Rock and Roll Artists with Royal Names Quiz

Answer: Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler was born Eugene Dixon in Chicago. He began his singing career in the early fifties with The Gaytones and The Dukays. His label liked his composition, "Duke of Earl", but insisted that Gene record it as a solo artist. He then adopted the name Gene Chandler as a solo artist and continued recording with The Dukays as Gene Dixon.
"The Duke of Earl" sold a million copies the first month it was released and became a US Number One hit. Gene dressed in a cape, monocle and top hat then adopted a character called "The Duke of Earl". He can be seen in his outfit in the 1962 movie, "Don't Knock the Twist".
Chandler subsequently released over 30 chart hits but never rivaled his three weeks at Number One with "The Duke of Earl". He continued to perform in oldies revival shows.
Gene McDaniels had a Number Ten hit with "Chip Chip" in 1962.
"Half Heaven, Half Heartache" was a Number 12 song by Gene Pitney in 1962.
Gene Vincent recorded "Be Bop A Lula" in 1956.
In Britain an earl ranks below a marquess and above a viscount. The wife of an earl is called a styled countess.
A duke is generally considered a member of the nobility. A duke's wife would be a duchess.

Answer: Shame

In addition to "Shame", Evelyn "Champagne" King also released "I'm in Love", "I Don't Know If It's Right" and "Love Come Down". "Shame" was her only seventies Top Ten hit on the US Billboard charts. In 1977 her debut album, "Smooth Talk", went Gold when she was still a teenager.
Her original nickname, "Bubbles", was given to her by her mom. When she began performing Disco venues it was changed to "Champagne" to sound more mature. King released her last Top Forty US Billboard release in 1984 with "Just For the Night". She also released a studio album in 2007 titled "Open Book".
Amii Stewart had US Disco a hit in 1979 with her version of the Eddie Floyd song, "Knock on Wood". The Silver Convention released "Fly, Robin Fly" in 1975. Yvonne Elliman released "If I Can't Have You" in 1977.

Answer: Down in the Boondocks

"I Knew You When", "Hush" and "Cherry Hill Park" were other hits by Billy Joe Royal. Royal was raised in Marietta, Georgia, and began his career as a regular entertainer in Savannah at The Bamboo Ranch.
"Down in the Boondocks" was written and produced for Billy Joe by singer/songwriter Joe South. After success in the sixties on the Pop charts, Billy Joe Royal scored Top Ten Country hits with "Tell It Like It Is", "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow" and "Burned Like a Rocket".
"Got to Get You Off My Mind" was a Number 22 release by Solomon Burke in 1965.
"I Must Be Seeing Things" was a 1965 Top Forty by Gene Pitney and Dickey Lee recorded "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)" the same year.

Answer: The Drifters

In 1958 Ben Nelson was a member of the Doo Wop group called The Five Crowns. They frequently opened for The Drifters. When the manager of the Drifters fired several members of the band many of The Five Crowns replaced them. Still going by the name of Ben Nelson he co-wrote and sang the Drifters hit, "There Goes My Baby". After singing lead on several of the Drifters' hits he left in 1960 to pursue a solo career and changed his name to Ben E. King.
His first solo hit was "Spanish Harlem". Then he teamed up with the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to write "Stand by Me" and scored a US Top Ten hit.
The Coasters were known for comedy hits such as "Charlie Brown".
The Platters released such classics as "Only You", "My Prayer" and "Twilight Time".
In addition to their 1958 US Top Ten hit, "Western Movies", The Olympics were the first group to record "Good Lovin'", later done by The Young Rascals.

Answer: When Doves Cry

"When Doves Cry" was a single from Prince's 1984 album, "Purple Rain". It was his first US Number One single and stayed at the top for five weeks. The song was intended to interpret part of his 1984 movie, "Purple Rain".
Prince Rogers Nelson was named after his dad, a jazz musician named John L. Nelson who went by the stage name of Prince Rogers. Prince released his first major label album, "For You", in 1978.
"Little Red Corvette" reached Number Six in 1983, "1999" made it to Number 12 in 1982 and "Delirious" was a 1983 Number Eight hit for Prince.
Prince is the term for a hereditary member of a monarch or former monarch's family. The feminine term is princess.

Answer: Don't Just Stand there

Anna Marie "Patty" Duke began her acting career on a Soap Opera. In 1963 she landed her own show after earning an Academy Award for her work in "The Miracle Worker". On her television show she played the dual role of cousins. Other teen actresses on television shows were showcasing their singing talent by issuing records and Patty released "Don't Just Stand there", in 1965 followed by "Dona Dona" in 1968.
She appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing the songs on separate occasions and released several albums during the sixties. In 1968 she sang a passionate rendition of "Danny Boy" on "The Tonight Show".
"You Don't Own Me" and "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" were done by Lesley Gore in the early sixties. "Come and Stay with Me" was a 1965 Marianne Faithfull Top Forty hit.

Answer: Short Shorts

The Royal Teens formed in New Jersey in 1957. They released "Short Shorts" the following year and followed up with the Top Forty, "Believe Me", in 1959. Some notable former members were Bob Gaudio, who would became a member of The Four Seasons and Al Kooper, the founder of Blood Sweat and Tears.
Member Joe Francovilla left to form Joey and the Twisters. They worked at The Peppermint Lounge with Joey Dee and the Starlighters. The group never released a studio album and broke up in 1965. "Short Shorts" has been used in commercials for Nair.
"Witch Doctor" was done in 1958 by David Seville, "Beep, Beep" was a fifties hit by The Playmates and "The Jolly Green Giant" was a sixties release by The Kingsmen.

Answer: Snoopy

"Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" was a single and also the title of an album done the The Royal Guardsmen in 1966. "Snoopy's Christmas" was released by the group as a single the following year along with their "Snoopy And His Friends" album. In 1968 "Snoopy For President" was the title of an album and a single from the album.
The Royal Guardsmen formed in Ocala, Florida, in the mid-sixties. They initially called themselves The Posmen but changed their name to adapt to the British Invasion. "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" was released in 1966, reached Number Two in the US and was certified as a Gold Record by 1967.
In addition to their Snoopy themed songs they also released songs such as "Baby, Lets Wait", "Wednesday" and "I Say Love". By 1969 the Snoopy theme had begun to fade and the original band dissolved. They soldiered on with replacements for another couple of years.
The group reformed and released "Snoopy vs. Osama" in 2006.

Answer: The Four Tops

Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Levi Stubbs, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo "Obie" Benson formed The Four Aims in the mid-fifties. They renamed themselves The Four Tops and were together until 1997 without changing members. The group honed their craft and were an experienced group when Berry Gordy, Jr., asked them to be part of the Motown roster of artists in 1963. Their first hit for the label was the following year, when "Baby I Need Your Loving" reached the Number 11 spot on the US charts.
The Four Tops declined to relocate to Los Angeles in 1972 when Motown moved so they signed with ABC-Dunhill Records. In 1983 they rejoined Motown and were included in the Motown 25th anniversary festivities.
They have only released one album since the late eighties. They were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Answer: Ted Nugent

Ted Nugent was still a high school student when The Amboy Dukes played at teen dances in Arlington Heights, Illinois. They signed with Mainstream Records New York and released "Journey to the Center of the Mind", written by another alumnus of the band, Steve Farmer. Nugent dissolved The Amboy Dukes and formed a band to back him as a solo artist in 1975.

In the late eighties he formed a Supergroup called Damn Yankees and released an album of the same name. In the nineties Ted returned to touring as a solo artist and released "Spirit of the Wild" in 1995. Mitch Ryder fronted The Detroit Wheels. Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith were guitar players for MC5.