Heavenly Music Trivia Quiz

Answer: England

Despite his German-sounding name, Gustav Holst was English. "The Planets" has seven movements, one for each planet in the solar system except Earth. These movements illustrate the astrological aspect of the planets and not really the astronomy.
(Question by akg1486)

Answer: Genesis

Genesis has gone through many incarnations over the years, but most would agree that there are two main eras: with and without Peter Gabriel, one of the founders. He left the band in 1975 and Phil Collins became the new front figure. In both the Old and New Testament, as well as the Quran, Gabriel passes on messages to men from God. The Bible does not actually refer to Gabriel as an "archangel", but the Christian tradition does.
(Question by akg1486)

Answer: Venus

"Venus", sung by Frankie Avalon was written by Ed Marshall and Peter DeAngelis. Mr Avalon re-released an upbeat version of the song in 1976 in an effort to boost his career. "Venus in Blue Jeans", sung by Jimmy Clanton, reached number seven in the Billboard 100 charts. It was written by Howard Greenwood and Jack Keller. Jimmy Clanton's first single, "I Trusted You", was released in 1957. It failed to reach the charts.

Bananarama released a cover version of Shocking Blue's "Venus" in 1986. The world wide sales of the Shocking Blue version exceeded five million copies, and the song reached number one in nine countries. The song was written by the founder of the Shocking Blue, Robbie van Leeuwen.
(Question by demurechicky)

Answer: The Beatles

The song was written by Bob Dylan as a soundtrack to the film, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid", in 1973. Warren Zevon recorded a cover version of the track on his album, "The Wind", in 2003. It was his last album as he died on 7th September that year. Avril Lavigne released her version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door",as one of the B sides to her single, "Nobody's Home" (released in 2004). The second B side song on the single was "I Always Get What I Want".

Guns N' Roses released a live version on their extended single "Welcome to the Jungle" in 1987, which also featured a cover version of AC/DC's, "Whole Lotta Rosie".
(Question by demurechicky)

Answer: Take That

The great entertainer in question is Robbie Williams, whose first claim to stardom was as a member of Take That. The song was not written by Robbie himself but by Irish songwriter Ray Heffernan who received 10,000 pounds and a promise of getting the credit. The only credit as printed on the album turned out to be fairly obscure: "Even fallen angels laugh last, thanks to Ray Heffernan".
(Question by akg1486)

Answer: "...dancing cheek to cheek."

The classic song "Cheek to Cheek" was written by Irving Berlin for the 1935 movie "Top Hat" starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. More recently, the unlikely pair of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded it in 2013.
(Question by akg1486)

Answer: Chip Taylor

Chip Taylor was born in 1940 as James Wesley Voight. His more famous brother is the actor Jon Voight, which means that Angelina Jolie is Chip Taylor's niece. The first recording of the song was by Evie Sands, but it became a hit in 1968 with Merrilee Rush. Chip Taylor had an earlier success with "Wild Thing", originally recorded in 1965 by Jordan Christopher & The Wild Ones, but made famous by The Troggs in 1966.
(Question by krzys44)

Answer: Train

"Drops of Jupiter" was written by Train lead singer, Pat Monahan, about the death of his mother. After she died in 1998, he returned to his childhood home and woke one morning with the words "back in the atmosphere" in his head, and with that thought started to compose the song. He said in an interview with VH1: "Loss of the most important person in my life was heavy on my mind, and the thought of 'what if no one ever really leaves? What if she's here but different?' The idea was, she's back here in the atmosphere."
(Question by chesterpchurch)

Answer: David Bowie

"Life on Mars?" was released as a single in 1973 and it reached number three in the UK charts. The song entered the British charts again over 30 years later because of its use in the BBC TV series "Life on Mars". It was also used in the American version of the series.
(Question by chesterpchurch)

Answer: 18th century

The lyrics for the hymn dates from 1739, but it originally had a different, more somber, melody. The tune as we recognize it today is from the mid-19th century.
(Question by akg1486)