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Talking Whistling Humming in Songs Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Talking Whistling Humming in Songs Quizzes, Trivia

Whistling Talking Trivia

Talking, Whistling, Humming in Songs Trivia Quizzes

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Fun Trivia
8 Whistling Talking quizzes and 80 Whistling Talking trivia questions.
1.
  Whistle a Happy Tune   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Many of us find ourselves whistling tunes throughout our daily work lives, but some of us go to work and get recorded while we're doing it. How many of these songs with whistling in them do you remember? All songs are from the twentieth century.
Average, 10 Qns, alaspooryoric, Oct 27 20
Average
alaspooryoric gold member
Oct 27 20
404 plays
2.
  What Songs Did They Speak In?   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Songs - well, they're people singing, aren't they? Not always, sometimes people speak the words. I'll tell you something about the song, and you tell me who spoke the words. Enjoy!
Average, 10 Qns, Quiz_Beagle, Sep 02 22
Average
Quiz_Beagle gold member
Sep 02 22
1190 plays
3.
  Songs About Talking    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Each question gives you the title of a song with the word 'talk' in it. Do you know the right artist?
Average, 10 Qns, 480154st, Apr 10 22
Average
480154st gold member
Apr 10 22
249 plays
4.
  Talking To The Beat    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Here are ten songs with with "talk" or "talking" in the title. Match the artists associated with them.
Average, 10 Qns, darksplash, Oct 27 20
Average
darksplash
Oct 27 20
328 plays
5.
  The Power Of The Spoken Word    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Some songs owe at least part of their charm to their spoken word intro. Without it, the track just wouldn't be complete, so here are ten such songs. Match the spoken opening lines to the song.
Average, 10 Qns, 480154st, Feb 23 22
Average
480154st gold member
Feb 23 22
205 plays
6.
  Talk To Me - Songs With Spoken Words    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
These songs have something in common - they all contain passages which are spoken, not sung. In some songs the spoken lyrics are brief. In others a large part of the song is spoken. Can you match these passages with the artist who spoke them?
Average, 10 Qns, wilbill, Oct 27 20
Average
wilbill
Oct 27 20
305 plays
7.
  Talk To Me 2 - More Songs With Spoken Words    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Here are ten more songs containing lyric passages which are spoken, not sung. In some songs the spoken lyrics are brief. In others a large part of the song is spoken. Can you match these passages with the artist who spoke them?
Average, 10 Qns, wilbill, Oct 27 20
Average
wilbill
Oct 27 20
159 plays
8.
  Whistle the Night Away    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
What do you do when you can't whistle? Listen to someone who can! Take a quiz on some of the most popular songs that incorporate whistling in their melodies to get you up and dancing.
Difficult, 10 Qns, Seltaeb42, Dec 16 21
Difficult
Seltaeb42
Dec 16 21
301 plays

Whistling Talking Trivia Questions
1. The Piano Man himself, Billy Joel, has written some of the best piano pieces around today. According to Mr. Joel, what is one of the incidents that inspired the song, "The Stranger" (1977)?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: A Suicide Attempt

Joel attempted to take his own life by drinking furniture polish at the age of 21. Other songs about this particular incident are "Tomorrow is Today" (1971) and "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" (1985) "The Stranger" is the title track of an album released in 1977 and did not chart in either the U.S or the U.K.

2. In 1975, "Jive Talkin'" became the first number one in four years on the Billboard Hot 100 in USA for which band?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Bee Gees

The Bee Gees had their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in USA with "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" in 1971. A couple of top 20 hits followed, along with several not so successful releases before they were back in the top spot in 1975 with "Jive Talkin". "Jive Talkin" was also a top ten hit in New Zealand, UK, Canada and Ireland, but only reached number 14 in their native Australia.

3. It's a well known fact that the Beatles started out playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany before they became popular. Which close friend from Hamburg did John Lennon have playing bass on "Jealous Guy" (1971)?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: Klaus Voorman

Klaus Voorman also designed the cover for the Beatles' album "Revolver." Klaus' girlfriend, Astrid Kichherr, became famous for photographing the Beatles in their early days and went as far as to date former bassist of the band, Stewart Sutcliff.

4. Rod Stewart had a UK number one with "I Don't Want To Talk About It" in 1977 but which band took it to number three on the same chart in 1989?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Everything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl had many hits on the UK chart during their 18 year career, with their cover of "I Don't Want To Talk About It" (1977) being the joint highest placed. In 1995, the band also reached number three with "Missing" (1995), which was a hit in many other countries as well, reaching number one in Germany.

5. Other Star Trek actors have also lent their spoken voice overs to songs. Which two Star Trek actors contributed to Information Society's 1988 hit 'What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)'?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley

Information Society are a US band and their single went to number 3 in the Pop and number one in the Dance charts with an intro from DeForest Kelley saying "It's worked so far, but we're not out yet!" and Nimoy saying "Pure energy".

6. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (1978) was the third UK top ten single from the album "Out of the Blue" (1977) for which band?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Electric Light Orchestra

The first single the band released from "Out of the Blue" (1977) was "Turn to Stone" (1977) which was a top 20 hit in UK. They followed this with "Mr. Blue Sky", "Wild West Hero" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (all 1978), all of which peaked at number six on the UK charts. Somewhat surprisingly for a band as innovative and as popular as ELO, they never had a solo UK number one record in UK. The only time they hit the top spot was in 1980 when "Xanadu", their duet with Olivia Newton-John, sat atop the charts for two weeks.

7. Who made Beatles history by being the first recognizable female voice on a Beatles' track by singing the words, "But when he looked so fierce," in the song "Bungalow Bill" (1968)?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: Yoko Ono

Although Ringo's wife Maureen sang harmony, her voice is not distinguishable amongst the many other voices in the chorus. In fact, due to the overnight recording session used to finish this song, everyone in the studio was invited to help sing the chorus.

8. In 1975, this Greek-American actor desisted from sucking lollipops long enough to make a number one record. Who covered the Bread song that has the same title as a Rudyard Kipling poem?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Telly Savalas

"If a picture paints a thousand words, Then why can't I paint you..." mostly spoken, half crooned, 'If' was an unlikely hit for Telly Savalas, during his hit TV series as lollipop-sucking cop Theo Kojak.

9. "Girls Talk" (1979) was the last UK top ten hit for which artist?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Dave Edmunds

Welsh artist Dave Edmunds had two UK top ten hits in 1973 with "Baby I Love You" and "Born To Be With You" but then had to wait until 1979 for his next, and final, UK top ten hit. "Girls Talk" (1979) was written by Elvis Costello, who released a version of the track in 1980, the same year that Linda Ronstadt covered it for her "Mad Love" (1980) album.

10. A more recent tune, "I Got You" (2013) was released prior to Jack Johnson's album "From Here to Now to You". What other song off of this album was also released before the official debut of Jack's sixth studio album?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: Radiate

"Radiate" was on the official Jack Johnson website a few days before the album was released. Jack is probably best known for writing the soundtrack to "Curious George", but was also a professional surfer.

11. Which British comedy actor performed 'A Hard Day's Night' in the style of Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare's 'Richard III'?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers was probably best known for his role as 'Inspector Clouseau' in the 'Pink Panther' films, but he was also a talented musician, a drummer and a ukelele player. Another of his comedy records was 'Goodness Gracious Me' with Sophia Loren. The wrong answers were all fellow members of 'The Goons'.

12. In 1979, "We Don't Talk Anymore" reached number one in UK, twenty years after the first number one for which artist?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard released his first single, "Move It" in 1958 and found instant success as it reached number two on UK charts. The following year, 1959, he had his first UK number one with "Living Doll" and there were many more top ten hits and number one records in the years between that and "We Don't Talk Anymore" (1979). The hits didn't dry up then either as he went on to have number one hits in the 80s and 90s as well as top five hits in the 2000s. Whether you like his music or not, you can't deny his longevity as he continued to release music well into the 2020s with a career spanning an incredible eight decades.

13. Why in the world did the BBC refuse to play Paul Simon's "Me And Julio Down by the School Yard" (1972) when it was first released?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: References to the American magazine "Newsweek"

As also seen with Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" (1973), the BBC didn't play songs with products in the lyrics. They felt as if they were freely endorsing the product by playing such songs.

14. Which legendary rock star once released a record that not only contained speech, but also ghastly puns like 'the gnome office', 'metrognome' and the 'London School of Ecognomics'?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: David Bowie

Released as a novelty single by Deram Records in 1967 (which flopped), David Bowie has spent most of his long and illustrious career trying to ignore this first effort. Ironically, after 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' had become a hit, 'The Laughing Gnome' was rereleased and got to number 6 in the British Chart. David Bowie is also an actor of some renown. My apologies for Perry Gnomo.

15. Which country music star narrowly missed out on a UK top ten hit in 1978, when "Talking In Your Sleep" stalled at number 11?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Crystal Gayle

"Talking in Your Sleep" (1978) was also released in the same year by Marmalade, the Scottish band best remembered for their 1968 cover of The Beatles "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", with which they reached number one in UK. Sadly for Marmalade, the hits had dried up by 1978, and their version of "Talking in Your Sleep" failed to trouble the charts. Crystal Gayle however was riding the wave of success and this track was a great follow up to her 1977 single, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue", which was not only a UK top five hit but also peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in USA.

16. Which presidential candidate used the phrase "Don't Worry, Be Happy" in his 1988 presidential campaign, but stopped after the composer Bobby McFerrin objected to it?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: George H. W. Bush

After seeing a poster of Meher Baba with the phrase "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Bobby thought it was "...a pretty neat philosophy in four words" and wrote an a cappella song off of it.

