A Song and a Prayer Trivia Quiz

Answer: Candle in the Wind

After songwriter Bernie Taupin heard Janis Joplin called a "candle in the wind", he and Elton John wrote "Candle in the Wind" for Marilyn Monroe (1973). Elton John had already lost a close friend in 1997, so he was doubly depressed by the death of his dear friend Diana, Princess of Wales.

He revised and sang "Candle in the Wind" for her funeral, the only time he would sing it live. Released in 1997 it topped music charts around the world. Elton won a Grammy for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" in 1998, and the release competes with "White Christmas" as the best selling single of all time. Diana's version begins: "Goodbye England's rose, May you ever grow in our hearts, You were the grace that placed itself where lives were torn apart..."

Answer: Praise singer

Praise singing is a longtime tradition of Africa. The singer accompanies a "very important person" to introduce his good works and sing a tribute. Mandela's praise singer, Zolani Mkiva, sang when Mandela was released from prison (1990), when Mandela was inaugurated (1994), and at his funeral.

He sang in Mandela's native language, Xhosa, and also in English. The local "Daily Dispatch" wrote that on the day Mandela died a praise singer at Mandela's home village (Qunu), shouted for everyone to wake up, "A great tree has fallen". Praise singing is known locally as ukubonga: "Well he is the son of the soil, a brother to the daughters of the land..." Rudaali are female weepers of India.

Answer: John Lennon

Beatle John Lennon wrote "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" for Sean, his second son and his first with Yoko Ono. Sean was born in 1975 after Yoko had several miscarriages. This loving prayer was released in 1980, just three weeks before Lennon was murdered.

It has been covered by actor Richard Dreyfuss and a number of musicians, including Celine Dion (2004). "Close your eyes, Have no fear, The monster's gone, He's on the run and your daddy's here, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful Boy..."

Answer: Earth

"Concert for the Earth" (1985) by The Paul Winter Consort was recorded live at the United Nations, and represents Winter's experiments in "living music". Throughout his career this American saxophonist took his consort of oboe, cello, piano, flute or drums out of the recording studio and into living arenas, where they played as partners with wind, water, animals or the echoes of a canyon.

The result is exquisitely beautiful and rare. In 1971 the Apollo 15 astronauts named two craters on the moon after the Grammy Award winner's songs, "Ghost Beads" and "Icarus".

Answer: Songs of Innocence

"Songs of Innocence" is a 1789 collection of lyrical poems illustrated and written by the visionary William Blake. It is a companion to "Songs of Experience", published a few years later, as Blake considered innocence and experience to be "contrary states of the human soul".

The poems in "Songs of Innocence" are about children, or written from the point of view of children. The poet Allen Ginsberg composed an album of Blake's innocence and experience poems, as did composer Victoria Poleva and many, many others.

Answer: Peter Gabriel

"Biko" is a 1980 protest song by musician and humanitarian Peter Gabriel, former lead vocalist for Genesis. Stephen Biko was an anti-apartheid activist who likely was beaten to death in prison around 1976. His phrase "Black is beautiful" had given new hope and pride to the downtrodden. Gabriel's lyrics speak of the fiery social power Biko had: "You can blow out a candle, But you can't blow out a fire, Once the flames begin to catch, The wind will blow it higher, Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko, Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja (come spirit), The man is dead..." Other songs that lament and honor Stephen Biko include "Biko" by Sweet Honey in the Rock, Tom Paxton's "The Death of Stephen Biko" and versions by Simple Minds, Joan Baez and Robert Wyatt.

Answer: Forever Young

In 1974 American folk musician Bob Dylan penned "Forever Young" following an eight-year hiatus from touring. Dylan said he wrote it "thinking about one of my sons and not wanting to be too sentimental". Dylan's sons are Jakob (1969), Samuel (1968) and Jesse (1966).

Many have covered this exquisite lullaby, including Dylan's one-time girlfriend Joan Baez. Sadly, television commercials utilize it. "May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others, And let others do for you. May you build a ladder to the stars, And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young..."

Answer: Edmund Fitzgerald

Gordon Lightfoot wrote, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1975 after reading about the tragedy in "Newsweek". His song made number two on the "Billboard Pop Charts" and remained a beloved ballad worldwide. Lightfoot called it his best contribution to music.

In 2010 experts determined it was a wave, and not crew error, that caused the ship to go down, and Lightfoot changed a line in his song to reflect this. In understated tones Lightfoot extols the bravery of the crew and captain. Here he conveys the ship's end: "...The captain wired in he had water comin' in, And the good ship and crew was in peril, And later that night when his lights went out of sight, Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald...". Each year a prayer vigil is held for all hands.

Answer: The night shift

"Nightshift" (1985) by the Commodores soared to number three on the US and UK charts, earning a Grammy Award in 1985 for "Best Vocal R&B Performance by a Duo/Group". It was the first hit for the Commodores after Lionel Richie left. The song remembers and honors Marvin Gaye (1939-1984), an American musician often called the "Prince of Soul", who was gunned down by his father; and Jackie Wilson (1934-1984), an influential Rhythm and Blues performer.

The Commodores re-recorded "Nightshift" and released it in 2010 for Michael Jackson. "Gonna be some sweet sounds coming down, On the nightshift...". Diana Ross also sent a prayer out in song called "Missing You", for Marvin Gaye.

Answer: American Pie

"American Pie" (1971) by American folk singer Don McLean reached number one on US charts and two in the UK, while Madonna's short cover in 2000 was a worldwide hit. McLean dedicated "American Pie" to Buddy Holly, yet the cryptic lyrics were a source of speculation for decades, resonating with the murder of President Kennedy for many.

In 2009 McLean said the song was a balm to his grief over the Buddy Holly tragedy of 1959. Musicians Buddy Holly, "The Big Bopper" J.P. Richardson, Ritchie Valens and their pilot Roger Peterson died in a plane crash that day, the last of the 1950s rock 'n' roll kings. Waylon Jennings was spared because he had traded his spot on the plane. "...I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride, But something touched me deep inside, the day the music died..."