One Trivia Quiz

Answer: Steve Miller Band

The Steve Miller Band was formed in 1966 as an acid rock band. They had moderate success but when the acid rock was discarded and replaced with what was to become classic rock on 1973's "The Joker", the band became huge. The title track went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Four hit albums followed: "Fly Like An Eagle" (1976 - spawning the number one hit "Rock'n Me"); "Book of Dreams" (1978); "Circle of Love" (1981) and "Abracadabra" (1982). All these albums contained hit singles, usually more than one, but the latter album yielded the title track as a number one hit worldwide. "Abracadabra" the single, went Gold in the US, UK and Australia and Platinum in Canada, with the album going Gold in the US, Canada and Australia.

Boz Scaggs, a successful solo artist best known for US Billboard's number two album, "Silk Degrees" in 1976, went to school with Steve Miller. The two played in bands together before Scaggs became guitarist and lead singer for the Steve Miller Band prior to 1973.

Answer: Magic

TLC comprised Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. (the group's name came from the initials of their "nicknames", which were rather contrived) They formed in Atlanta in 1991. "Creep" was their first number one in 1995. It was nominated for two Grammys, winning the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. "Waterfalls" was also a number one hit in 1995 as were "No Scrubs" in 1998 and "Unpretty" in 1998. The group won a total of five Grammys before Ms Lopes died in an automobile crash. Rather than recruit a new third member the other two continued on as a duo.

"Magic" was a 1980 number one hit for Olivia Newton-John. It was part of the "Xanadu" soundtrack which was certified double platinum with five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 despite the film being a failure. It was Ms Newton-John's biggest American hit until "Physical" (another one word number one in November 1981).

Answer: EMF

EMF were an alternative band that released three albums in the seven years they were active in the nineties. "Unbelievable" reached number three in the UK near the end of 1990 but the song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1991, the only key market in which it actually did reach the peak position. The corresponding album, "Schubert Dip" was certified Gold in the UK but was not as successful in the US.
The band's name was an abbreviation of "Epsom Mad Funkers" which was the name of New Order's fan club. New Order was the old Joy Division minus Ian Curtis who took his own life. This latter group had a pact that they would disband if one of them left the band.
"Ride on Time" was a UK number one in 1989 by Italian dance band Black Box.

Answer: Lady

Mariah Carey was the biggest selling artist of the nineties selling over 200 million records. In the nineties alone she had fourteen hits that reached the Billboard Hot 100 number one position, three of which had a single word title.

"Emotions" (1991) was the lead single from the album of the same name, her second. (The first was an eponymous album that yielded four consecutive number one hits). With "Emotions" being her fifth straight number one, it made her the first artist to have their first five singles hit number one. Her third album, "Music Box" (1993) yielded four hit singles, two which went to number one, "Dreamlover" and "Hero". She released a Christmas album in 1994 but her next major album, "Daydream" (1995), yielded three number one singles, "Fantasy" being one of them. She recorded two more studio albums in the nineties both of which contained number one singles.
It is therefore easy to see why she was the most prolific act of the nineties but it certainly was not just marketing: With a five octave voice, she certainly had talent.

"Lady" was a 1980 number one single for Kenny Rogers.

Answer: Heart

White Heart was founded in the late sixties in Washington State, dropping the "White" to be simply Heart when Ann Wilson joined the band as a vocalist in 1972. Nancy joined a little over year later as a guitarist.The two sisters have been the core of the band throughout their career. Commercial success came in their new home in Vancouver in 1976 with hard rock numbers "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man" getting airplay before becoming hits first in Canada then the US. Three million selling albums followed, but the group declined commercially after the third album was released in 1980.

In 1985, under capital records they re-invented themselves as a glam-metal band and their next five million selling album gave up five hit singles, with "These Dreams" reaching number one.

The next album "Bad Animals" in 1987 yielded "Alone", their biggest single to date reaching the Billboard Hot 100 number one position for three weeks. This album became the first of their arena rock albums and was their first successful UK album. The group demonstrated longevity, recording well into the second decade of the 21st century. Perhaps a highlight came in 2016 when on June 29, Heart performed at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Answer: Spain

Los Del Rio (Those from the river) are from Dos Hermanas near Seville in Andalusia (Southern Spain). They originally formed in 1962 and had considerable success with their song which was originally released in 1994 as a rumba. In 1996, a trio of producers, Mike Triay, Carlos de Yarza, and Jammin Johnny Caride, remixed the song and added English lyrics.

