Really Tied the Song Together Trivia Quiz

Answer: saxophone

From his 1978 solo album, "City to City", "Baker Street" was Gerry Rafferty's most successful single, surpassing his sales with Stealer's Wheel, and selling over five million units worldwide.

A weird urban myth was circulated that the TV personality Bob Holness actually played the sax part on this track. Not true.

Its alto sax riff, one of the most familiar in popular music, and played by Raphael Ravenscroft (1954-2014), was distinctive and uniquely suited to the melancholy mood of the song. Rafferty and Ravenscroft disputed its authorship, and the saxophonist said he was paid less than £30 for his performance on a song that made Rafferty tens of thousands per annum for many years. Despite the bad feeling, they did work together again, and Ravenscroft dedicated a piece to Rafferty called "Forgiveness" when the singer died in 2011. Ravenscroft's success with "Baker Street" led to work with artists such as ABBA, Marvin Gaye and Pink Floyd.

Answer: drums

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" was the second single from Paul Simon's fourth solo album "Still Crazy After All These Years" (1975). It became his only solo US number one.

The unique drum part was contributed by Steve Gadd, one of the most in-demand of studio and session drummers. Other noteworthy contributions of his are on Steely Dan's "Aja" (1977) and Van McCoy's "The Hustle" (1975). He worked with many other artists, including Charles Mingus, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, B. B. King and Kate Bush, and released more than ten albums as a band leader in his own right.

Legendary among drummers, he has his own light bulb joke, courtesy of Phil Collins: "How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb? Ten. And then another ten to talk about how Steve Gadd would have done it."

Answer: electro-theremin

"Good Vibrations", with words and music by Mike Love and Brian Wilson respectively, was an immediate success as a single, when released by the Beach Boys in 1966, topping the charts both sides of the Atlantic.

It is frequently cited as a reason for an upturn in interest in the theremin, the unique musical instrument that is played without being touched, and is named after its inventor, the Russian Léon Theremin. However, a theremin was not used on the recording!

It was, in fact, an electro-theremin, an electronic instrument that mimicked the sound of the theremin. It was invented by Bob Whitsell and Paul Tanner in the 1950s. Tanner (1917-2013) was a trombonist who had played in the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and he played his instrument with the Beach Boys on other tracks besides "Good Vibrations", including "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" from "Pet Sounds" (1966). He also played it on the theme music for the TV show "My Favorite Martian" (1963-66).

Answer: electric guitar

"Reelin' in the Years", written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, was the second single released from Steely Dan's 1972 album "Can't Buy a Thrill". It made the top 20 in the Billboard charts and has been a radio favourite ever since, even surviving a cover version by Donny and Marie Osmond.

The guitar solo by Elliott Randall has become a regular fixture in lists of all-time greats. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page has cited it as a favourite. Randall also soloed on the Irene Cara song "Fame" (1980) and worked with artists including The Doobie Brothers, Carly Simon and James Galway.

Answer: piano

"Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn from 1931 with words by Eleanor Farjeon set to a traditional melody named after the Scottish village of Bunessan.
Cat Stevens recorded the song for his album "Teaser and the Firecat" (1971). Stevens needed to pad out the hymn, which took less than a minute to sing, and, hearing Rick Wakeman play a piece that was intended for a solo project, persuaded him to adapt it for use on "Morning Has Broken". The song was released as a single in 1972 and made the top ten all over the world. Wakeman, whose beautiful piano work was a major factor in the success of the single, and worthy of a part credit for song-writing, was paid £10 for his contribution. Stevens took nearly 30 years to put the matter right, blaming his record label for a misunderstanding. Wakeman, as a committed Christian, was proud of his contribution to the popularisation of the hymn.

Rick Wakeman had a legendary career as a keyboard player, as a session musician, in bands such as Yes and Strawbs and as a solo artist. He performed with David Bowie on "Space Oddity" (1969) on mellotron and his piano was a key element in Bowie's 1971 album "Hunky Dory" ("Life on Mars?", "Changes", "Fill Your Heart"). He turned down the offer of a place in The Spiders From Mars, in favour of joining Yes, with whom he worked on classic albums such as "Fragile" (1971) and "Close to the Edge" (1972), and with whom he first adopted his affectation of wearing a cape to perform live. Solo albums such as "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (1973) followed, plus the soundtrack for Ken Russell's movie "Lisztomania" (1975), and he rejoined Yes on later work.

