Piano Instrumental Hits Trivia Quiz

Answer: Autumn Leaves

"Autumn Leaves" spent four weeks at the top of the US Billboard chart in 1955. Louis Weertz began playing piano at the age of three and majored in piano at Drake University before entering the Navy. After returning to college and earning a master's degree he was a contestant on a local show called "Chance of a Lifetime" and took home top honors along with a contract with Kapp Records. After changing his name to Roger Williams he recorded "Autumn Leaves", beginning a long career that included additional hits such as "Born Free", "The Impossible Dream" and "Maria".

Mitch Miller and his singers took "The Yellow Rose of Texas" to Number One in 1955. Cuban bandleader Perez Prado also scored a US Number One hit in 1955 with "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)". "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" was a vocal hit in 1955 by The Four Aces.

Answer: Hawaii Five-O

The "Hawaii Five-O" theme was recorded by The Ventures.

"Theme From 'The Apartment'" was a Number Ten single, "Theme From 'Exodus'" peaked at Number Two and "Midnight Cowboy" also reached the Number Ten slot. Louis Teicher and Arthur Ferrante became acquainted while studying together at the Julliard School of Music in the forties and began performing as a duo while still in school. They both became members of the faculty upon graduation. Their first significant chart success was "Theme From 'The Apartment'" in 1960. The duo continued to record and perform with orchestras until retiring to the Florida Keys in the eighties.

Answer: Scott Joplin

"The Entertainer" was copyrighted in 1902 with two other Scott Joplin pieces. Over the next several years Scott Joplin's Rags became popular until his early death at age 49 in 1917. Joplin earned the nickname "The King of Ragtime" after composing 44 pieces during his short career. He relocated to St. Louis from Missouri and began composing and performing in local establishments. He began suffering from dementia and lost his first Opera score to debtors, ending up being buried in a pauper's grave. Several artists through the years recorded and performed Joplin's music.
Marvin Hamlisch received a Grammy for Best Original Song Score and Adaptation in 1974 when he adapted and orchestrated "The Entertainer" and other Joplin scores as the soundtrack for "The Sting".

James Hubert "Eubie" Blake was a composer and pianist of Jazz and Ragtime music. "Ain't Misbehavin'" was one of several Fats Waller tunes. "Take the A Train" and "It Don't Mean a Thing" were hits by Duke Ellington.

Answer: Frank Mills

When Frank Mills released "Music Box Dancer" in 1974 it barely got noticed. When he signed with Polydor Records four years later "Music Box Dancer" was released as the flip-side to another single. Several stations began playing "Music Box Dancer" and it earned a following, becoming a US Top Ten.
Canadian native Frank Mills originally began college with sights on an engineering degree then switched to the arts and began performing in fraternity houses. He joined a band called The Bells in the late sixties. He began a solo career and by 1971 had released successful singles in Canada. "Music Box Dancer" would be Mills' only US Top Forty single.

Canadian Jazz artist Steve Holt released his first album in 1984. Daniel Richard Powter became a "one hit wonder" for his 2005 single "Bad Day". Dan Bryk's first album was released in 1995.

Answer: Stingers

B. Bumble and the Stingers released a number of piano rockers beginning with "Bumble Boogie". Piano player Ernie Freeman recorded "Bumble Boogie" on two tracks using a tack piano for the lead and a grand piano for the rhythm portion. Other session players played the bass and drums. Legendary guitarist Tommy Tedesco also played on the session.

The song was released and became a success, however, the studio musicians had too many obligations to perform the song on the road so a group from Oklahoma was recruited with guitarist R. C. Gamble being dubbed B. Bumble. Rendezvous Records followed up with "Apple Knocker" and "Dawn Cracker" but the record company ceased to exist in 1963 so no further recordings were produced.

Answer: Black

Horst Jankowski's German Instrumental hit "Eine Schwarzwaldfahrt" was translated into "A Walk in the Black Forest". The Berlin native was a bandleader and performed Jazz in his native Germany beginning in the fifties. He embarked on a composing career and in 1965 he released "A Walk in the Black Forest" from his "The Genius of Jankowski" LP (1965). The tune reached Number Three in Britain and has been covered by a number of artists.

After the success of "A Walk in the Black Forest" Horst released a number of Instrumental albums including covers of Pop hits, but focused primarily on Jazz.

He was only 62 when he passed away in 1998.

Answer: Vince Guaraldi

Vincent Anthony "Vince" Guaraldi's career was briefly interrupted during WWII when he served as a cook in the Navy. He made his first recording in 1953 with The Cal Tjader Trio and continued to play with the group, making an impression during the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958. The following year he quit to pursue a solo career. In 1962 Vince won the Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition for his recording of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".
The producers of the first Charlie Brown special were impressed and invited Guaraldi to submit music for the soundtrack. When he played his composition over the phone a couple of weeks later the song became synonymous with the Charlie Brown specials.

Bradley Joseph has worked with Sheena Easton and Yanni. Dave Brubeck's signature recording was "Take Five". In 1952 "The Joke's on Me" was Freddy Cole's first album release.

Answer: True

Known primarily as a Country artist, Floyd Cramer's "Last Date" only went to Number 11 on the Country charts while narrowly topping the US Pop charts when it reached Number Two.
After being raised in New Orleans Cramer landed a spot in the early fifties playing on the "Louisiana Hayride" show and touring with an up and coming singer by the name of Elvis Presley. Floyd's playing can be heard on Elvis' breakout single, "Heartbreak Hotel".
In 1955 Cramer relocated to Nashville at a time when the piano was gaining prominence in Country music and worked steadily as a session player. After releasing a few singles under his own name he finally had a major breakthrough single with "Last Date".
Floyd Cramer was only 64 when he passed away and has been posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Country Music Hall of Fame and The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Answer: A Time for Us

The closest Henry Mancini previously came to breaking the US Top Ten was with "Moon River" in 1961. When he recorded an arrangement of Nino Rota's "Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet'", also known as "A Time for Us", he topped the charts for two weeks. Although the release was in rotation with British Invasion singles it managed to attract interest and when it reached Number One most mainstream stations had little reservation about playing a soft-rock song.
Mancini also had hits with the theme from "Love Story" (1971), "Days of Wine and Roses" (1963) and "The Pink Panther Theme" (1964).

"Melody Of Love" was a 1955 Billy Vaughn hit. "Moritat" (A Theme From "The Three Penny Opera") was an Instrumental by The Dick Hyman Trio in 1956. Roger Williams released an Instrumental version of "Near You" in 1958.

Answer: The In Crowd

Ramsey Lewis recorded his version of "The In Crowd" live in one take while performing at a nigh club in the Washington, DC, area.
Dobie Gray first recorded the song for his 1964 "Dobie Gray Sings for 'In' Crowders That 'Go Go" LP. In 1973 he had another hit with "Drift Away". Dobie left his native Texas and headed for Los Angeles where he recorded for some minor labels barely denting the charts before recording "The In Crowd".
In 1956 Lewis released "Ramsey Lewis And The Gentlemen of Swing" but did not enjoy mainstream success until he recorded his Jazz versions of "The In Crowd", "Hang on Sloopy" and "Wade in the Water" in the sixties.

"Just Once in My Life" was a 1965 single from The Righteous Brothers. Lesley Gore recorded "The Look of Love" in 1965 and "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)" was an Instrumental by The T-Bones the same year.