Jumping Jays Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jackie

Jackie Wilson, nicknamed "Mr Excitement", was an American soul singer who'd had hits with songs such as "Lonely Teardrops" (1958) and "Baby Workout" (1963). He also scored a posthumous number one hit on the UK Singles charts with a re-release of his debut single "Reet Petite". Van Morrison, moved by the man's abilities, wrote this song, whose full title is "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)", as a tribute to Wilson.

He would record it as part of his stellar 1972 album "St. Domenic's Preview".

However, it would be Dexy's Midnight Runners who would score a big hit with it in 1982 when they covered it as their follow up single to "Come On Eileen".

Answer: Jacob

This would the third single for Huey Lewis and the News from their 1986 album "Fore" and it (pardon the pun) reached the top of the ladder that is Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Sadly for Lewis, this would be his last number one record on these charts. The song had been given to Huey by Bruce Hornsby who'd written the track in partnership with his brother John.

It was a way for Hornsby to say "thank you" to Lewis who'd assisted him with the production of his (Hornsby's) own hit album "The Way It Is" in 1986. Hornsby would later record his own version of the track for his 1988 album "Scenes From the Southside".

Answer: Jude

"Hey Jude" is one of the most written about songs in the Beatles' catalogue and it's also one of the most asked questions on this site. So much so that it becomes difficult to write something new and/or original about it. So, at the risk of sounding familiar here's a couple of points:
(a) The song debuted at number ten on Billboards Hot 100 in its first week. This made it the first song in that chart's history to debut in the Top Ten.
(b) The website "Culture Demons" cites 55 works of fiction that make a mention of the song. Amongst these are Stephen King's "The Wolves of Calla" (part of the "Dark Tower" series) (2003) and Toni Morrison's "Paradise" (1997).

Answer: Junior

"Junior's Farm" would be the last song that Paul McCartney would record with Apple Records. The song, recorded with his band Wings, was released in 1974. It was a non-album single and was used to maintain and take advantage of the great momentum that had been generated by the band's previous album "Band on the Run" (1973). The single would peak at number three on Billboard's Hot 100.

Answer: Jimmy

Jimmy Olsen is a photographer who works for the Daily Planet, a fictional newspaper in DC Comics "Superman" universe. In a "Superman" song that, for a change, is not about the man from Krypton, Jimmy Olsen is suffering the onset of depression because, in his world, he's just the photographer who works alongside the "greatest hero in the world" and the "greatest reporter (Lois Lane) in the world".

He's also got the hots for Lois but she has her eyes only on the man in the cape. There is a line in the chorus that reads "I got a pocketful full of kryptonite", which would lead to the album's title, "Pocketful of Kryptonite" (1991), but it doesn't refer to weakness according to the band's lead singer Chris Barron.

It is used to show that there is a unique quality in each of us and the kryptonite represents the "gem at the bottom of every soul".

Answer: James

"On the Border" (1974) is the third studio album to be released by The Eagles and, in some respects, is a transitional recording for the band. The Eagles take the time to look back at their roots with the country leanings of "My Man" and "Midnight Flyer" but it also introduced the new direction that the band was looking to go into, an edgy rock and roll sound.

They made their intentions clear with their first two singles from this album "Already Gone" and "James Dean". "James Dean" pays homage to the actor and star of movies such as "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955) and "Giant" (1956).

It focuses on his lifestyle rather than his death, a theme that would become familiar for the band in later songs such "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Good Day in Hell".

Answer: Jack

"Happy Jack" is a single released by The Who in 1966. What the song is about is a little difficult to identify though the setting is a beachside resort that the song's writer, Pete Townshend, used to attend. Some sources will tell you it's the tale of a seaside donkey, others that it relates to an old man that used to sleep on the beach and a third option is that it was inspired by a group of men, who weren't all there, that used hang around at the beach.

The single, which is described by a number of critics as one of the band's weakest, even lead singer Roger Daltrey claimed it sounded like a "German oompah" song, became the band's first to enter the Top Forty of Billboard's Hot 100 charts.

It was released in 1966 as part of the album "A Quick One" though the album's title was altered to "Happy Jack" for the US market.

Answer: Jesus

Many critics hail "Jesus of Suburbia" as being Green Day's finest song. Arising from Billie Joe Armstrong's desire to capture and conquer his own version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" it breaks all the radio friendly rules and still succeeds. Running for a little over nine minutes and broken up into five sections it introduces the main character (Part 1) of Green Day's 2004 concept album "American Idiot".

In Part 2 he comes to the realisation that he hates his home and he hates his friends. This moves to the introduction of St. Jimmy in Part 3 and the notion by Jesus that he now hates everything until, eventually, (Part 5) he makes his mind up that he needs to run away from home.

The song would be the fifth (and final) single from the album and, despite its length, would sell in excess of 250,000 copies for the band.

Answer: Jessie

Rick Springfield is quoted that the song arose out of sexual angst, a great motivator for writing songs. He was attending workshops dedicated to the art of stained glass making. A young lady caught his eye (he couldn't recall the name). She was there with her boyfriend and showed no interest in Springfield.

In Springfield's words "He was getting it and I wasn't, and it was really tearing me up." His release was to write the song. Recorded as part of his 1981 album "Working Class Dog" the song would become Rick's only number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Answer: Julio

"It was against the law
What the mama saw
It was against the law"
Those are some of the opening lines of this song but exactly what it was that mama saw is never revealed apart from the fact that it made papa "spit on the ground" and send the narrator to a "house of detention". In an interview with Jon Landau of Rolling Stone magazine Simon deftly sidestepped the question about mama by simply stating that he didn't know and he'd never thought about it. Guess that will have to be up to your imagination folks. This song appears on Simon's self titled solo album from 1972, his first album after his break up with Art Garfunkel. The song is also one of those rare creations that managed to climb the charts bearing a Spanish name in the title. Simon cleverly introduces a Brazilian flavour to the track with the use of a cuica, which is a kind of friction drum.