A Song for Every Season Trivia Quiz

Answer: Summertime

"Porgy and Bess" is an American opera written by George Gershwin in 1934, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward (from his novel "Porgy"). The aria "Summertime" combined the spiritual sound of African American folk music with a jazz background, and the song is one of the most covered songs in recorded music. Billie Holiday was the first to hit the US pop charts with the song in September 1936; among the others for whom "Summertime" was a hit were: Sam Cooke, Rick Nelson and Billy Stewart. Even Annie Lennox (formerly of the Eurythmics) covered the song on her album "Nostalgia" in 2014.

Answer: Roger Williams

It was Roger Williams (1924-2011), born with the name Louis Weertz, who recorded "Autumn Leaves" in 1955. Louis won a talent contest on the TV show "Chance of a Lifetime" and David Kapp of Kapp Records heard him, liked him and signed him under the name of "Roger Williams" (after the English Protestant theologian who founded Rhode Island). "Autumn Leaves" sold over two million copies and was the first piano instrumental to reach number one on Billboard's music charts, and only the fourth number one song of the "rock era". Among his other hits were:"Born Free", "The Impossible Dreaam" and "Maria".

In 2010 Williams was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Answer: Seasons in the Sun

Canadian singer Terry Jacks took Jacques Brel's original song "Le Moribond", with English words written by poet Rod McKuen, and made it a worldwide hit. It was his only solo hit in the United States. The song is about a dying man saying goodbye to his friends and family; the original version was a sarcastic ballad with backhanded farewells to those whom he felt had wronged him.

The Kingston Trio had recorded the more upbeat Rod McKuen version in 1963, but it did not fare nearly as well. As for the other choices: "Time of the Season" is from the Zombies, A Song for All Seasons" is by Renaissance, and "Four Seasons In One Day" was done by Crowded House.

Answer: It Might As Well Be Spring

"State Fair" was the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical written directly for film. It starred Dana Andrews and actress Jeanne Crain who 'sang' "It Might As Well Be Spring", but the song was dubbed by Louanne Hogan. The movie was remade in 1962 with Pat Boone and Ann-Margret.

The song from the original 1945 musical won an Academy Award that year for Best Original Song, and has been covered by such notables as Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Sarah Vaughan, Andy Williams and Nina Simone. "Another Spring" was by Blue Sky Riders; "Springtime for Hitler" is from "The Producers"; "Spring Fever" is a song by Elvis Presley.

Answer: Autumn in New York

"Autumn in New York" was written in 1934 by Vernon Duke (although it has always sounded to me like "Moonlight in Vermont"). It starts "Autumn in New York, why does it seem so inviting? Autumn in New York, it spells the thrill of first knighting" (and that should be enough!). Jazz versions of the song have been performed by such greats as Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Stan Kenton, with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald doing an incredible duet in 1956.

The incorrect choices include: "Grand Theft Autumn" (what a great title!) by Fall Out Boy, "In the Fall" - Twilight's Moon, and "Forever Autumn" with Vigrass & Osborne.

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel

Did the choices confuse you? Yes, the Bangles sang "Hazy Shade of Winter" in the 1987 film "Less Than Zero" and it appeared on their 2001 album "Manic Monday", but the poetically written tune was penned by Paul Simon and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel in 1966.

It appeared on their 1968 album "Bookends" and, in fact, was the second most popular song on the album, with the first being "Mrs. Robinson". While both the Bangles and Carly Simon (no relation to Paul) wrote and sang their own songs too, e.g., "Vacation" and "Anticipation", they had nothing to do with "Hazy Shade of Winter".

Answer: Winter Wonderland

Too easy? I figured you needed a break from winter. "Winter Wonderland" is a popular old standard mostly sung around Christmas time. (Hey, I could have asked what the snowman was named.) The song has been recorded by hundreds of artists including Artie Shaw and Guy Lombardo (who was Dick Clark before Dick Clark). Johnny Mercer took the song to number four on the Billboard chart in 1946 and Perry Como hit the top ten that same year.

The incorrect choices are somewhat eclectic; i.e., "Winter Lady" and Leonard Cohen, "Winter Melody" ironically by Donna Summer, and "Winter Winds" by Mumford & Sons.

Answer: Summertime Blues

Rockabilly singer Eddie Cochran and his manager, Jerry Capehart, wrote "Summertime Blues" in the late 1950s, recorded it in March 1958 and released the song in August (summertime) 1958. On September 29, 1958 "Summertime Blues" peaked on the Billboard 100 chart at number eight, and it was a number one hit for country singer Alan Jackson on his album "Who I Am", released in 1994.

As for Eddie Cochran, while on tour in England in 1960, he was killed in an automobile accident; he was only twenty-one at the time. "In the Summertime" was sung by Mungo Jerry, "Cruel Summer" was Bananarama, and "Summer Wind" was a hit for Frank Sinatra.

Answer: Nat King Cole

In 1963, Nat King Cole rolled "out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer/Those days of soda and pretzels and beer." The tune became instantly popular and peaked on the Billboard charts at number six. Nathaniel Adams Coles (1919-1965) was known professionally as Nat King Cole.

He was a jazz pianist, had one of the smoothest voices, and was one of the first African Americans to host his own TV variety show "The Nat King Cole Show" in 1954. Among his many hits: "The Christmas Song" (with chestnuts roasting...), "Nature Boy", "Mona Lisa" and "Unforgettable", made famous again in 1991 with his daughter, Natalie Cole.

Answer: Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme

If you got this one wrong I'm guessing you have never heard of "Scarborough Fair", written by Paul Simon in 1965 from an old English ballad about the town of Scarborough. The copyright credited only Simon and Garfunkel as the authors, while there were many who felt the traditional source should have been credited as well. Simon and Garfunkel split up in 1970 over creative differences but their final studio record, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" was their most successful.

They reunited in 1981 for the Concert in Central Park, one of the most attended concerts of all time.