Songs of John D. Loudermilk Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eddie Cochran

"Sittin' in the Balcony" established John D. Loudermilk as a songwriter and Eddie Cochran as a performer. It was one of the few tunes that Cochran recorded that he did not write himself. The year 1957 was a watershed year for Cochran. He starred in "Untamed Youth" and released "Sittin' in the Balcony". He went on to have hits such as "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon Everybody". Three years later he passed away after the cab he was occupying in England was involved in an accident.
Loudermilk also recorded a version of "Sittin' in the Balcony" as Johnny Dee.
Carl Perkins broke onto the national scene in 1955 with his composition, "Blue Suede Shoes". Ral Donner had a national hit in 1961 with the Paul Burton/Paul Hampton song, "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)" and Gene Vincent co-wrote his 1956 hit, "Be-Bop-A-Lula".

Answer: Language of Love

Loudermilk demonstrated that he was a singer as well as a songwriter with "The Language of Love". The song reached Number 32. He released the song under his own name instead of using the name Johnny Dee. The song also hit the Top Twenty in Britain.
While he was a teen John was working as a handyman at a local television station. He got his first break when he performed a poem he had put to music. Between 1960 and 1973 Loudermilk recorded nine albums.
"Girl of My Best Friend" was a Top Twenty hit in 1961 by Ral Donner and The Starfires. "Goodbye Cruel World" went to Number Three for James Darren and "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" was a Number Three for Gene McDaniels the same year.

Answer: Ebony Eyes

"Ebony Eyes' was a song by the Everly Brothers about a boy whose girlfriend died in a plane crash. The flip side, "Walk Right Back", also made the Top Ten. "Ebony Eyes" topped the charts in the UK. Both songs were among the first hits released by The Everly Brothers after they switched from Cadence Records to the Warner Brothers label.

The only song the brothers took to Number One for Warner Brothers was their own composition, "Cathy's Clown". The 1958 Number Five release, "Endless Sleep", was recorded by Jody Reynolds. Mark Dinning took "Teen Angel" to Number One in 1960.

It was composed by his sister, Jean Dinning along with her husband, Red Surrey. Barry Mann and Larry Kobler wrote "Patches", released by Royden Dickey Lipscomb, known as Dickey Lee.

Answer: Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye

"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" was recorded by The Casinos on their 1966 LP of the same name. It charted at Number Six in January of the following year as a single. Eddy Arnold took the song to Number One on the Country charts in 1968 and in 1996 Neal McCoy's rendition became a Top Ten country hit. Loudermilk himself recorded it on his "Suburban Attitudes" album in 1967. Glen Campbell included the song in a medley called "Don't Pull Your Love" in the seventies. "Child of Clay" was a Number 31 hit in 1967 for Jimmie Rodgers. Elvis took "Indescribably Blue" to the Number 33 slot the same year. "Like An Old Time Movie" was a Top Forty 1967 release by Scott McKenzie.

Answer: Sue Thompson

"Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" made Number Five in 1961. It was recorded on Sue Thompson's debut album, "Meet Sue Thompson". "Norman" was on the same LP and reached Number Three the same year. Her last US Top Forty hit came in 1964 with Loudermilk's composition, "Paper Tiger".
She went on to collaborate with Don Gibson on several Country songs in the seventies. They released their "The Two of Us Together" album in 1971 and "Oh, How Love Changes" three years later.
"The Wayward Wind" was a 1956 hit for Gogi Grant. Walter Gold, John Gluck Jr. and Herb Weiner wrote Lesley Gore's 1963 Number One hit, "It's My Party". Skeeter Davis was born Mary Frances Penick and recorded many Country crossover hits during the sixties and seventies such as the 1962 Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee song, "The End of the World".

Answer: Indian Reservation

"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" was the complete title of the Raiders' song. It became the only song recorded by the group to reach the top spot. The song was first released in 1959 by Marvin Rainwater under the title of "The Pale Faced Indian" and failed to significantly chart.

In 1970 a version by former Sorrows member Don Fardon reached Number 20 in the US and Number Three in the UK. The British punk band, 999, released a version in 1981. Loudermilk was given writing credits on the 1994 Tim McGraw hit, "Indian Outlaw", because a segment of "Indian Reservation" was included in the song. "The Great Snowman" was a Loudermilk composition recorded by artists such as Bobby Bare and Bob Luman. "Running Bear" was written by The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson) and released by Johnny Preston in 1959.

Answer: Tobacco Road

"Tobacco Road" gave the British band The Nashville Teens the distinction of being a US one-hit wonder. In the 1965 US released film, "Go Go Mania", The Nashville Teens performed "Tobacco Road" and another Loudermilk composition, "Google Eye". The band appeared in two other UK released films. They backed Jerry lee Lewis in Hamburg when he recorded his "Live at the Star Club, Hamburg" album. They also backed Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry in concerts.
"Tobacco Road" has had versions recorded my numerous artists through the years.
"Bad to Me" was a US Top Ten by Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas the same year. "From a Window" was another song by Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas that reached Number 23. "Needles and Pins" was written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche and taken to the US Number 13 slot by The Searchers in early 1964.

Answer: A Rose and a Baby Ruth

"A Rose and a Baby Ruth" was released by Eddie Fontaine and George Hamilton IV simultaneously. Hamilton's version was on his "Teen Idols-For A Moment" LP. Fontaine's rendition barely dented the charts. Johnny Maestro and the Crests recorded a version in 1960 and in 1999 Marilyn Manson included the song as a bonus track on "The Last Tour On Earth" album. "Break My Mind" was a Loudermilk song covered by such artists as Glen Campbell, Gram Parsons and Linda Rondstadt. John D. Loudermilk recorded "Angela Jones" in the sixties. Bob Luman is among the artists who recorded Loudermilk's "Let's Think About Living".

Answer: Johnny Tillotson

In addition to the Pop version done by Johnny Tillotson, Country versions have been recorded by George Jones and Porter Wagoner. Roy Drusky also released a version. Johnny Tillotson was in college when he won a talent competition and landed a recording contract with Cadence Records.

He composed his first release, "Dreamy Eyes". He then relocated to new York upon graduation and began releasing a string of Pop hits. "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" was a big 1960 hit for Bryan Hyland. Gene Pitney started his Pop career in 1961 with "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away". Ronnie Dove released hits such as "Say You" and "Right or Wrong" in 1964.

Answer: Stonewall Jackson

Stonewall Jackson was known as a Honky Tonk performer. He was the first artist to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry despite not having a recording contract. In 1958 he recorded a George Jones song titled "Life to Go" on his debut "The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson" album. He followed up with "Waterloo", which reached Number One on the Country charts and crossed over to reach Number Four on the Pop charts. It was the first of his two Number One Country hits. "B.J. the D.J." topped the Country charts in 1964.
In 1960 Johnny Horton earned the Grammy Award for Best Country and Western Recording with "The Battle of New Orleans". Sonny James recorded 16 Number One Country hits. Songwriter Billy Joe Shaver composed all but one of the songs on Waylon Jennings' 1973 "Honky Tonk Heroes" album.
In 1976 Loudermilk was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.