Overlooked Gems of 1967 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Carrie Anne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1aDgtMJdUo

I've sought out what I think are the best YouTube clips of the song in question for all the songs in this quiz. I would encourage you to take your time (this ain't a race, ya know), open up a new tab and listen to at least some of the song to refresh your memory and do some reminiscing while you read these observations... I'll try to keep you engaged!

Who was Carrie Anne? It was never revealed but speculation from unidentified sources suggests she was either singer Marianne Faithfull, actress Carrie Fisher or a schoolmate of Clarke's named Carrie Ann Redfern. Clarke himself stated that the song was written during a concert the group did with Tom Jones, mainly by Graham Nash and Tony Hicks, and he contributed the lyrics for the "middle eight". That sounds rather spontaneous without anyone in mind.

Allan Clarke (lead vocals), Graham Nash (guitar/vocals) and bassist Eric Haydock formed The Hollies in Manchester, England in 1962. When personnel were shuffled in 1963 to include Tony Hicks (guitar/vocals), their trademark vocal harmony complement was in place and Bobby Elliot rounded out the group on percussion. In the U.K. the results were immediate and the group became a charting mainstay for the next decade. For whatever reason, their impact abroad didn't occur until Haydock was replaced by Bernie Calvert in 1966 and "Bus Stop" soared to Number Five on the Hot 100. The group did very well at home, in North America and elsewhere for the next two years. By December 1968, Nash was feeling constrained by the group's emphasis on close knit harmony and constant touring. He wanted an avenue for personal expression and the opportunity to devote more energy into composing rather than performing. He departed to help form Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Recruiting Terry Sylvester as his replacement, the group thrived with two huge international hits in the early 1970s, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" and when Clarke pulled the plug in 1973, the group released the million seller "The Air That I Breathe" a year later. But that was the last gasp. The Hollies never, ever disbanded but, with a myriad of personnel changes and several reunions of "the old gang", they've persisted into 2012 under the continuous guidance of Hicks and Elliot. They, along with The Rolling Stones, are perhaps the only original bands of the "British Invasion" era to make that claim. Unfortunately, for their fans in North America, most of their limited tours and performances occur in the U.K. and Europe.
Based on chart performance, "Carrie Anne" was ranked the 77th biggest hit of 1967.

Answer: Here Comes My Baby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bswxaeyQDFI
Although the group sort of made a Hot 100 appearance with a song that charted at Number 97 in 1964, it was under the name Brian Poole and The Tremeloes. Essentially then, this would be the group's debut hit in North America.

The Tremeloes were expressly assembled in the late 1950s to back up Poole and as a unit, had several hits on the British charts from 1963 to 1965. Poole decided to go solo in 1965 and the consensus opinion was that he would become a huge star and The Tremeloes would fade into oblivion without him. Instead, it was Poole who was never heard of again while The Tremeloes went on to have several more hits in the U.K. over the next five years. Their success in the States was limited to this song, their follow-up "Silence Is Golden", which peaked at Number 11, and a couple of other minor hits in late 1967-early 1968. A mis-guided attempt to re-invent the group with an altered musical approach faltered badly. Whatever momentum they had developed in North America with these hits evaporated and very nearly derailed the band permanently. As it was, they would have no more hits anywhere after 1971 but remained a popular cabaret act in Great Britain.

Answer: I Dig Rock & Roll Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrXXx9706tc

I saw Peter, Paul and Mary perform in concert in the early 1960s and I sure don't remember Mary Travers being that exuberant. Mind you, back then, I think they were serious folkies and were weighed down with message songs. But in this clip, she obviously is having a good time and her energy and enthusiasm throughout this performance make Stookey and Yarrow appear positively stoic. Sadly, she lost a long battle to leukemia in 2009 passing away at the age of 72. The song was composed by Paul Stookey, Jim Mason and Dave Dixon. At the time, I liked the song a lot but had misgivings about it that had lasted to this day. The last verse was the puzzler;

"I dig Rock and Roll music I could really get it on in that scene.
I think I could say somethin' if you know what I mean
But if I really say it, the radio won't play it
Unless I lay it between the lines"

I just couldn't tell if this was a parody, an indictment or just poking a little fun at certain artists who were taking themselves way too seriously. My misgivings were misplaced. The final verse is meant to suggest that rock songs can and should purvey socially meaningful messages but those messages may need to be expressed subtly to get airplay. At least that is one interpretation of the song... and I like it!