It was this "Bayside Boys Remix" that went to number one for fourteen weeks in the US in 1996. It stayed in the Hot 100 for sixty weeks, a record for a number one that took Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" fifteen years later to beat. In 2002, VH1 ranked it the "#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time".

Answer: Believe

Cher had certainly demonstrated her longevity, having regular hits since 1965. However in 1999, she had not had a Billboard Number one since "Dark Lady" in 1973. She changed her style from pop/rock to dance/pop with "Believe", a dance number. The song was the first to use the Auto-Tune audio processor software to change the vocal effect. This technique became known as the "Cher Effect". The change in direction was exemplified by the song was being nominated for two Grammy Awards; for Best Dance Recording and Record of the Year. It won the former but not the latter. When the song hit number one it achieved two records: At 52 she was the oldest woman to achieve this feat, and it was the longest span (25 years) between number one hits (on Billboard).

"Breathe" was a Billboard Hot 100 number two in 2000 for Faith Hill. It was the number one single for 2000. This was only the second time a song had achieved this without the song ever reaching number one position on the Billboard Hot 100.

Madonna reached number one in 1990 with the dance/pop and house music title "Vogue"

"Fallin'" was Alicia Keys' signature song. It reached the Billboard Hot 100 number one position in 2001. It won three Grammy Awards in 2002: Song of the Year; Best R&B Song; and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. It was nominated but did not win Record of the Year.

Answer: Lipps Inc.

All artists listed had a hit single with a song with "Funky" in the title:
Tone-Loc had a Billboard Hot 100 number three with "Funky Cold Medina".
"Play That Funky Music" was a 1976 number one for Wild Cherry. They were a one hit wonder.
George Michael reached number ten in the US in 1992 with "Too Funky".

Lipps Inc (pronounced "Lip synch") were saved from being a one hot wonder by charting previously with "Rock It" which reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 the year before "Funkytown" reached number one in 1980. The latter song was number one for four weeks and reached number one in 28 countries, the first song to do so. Lipps Inc. was essentially Cynthia Johnson, who was Miss Black Minnesota 1976 with a series of session musicians. They had little success after this song.

Australian group Pseudo Echo, recorded a cover version and turned a disco-type song into a guitar driven rock song. This version spent seven weeks at the top of the Australian ARIA chart in 1986 compared with the original version which reached number one for two weeks. This version also reached the UK and US Top Ten.

Answer: J. Geils Band

The J. Geils Blues Band formed in 1967 (For a brief period they were Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels) before dropping the "Blues" in 1968. Predictably they played R&B-influenced blues rock with moderate success. In 1980 they had a change in direction to a new wave sound and had immediate success with the album "Love Stinks" with three singles which reached the Billboard Hot 100. Next year's album "Freeze Frame" bought worldwide attention. "Centerfold", a song about a high school crush who was discovered to have posed as a centerfold told the story of mixed emotions of embarrassment and lust. It went to number one for six weeks in 1981 and was no doubt enhanced by its popularity on MTV, at the time a new medium for popular music. The subsequent single, the title track, made number four on the same chart. The band had five more moderate hits up to 1985.

"Maneater" was one of five Billboard Hot 100 number ones for Hall and Oates. This however was their biggest. It stayed at number one for four weeks in 1982.

"Kryptonite" was a number three hit for 3 Doors Down in 2000. It was their biggest hit.

"Jump" (1983) was a Van Halen's biggest hit reaching the coveted Billboard Hot 100 number one spot in 1984. Ironically, as it contained a rolling synth line (stolen from Hall and Oates' "Kiss Is On My List"), this caused a division within the group and David Lee Roth left soon after.

Answer: Rob Thomas

In 1967 Carlos Santana formed the latin rock band Santana in San Francisco. They have had enduring success culminating in the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. An album released shortly after that time, "Supernatural", went to number one. The lead single, "Smooth" (1998) was co-written and sung by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. The song was the number one on Billboard Hot 100 for twelve weeks in 1999. The song won three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year; Song of the Year; and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
"Smooth" was ranked as the number two song overall of Billboard magazine's ranking of the first fifty years Hot 100 Hits. ("The Twist" by Chubby Checker was ranked the number-one rock song in the history of the chart).

Ray Parker Jr. has a 1984 number one hit with "Ghostbusters" from the movie of the same name.
"Escapade" was a number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for Janet Jackson in 1990.