Early 1960s Potpourri Trivia Quiz

Answer: Norman and James

"Norman" was the #3 follow-up to Thompson's debut #5 hit, "Sad Movies". In "Norman", she couldn't do anything, go anywhere, nothing, without thinking of her "Norman". Blind devotion! BUT, later in the year, she's singing "James (Hold The Ladder Steady)" as she's about to elope with him. It was a #17 hit.

Sue had what could best be described as a "little girl's voice" even though she was 36 years old in 1962 and had been married three times. Obviously, singing songs decidedly geared for the teeny-bopper crowd when you're pushing 40 is not a strategy geared for long term success. So it was. She had one more chart entry in 1965, the #23 "Paper Tiger", then gravitated to the Nevada casino circuit where she performed well into the 1990s with a repertoire leaning to country music and more adult themes.

Answer: Patches

I apologize if I've offended anybody who actually liked these morbid bits of teenage angst. I did not!

Lee was born in Memphis in 1936 and started his career recording a couple of songs for Sun records in 1957. They didn't do well and he moved to Texas, performed with a band and started writing songs, mostly oriented to country music.

1962 was a big year for him. He had this hit on the pop charts and George Jones took one of his creations to the top of the country charts for six weeks. He had a couple of other pop chart entries but from 1965 thereafter, his focus was on country music - writing, performing and producing. He remains active into the new millennium.

Answer: Moon River

Two versions of this song peaked at #11 on the charts... Mancini's version with chorus from the movie soundtrack, I presume, and Jerry Butler's version. Oddly enough, the song seems to be frequently attributed to Andy Williams, largely because of his #3 album "Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes" released in 1963. Nevertheless, if he ever released the song as a single, it never cracked Billboard's Hot 100.

Answer: Yogi

"Yogi" was a novelty number in 1960 that charted at #8 for the Ivy Three. It was a parody on the cartoon series "Yogi Bear" and was their only chart entry.

Besides the three titles provided, his first three hits, Ives' final chart entry was the #39 "Mary Ann Regrets". In his early years, Ives traveled the U.S. as an itinerant folk singer during the Depression but also took a quick stab at professional football as well! Throughout the '40s, '50s and early '60s, he juggled recording, live radio performances, the stage, movies, television work and concerts in an extraordinarily diverse career. By the mid '60s, he primarily focused on TV work with the Disney Company through to the early '80s when he ostensibly retired, except for the occasional special performance. He passed away in 1995 at the age of 85.

During the Christmas season of 2004, I heard on the radio that the most played Christmas song over the past few holiday seasons has been the Burl Ives classic "Holly Jolly Christmas". Apropos... he struck me as a holly, jolly man!

Answer: Liberty Valance

This was one of director John Ford's last movies and it is now deemed to be a classic Western. Liberty Valance was portrayed by a sleezy Lee Marvin and who shot him... James Stewart? John Wayne?

Fresh off of singing the theme from "The Town Without Pity", Gene Pitney was engaged to sing the theme to this movie. He reports that he was paid a bundle to do so and Bacharach and David were commissioned to write the lyrics and the score. They wouldn't have come cheap either! But, for some reason, the song was never incorporated into the film itself as planned and no one knows for sure why, except perhaps Ford himself... and he never said. The song was then released independently and became a big #4 hit. Effectively, it cemented Pitney's future in the industry and he went on to a successful career for the rest of the decade.

Answer: Peppermint Twist

Joey Dee and The Starlighters topped the charts for three weeks in January 1962 with this number dedicated to the Peppermint Lounge in New York City where they were the house band. They only had one other truly big hit, a #6 cover of the Isley Brothers classic "Shout".

However, some of the players in the band went on to bigger things. Three quarters of the Young Rascals were once part of The Starliters and actor Joe Pesci was a guitarist in the group in 1961. The Ronettes were once back-up singers for Dee before their own successes and, believe it or not, Jimi Hendrix also played lead guitar for the band in 1965-66. Dee is still an active tourist on the "oldies" circuit.

Answer: Ahab

From 1961 to 1979, Ray Stevens had a total of 10 top forty hits and another 17 to crack Billboard's Hot 100. Most of them were novelty numbers like this one. Among his best were "Harry, The Hairy Ape", "Gitarzan" and the #1 "The Streak" in 1974. He did have a serious side though and his version of "Misty" was a #14 hit and the uplifting "Everything Is Beautiful" was his other #1 hit.

Although Stevens has had no charting success on the pop charts since 1979, he has remained active in the recording industry and has had numerous hit singles and albums on the Country side of the ledger. He remains active into 2005.

Answer: Heartaches

The Marcels only had two hits - this one and "Blue Moon", their #1 debut release earlier in 1961. Apparently, everything The Marcels recorded was a cover of previously released material and most of it pre-dated the rock & roll era. The Pittsburgh based group persevered for a few years with a number of personnel moves but the fortunes of all doo-wop groups were on the wane at the time. Suffice to say, the group no longer exists, the details of their disbandment lost in the annals of time.

Answer: Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah

The song won the Academy Award for the movie "Song Of The South" and was written by Johnny Mercer who also wrote "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive".

Bobb B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans were a studio group formed by Phil Spector. The group consisted of Bobby Sheen, who ultimately became a member of one of the latter incarnations of The Coasters, Darlene Love, a mainstay of Spector groups, and Fanita James who was a member of The Blossoms along with Love. The Blossoms often did the back-up vocals for Presley, Bobby Darin, Paul Anka and many others throughout the decade.

Answer: Good Luck Charm

I've probably done about thirty quizzes on 1960 lyrics and this is the only Elvis #1 song that I hadn't included in a quiz yet! That done, I'm at peace with myself!