Piano Men: Browne, Joel, John, or Wonder Online Quiz | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who sang this ode to the lonely pianist: "It's nine o'clock on a Saturday The regular crowd shuffles in There's an old man sitting next to me Makin' love to his tonic and gin He says, "son, can you play me a memory? I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes" La la la, di da da La la, di da da da dum..."

Answer: Billy Joel

Of course the words are from "Piano Man", in which Joel wrote about people he met while playing as the house pianist at The Executive Room piano bar in Los Angeles.

He told the 'Metro' newspaper in July 2006: "It was a gig I did for about six months just to pay rent. I was living in LA and trying to get out of a bad record contract I'd signed.

"...I have no idea why that song became so popular. It's like a karaoke favorite. The melody is not very good and very repetitious, while the lyrics are like limericks. I was shocked and embarrassed when it became a hit."

The song was the title track of a 1973 album and the song reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2. "Well, just, a look at that girl with the lights comin' up in her eyes. She's got to be somebody's baby. She must be somebody's baby. All the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by. She's got to be somebody's baby. She must be somebody's baby. She's got to be somebody's baby. She's so fine..." Which piano man sang the words.

Answer: Jackson Browne

Despite having been around for a long time and being so well regarded as a concert performer, Jackson Browne has rarely troubled the charts. "Somebody's Baby" was his biggest hit, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.

Browne recorded the song for the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemount High". It was co-written with Danny Kortchmar.

3. Who was it sang: "Isn't she lovely Isn't she wonderful Isn't she precious Less than one minute old I never thought through love we'd be Making one as lovely as she But isn't she lovely made from love..."

Answer: Stevie Wonder

"Isn't She Lovely" was on the 1976 album "Songs in the Key of Life". It was written about the birth of his daughter, Aisha.

Having been born prematurely, Wonder lost his sight when too much oxygen was pumped into his hospital incubator. Despite this, he became a talented multi-instrumentalist.

4. Which piano man sang; "If you search for tenderness It isn't hard to find You can have the love you need to live But if you look for truthfulness You might just as well be blind It always seems to be so hard to give Honesty is such a lonely word Everyone is so untrue Honesty is hardly ever heard And mostly what I need from you..."

Answer: Billy Joel

"Honesty" was on the album "52nd Street". The single reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979.

It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 22nd Grammy Awards in 1980. This is a song on which Joel has often duetted with Elton John in concert.

5. Who sang: "Someone's going to have to explain it to me I'm not sure what it means My baby's feeling funny in the morning She's having trouble getting into her jeans Her waistline seems to be expanding Although she never feels like eating a thing I guess we'll reach some understanding When we see what the future will bring..."

Answer: Jackson Browne

"Ready Or Not" was written by Browne about a lover, Phylis Major, who became pregnant by him. Browne later told 'Mojo' magazine: "She hated that song". They later married, but she died by suicide in 1976.

The song was on the 1973 album "For Everyman".

6. Which keyboards virtuoso sang: "Goodbye Norma Jean Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled They crawled out of the woodwork And they whispered into your brain They set you on the treadmill And they made you change your name And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind..."

Answer: Elton John

The 1973 version of this song had words by Bernie Taupin and music by Elton John.

A homily to Marilyn Monroe, many years later Taupin was to write new words following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and John sang it at her funeral service.

The new version topped the UK charts for five weeks and in the USA it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks and earned a 'Diamond' certification for sales of more than 10 million. Proceeds went to a charitable trust set up in Diana's name.

7. Who was it sang: "Mary wants to be a superwoman But is that really in her head But I just want to live each day to love her For what she is Mary wants to be another movie star But is that really in her mind And all the things she wants to be She needs to leave behind But, very well, I believe I know you very well Wish that you knew me too-very well And I think I can deal with everything going through your head..."

Answer: Stevie Wonder

"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You?)" was on the 1972 album "Music Of My Mind".

Wonder played the newly invented TONTO synthesizer on the track. He also sang the vocals and played Fender Rhodes, drums, and Moog bass.

The single reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.

8. Which piano man sang: "Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes..."

Answer: Elton John

"Daniel" was actually a song about the Vietnam War.

The words were written by Bernie Taupin who said of the inspiration: "I'd seen this article in 'Time' magazine on the Tet Offensive. And there was a sidebar next to it with a story about how many of the soldiers that were coming back from 'Nam were these simple sort of down home country guys who were generally embarrassed by both the adulation and, depending on what part of the country you came from, the animosity that they were greeted by.

"For the most part, they just wanted to get back to a normal life, but found it hard, what with all the looky loos and the monkeys of war that they carried on their backs."

The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four in the UK. It was a number one in Canada.

9. "Slow down, you crazy child You're so ambitious for a juvenile But then if you're so smart, then tell me Why are you still so afraid? Where's the fire, what's the hurry about? You'd better cool it off before you burn it out You've got so much to do And only so many hours in a day..." Who sang of this good advice?

Answer: Billy Joel

Billy Joel has said that he was inspired to write "Vienna" while visiting his estranged father in the Austrian capital.

On a TV show with Howard Stern he said: "It was an observation that you have your whole life to live. A lot of people in their 20s think they have to get it all together by their 30s and they kill themselves trying to get the golden ring.

"You have an entire life to live. The lyrics, 'slow down you crazy child' - in other words, you have a whole life. We tend to put older people away, and it's all about young people. Well, wait a minute, why do I have this whole lifespan?"

On another TV show, this time with Stephen Colbert in 2017, Joel listed "Vienna" as one of the top five favourites of his own songs. It was on the 1977 album "The Stranger"

10. Which piano man sang: "Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-oh-one I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on Running on, running on empty Running on, running blind Running on, running into the sun But I'm running behind..."

Answer: Jackson Browne

"Running On Empty" was the title track of an album recorded by Jackson Browne in 1977. (It also happens to be one of this quiz author's favourite rock/pop albums of all.)

Browne later said he wrote the song while driving back and forward to the studio each day to make his album "The Pretender". He told Rolling Stone: "I was always driving around with no gas in the car, I just never bothered to fill up the tank because - how far was it anyway? Just a few blocks."

If you are into quirky facts, a framed copy of the album hangs on the wall of Mindy's apartment in the TV show "Mork & Mindy".

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor 1nn1 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Piano Men: Browne, Joel, John, or Wonder Quiz

Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, Elton John and Stevie Wonder: all great exponents of the pianist's art. See if you can identify which of them sang the quoted lyrics.

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