Are You Lonesome Tonight? Quiz | Something in Common

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first song is from 1958. The song "Lonely Teardrops" was sung by a legendary R&B singer. Name the singer of this hit in 1958.

Answer: Jackie Wilson

This song was composed by three artists, including future Motown head Berry Gordy Jr. The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958 and number one on the R&B charts. It was listed number 308 on Rolling Stone's All-Time 500 songs.

This was one of the first "doo-wop" songs with the lyric "Shooby doo wop wop wop" repeated three times at the opening of the song.

2. The next song is "Hey There Lonely Girl". Which soul singer recorded this song in 1969?

Answer: Eddie Holman

The song was a male version of the 1963 Ruby and the Romantics top 40 hit "Hey There Lonely Boy". It was released in 1969 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 early 1970. I can hear that high pitched voice of Holman now on "oldies" radio crooning "Hey there lonely girl, lonely girl, let me make your broken heart like new."

3. This next hit was an early hit for the Bee Gees. Which song did they chart with in 1970?

Answer: Lonely Days

The song was written by all three Gibbs brothers. It was on the 1970 album "2 Years On" It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and number 33 on the UK Singles Chart.

According to Wikipedia, the final line, "where would I be without my woman" was filtered to sound like John Lennon's voice.

4. The next song is entitled "Lonely People" released in 1975. Which group from the USA did this song?

Answer: America

The song was written by Dan and Catherine Peek. It is off the "Holiday" album released in 1974. The album was produced in London by George Martin, the Beatles' producer. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975.
The opening lyrics were "This is for all the lonely people, thinking life has passed them by, don't give up until you drink from the silver cup, and ride that highway in the sky".

5. The next song is a "Guitar Hero" franchise favorite called "Lonely Is the Night". Which artist sang the song in 1981?

Answer: Billy Squier

This song has been featured on several of the "Guitar Heroes" editions, "Guitar Heroes Encore: Rocks the 80s", and "Guitar Heroes 5". In fact, in the movie "Couples Retreat", it is the Guitar Hero song Vince Vaughn's and Peter Serafinowicz's characters battle with on a wager. There was an Air Supply song with the same title, but was not featured on "Guitar Hero".
The song is off the album "Don't Say No".

6. "Only the Lonely" was a big MTV hit in 1982 for an L.A. based band. Which "new wave" band fronted by Martha Davis did this song?

Answer: The Motels

The song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. It was on the Album "All For One". My favorite part of the song were the lyrics: "You mention the time we were together, so long ago, well I don't remember, All I know is that it makes me feel good now".

7. The next song was an early song for Sting and the Police in 1978. Which song of loneliness did the Police record in 1978?

Answer: So Lonely

The song is off their first album, "Outlandos d'Amour". It charted at number six in the UK according to Officials Charts Company. It didn't chart in the USA. Sting mentioned in a 2000 interview in "Revolver" magazine that the song "was unabashedly culled from 'No Woman, No Cry' by Bob Marley. Same chorus".
Sample lyrics from the song, "No one's knocked upon my door, for a thousand years or more, all made up and nowhere to go, welcome to this one man show".

"lonely Is the Night" is a great song by Jackson Browne.

8. In 1983, this British progressive rock group released "Owner of a Lonely Heart". What was the name of this group?

Answer: Yes

This was the first song Yes ever had that made number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA. The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles' chart. The video got lots of play on MTV adding to the song's popularity. An interesting video, it was shot in both color and black and white with a bizarre ending.
The song was on the album "90125".

9. This next song was an interesting sort of remake. It was an Alvin and the Chipmunks meets "Hip-Hop" sounding song. It was done in 2005 by Senegalese-American artist Akon. Name this tune.

Answer: Lonely (Mr. Lonely)

This song was a sort of remake of Bobby Vinton's 1962 hit "Mr. Lonely". In fact, the "chipmunk" sound are samples of the speeded up track of Vinton's song. The song hit number one on the UK singles' chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song is on the album "Trouble".

10. Last but not least, this is, to quote Bruce Springsteen, "Roy Orbison singing for the lonely". What was the name of this Orbison 1960 hit song?

Answer: Only the Lonely (Know the Way I feel)

This 1960 song was written by Orbison and Joe Melson. It was Orbison's first major hit, peaking at number two on Billboards Hot 100 stalled behind Brenda Lee's big hit "I'm Sorry". It is considered a hit that helped shape Rock and Roll and was listed at number 232 on Rolling Stone's All-Time 500 Songs list. It also was put into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. The Springsteen quote in the question is a lyric from his song "Thunder Road".

Unforgettable lyrics include -

"Only the lonely (dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah)
Know the way I feel tonight (ooh-yay-yay-yay-yeah)
Only the lonely(dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah)
Know this feelin' ain't right(dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah)"

Source: Author Alepcot

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Are You Lonesome Tonight? Trivia Quiz

Since some think December is the loneliest time of the year, so I thought I'd create a quiz with the word "lonely" in each song's title in this quiz. The songs range in time from the 1950s to the 2000s. Name the artist(s) or song.

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