Call Me - Back Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ray Parker, Jr.

The answer to the question in the song was, of course, 'Ghostbusters!'. The other memorable lyric was 'I ain't afraid of no ghost'. Parker wrote the song in only a few days and was rewarded with a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the UK Singles chart.

The song was adapted in 2009 for a television advertisement for the UK directory enquiries service 118 118. Parker appeared in the commercial himself, singing the revised lyrics.

Answer: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

The Police, with Sting on vocals, Andy Summers on guitar and Stewart Copeland on drums, were hugely successful from the late 1970s onwards. The lyrics I quoted go on to say 'but my silent fears have gripped me long before I reach the phone'. 'Every Little Thing' reached the top of the UK singles chart in 1981 and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. 'Every Breath You Take' (the stalking song) was even more successful in 1983 and the other two songs were also big hits for the band.

Answer: Bananarama

Fun Boy Three were Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding, who had previously played together in The Specials. The Specials had UK hits in 1981 with 'Ghost Town' and in 1984 with 'Free Nelson Mandela'. Fun Boy Three's recordings with Bananarama were their only UK top ten hits. According to Wikipedia, 'Really Saying Something' was played regularly on MTV so I hope that made the question more accessible to players in the USA.

Answer: Joanie

The song was about a couple having an argument. When the singer rang his girlfriend the next day to apologise all he got was her answering machine saying 'Hello, this is Joanie', and he then discovered that she had crashed her car on the way home and died. Cheerful and uplifting? Despite the morbid nature, the song did well for Paul, especially in the UK where it got into the top ten. Joanie is spelled in various ways on the internet, but I have used the version from the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles.

The other girls' names are featured in songs by The Everly Brothers.

Answer: David Gray

'White Ladder' was David's breakthrough album in the UK and included his number five UK Singles chart entry 'Babylon'. The song also crept into the lower reaches of the US Billboard Hot 100. David has been rather more successful with album sales in the USA and achieving chart success on the Billboard Hot 200 album charts.

His 2010 album, 'Foundling', actually reached a higher chart position in America than in his home country. Ray Davies was the lead singer for The Kinks and Elvis Costello led The Attractions. Chris Martin sang with Coldplay, and all four of these men are talented songwriters.

Answer: Happy Together

All the songs were top ten hits in the USA for the band, although 'Happy Together' was the only one to reach the top spot, in 1967. On the UK Singles chart it managed only number twelve, although 'She'd Rather be with Me' reached number four in 1967 and 'Elenore' peaked at number seven in 1968.

Their cover of Dylan's 'It Ain't Me Babe' came out in 1965 and was their first hit in their home country.

Answer: It Must Be Him

The song was originally written in French by Gilbert Bécaud, when it was called 'Seul sur son Étoile'. Bécaud also wrote the song 'Je t'appartiens', which became 'Let it Be Me' when English lyrics were put to the song, and produced a huge hit for the Everly Brothers.

The lyrics of 'It Must Be Him' include 'that's when the 'phone rings and I jump; and as I grab the 'phone I say; let it please be him, oh dear God it must be him'. Vikki took the song to number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and to number two on the UK Singles chart. Vikki was born in El Paso, Texas and her real name is Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona. Thanks are due to editor agony for reminding me of this song.

Answer: Dire Straits

The song was released as a single from the album which turned out to be the band's final studio recording, 'On Every Street'. The song was about a fan who, like many people, refused to believe that Elvis was dead. The lyrics include references to 'Heartbreak Hotel', 'Don't Be Cruel' and 'Love Me Tender' and also ask 'did he leave the building?'.

The single was a moderate hit, reaching number twenty-one on the UK Singles chart and number three on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks compilation.

Answer: Phoenix

The lyrics come from 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix', which was released in 1967. It told the story of a man leaving his lover, and how she would find it hard to believe as 'I've left that girl so many times before'. The lyrics mention Phoenix, Oklahoma and Albuquerque as places the singer will be passing through, and he visualises what she will be doing at each stage of his journey.

The song reached number twenty six on the US Billboard Hot 100 although it did not chart in the UK. The other places offered as options come from 'Galveston', released in 1969, and 'Wichita Lineman', also from 1969, the song which gave Glen his first chart success in the UK. 'Kentucky Means Paradise' was an early release, in 1962, which featured the Green River Boys.

Answer: Jim Reeves

The song title was 'He'll Have to Go' and it was Jim's major 'crossover' hit in the USA where it reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, having already reached number one on the US Country charts. Jim had numerous other hits on the country charts in the USA.

In the UK he had a number one hit on the Singles charts in 1966 with 'Distant Drums'. Sadly, this was a posthumous hit as Jim had been killed in an air accident in 1964.