Oldies Musical Duet Recording Acts Quiz

Answer: Jan and Arnie

Los Angeles natives William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence began their singing career in high school with a group called The Barons. Upon graduation the group disbanded and Jan and Dean began working as a duo. When Dean had to do six months in the Army reserve, a member of The Barons, Arnold P. "Arnie" Ginsburg, began recording with Jan. Jan and Arnie's parents signed contracts with Arwin Records for them to record a song titled "Jennie Lee" which made it to Number Three on the Cash Box chart.

The success of the song landed the duo on Dick Clark's show and they followed with "Gas Money". By August of 1958 the duo was performing with Bobby Darin, The Champs, The Blossoms and other acts at venues such as The Hollywood Bowl. When Dean returned from the service they reunited and had a Top Ten hit in 1959 with "Baby Talk". Arnie released a single titled "Girl In Zanzibar" before returning to college to become an architect.

Answer: United States

New York natives Santo and Johnny Farina were from Brooklyn, New York. Their father was stationed in Oklahoma when the boys were young and they were exposed to the steel guitar. When the boys were teens they formed a band and began performing Instrumental tunes as Mike Dee and The Mello Tones.

They wrote and recorded a song originally titled "Deep Sleep" which became "Sleep Walk". The brothers signed a recording contract with Canadian-American Records and recorded "Sleep Walk" in Manhattan's Trinity Records studio.

The song was a chart success and the duo recorded additional albums and began touring internationally. "Sleep Walk" has been recorded by numerous artists through the years. Modest Mouse and Betsy Brye have released versions with lyrics.

The song has been included on movie soundtracks including "Eddie and the Cruisers" (1983) and "La Bamba" (1987).

Answer: Sam and Dave

Same and Dave both each began singing in their church. Separately they sang with Gospel and Doo-Wop groups and met while performing Gospel music in the early sixties. They first performed together at a Miami hot spot called King of Hearts and were signed to Marlin Records. After recording for the local Marlin Records label and later with Dot Records they were signed to Atlantic Records who loaned them to Stax records in Memphis where they developed their animated stage act and their harmonies. Their first US Top Forty came in 1966 with "Hold On, I'm Comin'" followed the next year with the Number Two "Soul Man". "I Thank You" was a hit in 1969.
The pair toured Europe with The Stax Revue in 1967 followed by tours with a 35-piece backing ensemble including the Montreal World's Fair and becoming the first Soul act to headline the Fillmore East in 1968.
By 1970 the two decided to split up but reunited occasionally for recording efforts.
Marvin and Johnny released "Tick Tock" in 1954. Don and Dewey had a 1958 single called "Farmer John". "Harlem Shuffle" was a 1964 release from Bob and Earl.

Answer: Dale and Grace

Robert Dale Houston was from a small Mississippi town called Seminary. When he was 18 he recorded "Lonely Man" which made it to Number 75. In 1963 while he was singing at a bar in Louisiana he was approached by a record company rep who suggested he pair up with a local singer named Grace Broussard. They began practicing and covered a song by Don and Dewey called "I'm Leaving it Up to You". The song became a regional hit in Houston before breaking nationally and topping the charts. They began touring with Bobby Vee and Brian Hyland on a Dick Clark tour and were on a street corner in Dallas in November, 1963, waving when John F. Kennedy's entourage passed by.
The British Invasion combined with Dale becoming hospitalized with an illness forced the pair to cease recording and performing by 1965.
Joe and Ann released "Gee Baby" in 1960. "Let The Good Times Roll" was released by Shirley and Lee in 1956. Ian and Sylvia released a version of "You Were On My Mind" in 1964.

Answer: Johnnie and Joe

Johnnie Louise Richardson and Joe Rivers released several singles on Chess Records after they starting working together in 1957. The US Top Ten "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea" (1957) was a hit for the duo followed by "I'll Be Spinning" and "My Baby's Gone". Three years later "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea" hit the charts again but topped out at Number 89.

After failing to chart any further singles the group split up but reunited in the seventies and eighties to perform on the Oldies circuit until Johnnie Richardson passed away in 1988. Skip and Flip were actually Clyde Battin and Gary S. Paxton.

