1970s Pop Music (Part 2) Trivia Quiz

Answer: It opened with the sound of a siren

I started out fairly easy here. I'm betting the most of you realize that the song being talked about here is "Indiana Wants Me." The song opened with the wail of a police car siren. It was so realistic that it confused many motorists when they heard the song on their car radios and had them pulling over to the side of the road. Radio stations were skeptical and some were even scared to play it, so the Rare Earth label came up with a second version of the song without the siren. California was apparently the only state that simply would not play the siren version at all.

The song peaked in the United States at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart & number 2 in the UK. "Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there." "It hurts to see the man that I've become." You remember it don't you?

Answer: I'm Not In Love

The dreamy, ethereal song "I'm Not In Love" reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US in 1975. The song revolves around a narrator ststing many times "I'm not in love." The phrase "Be quiet, big boys don't cry" was the voice of the secretary of Strawberry Studios, Kathy Redfern.

The "wordless" choir in the background was in fact only the bands voices. It was built up from chord loops and multi tracks to the tune of 256 vocal dubs. It was an incredibly lavish and innovative production but worth every bit of effort. 10cc had nine Billboard Hot 100 hits in the United States between 1973 and 1979.

They were even more popular in England. There they had 11 Top 10 hits (three number 1 singles) and seven Top 10 albums.

Answer: Baby It's You

Gayle McCormick was the lead singer for Smith. In 1969 they brought "Baby It's You" to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Burt Bacharach, Hal David, and Barney Williams. Barney was a pen name of Luther Dixon. It was originally "I'll Cherish You," but was re-written at the request of Dixon, who produced the song.

The Beatles released "Baby It's You' on their first album titled "Please Please Me." "Baby It's You", released in July 1969 had, by October, sold over one million copies and received a gold record awarded by the RIAA.

Answer: Crabby Appleton

The group Crabby Appleton took the song "Go Back" to number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970. The band got its name from an early animated series on American television called "Tom Terrific."It seems that Mr. Terrific's arch enemy was named Crabby Appleton.

The cartoon was presented as part of the kids show, "Captain Kangaroo." For me "Go Back" was a bit short but was one sweet slice of brooding power pop. It had a driving beat with pulsating bass and a very cool jangly guitar introduction as well as powerful, impassioned vocals.

The fuzz guitar is amazing too. One seldom hears psychedelic guitar solos this intense in a charted pop song. Vocalist Michael Fennelly already had some experience in singing and songwriting as part of the Curt Boettcher headed sunshine pop band the Millennium.

Answer: Up In A Puff Of Smoke

Polly Brown released her solo album in 1975. It was titled "Special Delivery" and was on GTO Records. Her big hit "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" was on this album. It was was a hit in America, reaching number 3 on the US disco chart and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Polly was a founding member of the bubblegum group Pickettywitch in 1969, which had several major hits in England and was a popular draw on television as well.

She later became part of a group called Sweet Dreams, where she had a hit with their rendition of ABBA's "Honey Honey." She spent a few years with the group Sweet Dreams and released her first and only solo album in the mid 1970s.

Answer: Black Superman (Muhummad Ali)

Johnny Wakelin came up with an idea for writing a tribute to one of the greatest fighters to ever live, Muhammad Ali. Ali took on George Foreman in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974. Apparently the name of Wakelin's band, The Kinshasa Band, came from the location of the fight. Ali won, by the way, in the eighth round.

In January 1975, Wakelin's "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" reached number seven in the UK Singles Chart. It reached number one in Australia and spent six months on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

It peaked at number 21.

Answer: The Ides Of March

In 1971 the Ides Of March released the song "LA Goodbye" which went on to become a charted hit for them. Their real claim to fame was their 1970 hit song "Vehicle." It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one in Cash Box Magazine.

The Ides Of March were similar to several other bands of the period like Blood, Sweat And Tears, Lighthouse, Chicago, Chase and Electric Flag. They all had brass ensembles.

