A "World" of Music Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson was a cast member of one of the most successful early television shows of the 1950s when he and his real life family starred in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". Ricky parlayed his popularity into a successful music career with such hits as "Hello Mary Lou", "Poor Little Fool", and "Travelin' Man" among his many hits.

This song, "Young World" was released in 1962 and got to the number five position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts. Nelson may be best known for his recording of "Garden Party", a 1972 tune which recounted an unpleasant experience he had while appearing at an oldies show in New York's Madison Square Garden. Nelson died when his small plane crashed and burned just north of Dallas, Texas in 1985.

Answer: Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke was the artist that first wrote and recorded "Wonderful World" way back in 1960. Cooke's version reached as high as number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts and also got to number 27 in the U.K. Cook is considered a pioneer in the field of soul music and this song certainly contributed to that assessment.

His version of the song is listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" at number 373. Herman's Hermits rendition of the same song with an upbeat arrangement peaked at number four on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and number seven in the U.K. in 1964 during the famed "British Invasion".

Answer: Skeeter Davis

Skeeter Davis was a country music singer who had been successful with a couple of tunes in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a solo artist after a stint as part of The Davis Sisters in the early 1950s. "The End of The World" was by far her biggest hit. Davis has the distinction of being the only female artist in the history of the U.S. Billboard charts to have a song be in the top ten on four different charts at the same time.

She reached number two with this song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts.

At the same time the song was a number two song on the U.S. Country charts, also reached number one on the Adult Contemporary charts and number four on the Rhythm and Blues chart.

Answer: Peter and Gordon

Peter(Asher) and Gordon(Waller) were friends of The Beatles, especially since Paul was dating Peter Asher's sister Jane. After writing "A World Without Love", it was decided the The Beatles would not record it. It was offered to Billy J. Kramer, who declined to record it, so it fell to Peter and Gordon who took the song to the top of both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts and the U.K charts during the spring of 1964.

It is one of only two Lennon/McCartney tunes to become number one singles in the U.S. for someone other than The Beatles.

The other song was Elton John's version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Answer: Cilla Black and Helen Reddy

Cilla Black, a protégé of Beatles producer George Martin, made the song a hit in 1964, taking a song originally written in Italian by composer Umberto Bindi. The song was translated into English, became "You're My World", and went to the top of the charts in both the U.K. and Australia.

It peaked at number 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts. In 1977 Helen Reddy covered the song in the U.S. and reached number 18 on the Billboard charts.

Answer: Five OClock

"Five O'Clock world when the whistle blows, no one owns a piece of my time" is a memorable line from this 1965 song titled "Five O'Clock World" by the Vogues which was their follow-up to "You're The One" which had hit the charts earlier that year. Both songs made it as high as number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song itself tells the story of a working man who can't wait for the 5:00 PM work whistle to signal the end of his work day, so he can go home to see his girlfriend.

Answer: Colour My World

All four of the pieces listed are part of a medley listed on the album "Chicago II" as "Ballet for a Girl In Buchannon", a 13 minute performance by the band. "Colour My World" was originally released as a B-side to "Make Me Smile" in 1970, and then was released again as the two sided single along with "Beginnings" in 1971 and scored a number seven placing on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Answer: Hand Me Down World

"Hand Me Down World" was a 1970 hit for The Guess Who that reached number 17 in the U.S., and was a number ten hit for the group in their native Canada. It was the first single released from an album called "Share the Land", which was the group's first album without Randy Bachman, who had left the band due to a combination of illness and creative differences.

Answer: Joy to the World

"Joy to the World" became the biggest hit in the career of the group "Three Dog Night" when the song spent six weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the spring of 1971. The song was written by country music singer Hoyt Axton.

Answer: Madonna

"We Are the World" had twenty one different soloists and over twenty other musicians and celebrities who came together in 1985 under the direction of Quincy Jones to record this song which raised millions of dollars in the war against hunger in Africa.

The song itself was a number one hit in at least ten countries and did what it set out to do. The lyrics: Willie Nelson: "As God has shown us by turning stone to bread", Springsteen: "We Are the world, we are the children" (second chorus), Lauper: "Well, well, well let's realize that a change can only come".