Around the World in 25 Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: West Side Story

'West Side Story' is based on Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

America is a BIG place on the other side of the Atlantic to me.

*Useless information* The original 1957 Broadway production ran for 732 performances before going on tour.

Answer: Bangla Desh

Bangla Desh (or Bangladesh) is a country in South Asia which, apart from a small border with Myanmar (formerly Burma) and the Bay of Bengal, is surrounded by India.

'Bangla Desh' is the name of a 'charity single' released by George Harrison to assist refugees in the area after civil war, floods and famine had ravished East Pakistan.

*Useless information* The studio version of 'Bangla Desh' was only released on the album 'The Best of George Harrison' in 1976. The single was a live recording.

Answer: Slow Boat

A very well known song recorded by many people.

*Useless information* This song was originally written in 1947 and reached number 2 in the Billboard Magazine chart in 1948 when sung by Kal Kyser.

Answer: Barbie Girl

What can anyone say about this song? It has featured on a number of polls as one of the most annoying records in the world.


*Useless information* Mattel, the manufacturers of the 'Barbie' doll tried to sue the recording company (MCA), and the band, for trademark violation and lost.

Answer: Europe

Europe are a Swedish group formed in 1979 when they were called 'Force'. 'The Final Countdown' was the title track from their third album.

Europe is a continent on the opposite side of the Atlantic to America.

*Useless information* During the 1980s Europe sold over 25million albums. 5 million of those in the USA.

Answer: France

France. A Country full of great architecture, observe L'Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, one of the best art galleries in the world.

'Lost in France' is a single released by Bonnie Tyler in 1976, reaching number 9 in the UK charts and being her first recording to sell a million copies.

*Useless information* Bonnie Tyler was diagnosed with nodules on her vocal chords in 1977, these were so severe that she had to undergo surgery to remove them. Although she was warned not to speak for six weeks to aid her recovery, she disobeyed 'doctor's orders' and screamed accidentally which, inadvertently produced the distinctive 'raspy' voice for which she is best known.

Answer: 1930

Written in 1930, by Hoagy Carmichael, 'Georgia on my Mind' became a hit, originally, for Frankie Trumbauer in 1931.

The country of Georgia was part of the USSR until 1991 when it declared Independence.

The US state of Georgia (known as 'The Peach State') was established in 1732 the last of the 13 original colonies.

*Useless information* 'Georgia on my Mind* was adopted as the state song of Georgia in 1979, mainly due to the Ray Charles version which was released in 1960.

Answer: Hong Kong

'Hong Kong Garden' was a number 7 UK hit for Siouxsie and the Banshees and their debut single.

Hong Kong is part of the People's Republic of China and is situated on the South coast of the Chinese mainland.


*Useless information* The name 'Hong Kong Garden' was taken from a Chinese restuarant in Chislehurst (a small town on the border of Greater London and Kent) close to where Siouxsie grew up.

Answer: True

'Give Ireland Back to the Irish' was the first release for Paul McCartney and Wings and was a response to the events of 'Bloody Sunday' which occurred in Northern Ireland in January 1972.

*Useless information* This song was banned by EVERY (legal) broadcasting company in the UK, including the BBC, Radio Luxembourg and the Independent Television Authority, the song being mentioned only as 'A song by Wings'.

Answer: Scotland

Not really a lot to say about this single. It was very popular when it was released but Aneka (who was born Mary Sandeman) failed to chart, in the UK, with any follow up singles.

*Useless information* 'Japanese Boy' featured in the video game 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'

Answer: Mount Kilimanjaro

Misheard lyric to my shame... It was while I was researching this quiz that I found out that Toto weren't singing "Rises like AN EVEREST above the Serengeti".

Answer: Ralph McTell

'The Streets of London' was Ralph McTell's biggest selling single, at one point selling 90,000 copies a day.


*Useless information* The song was inspired by Ralph's experiences of busking whilst living in Paris. London was chosen as it seemed to fit better with the song than Paris did.

Answer: Morocco

'Marrakesh Express' was the debut single of Crosby, Stills and Nash. The song was inspired by a train journey that Graham Nash took from Casablanca in 1966.

Morocco is a country in North Africa.

*Useless information* 'The Marrakesh Express' was originally written for Graham Nash's former group, 'The Hollies'.

Answer: New Orleans

'The Battle of New Orleans' is a song about the 1815 Battle of New Orleans (surprise surprise!) as seen by a soldier fighting alongside Andrew Jackson against the British.

