"Name" the Band/Artist Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lady Gaga

'Alejandro' was written by Lady Gaga and RedOne. Released in 2009, Lady Gaga's musical inspiration apparently came from two Swedish groups - Ace of Base and ABBA. Gaga said she was particularly inspired by ABBA's song 'Fernando' (which makes sense as she sings 'Fernando' in the lyrics).
When asked about the meaning behind the song, Gaga replied that its about "the purity of my friendships with my gay friends, and how I've been unable to find that with a straight man in my life".

'Alejandro' was very successful, charting in over 30 nations, where in most cases it made it to the top five, and in the U.S. it became Lady Gaga's seventh consecutive top ten hit.

The video however, did not appeal to everyone, and in fact, raised a bit of a ruckus. In it, Lady Gaga, who is dressed as a nun, dances in a cabaret with a group of soldiers. At one point she is seen swallowing rosary beads while almost-naked men dance around her. She also has a red cross placed in a rather conspicuous place on the personage.
No judgement here, this is funtrivia, but it's not a video clip for everyone.

And now for some of the lyrics:

"Don't call my name/Don't call my name/ Alejandro/ I'm not your babe/
I'm not your babe, Fernando/
Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch/
Just smoke my cigarette and hush/
Don't call my name/Don't call my name, Roberto/Alejandro/ Alejandro/ Ale-ale-jandro/Ale-ale-jandro"

Answer: The Beatles

'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' which was released in 1967, is by The Beatles (aka 'The Fab Four'). The song was primarily written by John Lennon, but credit was also given to Paul McCartney. For years, people said the song was about LSD (the hallucinogenic drug); not just because the initials of the song happened to spell 'LSD', but because of the 'psychedelic' genre the music fell into.
Lennon was keen to set the record straight on this, saying that his inspiration was actually a painting done by his (then) three-year-old son, Julian. The painting depicted Julian's friend and classmate, Lucy. When John asked Julian what his artwork was called, Julian replied, 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.' John Lennon recounted in an interview that he thought 'these words were beautiful' and he immediately started writing a song.

The lyrics, on the other hand, were inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland', according to Lennon. When it was released, it became a number one hit in both the US and Canada.

Just as an added note, a group named John Fred and the Playboy Band made a parody of the song in 1968. It was called "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)." LOL.

And now, here are some of the lyrics:

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river/
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies/ Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly/ A girl with kaleidoscope eyes...
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green/
Towering over your head/Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes/And she's gone/
Lucy in the sky with diamonds/
Lucy in the sky with diamonds/
Lucy in the sky with diamonds/"

Answer: Neil Diamond

'Sweet Caroline' was written and recorded by Neil Diamond. It was released in 1969, and made it to the top of the charts in the U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa in the same year.

The inspiration for the song has two different versions - and both, amazingly, are from Neil Diamond! The first version, which Diamond gave in 2011, was that his inspiration had come from JFK's daughter, Caroline. He said he'd seen a photo of young Caroline on horseback, and this had created a lasting impression with him. However, in 2014, he said the song was about the wife he was married to in 1969, Marcia, but he needed a three syllable word to make the melody work, so he used 'Caroline' instead. (In 2014 the song had been around for 45 years, so I think we can forgive him for not remembering the exact inspiration!)
Either way, the song has stood the testament of time and is still well known and loved.

I know there are probably few people who wouldn't know these very famous lyrics, but here are some of them anyway:

"Where it began, I can't begin to knowing/
But then I know it's growing strong/
Was in the spring/ And spring became the summer/ Who'd have believed you'd come along/ Hands, touching hands/
Reaching out, touching me, touching you/
Sweet Caroline"

Answer: Cliff Richard

'Carrie' was co-written by Terry Britten and BA Robertson. Performed by (Sir) Cliff Richard, it was released in late 1979.

If you - like me - had no idea why anyone was looking for Carrie, or where she managed to get herself to, rest assured - the song was meant to be mysterious, according to comments by both Robertson and Cliff Richards. Robertson said, "You don't know whether Carrie is homeless or whether she's squatting or what. You don't know whether Cliff, as the narrator, is the husband, boyfriend, lover, brother or father". Richards further commented: "A guy turns up in the neighborhood asking where Carrie is. The very last line goes: 'Carrie doesn't live, doesn't live...' You're left thinking: 'Is she dead? Has she been murdered?'"

