Don't Sing Me That! Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Imagine" by John Lennon

Lennon said that Yoko Ono's poetry was such an influence on his lyrics to "Imagine" that she deserved co-writer status, although she didn't get any credit at the time of the release. Ono, along with Phil Spector, was credited as co-producer, however.

The tune itself is only offensive in its inoffensiveness, but it's really the sappy lyrics and pseudo emotional depth that rile me. I have tried following John's advice and imagined a world without all the things he rather nonchalantly disdains, and I have to say it's just a big nothingness. The bit that really gets my goat though is "imagine no possessions", sung by an enormously wealthy rock star.

Question submitted by thula2

Answer: Paul Simon

"50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" was released in 1975 and became an instant hit for Paul Simon. It was number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

It's one that I personally don't care for. I have never been a big fan of Simon & Garfunkel, with a few exceptional songs, and don't care much for either one as a solo artist.

Question submitted by Kennell.

Answer: Harry Chapin

Harry Foster Chapin was born on 7 December 1942 in New York City. His father, Jim, played drums in the Big Band era, one of the bands being Woody Herman's. Harry began his musical career in the Brooklyn Boys' Choir and then performed with his two brothers, Tom and Steve. He attended Cornell University, but dropped out, deciding he wanted to make documentary films, one of which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1971. He gave film-making up to concentrate on a musical career. He recorded several albums, but his big hit came with his album "Verities & Balderdash" and the hit single from that album, "Cat's In the Cradle" which rose to number one. His only hit in the UK was "W*O*L*D" in 1974, which made it to number 34 on the English charts.

He died on 16 July 1981 whilst travelling on the Long Island Expressway. Nobody knows why he slowed down and turned his emergency flashers on (possibly a heart attack), but his car was hit by a tractor-trailer truck. He was airlifted to hospital where he passed away. A spokesman for the hospital said that Chapin had suffered a heart attack and died of cardiac arrest, although it could not be established whether the heart attack was before or after the car accident.

Chapin wrote the lyrics for "Cat's In the Cradle" from a poem written by his wife, Sandra, which reflected the relationship between her first husband and his father, and also by a song she had heard on the radio. The song is about a father who is too busy to spend time with his son. The son grows up, gets married, and has a son of his own, and since he does not spend time with his own son either, the cycle continues. The song has been covered several times.

Question submitted by wenray.

Answer: Candle In The Wind

The first version of "Candle In The Wind" was a homage to Marilyn Monroe, whilst the second was a homage to the recently-deceased Diana, Princess of Wales. Whether you see Diana as The People's Princess or just another dull-witted, over-privileged, parasitic socialite is besides the point here; what exasperates me is that her supposed pal Elton couldn't even be bothered to write her a new song and just rehashed an oldie. Furthermore, the song he chose to tweak wasn't particularly good in the first place.

However, the song's sentimental slush hit a chord with the masses and it was a huge success all over the world and fast became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Question submitted by thula2.

Answer: Long Haired Lover From Liverpool

"Long Haired Lover From Liverpool", written by Christopher Kingsley, was number one for five weeks on the UK singles chart for Little Jimmy Osmond in 1972/73. It peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

James Arthur Osmond was born in Canoga Park, California, U.S.A. in 1963. He was the youngest of the nine Osmond children and the only one not born in the Osmond family home town of Ogden, Utah, U.S.A.

He was the first Osmond family member to be awarded a Gold Disc which he got at the age of seven for a recording in Japanese called "My Little Darling". Up to the date of this quiz he is still the youngest singer at nine years and 251 days to have reached number one in the UK when "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" hit the top spot on the 23rd of December 1972. I hope that he is thoroughly ashamed of it too.

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: Jack Jones

"Wives and Lovers" was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1963. The version by Jack Jones rose to number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Easy Listening Chart. Jack Jones won a Grammy Award in 1964 for Best Vocal Performance, Male.

