Deal Me a Song Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Gambler

"The Gambler" was composed by Don Schlitz, and over the winter of 1978-1979, Kenny Rogers took the tune to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and to number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. While the song had been recorded by singer Bobby Bare earlier that year, it was Rogers' recording of the song that became famous and won for him the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Rogers performed the song on the Muppet Show in 1979, and in 1980 a lenghty TV movie serial began and ran until 1994, based on the character from the song and starring Kenny Rogers in the leading role. Famous covers of the song include those of Alvin and the Chipmunks, Johnny Cash, Blake Shelton, and Phish.

Answer: Shape of My Heart

"Shape of My Heart" didn't perform very well on the charts; in fact, it climbed only to number fifty-seven on the UK Singles chart. However, it is still a very popular song among Sting's repertoire. It's also one of the few that was co-written by Sting and Dominic Miller, the guitarist who has been performing and recording with Sting since 1991's "The Soul Cages" album.

The song grew out of weekly jamming sessions that Sting and Miller participated in. According to Sting's book "Lyrics", Miller showed up at Sting's home with the song's guitar riff, and the two shaped it into a song. Later, Sting went for a walk to think about what the song could be about, and when he returned he had all of these lyrics about a gambling card player who is trying to find definites in life. Sting wrote, "Dominic now thinks that I find lyrics under a rock somewhere. . . .

He could, of course, be right."

Answer: Two of Hearts

"Two of Hearts", written by John Mitchell, Sue Gatlin, and Tim Greene, was released on Stacey Q's 1986 debut album "Better Than Heaven". VH1 ranked the song as number 27 on its Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s list. While most do remember her only for this song, she has recorded six studio albums. Stacey Q was born Stacey Lynn Swain, and before she became a pop singer, she worked for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a showgirl and then as an elephant rider.

Answer: Desperado

The song begins, "Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? / You been out ridin' fences for so long now". "Desperado" was originally a song Don Henley had been working on from his younger days but couldn't put all together until he and Glenn Frey began song writing together.

The song appeared on The Eagles' 1973 album "Desperado" and is included on several compilation albums and Greatest Hits collections; however, it was never released as a single. "Rolling Stone" magazine listed the song as number 494 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

Answer: Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House

"Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" was written by Dennis Robbins, Bobby Boyd, and Warren Dale Haynes, and it was originally recorded by Dennis Robbins in 1987. It had very limited success for him as it peaked at only number seventy-one on Billboard's U.S. Hot Country Singles chart. By 1991, Garth Brooks was given the song, and he included it on his "No Fences" album.

It became the album's third released single and Brooks' fifth consecutive number one hit. The song playfully begins, "Yes, she's my lady luck / Hey, I'm her wild card man / Together we're buildin' up a real hot hand".

The use of puns continues until culminating with the following entendres: "She's my honeycomb and I'm her sugar cane / We really fit together / If you know what I'm talkin' about".

Answer: Queen of Hearts

The lines of the chorus quoted in the question are preceded by "Playing with the queen of hearts / knowing it ain't really smart". The song was written by Hank DeVito, a musician who played in country singer/songwriter Emmylou Harris' band. Newton had been playing the song live for awhile before she convinced her producer that the song should be included on her album "Juice".

The song not only became a very popular pop hit, but it also climbed to number fourteen on Billboard's U.S. Hot Country Songs chart. Juice's real name is Judy Kay Newton.

Answer: From a Jack to a King

Ned Miller, who also wrote "Dark Moon", "A Falling Star", and several other country songs, wrote and recorded "From a Jack to a King" in 1957. However, it was most unsuccessful for him until he convinced his record label to re-release the song in 1962.

At that point, the tune became a huge crossover hit for him; it peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles, number two on the UK Singles Chart, and number one on the Irish Singles Chart. It was eventually covered by many other singers, including Jim Reeves, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ricky Van Shelton. Ned Miller gave up performing in the 1970s primarily because of his lack of interest in the career and his stage fright.

Answer: Ace of Spades

"Ace of Spades" is the title track of Motorhead's 1980 album. The song has consistently achieved critical acclaim. In addition to the praise mentioned in the question, the song was ranked number twenty-seven in "Q" magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and in reference to the bass playing of Ian Kilmister (aka Lemmy) a critic remarked, "This song has an intro which wouldn't be out of place ushering in the end of the world". Lemmy, Motorhead's founding member, lead vocalist, and bassist, has explained that he prefers playing slot machines when he gambles but felt that a song about a man who gambles in life and love needed lyrics about cards and dice rather than whirling pieces of fruit.

Answer: Farewell Angelina

Bob Dylan wrote "Farewell Angelina" in the middle of the 1960s. He attempted to record it for his 1965 album "Bringing It All Back Home" but gave up on it and allowed Joan Baez to include it on her 1965 album, which was named for the song. However Baez's version of the song is shorter than Dylan's. Dylan's version can be heard on his 1991 collection "The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare and Unreleased 1961-1991)".

Other covers of this song have been performed by John Mellencamp, Jeff Buckley, Tim O'Brien, Nana Mouskouri, and Kabir Suman.

Answer: Have a Lucky Day

"Have a Lucky Day" is found on Morphine's first studio album "Good", which was released in 1992. The song was composed by Mark Sandman, who wrote most of the band's songs, was the lead singer, and played two-string bass. Sandman suffered a massive heart attack and died instantly while on stage performing in Italy in 1999. Morphine remains an influential alternative and indie rock band.