Music from 1987 Trivia

1. "Hey, pretty baby with the high heels on You give me fever like I've never, ever known..." Which 1987 single by Michael Jackson opened with the above lyrics?

From Quiz 1987 Pop Music Hits, Part II

Answer: The Way You Make Me Feel

In November 1987, Michael Jackson released a single called "The Way You Make Me Feel", a song which described "high heels" and a "fever." This tune went to the top of the U.S. Billboard charts in late 1987. It was the third single from Jackson's album "Bad" to achieve success in the USA. The singles "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and "Bad" preceded "The Way You Make Me Feel" on the Top 40 singles charts. "P.Y.T." was released in 1983.

From Quiz Top Pop Hits of 1987

Answer: Tommy and Gina

Bon Jovi, from New Jersey, created a monster hit by singing about two working- class lovers, Tommy and Gina. Tommy was an unemployed dock worker, and Gina worked in a local diner to support her man. Bon Jovi sings, "We're halfway there, livin' on a prayer/Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear..." The song's upbeat message and catchy beat propelled it to the top of the charts. Jack and Diane were title characters in a John Mellencamp song; Brenda and Eddie appeared in Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"; and Rico and Lola starred in Barry Manilow's "Copacabana".

From Quiz Obscure Pop - UK Charts 1987

Answer: Soccer players

Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle were professional footballers (soccer players), when they got together to record "Diamond Lights". Much to the surprise of the listeners, it turned out that they could actually sing, and the song reached number twelve in the UK Singles Chart.

From Quiz Billboard Number One Hits of 1987

Answer: Shake You Down

"Shake You Down" was Abbott's first single for the CBS label. "I Got the Feelin' (It's Over)" was slated to be the first release. Abbott's mother came from Venezuela and she gave him his first piano lessons. She then enrolled him in the St. Patrick's Cathedral Choir but he got thrown out when his voice changed. While earning his psychology undergraduate degree, Abbott earned money by playing with various bands at college events. He suspended work on his doctorate to pursue music full time. He related in an interview with "AP" "I stopped because music became more important to me". He learned studio techniques working with Marvin Gaye and married singer Freda Payne. She included some of his songs on her albums. While writing songs and doing production work he got a chance to get a record deal with CBS through his uncle, record executive Mike Abbott. "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" went to number two in 1986 for Robert Palmer. Don Johnson had a 1986 top five with "Heartbeat". "C'est la Vie" was number two on January 24, 1986, for Robbie Nevil.

From Quiz Music from the 80s - 1987

Answer: Def Leppard

"Animal" by Def Leppard was released in August 1987. It spent nine weeks on the UK singles chart, reaching a peak of number six. The song was taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Hysteria", which spent 101 weeks on the UK album chart, including a week at number one, and sold enough copies to earn a double platinum disc.

From Quiz Hits of 1987

Answer: Starship

"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is from Starship's 1987 album "No Protection". It was also the theme song for the movie "Mannequin" (1987). It was a number one hit in both the US and UK.

From Quiz Lyrics from 1987

Answer: Peter Gabriel

from 'Big Time'

From Quiz Who Sings What In 1987

Answer: Jan Hammer

From Quiz 1987 KROQ Year End Top Ten List

Answer: With or Without You

The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and number four on the UK singles chart. It is listed number 132 on Rolling Stone magazine's all-time 500 songs list. "I Will Follow" is off U2's 1980 debut album "Boy". "The Sweetest Thing" is off their compilation album, "The Best of 1980-1990" released in 1998. "Beds Are Burning" is a song from Aussie group Midnight Oil that was released in 1987.

From Quiz 1987 Pop Music Hits, Part II

Answer: Crew

The British-based band Cutting Crew achieved success in 1987 with the song "I Just Died in Your Arms." This tune was released in the USA in March 1987, and it rose to the number one position on the Billboard singles charts. Nick Van Eade was the lead vocalist for Cutting Crew. He sang, "I, I just died in your arms tonight / It must have been something you said..."

From Quiz Top Pop Hits of 1987

Answer: Bill Medley

Bill Medley, born in Los Angeles, formed half of the legendary Righteous Brothers duo with Bobby Hatfield during the 1960s. In 1987, Medley combined with singer Jennifer Warnes to create one of the most memorable songs in movie history- the finale of the immensely popular "Dirty Dancing". Medley and Warnes sang, "I've had the time of my life, and I've never felt like this before/I swear it's so true, and it's all because of you..." Robbie Nevil had a 1987 hit with "C'est La Vie", Richard Marx hit the charts with "Don't Mean Nothing", and Peter Cetera and Amy Grant had a hit with "The Next Time I Fall".

From Quiz Obscure Pop - UK Charts 1987

Answer: Desireless

On it's first UK release in 1987, "Voyage Voyage" reached number 53 in the Singles Charts, however the 1988 remix made it all the way to the Top 5. The song was Desireless' only single to be released in the UK.

From Quiz Billboard Number One Hits of 1987

Answer: George Michael

"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was Aretha's first number one song since "Respect" topped the charts in 1967. When Simon Climie and Dennie Morgan composed the song it wasn't meant to be a duet. Morgan first learned that George Michael and Aretha were going to record the song when Climie's publisher informed him that Clive Davis was interested in pairing the two singers. Producer Narada Walden put together the instrumental tracks in California and Aretha did her vocals in Detroit. George flew from England on the Concorde and put down his tracks. It was a lifelong ambition of his to sing with Aretha and he was determined to do his best. Lou Gramm had a solo top five the same week with "Midnight Blue". Chris de Burgh enjoyed top five success in June, 1987, with "The Lady in Red". Richard Marx broke the top five in August, 1987, with "Don't Mean Nothing".