'Carrie' reached 'silver' certification in the UK, with 250,000 singles being sold.

And now for some lyrics:

"Carrie doesn't live here anymore/ Carrie used to room on the second floor/
Sorry that she left no forwarding address/
That was known to me/ Carrie doesn't live here anymore/ You could always ask at the corner store/ Carrie had a date with her own kind of fate/ It's plain to see/
Carrie"

Answer: Costello & the Attractions

'Oliver's Army' was written by the English songwriter/singer, Elvis Costello, and sung by Costello & the Attractions. Released in 1979, it an anti-war song inspired by 'The Troubles' in Ireland, as well as 'imperialistic battles' in other parts of the world. Costello travelled to Ireland in 1978 and witnessed British soldiers - or 'mere boys' as he put it - patrolling the streets of Belfast; the song was therefore based on the concept that 'it's always the working class who have to do the killing'. He actually wrote the song on the plane, on his way back from Ireland.

The title 'Oliver's Army' was a reference to Oliver Cromwell, who formed the first properly trained British army, and the piano performance in the song was inspired by the song 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA.

'Oliver's Army' did very well for Elvis Costello; it was his most successful UK single and it hit number two in England, where it stayed for three weeks.

And now for some lyrics:

"Don't start that talking/ I could talk all night/ My mind was sleepwalking/
While I'm putting the world to right/
Call careers information/ Have you got yourself an occupation?
Oliver's army is here to stay/ Oliver's army are on their way/ And I would rather be anywhere else/ But here today"

Answer: Elton John

'Song for Guy,' which was released in 1978, is one of my favourite musical pieces, possibly because I knew the story behind it (since it was written on the sleeve of the 7 inch single I owned.) The 5.07 minute song is mostly instrumental until the last 1.30 seconds of it, where Elton sings "Life, isn't everything, isn't everything, isn't everything". (It isn't, as some people think, 'Life is a delicate thing'!)

According to Elton John, he was writing a song on a overcast Sunday while he was hungover, and saw himself floating and looking down on his own body. Feeling uncharacteristically morbid, he started writing a song about death. The next day, he found out that the company's messenger boy, a seventeen-year old called Guy Burchett, had been killed the previous day in a motorcycle crash, at virtually the exact time that Elton was writing the song. He therefore called his piece 'Song for Guy' as a tribute to Guy Burchett. The song and the story are very moving.

But this made me smile: When Gianni Versace met Elton, he told him that 'Song for Guy' was his favourite Elton John song, and how brave Elton was to have done it. Elton was a bit surprised - he thought the song was certainly different from his normal repertoire, but not necessarily 'brave'. It eventually came out that Versace thought Elton's song was called 'Song for A Gay'!

We've pretty much gone over the the lyrics, but here they are anyway:

"Life/ Isn't everything/ Isn't everything/Isn't everything/ Life/ Life/ Life/ Life/ Life/ Life."

Answer: Rod Stewart

'Maggie May' was performed by Rod Stewart and written by Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, a British guitarist. Released in 1971, the song is about a boy who has a relationship with an older woman, and the conflicting emotions that arise from this. It was inspired by Rod Stewart's first sexual encounter, which (he's quite happy to recount) occurred at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival in the UK in 1961. The lady's name in question wasn't Maggie May though; instead the song title came from an old Irish folk song called 'Maggie Mae'. Stewart changed it to 'Maggie May', because he liked the play on words it allowed him when introducing the song to an audience. He liked to say: "This is 'Maggie May' - sometimes she did, sometimes she didn't."

'Maggie May' was a huge hit in the UK and in the U.S., reaching number one in both countries. It stayed on the Billboard Top 100 for 5 months.

And now for some lyrics:

"Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you/ It's late September and I really should be back at school/ I know I keep you amused, but I feel I'm being used/Oh, Maggie, I couldn't have tried any more / You led me away from home, just to save you from being alone/ You stole my heart, and that's what really hurts."

Answer: Dexys Midnight Runners

'Come on Eileen' is recognised as a one-hit-wonder from Birmingham (UK) band, Dexys (no apostrophe) Midnight Runners. Released in 1982, it did so well, it managed to knock Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' off the top spot in the U.S. charts. It was also the biggest selling single for the whole of 1982 in the U.K. Though the band stated they weren't into drugs or alcohol because their music came first, the name of the band did come from the amphetamine drug 'Dexedrine' or 'dexys'.

