Shelved Women ... Ladies on my CD-shelf, that is Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first CD you might stumble upon is a commemorative album produced to honor the 35th anniversary of this French singer's death. Born in December 1915, she passed away in 1963 after an eventful, but tragic life. Known for "La Vie en Rose" and the fact that she did not regret anything, who was this iconic French singer, the "sparrow of Paris"?

Answer: Edith Piaf

Edith Piaf was born in Paris as �dith Giovanna Gassion. Most of her early life remains a mystery as not many of the stories surrounding the young Edith can be considered proven fact. Despite a poor upbringing, her strong and unique singing voice eventually catapulted the diminutive woman to fame and she became one of France's biggest stars. Apart from "La Vie en Rose", some her most famous chansons are "Milord", "Non, je ne regrette rien" and "A Quoi Ca Sert L'amour", a duet with her last husband.

She died of liver cancer at the age of 47.

2. On my shelf just a few steps to the right, you might run into Vera Lynn, an equally legendary British singer, and "The Songs That Won World War 2". Besides her greatest hits like "White Cliffs of Dover" or "A Nightingale Sang on Berkeley Square", she also sang a rendition of this song written by No�l Coward which by many is considered the unofficial hymn of London, and understandably so: "Cockney feet mark the beat of history/ Every street pins a memory down/ Nothing ever can quite replace/ The grace of London Town." What is the song's title which also refers to a flower?

Answer: London Pride

During World War II Dame Vera Lynn was considered the "Forces' Sweetheart"; her voice and the songs she sang were the reminder of home for the soldiers fighting. She remained popular also after the war, but exactly how influential she was can be proven by the fact that in 2009, at the age of 92 (!), she reached number one on the British album charts with the compilation album "We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn".

Not bad, if you ask me!

3. One level up and you will run into one of the most versatile and best known jazz singers and her "Irving Berlin Songbook". Who is this great lady of song who often teamed up with Louis Armstrong and who created one of the most recognizable jazz standards with a song based on the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket A-Tasket"?

Answer: Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), often referred to as the "Queen of Jazz", made her professional singing debut at the tender age of 17 at a theater in Harlem. Among her numerous bestselling recordings, many of which won Grammys, one of the best remembered and most remarkable is "Porgy and Bess" (1957) on which she collaborated with Louis Armstrong to sing the songs from George Gershwin's opera of the same name.

Their rendition of "Summertime" - at least in the eyes of this author - has to be the best version there can be.

4. Now take a couple of steps to the left and a singer who desperately wanted a Mercedes Benz will come up. Yes, right there sits Janis Joplin whose life was cut short at the young age of 27. After her death, her rendition of "Me and Bobby McGee" became her only number one single; however, the song was not written by her. Which Country Music artist originally penned this song (come on, I had to include one guy in this quiz, didn't I?)?

Answer: Kris Kristofferson

Janis Joplin (1943-1970), at first lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, worked on her second solo studio album "Pearl" (which featured "Me and Bobby McGee") shortly before her death. On her last session, she recorded "Mercedes Benz", another song that would become her signature tune.

Despite her untimely death Janis Joplin is regarded one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and the album "Pearl", which was released posthumously, was named as one of the 500 greatest albums of all times by the "Rolling Stone Magazine".

5. Speaking of Country Music: On the rack not far from Janis Joplin, the album "Heartaches & Highways: The Very Best of Emmylou Harris" is located. This singer with the fragile sounding yet strong voice (how is that for a paradox?) released a number of high grossing and critically acclaimed albums since the 1970s. Which of her signature songs did she write about the death of her mentor Gram Parsons?

Answer: Boulder to Birmingham

At the beginning of her career in the early 1970s, Emmylou Harris collaborated with Gram Parsons on his first solo album "GP". While working on the next album together, Parsons died of a drug overdose and the close cooperation between him and Harris came to an end.

She co-wrote "Boulder to Birmingham" as an elegy on Parsons and it was released on her solo album "Pieces of the Sky". During her career Emmylou Harris has released a number of solo as well as duet albums (like "All the Roadrunning" with Mark Knopfler or "Trio" with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt) and she is also active in numerous charities.

6. When you turn left, right after Meat Loaf's "Bat out of Hell", you will encounter Loreena McKennitt and her "Book of Secrets" (yes, blame me for never putting my CDs into proper order). According to Dan Brown's novel "Inferno", she is the favorite singer of his hero Robert Langdon. Taking the title of the book into account, to which of her songs from this album is he referring that asks you to "Cast your eyes on the ocean/ cast your soul to the sea./ When the dark night seems endless,/ please remember me."?

