Number One Hits Written by Other Singers Quiz

Answer: The Big Bopper/J. P. Richardson

Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr, was the given name of The Big Bopper, composer of "Running Bear". He was a disc jockey at KTRM in Texas and while at the station he set a record for marathon broadcasting at the time, staying on the air for over five days. He was also a guitar player and songwriter. He took his nickname from a popular dance craze at the time called The Bop.
Among his other compositions are George Jones' first Number One hit, "White Lightning". When his singles, "Chantilly Lace" and "The Big Bopper's Wedding", became popular he signed on to the "Winter Dance Party" with Buddy Holly and other artists in 1959.
Although known as a game show host, Wink Martindale did a recording of T. Texas Tyler's song "Deck of Cards". Murray the K was New York deejay who also hosted television shows featuring musical guests and produced compilations albums such as "Murray the K's Blasts From the Past". The legendary Wolfman Jack was honored in the lyrics of several songs.

Answer: Gene Pitney

Phil Spector and Gene Pitney had met each other when they worked at publishing houses in New York. Phil discovered the teenage girls who were to become The Crystals while in New York. He released some songs with the group and was looking for material when he learned that Vicki Carr was slated to record Gene Pitney's song, "He's A Rebel".
Phil promptly went to LA and recorded the song with his session musicians, however, the group was still in New York so he used other singers to record "He's A Rebel" under the name of The Crystals in order to release the single before Carr did. The song went to Number One on November 3, 1962. The Crystals followed with "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me". Vicki Carr had to wait five years before hitting the charts with "It Must be Him".
Roy Orbison's "Today's Teardrops", Bobby Vee's "Rubber Ball" and Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou" were all composed by Pitney.

Answer: William "Smokey" Robinson

Mary Wells was the first artist to sign with Motown Records, the first to have a Top Ten Motown hit ("The One Who really Loves You") and the first to have Smokey Robinson write and produce one of her hits.
"My Guy" charted at Number One for two weeks in the midst of the Beatles dominance of the charts. On the heels of her successful hit the 21-year-old Wells signed with 20th Century Fox Records at the urging of her husband, Herman Griffin. Motown continued to release songs she had recorded while with the label, but Wells never again broke the Top Twenty with any subsequent label.
David Ruffin sang with The Temptations and his brother, Jimmy, sang "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". In addition to solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", Marvin Gaye also sang duets with Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell.

Answer: Carole King

Carole King had topped the charts two weeks earlier with "It's Too Late", a single from her "Tapestry" album. "You've Got A Friend" was included on the album but Carole didn't release the song as a single. James Taylor recorded a version which became his first Number One single.

The studios where Taylor recorded his "Sweet Bay James" album and where Carole recorded "Tapestry" were only a few blocks apart and James did a 27-city tour in 1971 with Carole opening for him. The following year Taylor married singer Carly Simon. "Society's Child" singer and composer Janis Ian was married to Portuguese filmmaker Tino Sargo. Joni Mitchell began her recording career in the late sixties with such hits as "Chelsea Morning" and "Both Sides Now".

Answer: Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka topped the charts with "Bad Blood" and "Laughter in the Rain" in 1975. They were both co-written with Phil Cody. Neil placed several songs he co-wrote with Greenfield in the Top Ten in the sixties and finally had his first Number One with "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" in 1962. He made the Top Ten with a revised version fourteen years later.
"Love Will Keep Us Together" was the first Number One for The Captain and Tennille, a duo that met when Toni Tennille needed a keyboard player for a musical she had written with Ron Thronson. They released follow-up hits and topped the charts again four years later with "Do That to Me One More Time".
One of Barry Manilow's hits of that era was the Number One "I Write the Songs". The Captain and Tennille included a version of "I Write the Songs" on their "Love Will Keep Us Together" album.
David Bowie found fame with the Number One "Fame" in September, 1975, and Elton John had one of his many Number One career hits in 1975 with "Philadelphia Freedom".