John Allan "Jack" Jones, was born on 14 January 1938 in Los Angeles. He is the son of actor and singer Allan Jones whose signature song was "Donkey Serenade". Jack performed with his father in Las Vegas and released his first album in 1959. Many more were to follow over the years and he has recorded in excess of 50 albums.

His first movie appearance was in 1959's "Juke Box Rhythm". Although he was never a major star, he has appeared in over 15 films. In the '60s and '70s he appeared in many TV variety shows with stars such as Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams, The Smothers Brothers, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Tom Jones and many others. He sang the title song on the TV series "The Love Boat". He has appeared in musical theatre in productions of "Guys and Dolls" and "South Pacific" to name just two.

Between 1960 and 2005 Jack Jones was married to and divorced from Katie Nuckols, Jill St. John, Gretchen Roberts, Kathryn Simmons, Lee Fuller, Kim Ely and Eleonora Jones. If he had the attitude of this song towards women, I am not surprised.

Question submitted by wenray.

Answer: Pullover

"This Pullover" was written by Meccia/Stellman and sung by Jess Conrad. It was unleashed on the public in 1961 but failed to reach the UK singles chart.

Jess Conrad was born Gerald Arthur James in London, England, in 1936. He started out as a repertory actor and film extra, then in the late '50s he was cast as a pop singer in a BBC TV play called "Bye, Bye Barney". He was seen by legendary producer Jack Good and appeared on his Rock and Roll TV show "Oh Boy!" which ran from 1958 to 1959.

He had three hits on the UK singles chart between 1960 and 1962 which spent a total of 13 weeks on the chart. His biggest hit was "Mystery Girl" which peaked at number 18 in 1961. In 1977, seven of Jess Conrad's singles were included in the World's Worst Record list which was chosen by listeners to the Kenny Everett show on the UK radio station Capital FM. The list included the B-Side of "This Pullover", the appropriately entitled "Why Am I Living?".

Question submitted by shipyardbernie

Answer: Miles Davis

Miles certainly should have been arrested for sinking so low. He also recorded Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" for the same album. Sting was hanging around like a bad smell during the recording, which might explain why it is such a stinker.

It's a shame since the jazz giant's reputation was partly built on the fact that he had always had his finger on the pulse and had been fundamental in the development of bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, fusion, and had even convincingly dealt with funk on his astounding album "On The Corner" (1972). However, by 1985 he just seemed like a mad old grandad who thought he could "get down with the youth" and ended up making a fool of himself.

About the red herrings: only Louis Armstrong was a trumpeter (although Kirk dabbled), and all three were already dead by 1985.

Question submitted by thula2.

Answer: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

This song was released on the album "Ram", and was also released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971. The single sold over one million copies.

Not one of my favorites. To me, the lyrics don't seem to make much sense. I know it was supposed to be a whimsical type of song, but:

"Admiral Halsey notified me,
He had to have a berth or he couldn't get to sea.
I had another look and I had a cup of tea and butter pie.
(Butter Pie? )(The Butter wouldn't melt so I put it in the pie.)"

Seems just a little too silly for me, but not everyone feels the same way. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and is one of McCartney's biggest hits.

Question submitted by Kennell.

Answer: Des O'Connor

"Dick-A-Dum-Dum (Kings Road)" written by actor/singer Jim Dale was a number 14 hit on the UK singles chart for Des O'Connor in 1969. It did not chart in the US.

He was born Desmond Bernard O'Connor in London, England, in 1932. To avoid the London Blitz during WWII, he was evacuated to Northampton were he later played football/soccer for a brief period at Northampton Town F.C. After compulsory military service in the Royal Air Force, he was employed as a shoe salesman then entered show business.

He has been a compère in variety which included the Buddy Holly UK tour in 1958. He has worked in television on a wide variety of shows including comedy, talk shows and game shows. He has made more than 1,000 appearances at the London Palladium and has played a variety of venues from the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, to the Opera House, Sydney.

Unfortunately he also sings and has recorded more than 30 albums. He had three UK Top Ten hits in the '60s which included the 1968 number one hit "I Pretend" and the equally abominable "1-2-3-O'Leary".

Question submitted by shipyardbernie