Answer: Gimme Little Sign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9vrb27Bdeo
It's often said "Gimme gimme's never get" but I hope you got this one.

Wood was born in Shreveport, Louisiana but moved with his family to L.A. as a child. More of an athlete growing up, he didn't turn to a career in the entertainment industry until his college days with Sam Cooke and Jesse Belvin serving as his role models. He first hit the charts with "The Oogum Boogum Song" which peaked at Number 34 early in 1967 followed by "Gimme Little Sign" and it appeared he was away to the races. He came up lame when his next two releases stalled at Number 34 and Number 99, his last charting entries. He continued to perform regularly, however, spent some time on the thriving R&B circuit in Northern England and now performs on the oldies soul circuit in the U.S. "Gimme Little Sign" had enough chart action to rank as the 48th biggest Hot 100 hit of 1967.

Answer: Friday on My Mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idS9P2OeYLU

That APRA award must have been a tough call... The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" or Slim Dusty's iconic recording "A Pub With No Beer"! Hmmmm. I do have to say that the Easybeats anthem to "TGIF" seems to get better with each passing year. The group had its genesis in Sydney in late 1964 and to call them Australian at the time was a bit of a stretch since most members had recently arrived to those shores. Lead vocalist Steven Wright and drummer Gordon Fleet were originally from England, guitarist Henry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde came from the Netherlands while guitarist George Young was from Scotland. Wright moved to Australia with his family in 1957 while all the others emigrated in 1963 or 1964.

The "British Invasion" was not unique to North America; the Easybeats formed because of its impact down under. Within a few months, they were the hottest band on that continent with a string of top 10 Australian releases. But the action was really in England and in 1966 they made that move. During their three years together there, the sum total of their output was this big hit and a slew of failures. By 1970, they went their separate ways, essentially one-hit wonders everywhere save for Australia. Fleet and Diamonde eventually retired from music while Wright's odyssey consisted of a 30 year battle, ultimately successful, with drug abuse issues. He is performing once more. Vanda and Young formed a lasting partnership as writers/performers/producers in Australia and were instrumental in producing the first six albums by AC/DC. Angus and Malcolm Young of that group are the younger siblings of George.

Answer: I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night

There are a few YouTube selections available of The Electric Prunes performing this song. All had positive and negative elements but I wouldn't particularly endorse one over the other. You're on your own.

If someone asked me to identify the first psychedelic song to achieve charting success, I'd probably have to say "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan. Weird lyrics... weird instrumentation... that trippy, spaced out motif to the whole song. Yeah, I think it was the prototype. When it became a hit, others followed. I also have to think that the Beatles were on the conceptual verge of psychedelia as their "Sgt. Peppers" and "Magical Mystery Tour" albums bear witness. But all these examples were "psychedelia lite". The really heavy stuff was coming from groups like The Electric Prunes, The Seeds, The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd and bands of that ilk. It would last for about two years. The big names like the Beatles moved on to the next phase, some proponents like Jimi Hendrix were dead, and the less well known bands, like this one, faded into obscurity.

The song was written by professional song writers Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz and was originally designed as an orchestral piece. Clearly, The Electric Prunes changed it in the playing. The group formed in 1965 and underwent constant personnel changes through to 1969. Kenny Loggins was a member briefly in 1968. It appeared that there really wasn't a defined leader of the group and when their third album was being recorded in 1969, the group came to the conclusion that the producer's ambitions for the project exceeded their instrumental abilities. Basically, the band broke up spontaneously and the album was completed by session men. After 30 years, a few of the old members revived the band in 1999 with new recordings and tours. However, the ringleader of the new group, bassist Mark Tulin, died suddenly in 2011 of a heart attack and it appears that the band is back on hiatus.