Answer: Truly

Lionel Richie topped the charts with a duet with Diana Ross titled "Endless Love" in 1981. The following year he had his first Number One hit as a solo artist with "Truly". "Running with the Night" reached Number Seven in 1983. "You Are" made it to Number Four the same year. "Dancing On the Ceiling" reached the Number Two slot in 1986.
"Three Times a Lady" and "Still" were Number One singles by The Commodores when Lionel was with the band. "All Night Long (All Night)", "Say you, Say Me' and "Hello" were other solo Number One hits for Lionel.
When Rogers and Richie collaborated on "Lady" the tune was not only a Number One hit, it was the first record released in the eighties to place well on all four of the Billboard charts. It only took six weeks from debut to Number One. While Kenny had enjoyed success and had placed Number One hits on the Country Charts, "Lady" was his first Number One on the Pop Charts.

Answer: John Denver

"Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Blowin' In the Wind" stalled at Number Two, but Peter Paul and Mary found Number One success with "Leaving on A Jet Plane". The song was on their "Album 1700" LP but they didn't envision the song as a single. Warner Brothers Records saw the potential in the song and released it as a single. The trio formed when they were each playing in the Greenwich Village section of New York in the early sixties. The group officially disbanded in 1971 when the individual members all recorded solo efforts, but they reunited for various venues and tours over the ensuing years.
John Denver would have to wait until 1974 for his first Number One, "Sunshine on My Shoulders".
Former Kingston Trio member John Stewart wrote "Daydream Believer", a hit song for The Monkees. "Paradise" and "Angel from Montgomery" are some of John Prine's compositions. John "J.J." Cale wrote many hits for various artists including "Call Me The Breeze" and "After Midnight".

Answer: Cracklin' Rosie

The 1970 hit, "Cracklin' Rosie", propelled Neil into the top slot ofter several earlier hits, starting with the July, 1966, Number 55, "Solitary Man". "Solitary Man" song was re-released in 1970 and peaked at Number 21. He broke the Top Ten in August, 1966, with the Number Six "Cherry, Cherry". "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" peaked at Number 22 in 1969. "Cracklin' Rosie" was a single from the "Taproot Manuscript" album.

Although it was his third single to sell over a million copies, it was his first to reach Number One. Neil had initially offered "I'm A Believer" to The Fifth Estate but they opted to keep the song an album cut.

The Monkees' version remained in the top slot for seven weeks, making it Billboard's top selling single of the year.

Answer: Bob Dylan

In addition to "Mr. Tambourine Man", The Byrds recorded other Bob Dylan compositions including "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "All I Really Want To Do" and "Lay Lady Lay". "Mr. Tambourine Man" was the group's first Number One hit. Dylan included the song on his "Bringing It All Back Home" LP.

The Byrds gained access to a copy of the song when it was being considered for one of Dylan's earlier albums and released their version within two weeks of Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home" hitting the shelves. Pete Seeger is credited with composing The Byrds' hit, "Turn, Turn, Turn". Woody Guthrie wrote "Pretty Boy Floyd", a tune done by The Byrds that was not commercially successful. Arthur Reid Reynolds wrote "Jesus Is Just Alright".

The Byrds recorded "Jesus Is Just Alright" in 1969, three years before The Doobie Brothers had a hit with the song.

Answer: Mama Told Me Not To Come

"Mama Told Me Not To Come" was written by Newman and initially recorded by Eric Burden on his first solo album in 1966. Three Dog Night covered the song and it became their first Number One hit. "An Old Fashioned Love Song" was written by Paul Williams. Leo Sayer and David Courtney wrote "The Show Must Go On" and it was released by Sayer in 1973. Three Dog Night had a hit with the song the following year. "Easy To Be Hard" was a 1969 single by Three Dog Night from the Musical, "Hair". In 1968 Randy released his first album, "Randy Newman".

It failed to significantly dent the charts but many artists recorded versions of his songs. "Short People" was a single from Randy 1977 "Little Criminals" album. In addition to writing hits recorded by several artists, Newman has composed several film scores.