New Orleans (Known as 'The Big Easy') is a city in Louisiana known mainly as the birthplace of Jazz and more recently as the city that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

*Useless information* Johnny Horton recorded a second version of 'The Battle of New Orleans' for distribution to British Commonwealth countries. This version omitted the word 'British', substituting the word 'Rebels' (along with other minor changes to the wording) as it was felt that the more 'favourable' lyrics would increase sales in these areas.

Answer: Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot was born in Ontario, Canada in 1938. His recording career began in 1962 with a single release entitled '(Remember Me) I'm the One' which reached number 3 in the Canadian charts.

Ontario is the second largest (by area) province of Canada, the capital city of Ontario is Toronto and the Canadian capital city, Ottawa, is also located within Ontario.

*Useless information* Gordon Lightfoot has been awarded the 'Order of Canada' and the 'Order of Ontario' for his outstanding work in the field of music.

Answer: A Car

'Panama' was released in 1984 by Van Halen. According to David Lee Roth, the song is about a car that he saw racing in Las Vegas called Panama Express.

The Republic of Panama is a Central American country located on the southern end of the isthmus connecting North and South America.

*Useless information* The Panama Canal, which links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, was opened in 1914. To date (2010) the highest toll paid to use the canal is US$ 331,200. The lowest toll is 36 cents which was paid in 1928 by Richard Halliburton, who swam the canal.

Answer: Rotterdam

'Rotterdam (or anywhere)' by the Beautiful South was taken from their 'Blue is the Colour' album.

Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands in the west of the country.

*Useless information* the Port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe.

Answer: True

Originally the band were called The Animals and are probably best known for 'The House of The Rising Sun'. The name was changed to Eric Burdon and The Animals in 1966.

San Francisco - or more correctly The City and County of San Francisco is situated in the state of California on the west coast of the USA.

*Useless information* Throughout the song Eric Burdon refers to 'Warm San Franciscan Nights'.. in direct contrast to Mark Twain's comment that "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".

Answer: Transylvania

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' is a stage musical / film about Brad Majors and Janet Weiss who get stranded one night and end up in a castle full of aliens.

Transylvania is a country in Eastern Europe, now part of Romania.

*Useless information* 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' is thought to be the longest running release in film history. It is still showing regularly in cinemas around the world.

Answer: Sex Pistols

'Anarchy in the UK' was the 1st single released by the Sex Pistols.

The UK is officially called 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.

*Useless information* The 2nd single from the Sex Pistols was 'God Save the Queen' released in 1977 (Queen Elizabeth II silver jubilee year). This recording only reached number 2 on the official UK singles chart, this is disputed by many people who believe that the figures were 'manipulated' by the BBC (the counting methods used to compile the charts were based on sales in certain record shops... Many outlets refused to sell the record and it is believed, by some, that the counts were deliberately taken from these stores.)

Answer: Victoria

Ok not one of their best known songs, but I like it. Only reaching number 33 in the UK and 62 in the US this song was about patriotism in Victorian Britain.

Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria which is the smallest 'mainland' state of Australia.

Answer: Beautiful People

Jimmy Cliff is probably best known for the song 'You Can Get it if You Really Want' originally recorded by Desmond Dekker in 1970.

*Useless information* Jimmy Cliff is currently (2010) the only living musician to hold the Jamaican Order of Merit, the highest honour awarded by the Jamaican government for achievements in Arts and Entertainments.

Answer: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich were a British pop group that was formed in 1964. They are probably best known for the song 'Zabadac' released in 1967.

Xanadu is a real place, more properly known as Shangdu, it was the summer capital of Kublai Khan and is now part of Inner Mongolia.

*Useless information* Dave Dee was a former policeman before joining the band. He was once called to attend the scene of the car crash which took the life of Eddie Cochran, in fact he retrieved Eddie's guitar from the crash scene and returned it to the Eddie's family.

Answer: River

Christie were an English band formed in 1969. 'Yellow River' was their biggest hit reaching number 1 in 26 different countries world-wide.

The Yellow River is the 2nd largest river in China and is so called because of the yellow ochre colour of the lower reaches of the river.

*Useless information* Jeff Christie, who wrote 'Yellow River', originally offered the song to another British group ' The Tremeloes'. They recorded the song and then decided not to release it and offered it back to Jeff Christie. He recorded it with the newly formed Christies and the rest, as they say, is history.

Answer: In Zaire

'In Zaire' reached number 4 on the UK charts and also charted in other European countries.

The Republic of Zaire is one of the former names of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (between October 1971 and May 1997).
*Useless information* The record is based on the 'Rumble in the Jungle' boxing match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman which Ali won in the 8th round.