Answer: He's Gonna Step On You Again

In 1971 "He's Gonna Step On You Again" peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's hard to believe because I heard the song over and over. It seemed extremely popular back in the day. It really took off in the UK though. The same year, Kongos had another hit with "Tokoloshe Man." It doesn't ring a bell with me. I'll have to look it up on the internet. Kongos is from South Africa and had been an established artist there for years before he hit the US charts.

His song "He's Gonna Step On You Again" used a tape loop of actual African tribal drums.

This was the very first time a sample had been used on a record. As I said, it's in the Guiness Book Of World Records.

Answer: Pilot

Pilot released the song "Magic" in 1974 and in the summer of 1975 the song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has to be in the top 10 of the most memorable pop songs of the 1970s. With a catchy melody and addictive hook, this song was made to be a top pop hit. My kids even loved the song.

They would occasionally hear it on the radio and television. One of my kids would just flip every time the song came on. I forget now which one it was but at the time he or she was pre school age. Pilot was formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1973 by former Bay City Rollers members David Paton and Billy Lyall. Lyall died of AIDS-related causes in 1989. "Magic' is heard twice in the movie "Happy Gilmore" and also in "Herbie: Fully Loaded", "The Magic Roundabout", "Magicians", in an episode of the television series "Extras" and in a Pillsbury commercial in 2007.

The song has also been heavily sampled in a song titled "It's Magic" by rap artist JR Writer, sampled again by rapper Flo Rida and sampled by Girl Talk on his album Night Ripper on track 8 titled "Summer Smoke."

Answer: Right On The Tip Of My Tongue

The Brenda And The Tabulations album titled "Right On The Tip Of My Tongue", produced the song of the same name that peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971 and also hit number 5 on the R&B charts. The band was formed in 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The group had a distinctive and almost doo wop sound. Brenda had sweet but sometimes rough edged vocals backed by smooth male vocal harmonies. The band scored 17 R&B hits between 1967 and 1977, 12 of which also made the Billboard Hot 100 Pop charts.

They were sort of a female fronted version of the Delfonics.

Answer: The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End released an album titled "Funky Nassau" in 1971. They were a group of three brothers plus one other band member backed by the "Funky Nassau Horns" and were formed in Nassau in the Bahamas. The track "Funky Nassau Part I" became a number 15 hit single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached number 7 on the Billboard Black Singles chart.

The song is a slice of pop funk that is quite unique and in a place of its own. It's simply a killer tune with the best part being that "Funky Nassau Part 1" rolls right into "Funky Nassau Part 2." You get two for the price of one because both are killer pop funk tunes.

Answer: Don't Say You Don't Remember

This one was a gimme. I couldn't resist the little play on words. Beverly Bremers was born in Chicago, Illinois. She released an album on Scepter Records in 1972 titled "I'll Make You Music", which reached number 124 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "Don't Say You Don't Remember" was the biggest hit of three hit singles from the album.

It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top 40 Hits that year. Beverly Bremers is an American recording artist, songwriter, voice over actor and teacher. She has also starred in many theatrical productions. the most well known were "Hair" and "The Me Nobody Knows" on Broadway, and "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Menopause the Musical" in Los Angeles.

Answer: Dreadlock Holiday

"Dreadlock Holiday" by 10CC peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. The lyrics are about a white man lost in Jamaica and are based on a true event that happened to Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward and Eric Stewart in Barbados. Eric was a vocalist and guitarist for 10CC.

The song was a very rare and unusual excursion into reggae for these guys. It was their third and final number one single in the UK.

Answer: It's A Cryin' Shame

Gayle McCormick started out as one of three lead vocalists for the group Smith. She was their greatest asset and most frequently used lead vocalist. When Smith disbanded Gayle went solo and recorded three albums. Her first, which is self titled, is the one that contains her only hit, "It's A Cryin' Shame." Gayle was from the St. Louis. Missouri area. Nobody seems to know where she is right now or whether she's still performing or not. Several people are searching hard too.

