"Signature Songs" of Singers or Groups Trivia Game | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Many of us have probably heard a bittersweet tune about a forlorn lover who left a certain part of his anatomy on the west coast of the United States. Which singer do you think of when you hear "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"?

Answer: Tony Bennett

Anthony Dominick Benedetto who was born in Astoria, N.Y on August 3, 1926, is the guy who enjoyed being in the City by the Bay "where little cable cars, reach halfway to the stars."
He recorded his signature song in 1962 and it reached as high as 19th on the U.S. pop charts. He did have three number one hits, "Because of You" (1951), "Cold, Cold Heart" (1951), and "Rags to Riches" (1953). Tony Bennett, who has been recording for over 60 years, has won more than 15 Grammy Awards. Worldwide he has sold over 50 million records. Tony Bennett entered the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997.
This signature song was written in 1954 by George Cory and Douglass Cross.

2. In 1978 a group released an album called "Cruisin'". Only one song from that album was released as a single: "Y.M.C.A.", written by Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali and Victor Willis. What was the name of the group that told us it was "fun to stay at the "Y.M.C.A."?

Answer: The Village People

The Village People, made up of an eclectic group of entertainers dressed as a Native American, soldier, construction worker, biker, cop and a cowboy, when referring to the "Y.M.C.A.", told us "they have everything that you need to enjoy, you can hang out with all the boys" in 1978. The song reached number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Worldwide sales of the tune have reached over ten million copies.
Other popular hits for the group were "Macho Man" (1978) and "In the Navy" (1979).

3. Can you name the crooner who drove the girls crazy back in the day, and later went on to sing a song extolling the virtues of the Big Apple when he recorded "New York, New York"?

Answer: Frank Sinatra

He assured us that if we could make it there, we'd make it anywhere, in 1979.
The song had been the theme from the Liza Minelli film "New York, New York" (1977), and in it she belted out a great version of the song as well.
The music was composed by John Kander and the lyrics were penned by Fred Ebb.
Francis Albert Sinatra's rendition which told us that he "wanted to wake up in the city that doesn't sleep" was recorded for Reprise Records, and every year it is the closing song at the rookie graduating class festivities for the New York City Police Department.

4. Can you recall the name of the group that assured us that any time of year, there's always plenty of room at the "Hotel California"? CAUTION: They also told us "You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave".

Answer: The Eagles

Co-writer Don Henley led the vocals on this tribute to the pleasures of living in LA-La land in 1976 on the album of the same name. The Eagles released "Hotel California" as a single in 1977.
It hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles in May of 1977 and went on to win the Grammy for Song of the Year. Just three months after its release sales climbed over the million copies mark.

5. What female disco star of the 1970s and '80s sang "At first I was afraid, I was petrified, thinking I could never live without you by my side" in what has become one of the most recognizable songs of the disco era, "I Will Survive"?

Answer: Gloria Gaynor

Finally Gloria realized that she "will survive, oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive". The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 List in 1979. Gloria Gaynor had one other top 10 Billboard hit, "Never Can Say Goodbye", which reached number nine in 1974.
"I Will Survive" was written by her producers, Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris.

Interesting fact: "I Will Survive" was awarded the only Grammy ever given to a song in the disco category.

6. In a song written in 1965, a young couple pondering their future mused, "They say we're young and we don't know, we won't find out until we're grown. Well I don't know if all that's true, 'cause you got me and baby I got you." What dynamic duo had a huge hit with "I Got You Babe"?

Answer: Sonny and Cher

Savatore "Sonny" Bono wrote the song that he and his then-wife Cher took to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list for three weeks in August 1965. It became their biggest hit, selling over 2.7 million copies. Sonny and Cher were married from 1964-1975.

Interesting note: In the 1993 movie "Groundhog Day", "I Got You Babe" is the song that wakes up Bill Murray's character, meteorologist Phil Connors, on his clock radio, day after day, after day at 6 A.M. and every day is February 2nd.

7. This next song may well be THE signature song of all signature songs. It is the anthem of one of America's most popular singers of all-time. He has helped raise millions of dollars to help impoverished farmers and others. According to one of his songs, his heroes have always been cowboys, and he is a hero to millions as well. OK, short and sweet, who is the legendary singer-songwriter who won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Country Song with "On the Road Again"?

