1963 Revisited Trivia Quiz

Answer: He's So Fine

Bright Tunes Music Corporation, who owned the copyright for "He's So Fine", sued Harrison in 1971, claiming the two songs were musically similar. The case finally went to trial in February of 1976 and seven months later the court ruled against Harrison, finding him guilty of "subconscious plagiarism".

In an ironic twist, the Chiffons recorded their own version of "My Sweet Lord" in 1975, but it failed to chart. "He's So Fine" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the Spring of 1963, spending four weeks at the top spot.

It also ranked at number five on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles chart.

Answer: Surf City

"Surf City", which was co-written by Brian Wilson and Jan Berry, reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of 1963, making it the duos first and only number one hit. During their peak years from 1963 to 1966, Jan and Dean had ten singles reach the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

When Dean Torrence moved to Huntington Beach, California in 1991, he was instrumental in convincing town officials to adopt Surf City, USA as the cities official nickname.

Answer: Skeeter Davis

She was given the nickname "Skeeter" (slang for mosquito) by her grandfather, because of the endless amount of energy she had as a young child. In the early to mid '50s Davis sang as part of a duo and did have a fair amount of success on the Country charts, but she decided to turn solo in 1958. Between 1958 and 1973, Skeeter Davis had 22 top 30 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. "The End of the World" also reached the top ten on the Billboard Easy Listening and R&B charts, making it the only song to reach the top ten on all four of Billboard's major charts.

Answer: Little Peggy March

Born March 8, 1948 and standing only 4 feet 9 inches tall, Margaret Annemarie Battavio was given the name Little Peggy March by her record producers in 1961. Although "I Will Follow Him" was a massive hit, she was only able to reach the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 one other time, with the tune "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love", which peaked at number 26 in the Fall of 1963.

She did, however, enjoy a fair amount of success in Europe, especially in Germany. Between 1963 and 1980 she had 18 songs reach the top 30 on the German charts.

Answer: Sugar Shack

Formed in 1958, the Fireballs managed to place four singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, but none of them finished inside the top 20. Jimmy Gilmer joined the group in the early 1960's and shortly thereafter they released "Sugar Shack", which became the bands biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B charts from 1963.

Answer: Allan Sherman

Allan Sherman started out in show business in the '40s and '50s writing comedy for the likes of Jackie Gleason and Joe E. Lewis. In the early 1950's Sherman created and co-produced the long running game show "I've Got a Secret", which ran on CBS from 1952 to 1967.

He began writing and performing song parodies in 1951, but had little success until 1962, when he released the first of three consecutive albums to reach number one on the Billboard 200 album charts. "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" was Sherman's most successful single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and holding that spot for three weeks.

Answer: Sukiyaki

Despite the fact the song was sung entirely in Japanese, "Sukiyaki" went all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1963, holding that position for three consecutive weeks. "Sukiyaki" remains to this day as the only Asian-language song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The single has sold over 13 million copies worldwide, making it one of the biggest selling songs of all time.

Answer: Randy & the Rainbows

"Randy & the Rainbows" were an American doo-wop group who formed in Maspeth, New York, in 1962. The groups original line-up only released two singles and "Denise" was by far their most successful, reaching number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1963, spending a total of 17 weeks on the chart. That same year they released a follow-up single entitled "Why Do Kids Grow Up", but it barely cracked the top 100, stalling at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100.
.

Answer: Da Doo Ron Ron

Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, "Da Doo Ron Ron" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1963. The song, which was also produced by Spector, was one of the first examples of his legendary Wall of Sound production technique, which he used with great success on many of his subsequent recordings. Teen idol Shaun Cassidy's cover version of the tune was actually a bigger hit, reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.

Answer: Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson's career started in 1949, playing himself on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" radio program. The show moved to TV in 1952, airing 434 episodes over its 14 year run. In 1957, Ricky started performing songs as part of the weekly broadcasts and due to the shows popularity, Ricky's career began to take off, scoring his first top ten hit with the song "A Teenager's Romance",which reached number two on the Billboard Top 100 in the Spring of 1957. Between 1957 and 1972, Ricky Nelson had an incredible 27 singles reach the top 20 on the Billboard charts. Sadly Nelson died in a plane crash on New Years Eve, 1985, at the age of 45.