Catreona's Musical Miscellany: The 1970s Quiz

Answer: Bread

Bread had thirteen singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the period 1970 through 1977, with 1970's "Make It with You" reaching Number One. They also had two Number One records on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, "Sweet Surrender" and "Guitar Man." The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006.

Answer: Love Will Keep Us Together

Though Neil Sedaka had been writing and performing successfully since 1957, "Love Will Keep Us Together," which he wrote with Howard Greenfield, was, surprisingly, his first Grammy nomination. The Captain and Tennille's recording received three nominations, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (which it lost to "Lyin' Eyes" by The Eagles), for Song of the Year (which it lost to "Send in the Clowns by Judy Collins) and for Record of the year, which it won (over "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian, "Lyin' Eyes" by The Eagles, "Mandy" by Barry Manilow and "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell).

Answer: Jack Jones

"The Love Boat," written by Charles Fox and Paul Williams, was released as a single and got radio play. While the version heard weekly by viewers of the romantic comedy that ran from 1977 through 1985 on the ABC television network in the U.S. has a standard Pop arrangement, Jack's album version is considerably more hip, having a distinct though understated Disco flavor.

It should be noted that in the show's last season, Dionne Warwick sang the theme.

Answer: Neil Diamond

Neil included "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" on his 1977 album "I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight" and Barbra recorded it for her 1978 release "Songbird." Several disc jockeys across the U.S. independently came up with the idea of splicing the two cuts together to create a duet. The results were so successful that Columbia Records had the two artists record a legitimate duet. This record went gold and reached Number One for two nonconsecutive weeks in December of 1978.

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" written by Neil Diamond and Alan & Marilyn Bergman, as performed by Diamond and Streisand, was nominated for Grammies in two consecutive years. In 1979 it was nominated for Song of the Year, which it lost to Billy Joel's "Just the Way You are." In 1980 the record was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (which it lost to "Minute By Minute" by The Doobie Brothers) and for Record of the Year (which it lost to "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers).

Answer: Three Times a Lady

Lionel Ritchie wrote "Three Times a Lady," which was the single from The Commodores' 1978 album "Natural High." The song was the first Billboard Hot 100 Number One for The Commodores, also reaching Number One on the Soul and Adult Contemporary charts. The song topped the charts in Britain and Ireland as well, one of only a handful of Motown records to do so.

Answer: Ventura Highway

"Ventura Highway" comes from America's 1972 album "Homecoming." It peaked at Number Three on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and Number Eight on the Hot 100. The song did considerably less well in Britain, only achieving Number Forty-two on the UK singles chart.

While Ventura Highway is fictitious, the other choices are or were real US highways.

Pompton Turnpike is a road in northern New Jersey. Will Osborne and Dick Rogers wrote the Jazz song "Pompton Turnpike" about the Meadowbrook, a popular swing era ballroom on Pompton Avenue in Cedar Grove. The song was recorded as an instrumental by Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra in 1946 while Louis Jordan had laid it down with his Tympany Five as a vocal in 1940. The Meadowbrook is now a Macedonian Orthodox Church.

As stated in the popular song of the same name written in 1946 by American pianist Bobby Troup, Route 66: "winds from Chicago to L.A., more than two thousand miles along the way." Most notably recorded by Nat "King" Cole in 1946 and The Manhattan Transfer in 1984 on their "Bop Doo-Wopp" album, "Route 66" has been performed by a long and illustrious list of Jazz, Blues and Rock acts.

Highway 101, also known as El Camino Real, running up the Pacific coast from Los Angeles in southern California, through Oregon to Olympia in Washington, was immortalized by American songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in their 1955 hit "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots," sometimes referred to as "The Terror of Highway 101." The song was recorded by popular bandleader and singer Vaughn Monroe as well as by the group The Cheers. Curiously with French lyrics, the song became a hit for "the Sparrow," Édith Piaf, who is much better known for sensitive and passionate songs like "La Vie en Rose."

Answer: Touch Me in the Morning

"Touch Me in the Morning" was Diana's second solo Number One single following 1970's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The song was written by Michael Masser and Ron Miller.

Answer: Please, Mr. Postman

Written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman, "Please Mr. Postman" was a Number One single for The Marvelettes in 1961 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart. The Carpenters returned the song to the top of the Hot 100 in 1975.

Answer: Barry Manilow

Barry Alan Pinkus (his name was changed to Manilow when he was a child) was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York in 1943. "Copacabana (At the Copa)" won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1977.

The dark eyed and black haired Antonio Dominic Bennedeto was born in Astoria, Queens, New York in 1926. While he was serving his apprenticeship in small clubs, he was befriended by Pearl Bailey and Bob Hope. It was Hope who told him his name was too long. Tony Bennett would fit better on marquees. He has been a respected Jazz and Pop singer ever since. As of 2016, he shows no inclination to retire.

The dark haired singer/songwriter Neil Leslie Diamond was (born January 24, 1941) in Brooklyn, New York.

William Martin Joel was born in the Bronx in 1949. The dark haired singer-songwriter is sometimes known as the Piano Man after an early hit.

Answer: Sammy Davis Jr.

A consummate entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr. could do everything - sing, dance, act and do uncannily accurate impressions. "The Candy Man" earned him a gold record and became his only Number One record, reaching the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Adult Contemporary chart.

In 1973 the record was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, which it lost to Harry Nilsson's "Without You."

Answer: The Manhattan Transfer

Tim Hauser, Laurel Massé, Janis Siegel and Alan Paul formed The Manhattan Transfer in 1972. They played around New York, acquiring a reputation as a hot new vocal ensemble and in 1975 they released their first, eponymous, LP. The single from that album, "Operator," gave them their first national hit.

The group's commercial and critical success continued unabated until, in 1985, their album "Vocalese" earned a historic twelve Grammy nominations. Throughout the '90s and into the Twenty-first Century, TMT has continued their tradition of innovative arrangements and spellbinding performances of both covers and original material.

Answer: Donny and Marie

Teen idols Donny and Marie Osmond, members of the large and talented Osmond family, had separate and successful recording careers. They also recorded together and, from January 23, 1976 to January 12, 1979, hosted a variety show on ABC.

Karen and Richard Carpenter were the core of the successful singing phenomenon known as The Carpenters. They usually recorded with only their own two voices, but for onstage performance, they employed backing singers. Though they made several TV specials during the '70s, they did not have a regular network series.

Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb (The Brothers Gibb), the BeeGees, gave us such hits as "How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?" "Too Much Heaven" and "Staying Alive." To the best of my knowledge, they never had a U.S. television show.

The Righteous Brothers were not siblings at all. The duo was made up of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield.

Answer: Both of these

Johnny Mathis' eponymous debut album came out in 1956 and his first Number One single, "Chances Are" followed the next year. Although his albums and singles consistently charted on Billboard's album, Adult Contemporary and other lists through the following years, he surprisingly did not score another top spot single on the magazine's main chart, what came to be called the Hot 100, till teaming up with Deniece Williams for "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late." The record peaked at Number Three in Britain.

Answer: Can You Read My Mind?

Maureen McGovern released a more conventional version of the song on her eponymous 1979 album, but it is the soundtrack recording that is most familiar.

Answer: Engelbert Humperdinck

Since taking the international music scene by storm in 1967, Engelbert has maintained his phenomenal output, producing at least one studio album, compilation and/or video every couple of years, often more. His tour schedule also remains impressive.