1961 - A Blast from the Past Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jimmy Dean

"Big Bad John" was a giant hit for Dean, spending five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and ten weeks atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart. Today, most people probably know him better for his brand of Jimmy Dean sausage, but he had quite a singing career as well.

Although he did have some success on the Billboard Hot 100, he was much better known for his achievements in the field of country music, where he had 14 singles reach the top 30 on the Billboard Country charts. Jimmy Dean was inducted posthumously into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

Answer: Runaround Sue

"Runaround Sue" which was written by Dion and Ernie Maresca, is the story of a young man and his relationship with a former girlfriend, who was unfaithful to him. Dion's wife at the time was named Susan, but in his autobiography "The Wanderer", he claimed the song had nothing to do with her. "Runaround Sue" was Dion's only number one hit, either as a solo artist or as a member of The Belmonts.

Answer: Blue Moon

The first successful recording of "Blue Moon" was by Connie Boswell in 1935. The song has been recorded by several artists since, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. The Marcels' version was easily the most successful, holding the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in April of 1961 and also topping the U.K. Singles Chart.

Answer: Ferrante & Teicher

Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher met while both were attending the Julliard School of Music in New York City. They began playing together professionally in 1947, performing pop standards at nightclubs around New York. The duo signed with United Artist in 1960 and it was during this period that they enjoyed their greatest chart success.

Their rendition's of "Exodus", "The Theme From the Apartment" and "Tonight", from the film "West Side Story", all reached the top ten on the Billboard charts. "Exodus" was their most successful single spending 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1961.

Answer: Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline began her singing career in 1947, performing in nightclubs in and around her hometown of Winchester, Virginia. In 1955, Cline signed a recording contract with Four Star Records, but had little success until 1957, when her recording of "Walkin' After Midnight" reached number two on the Billboard Country chart and number 12 on the Billboard Pop chart. During her brief career, Cline placed seven songs inside the top 20 on the Billboard Country chart, with two of those reaching the top spot. Even though "I Fall to Pieces" stalled at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 weekly chart, it was ranked the second most popular song of 1961 on their Year-End chart. Sadly, Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in 1963, when she was only 30 years old.

In 1973 she became the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Answer: Gene McDaniels

Although Gene McDaniels was probably never a household name, he did have his share of success in the early '60s. Besides "A Hundred Pounds of Clay", which peaked at number three, he also had five other singles reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts from 1961 and 1962. McDaniels was not only a talented singer, he also had success as a songwriter.

In the mid 1960s he wrote the Vietnam War protest song "Compared to What", which has been covered by numerous artists, including a version by Roberta Flack. Speaking of Roberta Flack, he also wrote the tune "Feel Like Makin' Love", which she took to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.

Answer: Running Scared

"Running Scared" was written by Orbison and Joe Melson and is rhythmically similar to the Maurice Ravel composition "Bolero". One of the unique things about the song is that it doesn't have a chorus, just a series of verses that build musically, finally peaking in the final few lines.

The song was the perfect vehicle for Orbison, who possessed a powerful singing voice, along with incredible vocal range. "Running Scared" reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1961, making it his biggest hit up to that point.

Answer: Dedicated to the One I Love

"Dedicated to the One I Love" was originally recorded and released in 1957 by the band The "5" Royales, but it didn't achieve any chart success. Riding the success of their smash hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" the re-released version of "Dedicated to the One I Love" became one of The Shirelles' biggest hits, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1961.

A cover version by The Mamas & the Papas in 1967 proved to be an even bigger hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 from the same year.

Answer: Connie Francis

Born Concetta Rosa Marie Franconero, Francis was only four years old when she began singing and playing accordion at neighborhood functions in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey. She continued to perform while attending High School, even appearing on "Startime Kids", an NBC variety show from the early 1950s. Before an appearance on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" the host suggested she change her name to something simpler, soon after that she became Connie Francis.

She was arguably the most popular female solo artist of the late '50s and early '60s, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 charts 14 times between 1957 and 1962.

Answer: Tossin' and Turnin'

Besides topping Billboard's Year-End chart, the single also topped the weekly chart for seven weeks, making it one of only six songs to spend at least seven consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts from the 1960s. The only other chart success Bobby Lewis would have came at the end of 1961, when his single "One Track Mind" reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.