Obscure Sixties Top Forty Instrumentals Quiz

Answer: Jessie Hill

Jessie Hill was a drummer in New Orleans who worked with performers like Professor Longhair and Huey "Piano" Smith before forming his own band called The House Rockers. He had been working on a number called "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" during his show and when he had fine-tuned it Allen Toussaint produced a demo for him.

The song became a favorite at the 1960 Mardi Gras, propelling it to the national charts. Jessie never enjoyed another Top Forty hit but he composed songs for artists such as Willie Nelson, Sonny and Cher and Ike and Tina Turner. Bill Black's Combo had 1960 Top Forty hits with "Smokie (Part 2)", "Josephine", "Blue Tango" and "Don't Be Cruel". "Tracy's Theme" was a 1960 Top Twenty for Spencer Ross and "Ruby Duby Du" by Tobin Mathews and Co. reached Number 30 in 1960.

Answer: Mr. Lucky/ Henry Mancini and His Orchestra

John Vivyan played the role of professional gambler Mr. Lucky in the television series that ran one season from October, 1959 to June, 1960. The series was developed by Blake Edwards. Blake hired Henry Mancini to compose the theme for Mr. Lucky and Peter Gunn. Pippa Scott played Mr. Lucky's girlfriend, Maggie Shank-Rutherford.
The show was loosely based on a 1943 movie of the same name starring Cary Grant. Despite being a popular show it was canceled when the network could not find a sponsor for the following season.
"The Theme From A Summer Place" by Percy Faith and His Orchestra topped the charts in 1960. "The Theme from "The Apartment" (Jealous Lover)" by Ferrante and Teicher was a Number Ten single. "The Theme from The Unforgiven (The Need for Love)" by Don Costa and His Orchestra made it to Number 27.

Answer: Brass Buttons

"Brass Buttons" reached Number 35 in 1961. The String-A-Longs enjoyed Top Ten chart success with a tune called "Wheels" the same year. Norman Petty produced the Texas group. Petty had a 1956 hit with "Mood Indigo" as The Norman Petty Trio and became known for working such greats as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs.
Keith McCormack, Richard Stevens, Jimmy Torres, Aubrey de Cordova and Don Allen comprised The String-A-Longs. Keith McCormack and his aunt wrote the Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs hit, "Sugar Shack".
"(Ghost) Riders In the Sky" was a 1961 Number 30 hit by The Ramrods. "Hearts Of Stone" by Bill Black's Combo was a Number 20 instrumental. "Wack Wack" was a 1964 Number Ten instrumental by The Young-Holt Trio.

Answer: Jack Nitzsche

Jack Nitzsche was a saxophone player from Michigan who relocated to Los Angeles. He became part of Phil Spector's group of musicians and composed several songs including "Needles and Pins". He composed and recorded "The Lonely Surfer" in 1963.
He arranged the Tina Turner classic, "River Deep, Mountain High", worked with The Rolling Stones on their early albums and on Neil Young's "Harvest" album before becoming involved with film scoring in the seventies.
Lonnie Mack had a Number Five instrumental hit with "Memphis" and a Number 24 instrumental called "Wham!" in 1963. "Our Winter Love" by Bill Pursell was a 1963 Number Nine instrumental. "Wiggle Wobble" was an instrumental by Les Cooper and The Soul Rockers that reached Number 22.

Answer: Like, Long Hair

"Like, Long Hair" was an 1961 instrumental by Paul Revere and The Raiders that made it to Number 38. It was also the title of their debut album and their first single to break the Top Forty. The previous year the group released "Beatnick Sticks" but it failed to dent the charts.

In 1963 the band released a version of "Louie Louie", a regional hit that was eclipsed by The Kingsmen's version nationally. They finally broke the Top Twenty in 1963 when "Just Like Me" reached Number 11. "20-75" by Willie Mitchell went to Number 31 in 1964.

In 1963 "Bust Out" by The Busters reached Number 25. "Hungry for Love" was a 1965 Number 27 release by San Remo Golden Strings.

Answer: Harmonica

James Moore adopted the name Harmonica Slim when he began performing in rural Southern venues after WWII. When he began his recording career in Tennessee for Excello Records with a song titled "I'm A King Bee" he was dubbed Slim Harpo by producer Jay Miller. "I'm A King Bee" came out in 1957 and he went on to record several other blues classics.

His popularity was starting to wane when "Baby, Scratch My Back" put him back in the Top Twenty. He was only 46 when he died four years later. His legacy lived on in recordings of his songs by bands including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Them, Pink Floyd and The Pretty Things. Both Rhino Records and Excello Records have subsequently issued albums of his greatest hits.

Answer: A Hard Day's Night

Ramsey Lewis included an instrumental version of "A Hard Day's Night" among his many instrumental singles. "Wade in the Water" was a 1966 Number 19 hit for him as well. Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. began taking piano lessons when he was only four years old. During his career he released over 80 albums, garnered three Grammy Awards and received five gold records so far. His first album, "Ramsey Lewis And The Gentlemen of Swing", came out in 1956.

When an instrumental version of "The In Crowd" reached Number Five on the US charts in 1965 he focused on covering pop tunes.

In addition to cranking out records, Lewis hosted a Smooth Jazz radio show in his native Chicago until 2009.

Answer: Booker T. and The MG's

In 1962 Booker T. and The MG's hit the charts with the classic instrumental hit, "Green Onions". Booker T. Jones was only 17 when he and his band were backing Billy Lee Riley during a Sun Records session. During a break they began improvising a song and Stax Records president, Jim Stewart, was impressed with it. "Green onions" was released by Stax and when it reached Number Three an album of instrumentals called "Green Onions" was released.

The group continued to release singles and albums through the sixties, but none fared as well as "Green Onions". "Soulful Strut" went to Number Three for Young-Holt Unlimited in 1968. Young and Holt were previously members of Ramsey Lewis' band. "The Horse" was a 1968 Number Two hit for Cliff Nobles and Co. "Soul Serenade" was a Number 23 release done by Willie Mitchell

Answer: True

"Quentin's Theme" by Charles Randolph Grean Sounde reached Number 13 in 1969. Charles Randolph Grean had been in the music business since the Big Band era and was the arranger when Nat "King" Cole recorded "The Christmas Song". He later worked with Eddy Arnold and produced his television show.

In the sixties he began working with Leonard Nimoy, composing and producing his recordings. He also worked with The Mills brothers in the sixties. He formed a musical ensemble he called Charles Randolph Grean Sounde and recorded a version of Robert Cobert's "Quentin's Theme" from the television show, "Dark Shadows" .

Answer: The Popcorn

James Brown recorded the instrumental, "Popcorn". He had released a tune called "Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)" and "Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn" to capitalize on the Popcorn dance craze. "The Popcorn" instrumental featured octave guitar solos and a tenor sax lead by James' band member, Maceo Parker. Brown released an album of instrumentals which was also titled "The Popcorn".
Singer Vicki Anderson released "Answer to Mother Popcorn (I Got a Mother for You)".
"Sophisticated Cissy" and"Cissy Strut"were both 1969 Top Forty instrumental releases by The Meters. The Electric Indian took Keem-O-Sabe to Number 16 in 1969.