Answer: Dante's Prayer

Loreena McKennitt is a Canadian musician whose music can best be described as world music, often with Celtic influences. Her soprano in combination with an unusual instrumentation makes her music a unique and very often soothing sound experience.
Besides playing and writing her own music and lyrics, Loreena McKennitt has also - with amazing effect - set poetry to music: Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman" (also on "The Book of Secrets") as well as Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" (on the album "The Visit") form a perfect blend of music and words.

7. The next section you enter might be called "They sing too?", and there on the top rack sits the CD "Big as a Berry" featuring the vocals of a star who famously showed off *her* rack on the TV series "Will & Grace". Who is this actress/singer who on this record lends her power voice to such songs as the Irish classic "Danny Boy" or Tom Waits' brilliant "Take It with Me"?

Answer: Megan Mullally

Having performed in "Grease" and "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" on Broadway, Megan Mullally had established a career as a vocalist already before she began singing with the band Supreme Music Program. The band so far has released three albums - "The Sweetheart Break-In", "Big as a Berry" and "Free Again!" - on which they cover a wide variety of songs: From classics of the Great American Songbook like "Ten Cents a Dance", to Randy Newman's "Real Emotional Girl", the American folksong "St. James Infirmary Blues" and many others. Always presenting a very personal and unique rendition of the songs, Megan Mullally's versions show that even well known songs can still be interpreted in a new way.

8. Better known for her television work is also this singer/actress who released her debut album "Ghost in my Head" in 2009. Even though you might rather see her as unconventional forensic pathologist Jordan Cavanaugh on "Crossing Jordan", her skills as musician are unquestionable. Who is this lady who not only sang, but also penned all the songs on this magnificent folk album herself?

Answer: Jill Hennessy

Before gaining fame as Claire Kincaid on the original "Law and Order", Canadian Jill Hennessy actually began her career singing and playing guitar on the streets of Toronto. As she says herself, music is the closest thing to who she is, so it seems releasing an album with her own songs was only a matter of time. All the songs are inspired by her personal experience: "When I began writing these songs, the floodgates opened to my whole life," says Hennessy. Each musical piece tells its own coherent story with Jill Hennessy playing rhythm guitar and singing lead and background vocals with her slightly husky and expressive voice.

I admit though, this album doesn't sit on my CD shelf too often, because either I am listening to it myself or I bug somebody else to listen to it and then buy it.

[Quotes taken from Jill Hennessy's official website]

9. Now just a jump to the left and you'll land near Audra McDonald and one of her theater albums. This CD-set contains the recording of "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill", a play with music, in which she impersonates which legendary jazz singer in one of her last concert performances?

Answer: Billie Holiday

Having won numerous awards for her work on the musical stage as well as in straight plays, Audra McDonald is one of the most prolific and versatile American performers and singers of our time. On playing Billie Holiday, she said in an interview, "she feels an incredible connection to her music - she can't sing a song if she doesn't have some emotional connection to it, which I really understand."
Her heartfelt portrayal of Billie Holiday, one of the most influential jazz singers of the 20th century, earned Audra McDonald her sixth Tony Award.

10. I am also guilty of often finding inspiration for CD purchases on TV series and so the song played on the season seven finale of "Criminal Minds" struck my fancy. I was surprised to find that the haunting words "Well, I knew what I didn't want to know,/ and I saw where I didn't want to go,/ so I took the path less travelled on,/ and I'll let my stories be whispered when I'm gone." were actually written by a very young artist. The song is "As It Seems" and it was released on Lily Kershaw's debut album "Midnight in the Garden".

Answer: True

Lily Kershaw was just around 20 when her debut album was released in 2013. The songs have a certain dark feeling to them, yet emanate peace and wisdom. According to her, "It's all about death. I'd love to say most of my music isn't about death or heartbreak but, well, it is." Yet, the mentioned song had a profound effect on the TV audiences - not only yours truly - and allowed her to "turn writing music and singing into a career".

[Quotes taken from Lily Kershaw's official homepage]

Source: Author Picard25

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

I am known for having an eclectic musical taste (okay, some say odd), so why not take a trip through my CD shelf and different decades, genres and languages representing women in music and see for yourself!

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