City Folk (Part 9): Musical People Quiz

Answer: Don't Leave Me This Way

Thelma Houston was born in Leland, Mississippi, on May 7, 1946. The song "Don't Leave Me This Way" was actually a cover of Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes' original recording from 1975. Houston's version went to Number One on the U.S. soul singles chart. VH-1 ranked the song Number Two on their list of the Greatest Dance Songs.

The city of Houston, Texas has a rich blues history. One of the most popular touring spots is Dowling Street where one can visit historic blues landmarks and hear blues music in the many bars, clubs and music venues. Blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins was a fixture in Houston for many years.

Answer: The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson

Born Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson in Halstad, Minnesota on January 27, 1918, Skitch Henderson was a composer, band leader, pianist who became Bing Crosby's music director on the radio. It was Crosby who gave him the nickname "Skitch." He was the first bandleader of "The Tonight Show" when it debuted with Steve Allen as host, and after a hiatus, came back as bandleader again when Johnny Carson took over the hosting duties.

In 2011, Henderson, Nevada, the second largest city in Nevada after Las Vegas, was ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the Top Ten "Safest Cities in the United States." It has a population of about 300,000. Henderson has over 37 miles of walking trails.

Answer: Max Roach

Born in Chicago, Illinois on August 6, 1930, she started out as a singer in Chicago nightclubs, under the stage names of 'Anna Marie' and 'Gaby Lee'. The height of her work came in the 1960s working with bebop musicians. She performed with Thelonious Monk, Mal Waldron and Max Roach whom she would marry in 1962. She was awarded the Jazz Masters Award in 2013 from the National Endowment of the Arts for her lifetime achievement in jazz music.

The Capital Jazz Society in Lincoln, Nebraska produces jazz events for both students and professionals to learn from each other. Some famous musicians and singers from Lincoln, Nebraska include Gordon MacRae, Matthew Sweet, and Jon Peter Lewis.

Answer: Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield won the Grammy Award for Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1982 for the song "Jessie's Girl." He had also been nominated in that same category in 1983 for "Don't Talk To Strangers" and "I Get Excited" and also in 1984 for "Affair of the Heart." Dusty Springfield has not won a competitive Grammy Award although she had been honored with two Grammy Hall of Fame Honors. Her brother Tom Springfield, a retired musician/composer never won a Grammy. The Canadian/American rock band Buffalo Springfield never won a Grammy, although individual members of that band won Grammys with other acts.

Springfield is the capital of the state of Illinois, and Springfield, Massachusetts is the home of basketball where it was invented by John Naismith.

Answer: Cry Me a River

"Cry Me a River" was Julie London's first 45 single, and it has sold more than three million copies as has the album "Julie is Her Name." The song was written by her former classmate/boyfriend Arthur Hamilton. Bobby Troup produced it. Her ex-husband, actor and producer Jack Webb would use her famous rendition of "Cry Me a River" for the film "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955).

The city of London has many famous rivers. Its most famous is perhaps the Thames; the Celtic name is believed to have been Tamesas, meaning "dark." The Thames is 215 miles. The River Avon is over 83 miles, and the Mersey is over 70 miles.

Answer: You Should Hear How She Talks About You

Although "Don't Cry Out Loud" may be the song of hers that is most co-opted for use elsewhere, sometimes for a joke, the song "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" is the one that won her the Grammy. It's also the song that charted highest for her in the U.S. charts, peaking at Number Five. "Midnight Blue" though is right behind, having peaked at Number Six.

Manchester, England produced successful bands in the 1960s including the Hollies, Freddie and the Dreamers, Herman's Hermits, Keith ("Hey 98.6 it's good to have you back again..."), Scorpions, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, and so many others in later years as well.

Answer: Peter, Paul and Mary

John Denver started out in the folk music singer in the band The Chad Mitchell Trio. Milt Okun was the manager of that group and he took Denver's song "Leaving On a Jet Plane" to another folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary who recorded it in 1970 whereupon it went to Number One in the U.S. charts. The success of that song brought attention to John Denver who started to make a go of a solo career, launching his debut album "Rhymes and Reasons."

Airport code DEN, Denver International Airport is the 20th-busiest airport in the world and the fifth-busiest in the U.S. DEN is one of the busiest airline hubs in the world's largest aviation market; 69 million passengers traveled through it in 2019. Making more than $33.5 billion a year for the region, the airport is the primary economic driver for the state of Colorado.

Answer: Alone Again, Naturally

O'Sullivan sued Biz Markie in 1991 over Markie's recording of "Alone Again" on his 1991 album "I Need a Haircut." At first, Markie and his record label, Warner Brothers, did try to clear the sample through Gilbert O'Sullivan but the singer-songwriter declined permission. So the label released the song anyway. The ensuing legal case was settled by a judge in O'Sullivan's favor finding Biz Markie guilty of infringing on O'Sullivan's copyright, thusly owing $250,000 in damages. The ruling also barred Markie's label from continuing to sell either the single or album. He also referred the case to criminal court, on the grounds that Biz Markie was liable for theft.

Gilbert, Arizona (population roughly a quarter million) has several popular music venues including The Patio At The Forum, and also The Forum itself of course. There's also San Tan Flat which has outdoor dining, and Park Tavern, The Wild Vine Uncorked, for smaller venues and Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row for country music and Denim and Diamonds which includes a dance club.

Answer: Poco

Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Jackson Browne's style would seem to suit the band Poco perfectly, but no, he did not play with them. He had however, been a member of the newly founded Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and played in the late 1960s in New York City as a backing musician for Nico, of the Velvet Underground, and also for Tim Buckley. I wanted to include the Eagles as a choice, but that would have been too confusing--he wrote one of their biggest hits, "Take It Easy" but he was never really a member of the band.

Jackson is the capital city of Mississippi, and the state capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi, has an American bald eagle, facing south, that stands atop the 180-foot dome roof. It is eight feet tall and 15 feet wide, made of copper, and gilded with gold leaf.

Answer: Israel Berlin

Irving Berlin was born Israel Berlin on May 11, 1888 and he died September 22, 1989. He would become regarded as one of the greatest, most indelible songwriters in history to contribute to the American canon of songs with classics including "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)", "There's No Business Like Show Business", and the song that become a sort of alternate national anthem of the United States: "God Bless America." As a Jewish man it is ironic perhaps that he has written two of the most popular songs about Christian holidays, in history: "Easter Parade" and "White Christmas."

Germany's capital city, Berlin, has many popular tourist sites around the Christmas holidays. The Mitte District has such famous sites as the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Parliament Building, and Berlin's Cathedral Church. As for Berlin's Christmas markets there is Charlottenburg Palace, and Gendarmenmarkt which might be the two most popular, but there is also Lucia at Kulturbrauerei, aka the Scandinavian Christmas Market.