Young Artists on the US Charts Quiz

Answer: LaLa

When "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" hit the charts in 1961 Dolores "LaLa" Brooks was not part of The Crystals. When Myrna Giraud left the group after the release of "He's A Rebel" Dolores "LaLa" Brooks was invited to join the group and sang lead vocals on two of the group's biggest hits. Because she was only 15 when she joined the group her mother had to sign for her to tour and a chaperone was always provided for the girl group.
By the time Dolores was seven she was singing in a Gospel group. When she was performing in a school project she came to the attention of Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew's mother who invited her to join the Crystals. After the Crystals dissolved Dolores "LaLa" Brooks married a Jazz musician and moved to England.
Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew and Patricia "Patsy" Wright were founding members of The Crystals. Ginger Blake sang for The Honeys.

Answer: Diana

Paul Anka recorded his first single, "I Confess" when he was fourteen. The song was not a success. After leaving his native Ottawa, Ontario, to go to New York to record "Diana" for ABC Records he began a string of successful Pop records in the sixties. The British Invasion temporarily derailed his chart career but Anka recorded successful singles in the seventies such as "You're Having my Baby" with Odia Coates (1974) and "Times of Your Life" (1975).
Anka also wrote several successful songs for other artists including "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" recorded by Buddy Holly and Tom Jones' hit "She's a Lady".
"Put Your Head On My Shoulder" was a 1959 release. Anka released "You Are My Destiny" in 1958 and "Puppy Love" was a 1960 US Number Two hit.

Answer: Peggy March

Peggy March was born born Margaret Annemarie Battavio in Pennsylvania. She was only 13 when she was discovered singing at a relative's wedding. She released an unsuccessful song titled "Little Me" under the name Peggy March because her birthday was in March. In April 1963 when she was still 14 years old she recorded "I Will Follow Him" which quickly topped the US charts. At the time she had the distinction of being the youngest female artist to score a US Number One hit.
After graduating from high school she never had another Top Ten single.
"The End of the World" was recorded by Skeeter Davis in 1963. Doris Troy recorded "Just One Look" in 1963 which was a hit for The Hollies during the British Invasion. "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" was a 1964 hit by Betty Everett.

Answer: England

Laurie London was born in Bethnal Green, East London England. He was attending The Davenant Foundation Grammar School when he recorded his version of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" for the Parlophone Records label. Capitol Records released the song in the United States where it stayed at Number Two for four weeks.

The single went on to become the most successful single by a British artist in the fifties. Laurie did not have another successful single release in America and decided to retire from the music business at age 19.

He ran a hotel in the nineties and later managed The Ship and Castle pub.

Answer: Brenda Lee

"Dynamite" brought young Brenda Mae Tarpley to the attention of listening audiences in 1957 under the name of Brenda Lee. She had her first US Top Twenty single the following year when "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" reached Number 14. She continued to chart successful singles and had her first US Number One in 1960 with "I Want to Be Wanted".
Red Foley heard Brenda sing at the urging of a local disc jockey while performing in Augusta, Georgia. Decca Records signed her to a contract and she recorded a version of "Jambalaya" when she was 12 years old. The label billed her as "Little Brenda Lee (9 Years Old)".
Lavern Baker recorded a version of "Jim Dandy" in 1957. "I'm Available" was a 1957 single by Margie Rayburn and Peggy Lee released a version of "Fever" in 1957.

Answer: Stevie Wonder

"Fingertips" was a Number One US single from Stevie Wonder's 1963 "Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius" LP. Stevie released his "The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie" and "Tribute to Uncle Ray" albums in 1962. The albums failed to chart but when Motown released "Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius" from a concert at The Regal Theater in June 1962 he enjoyed a Number One single originally released as "Fingertips Part 1 and 2" and and Number One LP.
Stevie began performing with a friend as Stevie and John on street corners. When he was 11 he wrote a song titled "Lonely Boy" which came to the attention of a member of the Miracles resulting in a Motown Records contract.
Jackie Wilson released the US Top Forty album "Baby Workout" in 1963. "The Monkey Time" was a 1963 album from Major Lance. "That Stubborn Kinda Fellow" was an LP release by Marvin Gaye in 1963.

Answer: Johnny Crawford

"Rumors" (1962), Proud" (1963) and "Your Nose is Gonna Grow" (1962) are among the five US Top Forty singles by Johnny Crawford who played Mark McCain on "The Rifleman". Crawford began his career as an original Mouseketeer in 1955. The following year he appeared in an episode of "The Lone Ranger" and went on to make appearances in a number of shows until "The Rifleman" began production in 1958.

When he was 13 Crawford was nominated for an Emmy for his role in "The Rifleman". In 1961 Johnny had a guest starring part on "The Donna Reed Show" with Paul Peterson who released sixties singles including "She Can't Find Her Keys" and "My Dad". Ricky Nelson launched his singing career as part of the cast of "Ozzie and Harriet" (1952-1966). Johnny Preston had a 1960 hit with "Running Bear".

Answer: Herman's Hermits

Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone began his show business career using the name Peter Novak. He won the Outstanding Young Musician Award while studying drama and voice at the Manchester School of Music. He was acting on a British Soap Opera when he became part of Herman's Hermits.

After the group's lineup was established they recorded a cover version of "I'm into Something Good" which became a hit in both the UK and the US. In 1968 the group starred in the full-length film "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter".

The group enjoyed a string of successful records until Noone departed in 1971. Peter continued recording for a number of labels as a solo artist. The Pretty Things formed in London in 1963. The Searchers were originally a Liverpool Skiffle group founded by John McNally and Mike Pender. Freddie and the Dreamers began having hits in 1963 and was fronted by Freddie Garrity.

Answer: Hanson

Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson were brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who all studied piano. They learned a variety of instruments and began performing publicly at festivals in their home town. They came to the attention of a major label and released their "Middle of Nowhere" album which featured the Number One "MMMBop". Later the same year "I Will Come to You" from the same album hit the Top Ten. "Middle of Nowhere" earned Hanson three Grammy nominations and the band went on to sell more than 16,000,000 records.
In 2013 they released their US Number 22 album, "Anthem", their eighth Top Forty album on the US Billboard 200.
"I Can Love You Like That" was a 1995 release from All-4-One. In 1997 Real McCoy release "One More Time". "Say It" by Voices Of Theory came out in 1998.

Answer: The Andy Williams Show

The young Osmond children began performing Barber Shop Quartet style music to raise money to purchase hearing aids for two of the siblings who had hearing impairments. When they were performing in Disneyland they came to the attention of Andy Williams who began featuring them regularly on his television show and on tour.

The Osmonds enjoyed a seven year run with Williams until they decided to record popular music in 1970. The following year they released the US Number One single "One Bad Apple" followed by other successful hits featuring Donny on lead vocals. "The Lawrence Welk Show" (1955-1982) turned down the Osmonds before Andy Williams featured them on his show.

After leaving the Andy Williams show the Osmonds appeared frequently on "The Jerry Lewis Show" for one season in 1969. "The Donny and Marie Show" aired from 1976-1979.