Music Palette Trivia Quiz

Answer: Green

The two colours were yellow and blue, which combine to make the colour green. The 1960 novelty hit was 'Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini', which was sung by Brian Hyland and reached number 1 on the 'Billboard Hot 100' in August that year.

The song was also covered by Bombalurina in 1990 when it reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. The 1956 hit by Elvis was 'Blue Suede Shoes', which was actually a cover version of a Carl Perkins rockabilly song. Surprisingly, Perkins' version was the greater chart success.

Answer: Grey

The two colours were black and white, which combine to make the colour grey. The Alannah Myles hit was 'Black Velvet', a homage to Elvis Presley which spent two weeks at number 1 on the 'Billboard Hot 100' in 1990. The Moody Blues classic was 'Nights in White Satin', which was first released in 1967, and re-released on a number of occasions since.

The first re-release reached number 2 on the 'Billboard Hot 100' in 1972. Moody Blues member Justin Hayward wrote the song at age 19, and gave it its name after he received a gift of satin bedsheets from a friend.

The song is sometimes mislabelled 'Knights in White Satin'.

Answer: Orange

The two colours were yellow and red, which combine to make the colour orange. The Joni Mitchell hit was 'Big Yellow Taxi', an environmental-themed song first released in 1970 which has been covered by numerous artists, including Bob Dylan, Amy Grant, Counting Crows and Green Day. Mitchell said she wrote the song in Hawaii after seeing an enormous parking lot between her hotel window and some beautiful mountains in the distance ('they paved paradise and put up a parking lot').

The Prince song was 'Little Red Corvette', which was released in 1983, and was the artist's first top-10 US hit.

The song was about a Saturday night spent with a beautiful but somewhat fast woman who is at risk of 'burning-out'.

Answer: Brown

The two colours were green and red, which combine to make the colour brown. The song of the Tudor period in England was 'Greensleeves', a composition of unknown origin in which a fellow laments the loss of his lady love. It was the equivalent of a hit in its day, and was even mentioned in the Shakespeare play 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'.

The 1986 Chris de Burgh song was 'The Lady in Red', which hit number 1 in the UK and was a top-10 hit in the United States. It was inspired by de Burgh's memories of the first time he saw his future wife, Diane.

Answer: Purple

The two colours were blue and ruby (a shade of red), which combine to make the colour purple. The name of the 1983 New Order song was 'Blue Monday', a New Wave dance number that was remixed and covered many times after its release. It became something of an anthem in dance clubs, and is now considered an important song in the development of 1980s British pop music.

The Rolling Stones song was 'Ruby Tuesday', which was first released in the UK in 1967, and (coupled with the single's A-side, 'Let's Spend the Night Together') was a number-one hit in the United States. Band member Keith Richards has said that the song was about his girlfriend, Linda Keith, who had left him and taken up with Jimi Hendrix.

Answer: Cream

The two colours were white and yellow, which combine to make the colour cream. The 2008 Living End song was 'White Noise', which reached number 1 on the Australian Airplay Chart and was named Song of the Year at the 2009 APRA Awards. The 'white noise' is the singer's description of the communication in his relationship.

The Donovan hit was 'Mellow Yellow', which was first released in the US in 1966 where it reached number 2 on the 'Billboard' chart. The song has been described as 'Beatlesque', and an interesting fact is that Paul McCartney actually added his vocals as one of the random voices in the background of the song, and also recorded portions of bass guitar on the 'Mellow Yellow' album.

Answer: Lavender

The two colours were purple and white, which combine to make the colour lavender (a pastel shade of purple). The 1967 Jimi Hendrix song was 'Purple Haze', a song rumoured to be about drug use, although Hendrix claimed that the line, 'Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me', showed it was just a love song.

In 2004, 'Rolling Stone' magazine placed the song at number 17 in their '500 Greatest Songs of All Time'. The 1968 song by The Velvet Underground was 'White Light/White Heat', an experimental rock track which later helped influence the punk rock genre.

The song was frequently performed live by David Bowie who released his own version in 1983.

Answer: Teal

The two colours were blue and green, which combine to make the colour teal (a hybrid of blue and green). The 1963 Roy Orbison song was 'Blue Bayou', a now-famous ballad about returning to humble roots, which was covered by Linda Ronstadt in 1977 when it hit number 3 in the 'Billboard Hot 100' chart.

The 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival song and album was 'Green River', which reached number 2 in the 'Billboard Hot 100' chart. The song was about a place on Putah Creek where band member John Fogerty used to visit, and the title came from the label of a flavoured-syrup bottle.

Answer: Apricot

The two colours were orange and white, which combine to make the colour apricot (a pastel shade of orange). The 1988 song by R.E.M. was 'Orange Crush', which was the band's biggest UK chart success up to that time. It was about the Vietnam War and the use of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange.

The 1977 song by The Clash was 'White Riot', which was the first single the band released. It was written after two members of the band had been involved in the riots at the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival. The song has long been used as entrance music by the UK football team Derby County at their home stadium.

Answer: Pink

The two colours were red and white, which combine to make the colour pink. The 2006 Sugababes song was 'Red Dress', which was a top-10 hit in the UK and elsewhere. The theme of the song is the issue of substance over shallowness in romantic attraction ('I'm cooler than the red dress').

The 1957 Marty Robbins song was 'A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation', which reached number 2 on the 'Billboard' chart, and made it to number 1 in Australia. Robbins said he gained inspiration for the song after driving past students who were dressed for their prom.