Golden Oldies from the Swingin' 60s: Part V Quiz

Answer: Mark Dinning

This song was written by Jean Dinning and her husband Red Surrey, and performed by Jean's brother, Mark Dinning (1933-1986). The song was written and recorded in 1959 and progressed up the charts hitting number one spot on February 8, 1960 and staying there for two weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song is about a teenage tragedy.

Answer: Paul Mauriat

Paul Mauriat (1925-2006) was born in Marseille, France and was a French orchestra leader. The original song "L'amour est bleu" (Love is Blue) was written by André Popp (1924-2014) for the Luxembourg entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. Paul Mauriat did a remake of this song which spent five weeks at the top in USA from February 10, 1968.

Answer: Bruce Channel

Bruce Channel wrote the song with Margaret Cobb and it spent three weeks at the top of the charts from March 10, 1962 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was used in the 1987 hit movie "Dirty Dancing".

Answer: Zager and Evans

Dennis Zager and Rick Evans were an American rock-pop duo. The song reached the top in the USA for six weeks from July 12, 1969 and for three weeks at the top in the UK in August 1969. They were the first act to have a number one hit on both sides of the Atlantic and never have another single to reach the charts. The duo broke up in 1971.

Answer: The Singing Nun

The song was written and performed by Jeannine Deckers (1933-1985) from Belgium. "Dominique" peaked at number one for four weeks commencing December 7, 1963 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Besides French and English, Jeannine Deckers performed the song in Dutch, Hebrew, German, Japanese and Portuguese. The song reached the Top Ten in eleven countries in later 1963 and early 1964.

Answer: The New Vaudeville Band

The New Vaudeville Band was a British novelty group. The composer of the song was Geoff Stephens who was a fan of the British music hall or in the USA known as vaudeville. Quite surprisingly, the song was recorded by session musicians. However, when the song became an international hit, it became obvious that an actual band had to be put together.

The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week on December 3, 1966, was then pushed off the top by The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" and it was then back on top for another week commencing December 17, 1966.

Answer: Hugh Masekela

"Grazing in the Grass" is an instrumental recorded by the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The song peaked at number one for two weeks on July 20, 1968 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is believed the "grass" refers to marijuana. The song also reached number one for four weeks on the US Billboard Hot R&B singles.

Answer: John Fred and his Playboy Band

The song was written by John Fred Gourrier (known as John Fred) and another band member, Andrew Bernard. The song is a parodist play on the title of the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (by The Beatles). When the song reached the top for two weeks on January 20, 1968 in the USA, it had knocked off the top The Beatles, "Hello, Goodbye".

Answer: Kyu Sakamoto

The title "Sukiyaki" is an Anglo name for the song, as it has no relevance to the songs lyrics. The literal translation from Japanese is "I Look Up As I Walk". The song was performed by the Japanese crooner, Kyu Sakamoto. It was the first Japanese-language and Asian song to hit the top of the US charts and did so for three weeks on June 15, 1963.

Answer: Steam

Steam were a pop-rock music group and the song was written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frasheur. At the time "Steam" did not exist but when the song became a hit they decided too call the group Steam. The song topped the charts for two weeks on December 6, 1969 in the USA.

The song is chanted at the Chicago White Sox ball games and often a WWE events. The song has since been recorded by a number of artists including The Supremes.