Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs (426-450) Quiz

Answer: Isaac Hayes

Although most people are familiar with Campbell's version, I have long regarded Hayes' interpretation as more exploratory and imaginative.
The song was written by Jimmy Webb and originally released as the title track of Campbell's album in 1967. The song is number 450 on our list of the top 500.

Answer: The songs were included on one single, yet appeared on different long play albums.

The song "Penny Lane" was released on the single with "Strawberry Fields Forever", but did not appear on a long play album until "Magical Mystery Tour". The song reached number one on the US pop singles chart while "Strawberry Fields Forever" only reached number eight. And in case you're wondering why neither answer about the songs being the A-side of the single, the songs were released as a double-A sided single. Neither song was designated as the dominant single.

Answer: Heroin

One of the most dynamic songs from the album "The Velvet Underground and Nico". Lou Reed wrote this song at a time when simply mentioning the word "heroin" without a stern admonishment was impermissible. Of particular interest on this recording is John Cale's viola. The use of the viola's dissonance in this song was groundbreaking at the time.

Answer: Jimmy

The Shangri-Las was a girl group consisting of two sets of teenage twin girls from Queens, NY. They were Mary and Betty Weiss and Mary Ann and Marge Genser. The girls were discovered at the Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, NY.

Answer: The Harder They Come

"The Harder They Come" is about the adventures of a reggae musician trying to get his songs played on the radio and the hardships associated with the music industry. He apparently ends up selling marijuana and killing a policeman. The movie is in English, but very hard to understand due to the heavy Jamaican accents the actors use.

Answer: Come As You Are

The song "Come As You Are" is number 445 on the list. The song originally wanted to show that Kurt was unarmed and harmless to the listener, not to indicate anything to do with his suicide, or suicidal intent. The song reached number 32 on the US Billboard pop singles chart during a 18 week chart run.

Answer: I Got You Babe

The real names of Sonny and Cher are Salvatore Bono and Cherilyn Lapierre. Sonny was born in Detroit, Michigan and Cher was born in El Centro, CA. The duo was formed in Los Angeles in 1964.

Answer: Burnin'

Although the song was extremely instrumental in introducing much of the world to reggae music, Marley did not achieve the same commercial success with the song as Clapton did. The song did not chart for Marley at all.

Answer: Little Richard was born in Savannah, GA in 1935.

One of the original and most innovative musicians of the genre, Little Richard has been immortalized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The song "Keep a Knockin'" reached number eight on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1957 during an 18 week chart run.

Answer: Air Force

Because of the member's military obligations, the group had a rather rotating line-up for quite some time. The group has one of the most troubling stories of any doo-wop group of the era. The group also had a hit with the song "Whispering Bells".

Answer: Dana Owens

The group Salt-N-Pepa is on our list at number 440 with their hit song "Push It". Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandy "Pepa" Denton were originally Sears employees and students in Queens, New York when they put the band together for a music school project. They went on to commercial success with one Grammy award and three top 40 albums.

Answer: The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Although Reagan tried to use the song for a campaign ad, Mellencamp took a hard stance and denied him the rights.
The song was actually from Mellencamp's second album recorded as John Mellencamp titled "Uh-Huh". The album reached number nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Mellencamp did not play at either of Bush's inaugurations.
It is true that the song reached number eight on the charts. The song was actually inspired by a black man sitting on the porch of his pink shack in Brownstown, Indiana, just as the lyrics indicate.

Answer: The Stooges

The song was written by Dave Alexander and Ron Asheton and appeared on the 1969 album "The Stooges". It's only fitting that this three-chord classic be penned by the bassist and guitarist of the band.

Answer: Love Me Tender

The movie, "Love Me Tender", featured Presley as Clint Reno, a souterner during the Civil War. The song was actually inspired by a Civil War era tune titled "Aura Lee".
The song was a number one classic that spent 23 weeks on the Billboard singles chart in the United States.

Answer: Love

Love was a California based band that formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1974. "Alone Again Or" reached number 99 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

Answer: Some Girls

"Beast of Burden" was an instant hit for The Rolling Stones in June of 1978, reaching all the way to number eight on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote this song while toiling in drug abuse troubles.

Answer: Sir Mack Rice

Rice was a singer/songwriter from Detroit who found minor success with his vocal group named The Falcons. After leaving the band, Rice penned "Mustang Sally" and the song has been recorded by hundreds of artists over the years. The song is still a karaoke favorite for many singers.

Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien

"In the darkest depths of Mordor..." is a line from the song "Ramble On", a reference taken from the "The Lord of the Rings" series. When Jimmy Page read Tolkien's work for the first time, he not only wanted to write music based on the stories, but he wanted to move to the country and live a simpler lifestyle. The song originally appeared on the "Led Zeppelin II" album.

Answer: Cissy Houston

Most people think of Cissy Houston as being the mother of pop sensation Whitney Houston only, but her own talents should be recognized as well. Born Emily Drinkard, Cissy formed a gospel vocal group called The Drinkards in the early 1960s. She went on to record solo material for the remainder of her career.

She has won two Grammy awards for her solo gospel work. Her version of "Midnight Train to Georgia" certainly didn't have the success that Gladys Knight and the Pips did, but it certainly was a great rendition of the song.

Answer: Ain't That a Shame

Pat Boone took his rendition of "Ain't That a Shame" to number one on the charts. That would not be the only time Boone recorded another artist's song and chart higher than they did. Domino only reached number ten with his version.

Answer: The Clash

"The Clash" was released in the UK in 1977 but the song "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" was not on the album. The song appeared on the US release two years later. The band wanted to include a few songs that were a bit more Americanized for the US release, therefore the band replaced four songs from the original UK release with four different songs.

Answer: The Rolling Stones

In addition to "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", The Rolling Stones also covered "Cry to Me", another Burke song. Solomon Burke never had a Top 20 single in his career, but he has been heralded as a pioneer in soul music.

Answer: Detroit

Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels recorded this song in September 1966 and released it on the "Rev Up" album. Mitch Ryder was born in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1945.

Answer: New Year's Day

"New Year's Day" is from the "War" album, released in 1983. The lyric provided the title of a live album released the same year. The song's influence was the lifting of martial law in Poland on New Year's Day. Bono and the band has used world events as inspiration for lyrics to great success.

Answer: Montreux

The song is about a fan who shoots a flare gun inside a casino in Montreux and burns it to the ground. The song reached number four on the charts for Deep Purple in 1973. The song was originally released on the "Machine Head" album.