Let's Dance Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Twist

The song was originally a Top 40 hit for Hank Ballard and the Midnighters in 1959, but it was Checker's cover version in 1960 that gave rise to the dance craze known as The Twist. The song became a number one U.S. charting Billboard hit in 1960, and amazingly accomplished the same feat when re-released in 1962.

As of 2009, this is still the only song in U.S. Billboard chart history to accomplish the feat of achieving the number one position on the charts during two different releases. Checker had a number of other songs pertaining to dances that made the charts, including "Let's Twist Again", a follow up to this song, and others such as "The Fly" and "Pony Time".

Answer: It replaced Chubby Checker's "The Twist" at number one

"The Peppermint Twist" was written by Joey Dee along with Henry Glover, and was a number one hit on Billboard's U.S. Hot 100 for Joey Dee and The Starlighters in early 1962. They capitalized on the twist craze by releasing this song in conjunction The Peppermint Lounge, a club where Dee and his group were appearing at the time.

It directly succeeded Chubby Checker's second number one run with his version of "The Twist".

Answer: True

The Beach Boys actually recorded this song as a cover and included it on their "Beach Boys Party" album in 1965. It was not released as a single. The song that was released as a single was recorded by The Olympics in 1960 and that song only reached as high as number 72 on the Billboard charts, but spawned the Hully Gully dance craze nonetheless.

Answer: The Stroll

"The Stroll" was a line dance that was popular in the late 50s and early 60s. The dance is performed with a line of men and a line of women facing each other, with a space in between. The man and woman at the end of the line then proceed down the aisle formed between the two lines dancing steps as they go, while the two lines of dancers remain dancing in place.

The Diamonds took this song to number four on the U.S. Billboard charts in 1957. It was the group's second biggest hit ever, being eclipsed only by "Little Darlin'".

Answer: Bristol Stomp

"The kids in Bristol are sharp as a pistol when they do the Bristol Stomp". The Dovells were from Philadelphia Pennsylvania, one of the hotbeds of early rock and roll. They recorded this song accapella and the song became a number two U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1961.

The Stomp was a popular dance step of the early 1960s, and Bristol was a suburb of Philadelphia, thus "The Bristol Stomp".

Answer: Potato

"Mashed Potato Time" was a number two Billboard U.S. charting hit for Dee Dee Sharp in 1962. It was a similar step to The Twist which had been popularized by Chubby Checker. She followed it up with the less successful "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" later that year.

Answer: Little Eva

Written by Carole king, the original version was done by Little Eva in 1962. The song became a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for her that year. It was covered by Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 and was a number one hit again that year.

It was covered again as the debut tune for pop singer Kylie Minogue in 1987 and was a worldwide success, going to number one in her native Australia as well as several countries in Europe. It was a number three hit in then U.S. What makes this song unique is that it is the only song in Billboard chart history to achieve Top 5 status on the charts in three different decades by three different artists. Little wonder that it appears on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" at number 350.

Answer: The Mouse

Soupy Sales, a popular comedian in the 1960s who probably holds the world record for receiving pies in the face, mad his only foray into pop music with this song and it gave him a local hit in the New York area which charted on all the local music surveys in 1965.

He even performed it nationally on The Ed Sullivan Show in the U.S. The dance was simply wiggling your fingers palm open up near your ears, and making a gnawing motion with your mouth and teeth. Silly as it sound, this actually sold records back then.

Answer: Freddie and The Dreamers

Freddie and the Dreamers were part of the so called "British Invasion" in the U.S in 1964 and 1965. With the success of "I'm Telling You Now", Freddie Garrity and his group followed up with "Do the Freddie" and it was a number 18 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1965. The dance was done by simply extending your arms and legs one at a time in time to the music.

Answer: Blame It on the Bossa Nova

Eydie Gorme was a singer who along with her husband Steve Lawrence performed many classical pop music renditions from the 40s, 50s and 60s. "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" was a hit for her as a solo artist in 1962. The song was a Billboard U.S. Hot 100 number seven hit as well as a Top 40 hit in the U.K.

The dance is actually rooted in Brazilian music, and reached the height of its popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The lyrics of the song itself told of how it was instrumental in getting the singer to fall in love with her fiancé.

Answer: Bobby Freeman

Freeman's "Do You Want to Dance?" was a number five hit in the U.S. way back in 1958. He had not had another successful record for six years until this song, "C'mon and Swim" hit the charts and spawned that particular dance craze in 1964. It involved as you might expect, imitating a swimming motion with your arms while bouncing to the musical beat.

The song was his only other big hit, reaching number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: The Duck

Earl Nelson was a member of the duo Bob and Earl, along with Bobby Byrd. They had a successful song called "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" as members of a group called The Hollywood Flames. Byrd opted for a solo career and used the name Bobby Day to record "Rockin' Robin" in 1958. Earl continued to write and engaged another "Bob" for his act in 1962.

He then wrote a song called "Harlem Shuffle" which became his standard. It's the same tune covered by The Rolling Stones in the 1980s. "The Duck" was recorded under the pseudonym Jackie Lee. Jackie was his wife's name and Lee was his middle name, thus Jackie Lee.

The song itself got as high as number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1965.

Answer: The Capitols

The Capitols version of "Cool Jerk" capitalized on this particular dance craze. It was a number seven hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for them in 1966. Notable covers of the song were by Todd Rundgren and The Go-Gos.

Answer: The Hustle

Van McCoy, along with his group The Soul City Symphony, was the Grammy winning artist as Best Pop Instrumental Performance for "The Hustle" in 1975. The song itself was a smash hit and one of the most popular and enduring of the disco era. It reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Soul charts and was an international hit as well.

Answer: Macarena

"Macarena" actually is the name of a woman or any woman from that section of Spain. The group Los Del Rio turned this simple song into a hit that stayed on top of the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 for 14 weeks and stayed on the charts for 62 straight weeks in mid 1996, becoming an international sensation as well.

In a survey by VH-1 TV in 2002, the song was listed as the number one One-Hit Wonder of all time.