Frawley started the song, and then it was sung by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell.

Bing Crosby and Carol Richards were the first to record the song.

Since its release, many artists have recorded the song. Some of these include Dean Martin, Perry Como, Michael Buble, and Elvis Presley.

Answer: Guys and Dolls

"Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" was written by Frank Loesser for the 1950 Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls." In Act 2 of the show, Nicely-Nicely Johnson shares a dream he had, with this song. It was first sung by Stubby Kaye on Broadway, who also reprised the role in the 1955 film version of the musical.

The song is the 11 o'clock number in "Guys and Dolls." The 11 o'clock number is another term for the show stopper near the end of a show.

Since then others have recorded the song as well including Don Henley, James Taylor, Jennifer Nettles, and Walter Bobbie who played Nicely-Nicely in the 1992 Broadway revival starring Nathan Lane.

Answer: There's no one there.

Irving Berlin wrote "You're Just in Love" in 1950 for the Broadway musical "Call Me Madam." It was first performed by Ethel Merman (as Sally Adams) and Russell Nype (as Kenneth Gibson). Ethel Merman reprised her role in the 1953 movie version, where she sang the song with Donald O'Connor.

The song uses counterpoint, where one person (usually the male) sings about all the things he notices. Meanwhile, the other person (usually the female) explains why. The reason is that the person is "just in love."

Since then others have recorded the song as well. People such as Perry Como/Fontane Sisters, Rosemary Clooney/Guy Mitchell, Ethel Merman/Dick Haymes, and Louis Prima/Sam Butera recorded it.

Answer: Happy Trails

"Happy Trails" was written by Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans in 1951. It was first used in their radio show, then on the TV show of the same name: "The Roy Rodgers Show." They recorded it in 1952.

Other artists have also recorded the number, including Janis Joplin, Van Halen, Randy Travis, and Don McLean.

Answer: holly

Meredith Willson wrote "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" in 1951. It was first recorded by Perry Como that same year.

Since then many other artists have recorded this song including Johnny Mathis, Michael Buble, Dean Martin, and Pentatonix.

Answer: The King and I

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the song "Shall We Dance?" in 1951 for "The King and I". It was first sung by Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence. Yul Brynner reprised his role for the 1956 movie version, which also starred Deborah Kerr. However, Deborah Kerr did not do her own singing, it is Marni Nixon's voice you hear singing.

Since then others have also recorded the song including, Julie Andrews/Ben Kingsley, Faith Prince/Lou Diamond Phillips, Kelli O'Hara/Ken Watanabe, and Gene Kelly/Carol Lawrence.

Answer: 364

"The Unbirthday Song" was written by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston for the 1951 Disney full-length animated movie, "Alice in Wonderland." The song was sung by Ed Wynn (as the Mad Hatter), Jerry Colonna (as the March Hare), and Kathryn Beaumont (as Alice).

Rosemary Clooney has also recorded the song.

Answer: Nat King Cole

Irving Gordon wrote "Unforgettable" in 1951. That same year, Nelson Riddle did an arrangement of the song which was then recorded by Nat King Cole. Cole died in 1965, but in the 1980s his daughter Natalie Cole started performing a duet with her father to this song, by using his recording while she sang the song live. This version was recorded in 1991 and reached 14 on the charts. In 2000, the original Nat King Cole version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Since then others have recorded the song including Captain & Tennille, Sammy Davis, Jr, Aretha Franklin, and Lou Rawls.