Answer: My World

"My World" was recorded and released while The Bee Gees were recording their new album "To Whom It May Concern" during the winter of 1972. The B side, "On Time," was rerecorded by Maurice Gibb for the soundtrack of the 1984 film "A Breed Apart." "My World" followed along some of the same musical ideas as their hit "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart." It was recorded while backstage for a Birmingham, England television show called "ITV's The Golden Shot." The brothers Gibb performed together at local Movie Houses as far back as 1955. They performed under the name of "Wee Johnny Hays and The Blue Cats" and also under the name of "The Rattlesnakes." The chorus of "My World" is simply "My world is our world And this world is your world And your world is my world
And my world is your world is mine." Or maybe not so simply...

Answer: Jim Stafford

"Wildwood Weed" by Jim Stafford peaked at #7 on the Billboard Top 40 Hits chart in 1974. It's a spoken/sung, twangy, country-fied song dealing with two farming brothers accidentally stumbling upon a patch of marijuana plants. A man from Washington comes by later and destroys all of the remaining plants. That don't matter much because the brothers have a sack of seeds and evidently are going to plant more. Stafford is a sharp cookie.

He is self taught on the guitar, fiddle, piano, banjo, organ and harmonica.

In high school he played in a band with some friends who y'all might know. There was Bobby Braddock, Kent LaVoie who we all know better as Lobo, and Gram Parsons who at one time was in the Byrds. "Wildwood Weed" was originally written in 1860 and was titled "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets." It obviously went through a multitude of changes through the years.

After "I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets" it became "Wildwood Flower" and eventually "Wildwood Weed." Between the first and last version the lyrics were completely changed.

Answer: Mouth & MacNeal

Mouth And MacNeal released the song "How Do You Do" in 1972 and it reached number one in the Dutch Top 40. It reached number 8 in the US so it was no dud there either. The song was very simple with a catchy melody and great hook that reached out and grabbed you almost immediately.

It was a personal favorite of mine back then and I still enjoy it today. "How Do You Do" was made popular in the US by radio personality Jim Connors who earned 13 Gold records for discovering artists during his career. Mouth And MacNeal were formed in 1971 when record producer Hans van Hemert brought together the talents of Mouth (Willem Duyn) and Maggie MacNeal (Sjoukje Van't Spijker) together.

In December of 1974, Mouth And MacNeal sadly parted ways. Mouth and his wife Ingrid Kup continued and formed the act Big Mouth & Little Eve, whereas Maggie MacNeal went back to solo performing. "Mouth" Willem Duyn died from a heart attack in his hometown of Roswinkel on December 4, 2004 at the age of 67. "How Do You Do" spent 19 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 and won the RIAA gold disc on August 2, 1972, selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone. Sales around the world exceeded two million.

The album "How Do You Do" even reached number 77 on the US Billboard 200 in 1972.

Answer: Gershon Kingsley

The band Hot Butter brought "Popcorn" to worldwide popularity in 1972. It was a synthpop song that made one think of popcorn kernels being popped. By synthpop it was a pop song in which the synthesizer was the predominant instrument. It was a simple but very catchy and the kind of song you just could not get out of your head. Hot Butter made this song a huge hit in many countries. Gershon Kingsley is an American composer who is famous for composing the first ever electronic pop instrumental song, "Popcorn." A pioneer of electronic music, he restarted recording music and cover versions in 2004 at the age of 82! In 2006 he released an album titled "God Is a Moog."