Answer: Willie Nelson

In 1980 Willie Nelson confessed that "the life I love is making music with my friends, and I can't wait to get on the road again". When he notched another Grammy in 2008, it was his tenth. Willie Nelson's career has stretched over seven decades, during which time he has written over 2,500 songs, recorded more than 350 singles, over sixty-five studio albums and had over a dozen U.S. Country List number one hits.

He has also appeared in thirty plus movies, starting with "The Electric Horseman" (1979). Willie Nelson was inducted into the Country Western Hall of Fame in 1993 and in 1998 he received The Kennedy Center Honors. Willie Nelson is a national treasure.

8. "Stop! In the Name of Love" was first song by one of the most famous girl groups in pop record history. Originally begun in Detroit as "The Primettes", they went on to record twelve songs that made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 lists. In 1961 they changed their name. Who is this marvelous group of misses from Motown?

Answer: The Supremes

The original members of The Primettes (founded 1959) were Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, Betty McGlown, and oh, darn, who WAS that other one? Oh, yes, I just remembered, her name was Diana Ross! After changing their name to The Supremes in 1961, the name was changed once more, when in 1967 they became Diana Ross and the Supremes. "Stop! In the Name of Love" spent two weeks on the top of the heap in March/April 1965. Before Ms. Ross went solo in 1970, the group had recorded twenty-nine studio albums and sixty singles an amazing dozen of which went to numero uno).

Interesting fact: The Supremes are one of the select few singing groups to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (It's located at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard).

9. The haunting "Stormy Weather", was written in 1933 by Harold Arlen and Ted Kohler. It was first performed by Ethel Waters who belted it out at the Cottton Club in Harlem, N.Y. It has been covered by dozens of artists including Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and Etta James featured it on her very first album, "At Last" (1961). But, c'mon when you hear it, who is the one singer that comes to mind?

Answer: Lena Horne

It was in 1941 that four time Grammy Award winner, Lena Horne wistfully wondered "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky...". In her wonderful career, Lena Horne recorded over thirty albums, and hundreds of singles. She even found time to make more than twenty movies, fourteen of them released in the 1940's. She starred in the musical film "Stormy Weather" (1943) with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Cab Calloway. She was also one of the most popular nightclub performers in the country.
By the way, Al Roker is a veteran meteorologist, who has predicted stormy weather many times, but to my knowledge, never recorded it.

Interesting fact: In 2000 Lena Horne's version of "Stormy Weather" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

10. "Everybody's got the fever, that is somethin' you all know, fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago". And so begins a refrain from the torrid 1958 version of "Fever". Our mystery singer took "Fever" to the number eight spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list, and earlier had two tunes reach the very top of of the chart: "Somebody Else is Taking My Place" (1941) and "Manana" (1948). Who is this sultry songstress, who made us believe that this kind of fever is "a lovely way to burn"?

Answer: Peggy Lee

A number of famous singers have recorded "Fever", including Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles, but Ms. Lee's is the most famous. Her version was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1939 Grammy Awards, but lost to Domenico Modugno's "Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu" ("Volare"). Peggy Lee was one of America's greatest jazz singers, recording over 70 songs. Among them are "Lover" (1952), "Big Spender" (1966) and "Is That All There Is?" (1969).
She also wrote and composed more than two dozen others.
Peggy Lee also appeared in a couple of movies, one of which, "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955), brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, for her portrayal of the boozy jazz singer Rose Hopkins. A three-time Grammy Award winner, Peggy Lee was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1999.

11. "Come on, baby, let's do the twist, take me by my little hand and go like this". Do those lyrics take you back to early 1960's and the dance craze created by the number one hit tune, "The Twist"? The song was written by Hank Ballard in 1959. He and his group, "The Moonlighters" were unable to crack the top 15 with it. The following year, however, another artist would stamp it with his imprimatur and take it to number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Can you remember the name of this rock and roll star?

Answer: Chubby Checker

On September 19, 1960 the chubby one's rendition reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, helped in great part by his appearance on "Dick Clark's American Bandstand". Chubby Checker was just 18 years old when he recorded his biggest hit. He had another single reach number one, "Pony Time", in March of 1961. In a career that has spanned over 50 years, Chubby Checker has recorded over 150 singles, including "Let's Twist Again" (1961), for which he won a Grammy Award. He also recorded "The Hucklebuck (1960) and "Limbo Rock" (1962) which reached number two on the charts.
By the way Ernest Evans' sobriquet of Chubby Checker was the brainstorm of Dick Clark's wife.

