Mercy Me, What A Song Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Buckinghams

The year 1967 was a watershed year for The Buckinghams. In 1965 Carl Giammarese Nick Fortuna became part of a band named The Centuries which morphed into The Pulsations as various members came and went. They became popular locally and landed a job as the house band for a local show called "All-Time Hits".

The management of the program suggested that the band consider changing their name to conform to the British Invasion. They topped the charts in February, 1967, with "Kind of a Drag" and followed with other Top Forty hits. The Easybeats hailed from Australia and had a major US hit with "Friday on My Mind".

The Los-Angeles-based Grass Roots had a string of hits beginning in 1966 with "Where Were You When I Needed You?". The McCoys formed in Union City, Indiana, and had a national hit with "Hang on Sloopy" in 1965.

Answer: What's Going On

"What's Going On" was Marvin Gayes' tenth studio album and the first one crediting Gaye as producer. It was also one of the first albums to actually credit the Motown sessions musicians, also known as The Funk Brothers. Gaye had taken a hiatus from recording after the death of his friend, Tammi Terrell.

When he returned to Motown after an unsuccessful tryout with the Detroit Lions he assisted songwriters Renaldo Benson and Al Cleveland in composing "What's Goin On" for a Motown group called The Originals.

He ended up recording the song himself and creating a concept album around it. The title track went to Number Two and "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", featuring a classic sax solo by Wild Bill Moore, made it to Number Four. "Shotgun" was a 1966 album and single by Junior Walker and the All Stars.

In 1970 The Temptations released their "Psychedelic Shack" album and "Back to the World" was a 1973 album by Curtis Mayfield.

Answer: The Rolling Stones

South Carolina native Don Covay released unsuccessful singles on a couple of labels before he was signed to the Rosemart label and recorded "Mercy Mercy". The session featured a young guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. Based on the success of "Mercy Mercy" his contract was purchased by Atlantic records. Covay's recording career was not remarkable, however, several of his songs were recorded by such greats as Aretha Franklin, Steppenwolf, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett and many others. The Rolling Stones recorded a version for their 1965 "Out of Our Heads" album in at Chess Records.

The album also featured "Heart of Stone".

Answer: Cannonball Adderley

Joe Zawinul composed "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" specifically for Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and it became the title track from Adderley's album, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'". Zawinul played a Wurlitzer piano on the track that he borrowed from Ray Charles.
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley was a sax player who was raised in Tampa but relocated to New York to pursue a performing and recording career. One evening he brought his saxophone into the Cafe Bohemia to keep it from being stolen. He ended up sitting in with Oscar Pettiford's band which led to a stint with Miles Davis before forming his own band.
British musician Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen released "Midnight in Moscow" in 1961. Stan Getz is known for recording Carlos Jobim classics such as "Girl from Ipanema". Pianist Dave Brubeck was known for piano hits such as "Take Five".

Answer: Wales

Aimée Ann Duffy was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. She was raised in Nefyn in North Wales, with a twin sister, Katy Ann. She cited Whoopi Goldbreg's "Sister Act (1992)" and her dad's collection of tapes from the "Ready, Steady, Go" televisions series as major influences. "Mercy" was a single release from her 2008 debut album, "Rockferry".

The song fared well on the British and US charts. In 2009 "Rockferry" received a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Vocal Album". She also garnered a variety of awards in the UK.

Answer: Elton John

"Don't Shoot me I'm Only the Piano Player" was Elton's sixth straight Number One album in the US. The album was recorded in 1972 at the Chateau d'Herouville Studios in Herouville, France, and produced by Gus Dudgeon. All the songs were written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Some of the hits to come from the album were "Crocodile Rock" and "Daniel". "Crocodile Rock" topped the US charts in February, 1973.

Answer: Christina Aguilera

Both "Genie in a Bottle" and "What A Girl Wants" topped the US charts in 1999 and began a series of hits and tours for Staten Island native Christina Aguilera. She aspired to be a singer as a child and in 1990 she made it to the second slot on "Star Search" singing "A Sunday Kind of Love". In 1998 she sang "Reflection" for the soundtrack of "Mulan" (1998) which led to a recording contract with RCA Records.
Doreen Tracey and Darlene Gillespie were from the fifties-era "Mickey Mouse Club". Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera worked together on "The New Mickey Mouse Club" in 1993.

Answer: The Judds

"Love Is Alive" and "Girls Night Out" were also Number one hits in 1985 for The Judds. Their first Number One hit came two years earlier when they released "Mama He's Crazy". "Rockin' with the Rhythm of the Rain", "Have Mercy" and "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)" were all hits from their 1985 "Rockin' With the Rhythm" album.

They released a total of 14 Number One hits in the eighties and nineties. "I Need More of You" was a 1985 Number One for The Bellamy Brothers. The Forester Sisters took "I Fell in Love Again Last Night" to the top the same year. "Too Much on My Heart" was a chart-topper by The Statler Brothers in 1985.

Answer: Peter Gabriel

"Sledgehammer" was the biggest hit single from the "So" album for Peter Gabriel. He obviously liked single title albums because he also released "Us" in 1992 and "Up" in 2002. Both "So" and "Us" made it to the Number Two album slot in the US. Peter was a founding member of Genesis in 1967 along with Chris Stewart, Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford. Mike Rutherford formed Mike and the Mechanics and charted several US hits in the eighties. George Michael and Wham released "Careless Whisper" in 1985. Curt Smith was a member of Tears for Fears. Andy Taylor of Duran Duran worked with Robert Palmer in Power Station and the band released "Some Like it Hot" as a single in 1985.

Answer: Slayer

Slayer formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981. After releasing several albums over the two decades they finally received a Grammy for "Eyes of the Insane" in 2007. They had humble beginnings in 1983, financing their debut album themselves and touring with a U-Haul trailer.

When they released their "Reign in Blood" album three years later they quickly rose to become on of the top bands in their genre. Iron Maiden formed in 1975 in in East London. Their first album was released in 1980 and was titled simply "Iron Maiden". "Rock Until You Drop" was British group Raven's 1981 debut album. Diamond Head formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England.

In 1980 they released "Lightning to the Nations".