Answer: Eighteen With A Bullet

"Eighteen With a Bullet" by Pete Wingfield was actually number 18 with a bullet on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It eventually peaked at number 15. Pete is an English keyboardist who has done a lot of session work with many rock as well as R&B acts. The song was taken from his album, "Breakfast Special" and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1998 film, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

Answer: 10CC

This one was a shock to me. I never knew this. Especially with this song being in such an unusual and different style. I would think that Hotlegs became the Jimmy Castor Bunch or John Kongos. Hotlegs consisted of Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. 10CC consisted of the same four guys! The four recorded together for three years before becoming 10CC. "Neanderthal Man" is supposedly the weakest song on the Hotlegs' "Thinks: School Stinks" album. You can hear bits and pieces of 10CC and their music to come in some of the other songs.

The African sounding song, "Neanderthal Man" was initially created only as a studio exercise to test drum sounds on new recording equipment. What a shock when it sold over two million copies and reached Number 2 in the UK and Number 22 in the US.

It reached number 1 in Italy and Germany and was a major hit in Australia, Canada, France and Japan. Other bands were influenced by the song in that it used something new in drum sounds, using four drums on a four-track machine.

The band name Hotlegs was chosen in honor of a secretary at the recording studio.

Answer: Games

Redeye was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Their biggest hit was "Games" in 1971 which peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was from their first album which was self titled. They had another hit song, "Red Eye Blues", which only reached number 78 on the charts.

It was from their second album One Man's Poison. Redeye's self titled album from 1971 peaked on the Billboard Hot 200 at number 113. Guitarist and vocalist Douglas "Red" Mark was previously with the band The Sunshine Company. On the song "Games", Redeye sounds a lot like Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young with those same gorgeous vocal harmonies.

There is also some very cool and laid back fuzz guitar giving the song a slight psychedelic feel.

Answer: Ariel

Dean Friedman's hit single "Ariel" peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1977. The song was about a free spirited, music loving, vegetarian Jewish girl in a peasant blouse. As the lyric says, she lived "way on the other side of the Hudson." The vocals on "Ariel" sound to me a bit like Billy Joel, all except for the 1950s style hook. Dean is from Paramus, New Jersey and is a singer songwriter.

He plays piano, keyboard, guitar, harmonica and a few other instruments. His first guitar was given to him at age 9. Friedman provided vocals for a series of television commercials in the 1970s in the New York area.

Answer: Don McLean

Singer/songwriter Lori Lieberman saw Don McLean singing his tune "Empty Chairs" in concert. Some time afterwards Lieberman wrote a poem titled "Killing Me Softly With His Blues", which became the basis for "Killing Me Softly With His Song", written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox.

Then in 1971 she put the song to record. It was not until 1973 when Roberta Flack recorded her version of the song, that it became a big hit at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks. It was then replaced by the O'Jays song "Love Train", but then returned to the top of the Billboard charts for another week. Flack's version also won three Grammy Awards: Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Female Performer.

In 1999 her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Answer: Matthews Southern Comfort

Matthews Southern Comfort recorded "Woodstock" in 1971 and made it a hit song. It peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Top 40 chart in the same year. Joni wrote Woodstock in a hotel room in New York City, watching the reports of the festival on television.

She later stated that "The deprivation of not being able to go provided me with an intense angle on Woodstock." I think if you read the lyrics that you'll feel Joni's disappointment at not having been part of such a historic event. Even not having been there Joni captured the spirit of the Woodstock festival. David Crosby said that "Mitchell didn't have to be at Woodstock to know exactly what it was about.

In the documentary film Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, she "captured the feeling and importance better than anyone who had been there."

Answer: Looking Glass - "Brandy"

Looking Glass took the song "Brandy" to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It's a pop song that the singer, Elliot Lurie, wrote about his high school sweetheart, Randy. The reason the song was called "Brandy" was because Randy just didn't seem to work with the rest of the lyrics.

The song was featured on Looking Glass' self titled debut album. "Brandy" created just a little bit of difficulty for Looking Glass though. Fans who attended their concerts were a little shell shocked at hearing such a poppish tune being played by a band that had always played harder edged music in the past.