Answer: trombone

"I'm Coming Out" was written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards who were also the producers for Diana Ross's 1980 album "Diana". It was the second single released from the album and reached number one in the Billboard chart. It became something of a gay anthem, and Rodgers was said to have been inspired to create the song after seeing several drag artists dressed as Ross. The song also had an additional meaning as Ross was in the process of severing her links with Berry Gordy and Motown Records.

The song is pretty rare for a chart hit in that it features a storming trombone solo. Trombonist Meco Monardo is best known for his 1977 Billboard number one disco single "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band", which sold over two million copies in the US alone. Subsequent hits based around movie soundtracks ensued.

Answer: French horn

From the landmark 1966 album "Revolver", "For No One" was an example of Paul McCartney more or less ploughing his own furrow. McCartney played several instruments on the track with Ringo Starr the only other Beatle involved. Apparently influenced by an unhappy love affair with the actor Jane Asher, the extraordinary understated lyrics speak for themselves - no wonder it was one of John Lennon's favourite McCartney songs.

"You want her, you need her / And yet you don't believe her / When she says her love is dead /You think she needs you"

For the French horn solo, McCartney and producer George Martin brought in the best horn player around - Alan Civil, a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra. McCartney pushed him to play beyond the normal range of the instrument, and with awkward tuning. The result is extraordinary. Civil also worked with the Beatles on "A Day in the Life" from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967). His other recorded work includes Mozart horn concertos and Britten's "Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings".

Answer: violin

After having had two UK top ten singles in 1980, the majority of Dexys Midnight Runners left the band in 1981, with only front man Kevin Rowland and trombonist Jim Paterson remaining. They recruited new members, and ex-Dexys Kevin Archer and Andy Leek formed a band called The Blue Ox Babes. Both Kevins were keen to move away from their horn and sax based soul sound and to incorporate strings into their music. Kevin Rowland asked his horn players to learn to play strings, with limited success. Kevin Archer played him some demos of The Blue Ox Babes, which featured a classical violinist called Helen Bevington. Bevington had played with bands before and was a recent graduate from Birmingham University. Rowland asked her to join Dexys. She did, and recruited two other fiddlers - Steve Shaw and Roger Huckle. Rowland's vision was a Celtic/Irish soul band, and he informed the three that they were to be called The Emerald Express and their stage names would be Helen O'Hara, Steve Brennan and Roger MacDuff. Rowland had form with renaming his bandmates - Kevin Archer had been working under the name "Al" while in Dexys because Rowland thought one Kevin was enough for a band. The 1982 Dexys album "Too-Rye-Ay" was a huge success, with the single "Come on Eileen" reaching number one in several countries, including the US.

O'Hara stayed with Dexys until 1987, and later worked with Tanita Tikaram and Graham Parker.

Answer: bass guitar

If you have heard a Motown song from the 1960s or early 1970s, chances are it featured James Jamerson (1936-1983). He played bass on most of the label's output in that period, including "My Girl" by The Temptations, "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, and is considered one of the most influential bass players in popular music history. Jamerson was a keen drinker, and when Marvin Gaye was working on "What's Going On" in 1970, he had to hunt through some bars to locate him. Jamerson is said to have been so much the worse for wear that he played much of his part lying on his back.

Not an effusive man, when he got home he told his wife he'd just worked on "a masterpiece". It's hard to disagree.

Answer: Moog synthesizer

"Son of My Father" was originally called "Nachts Scheint Die Sonne", with music by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics by Michael Holm. Holm released the German version.

Moroder released an English version, with lyrics by Pete Bellotte in 1971, under the name Giorgio. It was a minor hit in the US and Germany, and Moroder and Bellotte went on to bigger and better things later when they worked with Donna Summer.

Chicory Tip released the song in 1972 and it went to number one in the UK. It was the first UK number one single to feature a synthesizer. The tune has been a firm favourite in English sports stadiums ever since - inspiring chants in praise of the likes of Teddy Sheringham, Manchester United and Lancashire County Cricket Club.

Chris Thomas programmed the Moog synthesizer on the record. He worked as a producer with many artists, including Badfinger, The Beatles (playing mellotron on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" and harpsichord on "Piggies"), Pulp, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and the Sex Pistols.