Let's Go to "Town" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney began his career with a tune called "(I Want to) Love My Life Away" early in 1961 which squeaked into the U.S. Top 40 charts at number 39. The theme song from "Town Without Pity" a 1961 classic starring Kirk Douglas did much better peaking at number 13 on the charts.

The song also scored well in the U.K. and in Canada. Pitney went on to have 15 more top 40 hits during the 1960s, some of which included "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "Half Heaven, Half Heartache" and "It Hurts to Be In Love". Pitney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Answer: Del Shannon

Del Shannon was his stage name, and he recorded such previous hits as "Runaway", (Billboard #1, 1961) "Hats Off to Larry" (Billboard #5, 1961) before he took this tune to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in late 1962. The song peaked at number four in the U.K. as well. Shannon success waned in the U.S. when the British Invasion started, but ironically, he continued to have success in the U.K. throughout the decade.

A wonderful talent, Shannon unfortunately took his own life in 1990.

Answer: Big Man in Town

"BIG Man in Town" was a 1964 hit for The Four Season which was written by band member Bob Gaudio. It was a Top 20 hit for the group on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts, peaking at that position late that year. It concluded what was probably the group's most successful year, a year in which they bucked the trend of the British Invasion.

They scored with no less than seven Top 40 hits that year including the Top 10 hits "Dawn", and "Save It For Me", as well as what is regarded in may circles as their biggest and best hit, "Rag Doll".

Answer: The Trade Winds

The Trade Winds sent this song onto the charts in 1965 and scored a Billboard number 32 placing. Not much before this song, and not much after. They changed their name in 1966, scored a couple of hits that made the Top 100, but are largely forgotten, and broke up in 1969.

Answer: Nancy Sinatra

The daughter of Frank Sinatra had just come off her mega hit "These Boots Are Made For Walking" which hit number one early in 1966. She released a couple of other singles during that year which didn't do as well, but then she came up with "Sugar Town" and scored a number five Billboard Hot 100 placing. Of course, the next year, she had her biggest hit, a duet with her father called "Something Stupid".

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had been making music together since their high school days in the late 1950s. After the enormously successful album "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 1970, the duo decided to part ways musically and concentrate on solo projects.

However in the fall of 1975, Paul Simon was a guest host on the popular U.S. television show "Saturday Night Live", and performed three songs, with the accompaniment of one Art Garfunkel. One of the songs was a collaboration that was written by Simon, originally for Art Garfunkel to be performed solo called "My Little Town".

They decided to record the song as a duo, and of course, success followed. The song became a number nine hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and went to number one on the Contemporary charts.

Answer: Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh's first appearance with the Eagles came on this album and "New Kid In Town", the first single from the album "Hotel California" went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the U.S. as well as number 20 in the U.K. in the winter of 1977. Walsh had previously been with The James Gang, and subsequently had his own group called Barnstorm. Walsh then replaced Bernie Leadon who left The Eagles in 1976. Walsh came on just in time, as the "Hotel California" album became the most successful album in the group's career.

Answer: Lipps Inc.

Lipps Inc. scored with the mega disco hit "Funkytown" in 1980, taking it to the top of the U.S. charts along with number one placings in Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Norway. It also reached number two in the U.K. and Sweden. The group itself was formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is considered a one-hit wonder.

Answer: Stray Cats

"Rock This Town" was performed by The Stray Cats and was off their debut album in the U.K. called simply "Stray Cats". The song appeared in the U.S. on their 1982 album called "Built For Speed". When released in the U.S. as a single, "Rock This Town" got as high as number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

The Stray Cats has two other top hits in the U.S. scoring with "Stray Cat Strut" and "(She's) Sexy and Seventeen.

Answer: John Cougar Mellencamp

John Cougar Mellencamp grew up in Indiana and reflected on his boyhood in the tune "Small Town" which was a 1985 hit for him, from the album "Scarecrow". The song peaked on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts at number six.