No.1 Hits of the 60s Vol.21 Trivia Quiz

Answer: First number one song for Motown

"Please Mr. Postman" was a Billboard U.S. Hot 100 number one song for the Marvelettes in 1961 that spent one week at the top of the charts in December that year. It was actually recorded on the Tamla label, a subsidiary of Motown but is generally recognized as Motown's first number one song.

The song was subsequently covered by The Beatles on their album "With The Beatles" but the song failed to chart as a single, being only released as the B-side to "Roll Over Beethoven". The Carpenters did revive the song in the 1970s and took the song back to the number one position on the charts, but The Marvelettes were the first.

Answer: Big Girls Don't Cry

"Big Girls Don't Cry" was the follow-up to "Sherry" which was the Four Seasons initial charting hit. It spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard charts in the fall of 1962 and spent three weeks at number one on the R&B charts as well. It was co-written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio who both claim to have gotten the title from watching an old Western movie.

Answer: I'm Leaving It All Up To You

Dale Houston and Grace Broussard had their biggest success with "I'm Leaving It All Up To You" when the song got to the top of the Billboard charts in the fall of 1963 for a two week stay. In an eerie coincidence, the duo was travelling with Dick Clark's "Caravan of Stars" tour and were scheduled to perform in Dallas Texas on the evening of November 22, 1963.

They were actually positioned about two blocks from President John F. Kennedy's motorcade when he was assassinated that day.

Answer: Ringo

Lorne Greene, TV's Ben Cartwright, took time out from his schedule to record "Ringo' a tale of a lawman's friendship with an outlaw, and the song spent a week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in December of 1964. Not much singing on the recording as you might expect; the recording was done in spoken verse.

Answer: Yesterday

"Yesterday", although credited to Lennon/McCartney and The Beatles was strictly a McCartney written and performed tune when it hit number one for a four week stay on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1965. The song has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most covered song of all time with over 3000 recorded versions listed.

In the year 200 it was voted as the number one Pop recording of all time by both MTV and Rolling Stone Magazine, and in a 1999 BBC poll was voted as the best song of the 20th century.

It ranks as number 13 on Rolling Stone Magazines' list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" which was published in 2004.

Answer: Get Off of My Cloud

"Get Off of My Cloud" was the follow up tune to the Stones "Satisfaction" and spent two weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard charts in the fall of 1965. It also went to the top of the charts in the U.K. In a number of interviews some of the members of the group have said that the song was written as a response to the success of "Satisfaction" with all the clamoring for another hit song.

It was a kind of rebellious response to that. Pretty good response.

Answer: Last Train to Clarksville

"Last Train To Clarksville" was The Monkees' debut hit in 1966, and what a debut it was. The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in the fall of 1966. The song was written by the dynamic team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who were responsible for numerous Top 40 charting hits by various artists of the 1960s.

The lyrics seem to point to Clarksville Tennessee as the destination for our singer, who has been drafted into the military. Clarksville Tennessee is right outside of Fort Campbell Kentucky, where a huge U.S. military base is located.

The writers deny this, claiming that the name Clarksville was chosen totally at random, and is purely a coincidence.

Answer: True

Rivers had been around since 1964 and had prior success with a number of top ten songs such as "Memphis", "Mountain of Love", "Seventh Son" and "Secret Agent Man", but when "Poor Side of Town" took the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for a week in November of 1966, it was River's first trip to the top of the charts. "Poor Side of Town" was done during a time in River's career when he was having his biggest commercial success, scoring with six Top 20 hits in a row during the 1966-1967 period.

Answer: I Hear a Symphony

After a run of five straight number one songs, "Nothing But Heartaches" could only muster a number eleven placing on the Billboard charts. The officials at Motown Records were so disappointed that they demanded that the next Supremes release be a number one hit.

The writers responded with "I Hear a Symphony" which appeased the bigwigs at Motown when the song went to number one on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 charts for a two week stay in late fall of 1965.

Answer: Winchester Cathedral

"Winchester Cathedral" was a bit of a novelty record when it was released in late 1966. It was mostly an instrumental tune, with a spoken part done through an old time megaphone. The recording was done by a group of studio musicians, but when it became a hit, a band was hastily put together for live performances.

The song spent three weeks at the number one position on the Billboard charts in December of 1966.