Just a Song Before...er...After I Go Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 1960s icon Janis Joplin finally hit the top of the U.S. pop charts, but it occurred after her death October 4, 1970. What was the hit song?

Answer: Me and Bobby McGee

Both 'Bobby McGee' and the acapella 'Mercedes Benz' were taken from Joplin's final album 'Pearl', released after her death, with her band Full Tilt Boogie. 'Piece of My Heart', performed when Janis was with Big Brother and the Holding Company, only reached number 12 on the U.S. pop charts in 1968. 'Bobby McGee' was written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster.

2. On December 10, 1967, soul singer Otis Redding died when a plane carrying him and members of his back-up band, the Bar-Kays, crashed into Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin. Redding's last single was released the following month and became the first posthumous number one pop song in the U.S. What was the song?

Answer: (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay

'Dock of the Bay' was an unexpected hit for Redding because it was such a departure from his usual performance. The slow, dreamy ballad was recorded only three days before the fatal crash.

3. South Philadelphia native Jim Croce was just coming into his own when a chartered plane crashed shortly after take-off from Natchitoches, Louisiana on September 20, 1973. Which of the following went to number one on the U.S. pop charts after his death?

Answer: Time In A Bottle

'Time In A Bottle' had the unlikely help of a made-for-TV movie called 'She Lives' with Desi Arnaz, Jr. The song finally reached the top of the U.S. pop chart in December, 1973. The song was written for his son, A.J., now a singer in his own right. 'Leroy Brown', about an actual man Croce knew in the Army, hit Number One in the summer of 1973, a few months before his death.

4. John Lennon's last official single was released on his 40th birthday (October 9, 1980), a day short of two months before his murder outside the Dakota in New York City. It reached number one in the U.S. pop charts the week after his death. What song was it?

Answer: (Just Like) Starting Over

'(Just Like) Starting Over' was the first new material that came from the ex-Beatle since 1975. He intentionally gave the song a 50s feel, calling it his 'Elvis/Orsbison track'. It was among the last songs added to the album, 'Double Fantasy', and was reportedly finished after Lennon listened to the Queen song 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'.

5. Without argument, the 'Queen of Tejano music' was Selena Quintanilla-P�rez, best known to fans around the world as Selina. She was only 23 when she was shot to death by the former president of her fan club in 1995. Her only song to hit the mainstream U.S. market was the title cut of what album, released after her death?

Answer: Dreaming Of You

Written by Fran Golde and Tom Snow, 'Dreaming Of You' reached number 21 on the U.S. pop charts, while the album reached number one, the first time a Latin singer had ever done so. Before her death, Selina made a cameo as a mariachi singer in the movie, 'Don Juan DeMarco' with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando.

In 1997, the film version of her life garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Jennifer Lopez in her portrayal of the singer.

6. When Elvis Presley died August 16, 1977, which of the following songs raced up the U.S. Country charts to become the King's last official #1 single?

Answer: Way Down

'Way Down' came from Elvis' last studio album 'Moody Blue' (which was printed on blue vinyl). The album marked a return to country roots for the King, including several studio tracks and some recorded in concert. 'Way Down', which featured the unmistakable bass voice of J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, reached Number One mere day after Elvis' death.

It would be his 33rd song to hit the top of the music charts.

7. Country music singer Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash outside Camden, Tennessee on March 5, 1963. Which of the following hit songs was NOT released in the year of her death?

Answer: I Fall To Pieces

Cline, real name Virginia Patterson Hensley, recorded her fourth and final studio album, 'Faded Love', one month before her death. This album marked the pinnacle of her recording career, featuring songs without the traditional country music instruments, but with full orchestration. 'Leavin' On Your Mind' was the only song from it released before her death.

The song 'I Fall To Pieces' hit the top of the U.S. country charts two years earlier, in 1961. Besides Cline, singers Cowboy Copas and Hawshaw Hawkins were also killed in the crash.

8. In January of 2002, R&B singer Aaliyah reached the top of the British pop charts with 'More Than A Woman', five months after her death in a plane crash in the Bahamas. This song was replaced shortly by another posthumous hit by what artist?

Answer: George Harrison

The re-release of the former Beatle's 1971 hit 'My Sweet Lord' came following Harrison's death from cancer on November 29, 2001. This marked the first time the British pop charts had two back-to-back posthumous songs at the top of the charts. Thornton (of the group La Bouche), Schildiner (founder of the metal group Death) and Adamson (of the group Big Country) also died in the latter part of 2001, but had no posthumous hits.

9. In its original release in 1967, this Louis Armstrong song went to Number One on the Britain pop charts, but got very little airplay anywhere else. It finally reached the pop chart in the U.S. 20 years later, 16 years after Armstrong's death. What song was it?

Answer: What A Wonderful World

Ironically, the song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss was intended to curtail the increasing racial tensions that were running rampant in the U.S. It finally got on the U.S. pop charts after the release of the 1987 film 'Good Morning Vietnam'.

While Armstrong never got to enjoy the song's renaissance (he died July 6, 1971), he did get to see 'Dolly' knock the Beatles from the top of the U.S. pop chart in 1964 and 'Mack' hit the Top Ten during his lifetime.

10. Which of the following artists did not perform a duet with a deceased singer?

Answer: Frank Sinatra

Ms. Cole hit the U.S. pop charts in 1991 with 'Unforgettable', a duet she made with a recording of her late father, Nat 'King' Cole. He died back in February, 1965.
The junior Williams did the same the year before on the U.S. country charts with 'There's a Tear In My Beer', singing with his dad, Hank Sr., who died in 1953.
Celine Dion used the stage of 'American Idol' in March, 2007 to perform Elvis Presley's song 'If I Can Dream' alongside a rotoscope of the King himself. Elvis died 30 years before, in 1977.

Source: Author Oddball

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
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A quiz about hit songs that came about after the artist had died.

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