A Fruity Selection Trivia Quiz

Answer: Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin delve into folk rock with this ballad, that appeared on the wonderful "Led Zeppelin III" album, released in 1970. Jimmy Page had previously written the song years earlier, while he was still an important part of the Yardbirds. Amongst a number of demos that the Yardbirds recorded in 1968 was a track called "Knowing That I'm Losing You", which appears to be an earlier version of "Tangerine". That track would eventually appear on a 2017 recording called "Yardbirds '68". "Tangerine" is the only track on "Led Zeppelin III" that does not incorporate any lyrical input from Robert Plant and it would also be the last song the band would record that was written by Page without Plant as a writing partner.

Answer: Johnny Cash

Some may be surprised to learn that this song, the title track of a 1965 Cash album, is a cover. The original was written and copyrighted by Ervin Rouse in 1938. This is a popular bluegrass number that is generally played as an instrumental, often called "the fiddle players national anthem".

In his version Cash would remove the fiddles and replace them with two harmonicas and a tenor saxophone. It was released early in 1965 and was a successful follow-up to his 1964 hit "The Ballad of Ira Hayes".

Answer: The Presidents of the United States of America

"Peaches" is a song by American band The Presidents of the United States of America. It was the third single released from their debut album "The Presidents of the United States of America" in 1996 and peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. There has been much speculation on what the song is really about, but on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s", where it came in at number 64, the writer of the song (Chris Ballew) said that he had made up his mind to confess his feelings to a girl but, when he showed up at her house, she wasn't there so he waited under her peach tree, squeezing peaches.

Answer: Harry Nilsson

Most people are surprised to find Harry Nilsson is the writer and singer of this song as he is better known for singing the soaring "Without You" and the Grammy Award winning "Everybody's Talking". "Coconut" is a 1972 novelty hit with a reggae motif about a young woman who believes she got pregnant from drinking a concoction of lime and coconut.

There are three actors in the song: Girl, Narrator, and Doctor. Producer Richard Perry convinced Mr Nilsson to use three different voices to tell the story.

The song was a big hit reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Marvin Gaye

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was a track on Marvin Gaye's 1968 album "In the Groove" after previously being recorded by The Miracles in 1966 and Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1967 (which went to number two in the Billboard chart). Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, finally agreed to its release as a single in October 1968 after disc jockeys showed interest in it.

It was number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks from December 1968 to January 1969 and is still one of the biggest hit singles released on the Motown label. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966. An eleven minute version has also been recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Answer: Prince

"Raspberry Beret" was released on April 22, 1985 on the "Around the World in a Day" album by Prince and the Revolution. It peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Prince with background vocals by Susannah Melvoin, Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin.

Prince was born in 1958, and was given his father's stage name, Prince Rogers. His was a musical family, and he followed that tradition. Outstanding technical ability on various instruments including guitar, bass guitar, piano and keyboards, synthesizer, clavinet, drums, and various percussion instruments meant that he usually played all the instruments on his albums himself. He was an uncommon personality, with various aliases, among them Alexander Nevermind, The Artist (The Artist Formerly Known As Prince; T.A.F.K.A.P.), Camille, Christopher - and a number of others. He died at the age of 57 in 2016.

Answer: Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson's third studio album, "In Between Dreams" (2004) features, appropriately for this quiz, a mango tree on the cover. What's that got to do with the song "Banana Pancakes"? Absolutely nothing. "In Between Dreams" is a "safe" album from Johnson, where he doesn't take any risks, doesn't change his formula and, simply, does what he does best. What he can do well is write a love song and "... Pancakes", which started out as something silly to distract his wife from doing what she was doing - certainly fits that bill.

Answer: The Sweet

"Big Apple Waltz", which appears on The Sweet's seventh studio album "Cut Above the Rest" (1979), possesses a wonderful set of harmonies but is severely let down by clumsy and (mostly) sappy lyrics as the singer expresses his love for his lady by describing her as New York. (Oh dear, I'm shuddering in my jumpsuit).

The album, though, is a turning point in the band's fortunes as it marked the departure of their lead singer Brian Connolly. Connolly had actually commenced the recording process with the band, however, after his walk out, his vocals were removed from the tracks "Play All Night" and "Stay With Me".

Answer: John Cougar Mellencamp

"Cherry Bomb", not to be confused with the 1976 hit by The Runaways, was the second single to be released from Mellencamp's highly successful "The Lonesome Jubilee" album, released in 1987. The album, itself, had been heavily influenced by the death of Mellencamp's uncle at the, relatively, young age of 57, which is reflected in the nostalgia that surfaces in "Cherry Bomb".

The song is a throwback to days of innocence and youth as John re-considers his teenage years. "Cherry Bomb" was a hit for him, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the US.

Answer: The Beatles

Strawberry Field was an orphanage in Liverpool near where John Lennon grew up with his Aunt Mimi. This was the inspiration for the Beatles' song "Strawberry Fields Forever". In New York City's Central Park there is an area called Strawberry Fields. Some people believe this was the inspiration for the song but this part of the park was created as a tribute to John Lennon as he was killed nearby outside his apartment on 72nd Street.