Fruity Songs from the Forties Trivia Quiz

Answer: Apple

The full title of this popular song is "Don't Sit under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)".
In 1942, The Andrews Sisters, accompanied by the Harry James orchestra, sang it in the musical film "Private Buckaroo" about an entertainer who enlists in the army, but who stirs up trouble as a recruit. The Andrews Sisters (Maxene, Patty and Laverne) went on to record the song with labels Brunswick and Capitol.

Earlier, also in 1942, "Don't Sit under the Apple Tree" had been recorded on Bluebird by the Glenn Miller Orchestra with vocalists Gordon "Tex" Beneke, Marion Hutton and The Modernaires. The US magazine, "Billboard", listed this song in their charts as a number one hit in 1942. - Kenners158

Answer: Blueberry Hill

The song, originally written in 1940, became a number one hit for the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1940 and was recorded by many different artists of the period. The greatest success was the Fats Domino version in 1956 which has since been ranked number 82 in "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

It has been said the name "Blueberry Hill", comes from a "makeout-spot" in Taos, NM! - Timnross

Answer: True

The most popular version of this was recorded by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and decades later this same tune featured as background in the movie "Star Trek III - The Search for Spock". C30

Answer: Apple

"Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" was another "Billboard" magazine best seller in 1946.
Amazingly, this was recorded three times that year with three different singers and orchestras. June Christy sung it with Stan Kenton & his Orchestra rated as a number one. Dinah Shore sung it accompanied by the Sonny Burke Orchestra also rated as a number one. In the same year, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played it with vocalist Don Rodney, which reached number six in the "Billboard" charts.

The chorus of this song goes "Shoo fly pie and apple pan dowdy; Makes your eyes light up; Your tummy say "howdy"; Shoo fly pie and apple pan dowdy; I never get enough of that wonderful stuff".
Sammy Gallop wrote the words; Guy Woods wrote the music. - Kenners158

Answer: Coconuts

This comic song, composed in 1944, was a hit for Danny Kaye (amongst others), but is probably best known for being an almost permanent fixture aired in the radio programme "Billy Cotton Band Show" (1949-68).

Traditionally it is reputed to be played over the Public Address system at Cambridge United FC when they record a home win. - C30

Answer: If I Had My Way

The film "If I Had My Way" was released in 1940. Bing Crosby made a total of 59 films, seven of which were the "Road" films that he made with Bob Hope.

His most popular song "White Christmas" has sold over 1000 million copies according to the Guinness Book of Records. - rhosyn

Answer: Strawberry

This 1949 song "A Strawberry Moon (In a Blueberry Sky)" was written by American lyricist Bob Hilliard with composer Sammy Mysels. There were many recordings of this song. Anita O'Day was a jazz singer who recorded it as a single and on her 1952 album "The Lady is a Tramp" (originally called "Anita O'Day Sings Jazz").
The song was recorded by British music hall entertainers Bob and Alf Pearson who used to start their performances with the words "We bring you melodies from out of the sky, my brother and I".

Welsh singer Donald Peers recorded it as a single which is now part of a 2005 album "Radio Times: A Tribute to the Golden Days of Radio". It was recorded as a single by Blue Barron and his Orchestra with vocalists Clyde Burke and Dolores Hopkins. Australian-born singer Joy Nichols and British singer Benny Lee sang it together on a single with the Stanley Black Orchestra and Keynotes. American singer Jerry Vale recorded it on his 1959 album "The Same Old Moon". Bandleader and singer Vaughn Monroe recorded it and it is now on a 2004 compilation album "Ruby".

The last chorus of the song is "Oh the moon, lovely moon. What a glorious strawberry moon". The writers Neal Hefti and Steve Allen must have been influenced by these words when they wrote "Oh, What a Night for Love", sung by Ella Fitzgerald, because the first line of their song is "A strawberry moon, blueberry sky". - Kenners158

Answer: The Third Man

"The Third Man" is a classic British movie from 1949 starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. The music for the movie was composed, played and recorded by zither player Anton Karas. "The Harry Lime Theme" for solo zither is repeated throughout the movie.

The character Harry Lime is played by Orson Welles. This music was released in the US under the name "The Third Man Theme" in 1950. It reached number one in the "Billboard" magazine charts where it stayed for eleven weeks -ramblingrose

Answer: Chiquita

The "Chiquita Banana" song first hit the air waves in 1944 as a public service message to help teach Americans how to ripen and use bananas, which at the time was an exotic tropical fruit. At its highest point "Chiquita Banana" was aired over 350 times a day! -Timnross

Answer: Lombardo and Loeb

Carmen Lombardo and John Jacob Loeb had a long successful partnership that turned out many songs including 'A Sailboat in the Moonlight' and 'Seems Like Old Times'. They also wrote the words and music for stage productions 'Arabian Nights', 'Paradise Island' and 'Mardi Gras'.

Their song 'Ma, I Miss Your Apple Pie' was recorded by many artists including Guy Lombardo, Jimmy Boyd and Billy Cotton. - rhosyn