From Quiz Music from the 80s - 1987

Answer: "It's A Sin" by The Pet Shop Boys

Released in June 1987, "It's A Sin" by The Pet Shop Boys spent 11 weeks on the UK singles chart and reached number one.

From Quiz Hits of 1987

Answer: Janet Jackson

"Let's Wait Awhile" is from Janet Jackson's 1986 album "Control". It was a number one hit in South Africa, number two in the US and number three in the UK.

From Quiz Lyrics from 1987

Answer: John Cougar Mellencamp

from 'Cherry Bomb'. Some people think it says "when a smoke was a smoke" instead of "when a sport was a sport."

From Quiz Who Sings What In 1987

Answer: Rick Astley

From Quiz 1987 Pop Music Hits, Part II

Answer: Bill Withers

In April 1972, Bill Withers released a song called "Lean On Me." This soulful tune rose to the top of the U.S. Billboard singles charts. In February 1987, a band from California named Club Nouveau released an uptempo version of this Bill Withers, and it also reached the top of the U.S. Billboard charts. These lyrics comprised the song's chorus: "Lean on me, when you're not strong And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on For it won't be long 'til I'm gonna need Somebody to lean on..."

From Quiz No. 1 Albums of 1987

Answer: "License to Ill" by Beastie Boys

Although these were all debut rap albums, only the Beastie Boys would fit the category and the question. "License to Ill" was a great album which featured the songs "Fight for Your Right", "She's Crafty" "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn" and "Rhymin' and Stealin'". Interestingly, the album reached the number one spot on the Billboard Top 100 but only reached number two on Billboard's Top Hip-Hop/R&B album chart.

From Quiz Top Pop Hits of 1987

Answer: Honey

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was a major world-wide hit in the summer of 1987. The song comes from the immensely popular "The Joshua Tree" album. Bono sings, "I have kissed your honey lips/Felt the healing fingertips/It felt like a fire, this burning desire..." The music and lyrics lend a spiritual tone to this song- Bono is definitely in fine form.

From Quiz Obscure Pop - UK Charts 1987

Answer: Spear of Destiny

"Never Take Me Alive" reached number fourteen in the UK Singles Charts for Spear of Destiny. It was the only one of their singles to make it into the Top 30.

From Quiz Billboard Number One Hits of 1987

Answer: Whitesnake

David Coverdale started singing for the same reason Ricky Nelson started. He wanted to impress a girl. In 1973 he saw an ad by Deep Purple soliciting a new singer to replace Ian Gillan. Coverdale came on board in time for the band's "Burn" album. He gained experience touring and recording with Deep Purple and left when the band broke up in 1976. He was contractually prevented from touring for two more years so he started putting together the band that would eventually become Whitesnake. In February, 1978, the band made their first appearance at the Sky Bird Club. The band was still going through personnel changes, which delayed the release of the "Whitesnake" album. The first release, "Still of the Night", featured Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge as permanent members. "Is This Love?" was another top five for the band in 1987. Europe took "Carrie" to the number three spot the same month. Expose recorded the 1987 top five "Come Go With Me". Bon Jovi hit the top spot in 1987 with "Livin' on a Prayer".

From Quiz Music from the 80s - 1987

Answer: Curiosity Killed The Cat

Following up their number three hit "Down To Earth", Curiosity Killed The Cat re-released "Misfit" (which had previously failed to chart) on 20 June 1987. The song then spent nine weeks on the chart, peaking at number seven. The band released four singles under this name and then began calling themselves simply Curiosity.

From Quiz Hits of 1987

Answer: Los Lobos

Los Lobos recorded "La Bamba" for the soundtrack to the 1987 movie "La Bamba". It went to number one in the UK, US, New Zealand and Australia.

From Quiz Lyrics from 1987

Answer: Aerosmith

from 'Dude Looks Like A Lady'

From Quiz Who Sings What In 1987

Answer: George Michael

From Quiz 1987 KROQ Year End Top Ten List

Answer: Dear God

The song was originally a B-side, but became an A-side when the record company took note of the frequent air play the song got, especially in the USA. The song didn't have much chart success in the UK, only peaking at number 99 on the singles' chart. It reached number 37 on Billboard Album Rock chart in America. It was voted number 62 on VH-1's "Top 100 One Hit Wonders of the '80s". Questioning God and the Bible certainly brought notoriety to the song. The song was made more "interesting" with seven year-old jasmine Veillette repeating the words "I can't believe in you". Veillette was the daughter of a friend of producer Todd Rundgren. "Generals and Majors" was an earlier work by XTC. "Losing My Religion" was a 1990s song by REM. "One Last Caress" was a song of minor controversy by the Misfits.

From Quiz 1987 Pop Music Hits, Part II

Answer: The Whispers

The song "Rock Steady" was recorded by a group called The Whispers. This band was formed in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and featured the smooth vocals of Scotty Scott. "Rock Steady" was released in June 1987, and it climbed to the number seven spot on the U.S. Billboard singles charts.

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