The song itself is based on a relationship Kevin Rowland, the lead singer, had with his girlfriend, Eileen. Rowland had known Eileen for a while, as they grew up together. Rowland was a choir boy who came from a good Catholic family, and certain things he wanted to do, he felt guilty about doing (if you follow my drift). In the song, he is essentially wanting to break free from conformity and drudgery and old-fashioned concepts. This is evidenced by the lyrics: "These people 'round here, wear beaten-down eyes, sunk in smoke-dried faces/So resigned to what their fate is."

He and Eileen of course, aren't going to have this happen to them though, as the lyrics clearly testify: "No not us/We are far too young and clever".

Well you have a lot of the lyrics now, but I won't deprive you of a good old "too-ra-loo-rye-ay", so here are some more lyrics:

"Come on, Eileen/ Oh, I swear (what he means)/ At this moment/ You mean everything/ You in that dress/ My thoughts, I confess/ Verge on dirty
Ah, come on, Eileen/ Come on, Eileen
These people 'round here/ Wear beaten down eyes, sunk in smoke-dried face/
They're so resigned to what their fate is/
But not us (no never)/ But not us (not ever)/ We are far too young and clever
(Remember)/ Too-ra-loo-ra/
Too-ra-loo-rye-ay
And you'll hum this tune forever..."

(Yes, we probably will!)

Answer: Gilbert O'Sullivan

Gilbert O'Sullivan, an Irishman, was born Raymond Edward O'Sullivan. He released 'Clair' in 1972. His manager was Gordon Mills, and the song was about Gordon's daughter, three year-old Clair, who O'Sullivan, as a 16 year-old, used to regularly babysit. The song depicts his joy at being able to babysit for this little girl, but the problems inherent with trying to get her to go to bed. O'Sullivan was one of six children himself, so he was used to dealing with a toddler's many excuses at bed time. Gordon plays the solo harmonica on the track, and it is the real life Clair that giggles adorably at the very end.

The song reached number one in the U.K. and number two in the U.S.

O'Sullivan had a couple of other songs that became hits, namely 'Alone Again (Naturally)' and 'Get Down' (You're a bad dog baby, but I still want you around).

Here are some of the lyrics of 'Clair':

"Clair/ Clair/ Clair / I've told you before
Don't you dare/ Get back into bed/
Can't you see that it's late/ No you can't have a drink / Oh all right then / But wait just a minute/ While I, in an effort to babysit/ Catch up on my breath/
What there is left of it/ You can be murder
At this hour of the day/ But in the morning the sun/ Will see my lifetime away
Oh, Clair / Clair/ Oh, Clair.

Answer: John Denver

'Annie's Song,' aka 'Annie's Song (You Fill Up My Senses)' was both written and performed by the late, great John Denver. He wrote it in 1973, and his inspiration was his (then) wife, Annie Martell Denver (m. 1967-1982). The story goes that Denver had recently split up with Annie, but after a brief separation, they had got back together. After they reunited they went sking in Aspen. While Denver was sitting alone on a ski-lift, he was overcome with emotion at both the beauty of his surroundings, and how happy he was to be back with his wife. The entire song apparently came to him in the ten minutes he was on the ski lift.

There's no getting around it; this song is really emotive. I literally cry when I hear it which is why some critics label it a 'tear-jerker' and others call it 'a fine love song'. It hit number one in the U.K., the U.S., Canada and Ireland and, because of its romantic nature, is often played at weddings as the 'first dance' song.

John Denver sadly lost his life when his light (homebuilt) aircraft went down in a bay in California in 1997. He was just 53 years old.

Below are some of the beautiful lyrics:

"You fill up my senses/ Like a night in a forest / Like the mountains in springtime/
Like a walk in the rain/ Like a storm in the desert/ Like a sleepy blue ocean/ You fill up my senses/ Come fill me again/
Come, let me love you/ Let me give my life to you/ Let me drown in your laughter/
Let me die in your arms/ Let me lay down beside you/ Let me always be with you/
Come, let me love you/ Come love me again"