17. Not the real actor this time, but who impersonated Bela Lugosi on his 1962 novelty record, 'Monster Mash'?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Bobby 'Boris' Pickett

"Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring Seems he was troubled by just one thing He opened the lid and shook his fist And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"" 'Monster Mash' was originally released in 1962, but the song has been covered many times, by artists as diverse as the Beach Boys, the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Bad Manners and The Misfits. Horror actors Vincent Price and Boris Karloff also released their own versions. In 2005 a version was made about global warming - 'Climate Mash' - by Bobby Pickett.

18. In 1980, who had their second UK top ten hit with a song called "Talk Of The Town"?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: The Pretenders

The first UK top ten hit for The Pretenders was the hugely successful "Brass in Pocket" (1979) which went all the way to number one in UK as well as being a top five hit in Canada and Australia. "Talk of the Town" (1980) wasn't as successful globally for the band led by Chrissie Hynde, but a second UK top ten hit put them firmly in the British spotlight. They went on to have further UK top ten records in 1981, 1986 and 1994 and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

19. The songwriter introduced this as "If it sounds country, man, that's what it is, it's a country song". Although better known as a Janis Joplin song, who was the writer and original artist of 'Me and Bobby McGee'?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson often spoke an intro to his songs and this was how he introduced 'Me and Bobby McGee' on the album of the same title.

20. "Tailored suits, chauffeured cars, Fine hotels and big cigars" are the opening lyrics to which song with the word 'talk' in the title?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: "Moneytalks" - AC/DC

"Come on, come on, love me for the money, Come on, come on, listen to the moneytalk" continues Brian Johnson in the chorus of this track taken from the band's 1990 album, "The Razors Edge". The first single from the album was "Thunderstruck" (1990) which was a massive hit worldwide, apart from USA where it failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100. "Moneytalks" did give them American success however, peaking at 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first American release to break into the top 30 on that chart.

21. Although commonly associated with the Vietnam War, what war is "Billy Don't Be a Hero" (1977) really referring to?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: The American Civil War

Reference to "the Soldier Blues" (Union forces) in the lyrics and the fact that Paper Lace performs this song wearing Union uniforms tells us that this song is not about the Vietnam War despite the time period it was released in.

22. "Then I awake and look around me, at four grey walls that surround me" Which Welsh singer and aging sex symbol's rude awakening was this in 1966?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Tom Jones

"The Green, Green Grass of Home", is a song originally made popular by Porter Waggoner in 1964, about someone who's about to be executed for an unknown crime. This is another song that has been covered many, many times, but Tom Jones was the first to have a hit (number one in the UK, number 11 in the US). In the 1990s, Serbian rock band Riblja Corba did a cover of the song about a war criminal on trial because of what lies beneath the green, green grass of home ('Zelena trava doma mog'). The wrong answers are all Welsh singers, but a bit too young to be described as aging sex symbols.

23. Who had a hit with a song called "Don't Talk To Strangers"?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Rick Springfield

The early 1980s were the most successful period of Springfield's long career as he hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in USA with "Jessie's Girl" (1981) and had it not been for "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, would have had a second US number one with "Don't Talk To Strangers" in 1982. "Don't Talk To Strangers" was also a top three hit in Canada, and a top ten hit in Australia but failed to chart in UK.

24. Adding to his list of cover songs, James Taylor covered a song in 1997 originally written by Fred E. Alhert and Roy Turk. What is this song?

From Quiz Whistle the Night Away

Answer: Walkin' My Baby Back Home

Although there have been many covers of this song, Nat King Cole's 1952 version and James Taylor's 1997 version are by far the most popular.

25. 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light', by Meatloaf, features a baseball commentary by which New York Yankees' commentator?

From Quiz What Songs Did They Speak In?

Answer: Phil Rizzuto

The baseball game commentary serves as a metaphor as to what is going on, until Ellen Foley interrupts with "Stop right there!" Although all the wrong answers are baseball commentators, Phil Rizzuto is the only Yankees commentator. I am indebted to Wikipedia for informing me that some Boston radio stations created a version of the song featuring Red Sox announcer Dick Stockton. Thanks to demurechicky for the Challenge.

26. "Happy Talk" is a show tune from the 1949 musical "South Pacific", but who reached number one in UK charts in 1982 with a cover of the track?

From Quiz Songs About Talking

Answer: Captain Sensible

Captain Sensible was known for his performances on tracks such as "New Rose" (1976) and "Love Song" (1979) while he was vocalist with punk band, The Damned. It was quite the surprise then, when as a side project, he released this cover of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune, taken from his debut solo album, "Women and Captains First" (1982). Although quite a departure from the snarling, angst ridden songs he was normally associated with, he managed something The Damned hadn't, by having a UK number one hit. In fact The Damned would have to wait until 1986 to have a UK top five hit and that track, a cover of Barry Ryan's "Eloise" (1968) featured Dave Vanian on vocals as Captain Sensible had left the band.

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