Interesting fact: In 2008 Billboard magazine proclaimed "The Twist" as being the biggest chart hit in the 50 years of the magazine's existence (1958-2008).

12. Christmas of 1941 treated us for the first time to a memorable, melancholy song about a guy thinking of holidays spent back in the day. The most popular crooner of the era sang the words written by a guy named Irving Berlin: "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know." A year later the song was featured in the film "Holiday Inn and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. This one should be a "gimme". When you hear "White Christmas" which crooner comes to mind?

Answer: Bing Crosby

"White Christmas" sat atop the Billboard chart for eleven consecutive weeks in 1942. "Der Bingle" was a multi-talented artist, as evidenced by his three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He co-wrote seventeen songs, appeared in over seventy-five films and recorded more than 400 singles. In six of his movies he was paired with Bob Hope in the famous "Road to" series. Bing Crosby won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role of Father Chuck O'Malley in "Going My Way" (1944).
In 1973 Bing Crosby was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Interesting fact: As per the folks at the Guinness Book of Records, Crosby's version of "White Christmas" has sold north of fifty million copies around the world and is the best-selling single of all time.

13. For almost half a century on New Year's Eve, a famous musical director would lead his band in reminiscing about the year that had just ended. Can you name the bandleader who regaled us annually with the lyrics "should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind" as the opening to "Auld Lang Syne?

Answer: Guy Lombardo

Canadian born Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians purported to play "The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven". Every year revelers would welcome in the new Year listening to his band on the radio or later watching it on TV (1956-1976). To this day it is still the first song played in New York's Times Square after the ball signifying the new year lands.
An often heard phrase when he passed away was "when Guy Lombardo died, he took New Year's Eve with him" .
Guy Lombardo became a U.S. citizen in 1938.

Interesting fact: "Auld Lang Syne" was originally written as a poem by Scotsman Robert Burns in the late 1780s.

14. Famed composer Henry Mancini and equally famous lyricist Johnny Mercer combined to write about a body of water that was "wider than a mile" when they penned "Moon River" in 1961. It was written for that year's movie, "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Audrey Hepburn, in her iconic role of Holly Golightly, sang it in the film. Dozens of singers have covered it, but whose version turned out to be his signature song?

Answer: Andy Williams

While all of the above have recorded it, "Moon River" has been synonymous with Andy Williams ever since he sang it at the 1962 Academy Awards. The tune won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and Mancini was the recipient of the Grammy Award for Record of the Year (1962). Singer-songwriter Jerry Butler had recorded it in 1961 and took it to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but it was Williams' mellow anthem for over 50 years. When he opened a theater in Branson, MO in 1966, he named it "The Moon River Theater". Andy Williams had twenty albums certified as either gold or platinum and from 1962-1971 he was the TV host of "The Andy Williams Show".

Interesting fact: Andy Williams never released his signature song as a single.
It was released as track number seven on his 1962 album, "Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes". Who knew?

15. When you think about it, probably nobody could have recorded "Material Girl" and carried it off as well as this young diva did. In 1984 she freely admitted that she was "living in a material world, and...a material girl". The undisputed "Queen of Pop" was born in Bay City, MI, August 16, 1958, and has been one of the most sensational, controversial and popular stars for over 30 years. What is the moniker of this mega-star singer-dancer-actress?

Answer: Madonna

"Material Girl" was the lead-off song from her album "Like a Virgin". The song was written by Robert Rans and Peter Brown. Madonna took it to number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club list in 1985 and to number two on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Between 1982 and 2012, Madonna recorded 76 singles and sold over 300 million records worldwide. Madonna was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
Madonna has also made over fifteen Hollywood films. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Eva Peron in "Evita" (1996).

Interesting fact: The Guinness Book of Records named her the all-time best-selling female singer in history, and she is ranked behind only The Beatles on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artist list.

Source: Author paulmallon

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

"Signature Songs" of Singers or Groups Quiz

Many great singers have recorded one particular tune with which they will long be associated. I'm going to give you the titles of fifteen songs and see if you can identify the singer or singers most popularly known for singing it.

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