They had a Number 11 hit with a cover of Marvin And Johnny's "Cherry Pie". Don and Juan consisted of Roland Trone and Claude Johnson. Their only Top Forty success was "What's Your Name" in 1962. Paul and Paula were actually Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson.

Answer: Sonny and Cher

In the fall of 1964 Sonny and Cher changed their name from Caesar and Cleo to Sonny and Cher and released "Baby Don't Go". The following year they released their "Look at Us" LP which contained their Number One single "I Got You Babe". The song propelled the duo to national attention and they appeared on most of the musical variety shows. During the 1965 British Invasion they charted five songs in the US Top Forty.

By the time "The Beat Goes On" reached the Top Ten in 1967 Cher was considering releasing solo singles.

The couple continued performing and began their own television show in 1971. Ashford and Simpson released "Solid" in 1984. Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford had a 1962 hit with "I Need Your Loving". In 1963 brother and sister duo Inez and Charlie Foxx hit the charts with "Mockingbird".

Answer: False

James Lee Purify paired with his cousin Robert Lee Dickey as a duo in 1965. They were signed by Bell Records the following year, with Dickey assuming his cousin's last name as a stage name. They released "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966 and the song spent 14 weeks on the charts.

They followed with "Shake a Tail Feather" and "Let Love Come Between Us" but "I'm Your Puppet" was their biggest hit. In 1971 Dickey left the music business because of health reasons and James continued as a single act until 1974 when he met James B. Moore. Moore had previously been half of Ben and Spence and he became Bobby Purify until the mid-eighties. In 1983 Moore was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Soul Gospel Performance - Traditional" for "He Believes In Me".

He became blind from glaucoma in 1998 and joined The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Answer: Chad and Jeremy

Chad Stuart Michael and Thomas Jeremy Clyde formed in England in 1960. In 1963 they released "Yesterday's Gone" which became a hit in their native England. The following year "A Summer Song" became a US Top Ten and the duo joined the wave of the British Invasion acts charting seven Top Forty hits in the US between 1964 and 1966. During the height of their popularity they appeared on US Sit-com shows as well as musical variety programs.

In 1967 they released their "Of Cabbages and Kings" album billed as "Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde. Mel and Tim released "Backfield In Motion" in 1969. Seals and Crofts had a hit with "Summer Breeze" in 1972. England Dan and John Ford Coley were Texans who had a hit with "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" in 1976.

Answer: Dick and Dee Dee

Mary Sperling and Richard Gosting were classmates in high school in Los Angeles, California. They recorded "The Mountain's High" and the flip side, "I Want Someone", using an early four track system so they could harmonize four parts. "The Mountain's High" became a hit in California and was picked up by Liberty Records for national distribution, propelling the song to Number Two.

The duo found themselves touring with hit-makers of the day such as Roy Orbison, The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, Paul Revere and the Raiders and many others.

They performed in 49 states and Europe. In 1964 they opened for the Rolling Stones on the California leg of their tour. They released five US Top Thirty singles before parting ways in 1969. Les Paul and Mary Ford had a hit with "How High The Moon" in 1951. Judy Clay and William Bell released "Private Number" in 1968. Jerry Butler and Betty Everett had a hit with "Let It Be Me" in 1964.

Answer: Strange

Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool enjoyed their only US Top Ten single success with "Love is Strange". Mickey was a music teacher and Sylvia was one of his students. Bo Diddley released "Love is Strange" in May of 1956. Mickey and Syliva signed with Groove Records and released "Love is Strange" in October of the same year.

After the success of the song the pair bought a night club and started a recording label. In 1965 the duo split up when Mickey relocated to France. In 1973 Sylvia hit the charts again with "Pillow Talk" Since 1956 the song has been recorded by several artists including Peaches and Herb (1967), Buck Owens and Susan Raye (1975) and The Everly Brothers (1965) Buddy Holly recorded a version before his death that was not released until 1969. "Love is Strange" was also featured on the soundtrack of "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and "Casino" (1995).