1960s Music: Male Solo Artists Quiz

Answer: Bobby Vee

"Take Good Care of My Baby" was written by husband and wife team Gerry Goffin and Carole King and made popular by Bobby Vee. The Beatles, Dion, Gary Lewis and The Playboys and Bobby Vinton have also recorded the song. The song has a similar musical structure to the song by Neil Sedaka "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" which was also written by Goffin and King.
Bobby Vee, born in Fargo, North Dakota, had 38 US Billboard Hot 100 hits with ten in the Top 20. These included "Run to Him" (number two), "Come Back When You Grow Up" (number three), "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (number three) and "Rubber Ball" (number six).
Bobby Darin (1936-1973) had many hits including "Beyond the Sea", "Dream Lover", "Splish Splash"; his biggest hit was "Mack the Knife" which was at number one for nine weeks in 1959.

Answer: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) was an American who helped shape Motown in the early 1960s. He was also a songwriter and musician. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records. The phrase "I heard it through the grapevine" is associated with black slaves during the American Civil War and Barrett Strong heard the phrase quite often in Chicago in the 60s.

He decided to put lyrics together about the betrayal of a singer's romantic partner, where the singer heard of the betrayal via gossip (through the grapevine).

The other three songs are also by Marvin Gaye with "Try It, Baby" reaching number 15 in July 1964, "Let's Get It On" peaking at number one in September 1973 and "Sexual Healing" peaking at number three in January 1983.

Answer: Bobby Lewis

Bobby Lewis is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana but was adopted when he was twelve and moved to Detroit, Michigan. He had learned to play the piano at the age of six. "Tossin and Turnin*" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie "Animal House" in 1978. He had a second Top Ten hit with "One Track Mind" that peaked at number nine.

Answer: Oh, Pretty Woman

Roy Orbison (1936-1988) from Texas was an American singer and songwriter. "Oh, Pretty Woman" was originally released as "Pretty Woman" and reached number one in September 1964 and stayed there for three weeks. "Running Scared" reached number one in March 1961. "Crying" peaked at number two in 1961, "Only The Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)" also reached number two in 1960 and "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" reached number four in 1962.

His other Top Five was "Mean Woman Blues" as number five in 1963.

Answer: Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene (1915-1987) was born in Ottawa, Canada and is best know as Ben Cartwright of the TV series "Bonanza". He recorded several albums of country western and folk songs. The song "Ringo" is a word-spoken ballad. It has no reference to the western gunfighter Johnny Ringo or Ringo Starr of Beatles fame.
Robert Mitchum, (1917-1997) besides being a Hollywood movie star, is probably lesser-known as a singer and composer. He recorded albums and singles and had a number nine hit on the US Country in 1967 with "Little Old Wine Drinker Me".
Gene Autry (1907-1998) was an American who gained fame on radio, TV and movies as the singing cowboy with a career spanning from 1931-1964. Hoagy Carmichael (1899-1981) was an American actor, singer, composer, pianist and band leader. His best known compositions are "Georgia on My Mind", "Stardust", "Heart and Soul" and "The Nearness of You".

Answer: Stuck on You

"Stuck on You" was his first number one hit in April 1960 after his two years in the US Army and it spent four weeks at number one. This was followed by "It's Now or Never" which spent five weeks at number one in August-September 1960. Also in 1960 "Are You Lonesome Tonight" spent six weeks at number one from November 28 - January 9, 1961. "Heartbreak Hotel" was his first number one hit in 1956 and "Suspicious Minds" was his last number one hit in 1969.

Answer: Ray Charles

Ray Charles (1930-2004) was blind from the age of seven but this did not stop him from becoming a singer, songwriter, musician and composer. Besides "I Can't Stop Loving You" his other number one single hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 were "Georgia on My Mind" (1960) and" Hit the Road Jack" (1961).
Steve Lawrence had a number one hit in January 1963 with "Go Away Little Girl" and Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody" hit number one in August 1964.
Otis Redding (1941-1967) wrote and recorded "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and it was the first song to be awarded as number one posthumously. Otis had passed away four months before it became number one in March 1968.

Answer: Roses Are Red (My Love)

Bobby Vinton from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania formed his own band at the age of 16 years. By playing clubs he was able to finance his college education at Duquesne University. His father was also a bandleader and both were known as Stan Vinton, so to avoid confusion his father suggested he use his middle name Robert to avoid confusion in the local music community.

The Robert became Bobby. He spent two years in the US Army and after a few failures, he found "Roses Are Red (My Love)" in a reject pile at the studio at Epic Records. "Blue Velvet" spent three weeks at number one in September - October 1963.

In 1964 he had two number one hits with "There! I've Said It Again" in January and in December "Mr. Lonely".

Answer: Percy Sledge

Percy Tyrone Sledge (1940-2015) was an American soul, gospel, R&B and pop singer. His other Top 40 hits were "Take Time to Know Her" (number 11), "Warm and Tender Love" (number 17), "It Tears Me Up" (number 20) and "Love Me Tender" (number 40).
Barry White (1944-2003) was an American song-songwriter and composer. His two biggest hits were "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" and "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" during the 1970s.
Ben E. King (1938-2015) was an American Soul and R&B singer plus a record producer. His best known song, which he co-composed, was "Stand by Me".
Tom Jones is a Welsh singer and actor and has had nineteen hits in the USA including "It's Not Unusual", "What's New Pussycat", "Delilah", "Green, Green Grass of Home", "She's a Lady" and "Sex Bomb".

Answer: Pony Time

Chubby Checker is an American singer and songwriter. He popularized the twist dance style with his first number one in "Twist". "Pony Time" became number one for three weeks in February-March 1961. It also introduced a new dancing style and was featured in the 1988 movie "Hairspray".
The "Limbo Rock" reached number two in 1962, "The Fly" reached number seven in 1961 and "Let's Twist Again" reached number eight in 1961.