Don't Forget the Lyricists! Quiz / Test | Music Mixture

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1. Which lyricist, who was mostly known for his collaboration with Richard Rodgers, wrote the lyrics for the musical 'Showboat'?

Answer: Oscar Hammerstein II

The stage musical "Showboat" combined the talents of Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern. Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics and Jerome Kern the music.
The musical premiered on 27 December 1927 at the Ziegfeld Theater on Broadway and ran for a total of 572 performances. It was the first stage production to give black and white characters an equal standing. "Showboat" was based on the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber.

2. When the song "Nothing Compares to You" is played, it is usually the version recorded by Sinead O'Connor. This single topped both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Singles Chart in the year 1990. Do you know which lyricist penned this beautiful atmospheric song?

Answer: Prince

The song "Nothing Compares To You", which was written by Prince, and was originally included on the live album by his group The Family in 1985. Prince never released the song as a single himself, but following the popularity of Sinead O'Connor's cover version, he started to included the song in his concerts. A live version on which he had duetted with Rosie Gaines was included on two compilation albums he released, "The Hits/The B Sides" and "Hits 1".

3. Elton John wrote the music for some of the songs featured in the 1994 Disney animated film "The Lion King". For this series of songs he collaborated with which lyricist?

Answer: Tim Rice

Tim Rice, having successfully completed songs for the Disney film "Aladdin" following the death of the original lyricist Howard Ashman, was asked by the Disney Corporation to write songs for their new film "The Lion King". Having parted company with Andrew Lloyd Webber some years earlier, Tim Rice asked Elton John if he would compose the music for the songs on this project.

The song from the film "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" won an Oscar in 1994 for Best Original Song.

4. The lyrics for "Hey Big Spender" recorded by both Peggy Lee and Dionne Warwick, were written by lyricist Dorothy Field. For which Broadway show that premiered in 1966 was this song originally written?

Answer: Sweet Charity

Dorothy Fields was the lyricist for many well known Broadway musicals; her career spanned from the 1920s through to the early 1970s. She worked with many different composers during this time but she worked most notably with Jerome Kern.
In the 1960s she teamed up with Cy Coleman and they wrote the songs for the classic musical "Sweet Charity" which included the songs, "Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now".

5. Gilbert and Sullivan collaborated on 14 comic operas for the English Musical Theatre between the years 1871 and 1896. Is is true or false that Sullivan was the lyricist of the pair?

Answer: False

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was the lyricist of the pair. Gilbert and Sullivan, as a partnership, wrote 14 major operatic works and inspired the comic ballet 'Pineapple Poll' created by choreographer John Cranko and arranged by Sir Charles Mackellas.
Sullivan was also instrumental in the building of London's Garrick Theater.

6. Made famous, and a big hit for Barry Manilow, the words of which of the following songs was penned not by Barry Manilow himself, but by the lyricist Scott English?

Answer: Mandy

Originally titled "Brandy", the song lyrics were written by Scott English with the music being scored by Richard Kerr. Scott English released a single of the song himself in 1972 and had a minor hit with it in the U.K. No interest was shown when released in U.S.

In 1974 Barry Manilow recorded the song but changed the name of the girl and the song's title from "Brandy" to "Mandy". It became Barry Manilow's first hit reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 whilst it peaked at the number 11 position on the U.K Singles Chart.

7. John Newton, an 18th Century lyricist, wrote which hymn, that in the 20th Century traversed from the sacred to secular and became a chart hit on both the UK Singles Chart and U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for some of the various artists who recorded it?

Answer: Amazing Grace

"Amazing Grace" was penned by John Newton following his conversion to Christianity during a violent storm at sea. The hymn has been set to various tunes over the years, but the most prevalent and well known tune is that of "New Britain". The hymn started to cross over into the secular arena as far back as the early 1920s, but came to notable prominence in the 1960s when it was adopted by the Civil Rights Movement and those opposing the Vietnam War.

8. The Gershwin brothers, an American songwriting partnership, collaborated on more than 20 Broadway Musicals and popular songs. George wrote the musical score, whilst --- was the lyricist of the partnership.

Answer: Ira

Ira Gershwin was the elder of the two brothers and the the lyricist. When Ira Gershwin first began writing in 1917 he would occasionally use the pseudonym "Arthur Francis". The musical "Porgy and Bess" featured the classic and still much covered song "Summertime".

9. The song "Sister Morphine" on the Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers" album was shown as co written by Jagger and Richards. Following a successful legal action a third person was added to the credits as a co writer of the song. Who was this person?

Answer: Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull wrote the lyrics to the song "Sister Morphine" during the period when she was living with Mick Jagger. She released the song as the B side to the single "Something Better" in 1969 on the Decca label. In 1971 the Rolling Stones released their album "Sticky Fingers" and the song appeared on the album credited only to Jagger/Richards. Following a lengthy court battle Faithfull gained the right to have her name included as co songwriter.

10. When Jackson Browne stalled on writing the lyrics to his partially completed song "Take It Easy", which "Eagle" took on the task of finishing the song with the result that when it was released by The Eagles in May 1972 it became their first hit reaching number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100?

Answer: Glenn Frey

In the early 70s Glenn Frey and JD Souther lived in the same apartment block as Jackson Browne. Looking for material for the forthcoming Eagles first album, Frey had heard a partially completed song by Browne which he liked. Asking Browne on various occasions if the song was finished, when Browne said it wasn't Frey offered to complete it for him. Browne had completed the first and third verses and Frey added in a second verse.

When the Eagles album was released in 1972 "Take it Easy" was the first track. Browne also included the song on his 1973 album, "For Everyman".

Source: Author rubytops

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Don't Forget the Lyricists! Trivia Quiz

Ever had a song stuck in your head with the words going round and round? Well here is a quiz about the people who write the words to these songs and weave their own kind of magic. Enjoy!

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