Si Senor, I Can Sing Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ritchie Valens

Ritchie Valens career unfortunately ended only eight months after he broke onto the music scene in 1958. He burst onto the scene with "Come On, Let's Go" in 1958 and followed with his biggest hit "Donna", (U.S. Billboard number two) "La Bamba" which was on the flip side also charted and made number 22 on the U.S. Billboard charts.

In early 1959 he was one of the rock and roll tour members killed in the crash of a small plane during a winter tour which included Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) among others.

Although born in southern California he was of Mexican descent, and was one of the pioneers of the Latin rock movement in the U.S.

Answer: Jose Feliciano

Feliciano was born in Lares, Puerto Rico, and grew up in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City. He began his career in 1963 playing clubs in Greenwich Village. He had released a couple of albums in the mid 1960s with limited success. He had also performed throughout Latin America and was a well known star there.

His breakthrough with American audiences came when he moved to Los Angeles and covered The Doors "Light My Fire" with a Latin style arrangement. The song reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1968.

He was voted Best New Artist at the 1969 Grammy Awards, and also won for Best Pop Song of The Year. In the early 1970s he recorded an album of Christmas music. And if you ever sing along to "Feliz Navidad", you'll be singing along to one of Jose's most famous tunes.

Answer: Trini Lopez

Trini Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas and is of Mexican descent. He had played many clubs in the southwestern U.S. in the early 1960s and recorded his first album in 1963. "If I Had a Hammer" was off this album. It became a huge international success, reaching number one in an amazing 36 countries.

Interestingly, the U.S. was not one of them. It only reached number three on the Billboard charts. Lopez charted 13 hits between 1963 and 1968. Lopez tried his hand at acting as well and was part of the cast of "The Dirty Dozen"(1967). Lopez is an inductee in the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Just as an aside. All the other choices listed were U.S. Major League baseball players at one time or another.

Answer: Joan Baez

Baez was born in Staten Island New York, to a Scottish mother and Mexican father. Her grandfather was a Methodist minister who preached to a Spanish speaking congregation in Brooklyn, New York. Most of Joan's songs deal with political or social issues and she is a champion for many social, civil, and human rights causes. Musically, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was her signature hit on the charts, reaching number three on the Billboard U.S. charts in 1971.

Answer: Los Bravos

"Black Is Black" came out of Madrid, Spain in 1966 for Los Bravos. The group was formed from two other groups which had broken up. One was The Runaways, a German group, and the other was Los Sonor, from Spain. They combined for this song, their biggest hit which reached number two on the charts in the U.K. and number four in the U.S. on the Billboard charts.

It is considered a one-hit wonder.

Answer: Santana

Carlos Santana was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1947, and also lived in Tijuana before coming to the U.S. and settling in San Francisco with his family in the early 1960s. He formed the Santana Blues Band in the mid 1960s and started playing the clubs in the San Francisco area when he gained popularity very quickly.

He was invited to perform at Woodstock in 1969, and has been recording for over 40 years. He has charted with many hits over the years, the biggest of which were "Evil Ways" which reached number nine on the Billboard U.S. charts in 1969, and "Black Magic Woman" possibly his signature hit, which shot as high as number four in the U.S. in 1971. Carlos has also made the list of Billboard Magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" at number 15.

Answer: Malo

Malo was a group of high school aged kids from San Francisco who hit the charts in 1972 with the U.S. Billboard number 18 hit "Suavecito". They were led by Jorge Santana, the brother of Carlos Santana. The group was a combination of two defunct groups on the San Francisco teen scene, The Malibus, and Naked Lunch. This song is considered a one-hit wonder.

Answer: Rudy Martinez

Rudy Martinez legally changed his name to "?" but there was no question about his hit. "96 Tears" was a number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the U.S. in 1966. It is considered by some to be the first song by a Latin group to have been a hit for general audiences in the U.S. Martinez is a strange egg.

He claimed to have lived a former life with dinosaurs, and claimed to be a Martian. Martinez formed the group of Mexican-American musicians in Bay City, Michigan in 1962. This song was their biggest hit.

Answer: Anything For You

Gloria, originally from Cuba, and the Miami Sound Machine have combined over the years to sell over 90 millions records across the world. She has had a myriad of number one hits both in the U.S. and in many other countries, and has received seven Grammy Awards. All the songs listed were number one hits but, only "Anything for You" accomplished this unique feat in 1988. "Don't Wanna Lose You" came close, hitting number one on the Hot 100 and Latin charts, but peaking at number two on the Adult Contemporary charts.

Answer: Ricky Martin

All choices were members of the group at one time or another, but it was Ricky Martin who left the group in 1991 for a solo career. The group itself was formed in 1977 and has had a rotating cast of members since that time. Martin a native of Puerto Rico spent five years with the group, from 1984 to 1989, after which he left to pursue a solo career.

He became a major star in many Spanish speaking countries and crossed over to English in 1999 with his "Livin' la Vida Loca" which became a number one hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, as well as number one in the U.K. and Italy.

It also scored top ten status in many other countries around the world, making Martin an international star.