Sentimental and Sad Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Danny Thomas/Doris Day

"I'll See You in My Dreams" never fails to remind me of those that I have lost. Perhaps the most heartwarming of many versions is Joe Brown's rendition with his ukulele at a tribute to George Harrison.

Other compositions attributed to Kahn include "Pretty Baby" (1916), "It Had to Be You" (1924), "Love Me or Leave Me" (1928), "Making Woopie" (1928), and "San Francisco" (1936). His surviving wife Grace acted as technical consultant on the film.

Note: In 2015 a film with the same name and song was produced starring Blythe Danner but has nothing to do with Gus Kahn and contains a new song with the same title.

Most versions omit the opening verse--a shortcoming. Here it is:

"Though the days are long
Twilight sings a song
Of a happiness that used to be
Soon my eyes will close (soon my eyes will close)
Soon I'll find repose
And in dreams, you're always near to me"

Answer: Lush

"Lush Life" with its many chord changes and complex lyrics has been a challenge for both jazz artists and singers. Strayhorn tooled with the lyrics for many years; one recorded version was fourteen minutes long. I think the Nat King Cole version is the best, perhaps because that was when I heard it for the first time but Strayhorn preferred Billy Eckstine's. Linda Ronstadt won a Grammy for her recording in 1986 and Lady Gaga revived it in 2013. John Coltrane and Stan Getz did instrumental versions.

Here are the final lines:

"Romance is mush,
Stifling those who strive.
I'll live a lush life in some small dive
And there I'll be, while I rot
With the rest of those whose lives are lonely, too."

Answer: Old Shep

Certainly Red Foley had the definitive version but Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, and Elvis Presley each had heart-warming updates. Foley supposedly had a dog when he was a child that was poisoned by a neighbor. The song was written in remembrance.

When the vet tells him that there is nothing he could do for Shep--

"So I threw down that old gun ran right up to his side
He laid his faithful old head right on my knee
And friends I stroked the best pal that a man ever found
I even cried so I scarcely could see
Now old Shep he knew he knew he was going to go
Cause he reached out and he licked at my hand
Then he looked up at me just as much as to say
I hate to but you understand"

Answer: Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch

Although "Unchained Melody" is heard briefly by Todd Duncan in the film, it did get an Oscar nomination for best song. Al Hibbler hit number one on the Rhythm and Blues chart in 1955. A great revival of the song was in the film "Ghost"(1990). It is estimated "Unchained Melody" has been recorded over 500 times counting both vocal and instrumental versions. The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, were a duo but only Medley is heard on the record. Thanks go out to Elroy Hirsch for not singing. Also, the word 'unchained' does not appear in the lyric.

"Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea
To the open arms of the sea
Lonely rivers sigh, "Wait for me, wait for me
I'll be coming home, wait for me"

Answer: Tommy Dorsey

Not only did Tommy Dorsey record it but he adopted it as his theme song. It featured Tommy on his chosen instrument, the trombone. Frank Sinatra, as a vocalist for Dorsey, sang it and later recorded it under his own name.

"Won't you please be kind, and just make up your mind
That you'll be sweet and gentle, be gentle with me
`Cause I'm getting sentimental over you."

Answer: Sunday Morning Coming Down

I remember as a child living near the center of the city and experiencing the weird feeling of a city seemingly devoid of sounds and movement. Bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and most small businesses were closed except for a filling station here and there. It seemed an unnatural scene. Kristofferson's poetry captured it brilliantly. Johnny Cash thanked Kristofferson for the song, otherwise he have had to "find a job".

"On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cause there's something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothing short a' dying
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleeping city sidewalk
And Sunday morning coming down."

Answer: Journey

As a band singer, Day worked with Jimmy James, Bob Crosby, and Les Brown. It was with Brown that she recorded "Sentimental Journey" and launched into a solo career. At the time veterans were returning from World War Two and hoping to find the world not too much changed from what they left. Her success led her to the movie screen and television.

"Gonna take a sentimental journey
Gonna set my heart at ease
Gonna make a sentimental journey
To renew old memories"

Answer: Honey

Putting aside what critics might have thought, Goldsboro's "Honey" swept the world in 1968 and became the largest-selling record for that year and was number one for five weeks with success in the US, UK, and Australia. It was a crossover hit even on country charts. It tells the story of the death of a young wife symbolized by a tree.

"And I wake up nights and call her name
Now my life's an empty stage
Where Honey lived and Honey played
And love grew up
And a small cloud passes overhead
And cries down on the flower bed
That Honey loved"

Answer: Try a little tenderness

Perhaps the most creative use of "Try a Little Tenderness" is an instrumental version shown on the opening credits of "Doctor Strangelove" (1964). A refueling plane gently drops its fuel line into the bomber just below.

Composed in late 1932, it was recorded by Ruth Etting and Bing Crosby in 1933 and has become a classic. Otis Redding had the most commercial success in 1966 but Jimmy Durante's deeply moving rendition displays a loving devotion. The stylized "Commitments" version (1991) does justice as well.

When I was in college under the GI Bill and doing what part time work I could find, money was short. I could not give my wife and young daughter everything they needed. My wife would sometimes either sing or hum this song. It always made me feel sad that I could not fully support them. But she would always laugh. She got me again. And she would remind me that we were in this together.

The lyrics are somewhat dated as they imply a husband/wife relationship that is becoming less common but it's a great song.

Answer: Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson took Grammy honors in 1982. In an interview Nelson once said that Bing Crosby was his role model and that influence pops up in many of his albums. It was slow going as popular Brenda Lee in 1972 could only reach 45 on the charts. Like another Willie Nelson song "On the Road Again", it speaks of the dual life on the entertainer at home and the temptations of the road.

"Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could have
Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have

If I made you feel second best
Girl I'm sorry I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind"