Interesting Facts About British Invasion Bands Quiz

Answer: They had a female drummer.

The Honeycombs had a female drummer named Honey Lantree. The band was performing around the club scene when songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley heard them and arranged a meeting with producer Joe Meek. Howard and Blaikley composed "Have I the Right" and also began managing the group. Joe Meek used unusual microphone techniques such as recording the band stomping their feet and speeding up the final mix.

Their debut single, "Have I the Right", fared well on the charts in several countries. Honey's brother, John, was also one of the forming members of the original five-piece band.

They released follow-up singles that failed to equal the success of "Have I the Right" and split up in 1966. The band has occasionally reformed, with Honey being a constant member.

Answer: The Nashville Teens

In 1962 The Nashville Teens formed in Weybridge, Surrey in England. They gained a reputation as a versatile backing band and backed many American acts in concerts in England and Hamburg as well as on recordings. After hearing them perform at one of the concerts British producer Mickie Most offered to produce them and the group recorded a cover version of John D. Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road". Jimmy Page played guitar on the recording. "Tobacco Road" became a UK hit and made the US Top Twenty.

The band recorded follow-up singles that were not aggressively promoted and they continued to back up visiting artists until disbanding in 1973. "Last Kiss" by the American group J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers reached Number Two in the US in 1964. The Chicago-based Buckinghams were originally called The Pulsations. Sir Douglas Quintet hailed from Antonio, Texas, and came to national prominence with their 1965 hit, "She's About a Mover".

Answer: You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry

"You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" was originally a US Country hit for Moon Mullican and was also recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford as the B-side to "Sixteen Tons". Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson were the original Caravelles. They named themselves after a French airliner.

The girls were each working for the same independent label when it was suggested that they record a duet. After the success of "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" they were in demand as performers but failed to release any more significant hits and were relegated to the "One-Hit Wonder" category. "Deep Purple" was a 1963 Number One US hit for Nino Tempo and April Stevens.

The Crystals released the US 1963 Top Twenty hit, "He's Sure the Boy I Love". "My Summer Love" was a 1963 Top Twenty single by Ruby and The Romantics.

Answer: South Africa

Manfred Mann came into the world on October 21, 1940, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He studied music at the University of the Witwatersrand and found work as a jazz pianist at several clubs in Johannesburg. He and a friend formed The Vikings when he was a teen.

In 1961 he moved to England and began writing articles about jazz under the name of Manfred Manne, deriving his pen name after jazz drummer drummer Shelly Manne. He shortened it to Mann and in 1962 formed a band with Mike Hugg called The Mann Hugg Blues Brothers.

This group eventually became Manfred Mann and was called upon to compose a theme for the Pop Music TV show, "Ready Steady Go!". The result was a UK Top Ten hit titled "5-4-3-2-1". They followed with other recordings including "Do Wah Diddy Diddy".

Answer: Elvis Presley

Dominic Joseph (D. J.) Fontana met Elvis when he was working as a drummer for The Louisiana Hayride. He backed Elvis during a performance and an enduring musical relationship ensued. Along with Scotty Moore and Bill Black they became known as The Blue Moon Boys and began backing Elvis on tour, in television appearances and in the studio. Fontana backed Elvis on over 400 sessions and was on drums during Elvis' 1968 comeback special.

In 1983 he published a book titled "D. J. Fontana Remembers Elvis".

He has been inducted into The Rockabilly Hall of Fame and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders were known for such British Invasion releases as "Game of Love" and "A Groovy Kind of Love".

Answer: The Troggs

The Troggs were originally calling themselves The Troglodytes when they formed in 1964 but had shortened their name by the time their 1966 hit record "Wild Thing" was released. The song was a US smash even though the band did not tour in the US. They followed with "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around" and split up in 1969. Members have reformed occasionally with various musician lineups. The Mindbenders were inspired by the 1963 film, "The Mind Benders", starring Sir Dirk Bogarde.

The Gamblers changed their name to Them after the 1954 Science Fiction horror film of the same name about mutant ants.

The Searchers cited the John Wayne movie of the same name as the inspiration for the band's name. Buddy Holly also was inspired to write "That'll Be the Day" from a line Wayne used in the same film.

Answer: The New Vaudeville Band

Geoff Stephens was a staff songwriter who was fond of the Twenties style of music. He had a calendar with a photograph of the Winchester Cathedral in his office and being a songwriter he composed a song about the building. To ensure that the sound he desired was achieved he hired session players dubbed The New Vaudeville Band to record the music tracks and he sang the vocal track into a megaphone. Surprisingly, the song became an instant hit, reaching Number Four in his native country and the top slot in the US. Stephens had to hastily assemble a group of musicians to tour in support of the song.

They toured extensively in the UK and America then had an extended engagement at The Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. They followed up with "Peek-a-Boo" and "Finchley Central" but gradually faded from the charts. Gerry and the Pacemakers were often in the US Top Ten but never had a US Number One hit.

The Spencer Davis Group and The Fortunes impacted the US charts but never had a Number One song.

Answer: Freddie and the Dreamers

Freddie and the Dreamers carefully rehearsed their seemingly spontaneous dance routines. They released a dance song called "Do The Freddie" that reached Number 18 in the US in 1965 and included dance step diagrams in their album of the same name. They appeared on US and UK television shows performing the song and dance. Freddie and the Dreamers was fronted by a diminutive former milkman named Freddie Garrity who flailed his arms and legs about while performing.

The band also appeared in a number of British films and were considered for a weekly television show with actor Terry-Thomas.

They convinced many critics that they were not simply a novelty dance act when they topped the US charts in 1965 with "I'm Telling You Now". The Bachelors, The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Zombies enjoyed US chart success without zany antics.

Answer: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles

Although instrumental hits "Stranger on the Shore" and "Telstar" had topped the US charts before the Beatles, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" knocked Bobby Vinton's "There! I've Said it Again" from the top spot on February 1, 1964. The Beatles began a string of hits and held down the top slot in the US until Louis Armstrong had a Number One hit with "Hello Dolly" on May 9th.

Despite Beatlemania in the UK, manager Brian Epstein tried for a year to get the Beatles heard on American stations without success.

A disc jockey from the DC area obtained a copy of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" from a stewardess for BOAC Airlines and became one of the first stations to get the Beatles on the American airwaves. "A World Without Love" made it to Number One in June, 1964. "House of the Rising Sun" topped the US charts in September, 1964 and "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy" topped the charts the following month.

Answer: The Kinks

The Kinks appeared in American concerts and on television shows until mid-1965, when they were banned. Neither the members of the band nor The American Federation of Musicians ever cited a specific reason for the ban, but it was rumored that their frequent on-stage fights and general rowdiness was the cause.

The ban prevented the group from attracting considerable US exposure so they toured extensively in Australia and Asia with acts such as the Honeycombs, Manfred Mann and The Yardbirds. Their singles and albums continued to chart well in the US.

In 1969 Ray Davies personally went to Los Angeles and met with The American Federation of Musicians in a successful effort to negotiate an end to the ban on the group. An attempt at a US tour the same year unraveled, but the group did play such venues as the Fillmore West and Whisky A Go Go.