Answer: Fakin' It

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkFBOd4YN60&feature=fvsr

The other three choices were 1966 not 1967 releases. "Homeward Bound" and "The Dangling Conversation" were featured on the "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" album while "I Am a Rock" was a "Sounds of Silence" cut. All these were great songs but as an unabashed fan of Simon and Garfunkel, I honestly can't think of anything they did that I didn't like. All this was a lead-in to the phenomenal success they would have in 1968. That year they scored their second Number One single, "Mrs. Robinson", and the two albums they released "The Graduate" and "Bookends" would dominate the album chart for 1/3 of the year. Then came 1970 and their crowning achievement "Bridge Over Troubled Water". They put so much work into that effort that they decided to take a temporary sabbatical to recoup. During that break, both started to dabble in other projects and they really never got back together as unit again except for a couple of brief concert reunions. At the time, I missed them as much as The Beatles... 1970 was a sad year

Answer: Pretty Ballerina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Ep5x-DETc

Let's say you take all the music recorded in 1967-8 and placed it under a bell curve. Most music, as usual, would be somewhere in the middle under the highest arc of the curve. At the very lowest level at one end of the curve would be baroque-rock; at the extreme opposite end of the bell curve would be bubblegum music. Baroque-rock was intended to be more serious than most pop music of the day, especially in terms of the melody and instrumentation. For example, instruments such as harpsichords, oboes and French horns were being utilized and the general theme of the music was often melancholic in tone.

In contrast to the harmonic music The Left Banke created, the brief existence of the band was marked with discord and tension. The group was assembled in New York City by keyboardist Michael Brown. He was also its creative force composing most of its material while the distinctive vocals were handled by Steve Martin Caro. They got off to a great start with the Number Five "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina" was a more than adequate follow-up. Their first album named after these two songs was a decent success as well. Trouble began on a few fronts. First, the nature of the music made it very difficult to replicate in a concert milieu. Second, Brown wanted to create and produce rather than perform, much to the chagrin of the other members. Third, the band was managed by Brown's father and he was pushing the group in directions the rest resented. Things came to a head when Brown released a single under the group's banner using session musicians! Although peace was restored long enough to record a second album, Brown abandoned the project before completion. The album was a dud and the remaining members disbanded shortly thereafter. Brown carried on with various bands like Montage, Stories (remembered for the song "Brother Louie" in 1973) and The Beckies. The rest of The Left Banke seem to have faded into obscurity.

Neither of The Left Banke's songs charted in the U.K. or elsewhere outside of North America as far as I could tell. However, the Brits were not under-represented in terms of this musical style. Many British groups including The Beatles, The Zombies, Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and others dabbled with the genre.

Answer: Itchycoo Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJzcF0v1eOE

The lineup of The Small Faces that recorded "Itchycoo Park" consisted of guitarist/vocalist Steve Marriott, bassist Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagen on the organ and Kenney Jones doing the drumming. As was typical for the era, everyone assumed that the song was about getting high on grass or acid and that belief initially caused it to be banned from play on the BBC. Marriott and Lane, who wrote it, debunked the notion claiming that it hearkened back to their youth when they would cut classes, go to this little park and just daydream, getting "high" on life. The park was rife with Rose Hip and the seeds, called "itchycoos", were like nettles and would cause discomfort and itching. True or not, the bureaucrats at the BBC bought it, the song became a hit and in a poll of British listeners in 1976, it was rated Number 62 of the top 100 songs of all time.

Marriott left the group later in 1968 to form Humble Pie. Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood were recruited to replace him and the group became The Faces. They had some success thereafter but by 1973, Lane departed and Stewart was poised to embark on what would become an enormously successful solo career. The Faces formally disbanded in 1975 with Wood most notably joining The Rolling Stones a year later. Marriott would die in a house fire in 1991 while Lane succumbed to multiple sclerosis in 1997 after battling the disease for more than twenty years.

Answer: Expressway to Your Heart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQpTEaPFHXQ

In 1966, The Lovin' Spoonful had a Number One hit with "Summer in the City". In that song, various sound effects were included such as jackhammers, horns honking, etc., to purvey the feeling of being in a typical, large urban environment. That same concept was utilized in "Expressway to Your Heart" to enhance the notion that the singer was trapped in a traffic jam, an event that would cost him his girl. It was the first hit recording written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff who would later be the architects of "The Sound of Philadelphia" which permeated the airwaves in the early 1970s.

The Soul Survivors were a funky white R&B group led by brothers Charles and Richard Ingui. Originally, most of the group hailed from New York City but based themselves out of Philadelphia because of their association with Gamble and Huff. As is often the case, the group suffered through a period of diminishing returns after this hit, follow-up recordings not faring near as well on the charts. They broke up, reformed with a new slate of members in the mid-1970s then disbanded for good later in the decade.