FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Quiz about One Singular Sensation The Late 1980s

One Singular Sensation (The Late 1980s) Quiz

This is the second of a series of one hit wonders; we're moving out of the early 80s to the latter half of the decade. See what you know.

A multiple-choice quiz by Spaudrey. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Spaudrey

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
398,482

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
619

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. "Out where the river broke, the bloodwood and the desert oak" begins our quiz and first song from an Australian band who maintained some serious success in their home country, but very minimal success in the United States. Their biggest hit was "Beds Are Burning", the group is: Hint

INXS

The Church

Dead Can Dance

Midnight Oil

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. "My love, tell me what it's all about" begins the one hit that this dance band had in 1986. A mix of electronic and pop that the dance charts ate alive, "I Can't Wait" made the Top Three on the Hot 100 chart in the US. Who was this band? Hint

Nu Shooz

Erasure

Depeche Mode

Ultravox

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "I got a little change in my pocket goin' jing-a-ling-a-ling" starts out "Keep Your Hands To Yourself", a 1986 down home rock song. They got some soundtrack offers after that, but this would be their only major hit, making the number two spot. What band is this? Hint

Fabulous Thunderbirds

Georgia Satellites

Black Crowes

The Guess Who

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "I study nuclear science, I love my classes" introduced us to this post-punk duo, who were also husband and wife. "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" was their opportunity to storm up the charts, but they never saw much of it again. What duo is this? Hint

Naked Eyes

Thompson Twins

Timbuk 3

New Order

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. "Here's a little song I wrote", is a simple way to begin a simple song. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was his only opportunity to reach the pop chart, although he set some records with that one song. Who is this multi-Grammy winning artist, more comfortable on the jazz charts? Hint

Jon Hendricks

Al Jarreau

Bobby McFerrin

George Benson

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. "I never said I wasn't gonna tell nobody" starts the synth bubblegum pop song "Two of Hearts". Released in the middle of the Madonna era of female pop singers, the performer could double as a model as could most of the vapid pop artists of that time frame. Who was it who sang "Two of Hearts"? Hint

Kim WIlde

Samantha Fox

Stacey Q

Martika

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "I'm not aware of too many things, I know what I know if you know what I mean" begins the folk style anti-pop song "What I Am". Popular with 1980s college cliques, who was the lead singer for the band that put out "What I Am"? Hint

Tracy Chapman

Edie Brickell

Tori Amos

Suzanne Vega

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. "We're talking away, I don't know what I'm to say" begins what is arguably the biggest One Hit Wonder song ever made, "Take On Me". From the album "Hunting High and Low", what Scandinavian band gave us the iconic "Take On Me"? Hint

A-ha

Tears For Fears

Alphaville

Spandau Ballet

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. "I can't believe I could've been so blind" brings us to an all-girl hair/glam band. "Edge of a Broken Heart" was a hit in 1988 for what band? Hint

Britny Fox

Vixen

Cinderella

Faster Pussycat

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. "Hey kids rock and roll, rock on, ooh my soul" are lyrics originally from the 1970s from David Essex, but "Rock On" reemerged again as a Number One Song in 1989 for what multimedia star? Hint

Michael Damian

Rick Springfield

Gloria Loring

Jack Wagner

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Most Recent Scores

Nov 12 2024 : Guest 101: 7/10
Sep 29 2024 : Guest 195: 7/10

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" was a Top 20 hit in the US in 1987. The band was a major success in the home country of Australia, having three straight Number One albums there, and in fact making the music hall of fame in 2006. But the subsequent single releases in America did not garner the same success.

Answer: Nu Shooz

Nu Shooz's "I Can't Wait" had some longevity on the chart, it never made the top spot, but it had legs on how long it maintained on the Top 40, which made it a big hit on the year-end charts. But Nu Shooz never gained that pop chart success again.

Answer: Georgia Satellites

Georgia Satellites got some exposure doing a remake of "Hippy Hippy Shake" from the movie "Cocktail". But the longevity of "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" has allowed them to continue to tour, and the garage band style of the recording makes it easy to recreate the sound live.

Answer: Timbuk 3

Timbuk 3 hailed from Wisconsin, and had a smart sound about them, but they were a bit of a novelty band with the creativity of the song title. This didn't bode well for their longevity on the chart.

Answer: Bobby McFerrin

Bobby McFerrin vaulted to the top of the vocal jazz community with his first three albums, but his fourth album, "Simple Pleasures" produced a rather innocuous ditty that got picked up by the "Cocktail" soundtrack and then released as a single. And it became a national phenomenon after that. McFerrin though hasn't performed it in years, as he isn't pleased with the political message it became during presidential campaigns. "Don't Worry Be Happy" holds the honor of being the first acapella song to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Stacey Q

Stacey Swain went with the arcane Q as a pop star, and got a Top Five hit with this one, but she milked this hit for all it was worth, even performing it as a one-episode character on "Facts of Life". There was some dance chart success with other songs, but nothing of circumstance on standard pop charts after "Two of Hearts".

Answer: Edie Brickell

Edie Brickell and New Bohemians had a Top Five album "Shooting Rubberbands At the Stars", which produced the Top Ten song. But being an anti-pop group also means that accepting success looks like selling out, so popularity fell quickly. This was their only Top 40 Billboard single.

Answer: A-ha

A-ha's popularity was white hot due to a cutting edge music video connected with the song. This video has stood the test of time over three decades, as has the song. In fact, the song featured prominently in multiple 2010s movie soundtracks, from "Deadpool 2", to "Ready Player One", to "Riverdale", to the Transformers spin-off "Bumblebee". A-ha may have made more off the song in 2018 than they did in 1985.

But mainstream success stopped with this song, at least in the US.

9. "I can't believe I could've been so blind" brings us to an all-girl hair/glam band. "Edge of a Broken Heart" was a hit in 1988 for what band?

Answer: Vixen

Three of these bands actually are all male bands, despite the names. Vixen was backed by solo artist Richard Marx; in fact "Edge of a Broken Heart" was written and produced by him, and the band toured with Marx in 1988. But the touring grind with multiple acts afterward created musical differences and they disbanded in 1992.

10. "Hey kids rock and roll, rock on, ooh my soul" are lyrics originally from the 1970s from David Essex, but "Rock On" reemerged again as a Number One Song in 1989 for what multimedia star?

Answer: Michael Damian

All four of them were 1980s soap opera stars who saw music crossover success, but Michael Damian had the 1989 hit. Much of the success was from promotion saturation, he got backed by his soap "Young and the Restless", and lots of MTV airplay. He never saw success from original songs after the "Rock On" remake.

Source: Author Spaudrey

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.