Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs (276-300) Quiz

Answer: Pepsi

Madonna signed a five million dollar endorsement deal with Pepsi where she was to debut the song "Like a Prayer" as a commercial to the public. After Pepsi saw her music video for the song on MTV, they quickly anticipated the potential trouble and pulled the plug on the ad campaign. Sound like bad news for Madonna? Nope, she got to keep the endorsement earnings for very little effort on her part.

Answer: Sign 'O' the Times

"Parade" was actually one of the albums recorded with the Revolution. The others were "Around the World in a Day" and the soundtrack to "Purple Rain".

Answer: Nigel Harrison

Although all possible answers were bass players, only Nigel was a bassist for Blondie. D'Andrea was the bass player The Motels. O'Hearn was the bassist for Missing Persons. Gordon Sumner is best known as Sting, and he was once the bass player for The Police.

Answer: Heart of Gold

"Heart of Gold" was on the first ever number one album for Neil Young titled "Harvest". The song is number 297 on our chart.

Answer: Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh was born Winston McIntosh in Jamaica on October 19, 1944. Around 1960, Tosh left his small Jamaican town and traveled to Kingston where he met up with Marley, Bunny Livingston and Junior Braithwaite to form a singing group named The Teenagers. After a while, the group took on the name the Wailing Rudeboys, and then finally became the Wailers.

Answer: Tamboura

A tamboura is a very identifiable instrument found in many Indian compositions. The difference between the tamboura and the sitar is that the tamboura has a more sustained and droning effect than the sitar, which usually has a more defined tone for performing meldoy.

Answer: False

Although the song title may have been written about a dog seen hanging around the band's studio, the lyrics to the song have nothing to do with a dog. The lyrics are a bit more adult in nature than a song about a pup. John Paul Jones was given the main song writing credit for this song, however.

He also received lead song writing credits on the song "Misty Mountain Hop" from the same album. The album was the 1971 smash success "Led Zeppelin IV".

Answer: Willie Mitchell

Willie Mitchell opened Royal Recording Studios in Memphis, TN. Al Green recorded many of his great hits with Mitchell, but Mitchell was a bit domineering and wanted to only record songs he had arranged. When they finished their session, Green still wanted to give this song a try. Once Mitchell heard it, he knew he had a hit on his hands.

Answer: Train in Vain

Back in 1979 when music was released on vinyl discs called record albums, the idea of a hidden track was unheard of. The band did not list the track on the album jacket, the inside sleeve or on the record itself. Many fans initially thought the song was titled "Stand by Me", but it was revealed to be titled "Train in Vain" by Mick Jones after the song started gaining commercial success.

Answer: The Zombies

The Zombies released this song in 1964 on the Parrot record label. Rod Argent wrote the song and composed the jazzy keyboard music that makes the song great.

Answer: Elton John

Scam and Ruckus were underground rap groups that Eminem rapped with in the early days. He also mentions the song "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins in the song. Although Eminem didn't mention Elton John in the tune, the duo did perform the song at the 2001 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Answer: Can't Buy Me Love

Of the songs listed, only "Can't Buy Me Love" was released in 1964, therefore it was the only song that could have been correct. The song appeared on the 1964 release of "A Hard Day's Night". Although the song was credited to Lennon and McCartney, the song was truly McCartney's. It was his first attempt to try and write a song using a pentatonic blues scale.

Answer: Money (That's What I Want)

When Berry Gordy finally opened his own studio, he knew success was imminent. In 1960, he took a young Barrett Strong into his studio and cut the track over a series of several long days. Gordy released the song on the Anna Records label. The proceeds of this song were instrumental in getting the Motown label off the ground.

Answer: Rick Rubin

In fact, Rick Rubin teamed up with Russel Simmons to bring these two very separate groups together to unite hard rock and hip-hop music. The song originally appeared on Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic" album. The cover version appeared on Run-DMS's "Raising Hell" album, released in 1986. The cover version reached number four on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the USA.

Answer: Pavement

Pavement recorded this song in their drummer's garage studio. The band was formed in Stockton, CA in 1989 and they stayed together for ten years before disbanding.

Answer: Chester Arthur

Howlin' Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett on June 10, 1910 in West Point, Mississippi. This hulk of a man defined the house rocking blues that permeated the deep south for many years. Sadly, he passed away in 1976 during an operation to attempt to save a kidney that he damaged in an automobile accident.
Chester Arthur, the President of the United States, held the high position from 1881-1885. He died a year later of a fatal kidney disease. It's ironic that both men died of kidney ailments.

Answer: Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe is a true innovator in rock music. His production work with noted artists such as Elvis Costello and The Pretenders was instrumental in the distinct sound they each had. Lowe originally recorded the tune with his country-rock band named Brinsley Schwartz. Lowe is probably best remembered for his 1979 hit "Cruel to be Kind".

Answer: American Gigolo

Legend has it that Blondie couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with famed producer Giorgio Moroder, so they teamed up to record this hit song. "American Gigolo" starred Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton.

Answer: No

The song did reach number seven in the US. The song was recorded with Tom Scott's L.A. Express and appears on the "Court and Spark" album.

Answer: You are the Sunshine of My Life

The song was written for the future wife of Stevie Wonder. Her name is Syreeta Wright and they met at the Motown record label offices. In 2002, Stevie won his 19th Grammy award for the song "Love's in Need of Love Today". The song was featured on the "America: A Tribute to Heroes", the tribute album for the victims of 9-11.

The song originally appeared in 1976 on the "Songs in the Key of Life".

Answer: Bill Withers

If you are having a hard time remembering the song, it's the one where Bill sings the phrase "I Know.." 26 times in a row. If you are having a hard time remembering the singer, you may remember his best known song titled "Lean on Me".

Answer: New Orleans

The Dixie Cups were formed by the sisters Rosa Lee and Barbara Ann Hawkins along with their cousin Joan Marie Johnson. They teamed up in New Orleans in 1963 and disbanded in 1966. The song reached number one on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts in the US.

Answer: The Cure

The song is "Pictures of You" and it was released by The Cure in 1989 on the "Disintegration" CD. The song is truly the best song the band ever released in my humble opinion. The band had been pigeonholed with a goth label for so long that the true passion in these lyrics took many listeners, including me, by total surprise.

Answer: Mott the Hoople

Mick Ronson was a member of Mott the Hoople for a brief period in the early 1970s. He also played on and toured with Bowie for the support of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars". Many critics feel that Ronson was responsible for many of Bowie's hit songs, but only received an arranger credit. Sadly Ronson died in 1993 from cancer.

Answer: Stax

Stax record studios was located in Memphis, Tennessee and had a stable of stars to their credit. Included in that stable were Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and of course, The Staple Singers.