"Signature Songs" of Singers or Groups-Part 3 Quiz

Answer: ABBA

I can almost hear the pulse pounding lyrics: "You can dance, you can jive
having the time of your life, Ooh see that girl, watch that scene
diggin' the dancing queen". ABBA, a Swedish quartette, enjoyed the height of their popularity between 1972 and 1982. During their heyday they sold over 370 million records around the world. They recorded over 70 singles and more than 20 albums. Their biggest selling single was "Fernando" (1976) and another million seller was "Take a Chance On Me" (1978), which climbed as high as number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Interesting fact: ABBA was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame March 15, 2010.

Answer: John Lennon

"Imagine" reached number one in the U.K. on January 10, 1981 and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. John Lennon was a member of perhaps the most popular band of all time, The Beatles, and performed with them throughout the 1960s. Between his time with George, Paul and Ringo and as a solo artist, he had 25 songs hit the top spot on the U.S. Hot 100 list. The list of over 140 artists who have covered "Imagine", reads like a who's who of musical greats. Among others, Joan Baez, Elton John, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Madonna have recorded it. But really when you hear it playing, who would you think of other than John Lennon? I really can't "Imagine".

John Lennon is an inductee of both the Rock & Roll and Singer-songwriter Halls of Fame.

Answer: The Mamas & the Papas

"California Dreamin'" was written in 1963 by Michelle and John Phillips when they were part of the band, "Journeymen". Their first song, recorded in 1965, was "Go Where You Wanna Go". For a half dozen years they were one of the top quartettes in America. Among the 30 something songs they recorded was "Monday, Monday" (1966), which landed on top of the Billboard Hot 100 list.
"California Dreamin'" received a Grammy Award in 2001.
"Rolling Stone" magazine had it ranked in the 89th position on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. So remember, next time you need a meteorological lift, remember these words:
"All the leaves are brown
And the sky is gray
I've been for a walk
On a winter's day

I'd be safe and warm
If I was in L.A.
California dreamin'
On such a winter's day"

Now, don't you feel better already?

Answer: Shirley Bassey

Over a career spanning more than 50 years, the Cardiff, Wales native has recorded over 100 singles and more than 50 albums. "Goldfinger" was her only song to appear in the top forty in the U.S.A. "Goldfinger" was the film that introduced us to two memorable Bond characters, Odd Job and Pussy Galore.

Carly Simon did the honors on the theme from "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) when she sang "Nobody Does It Better". In 1981, Sheena Easton performed the title tune from "For Your Eyes Only", and Rita Coolidge got her turn, singing "All Time High" from "Octopussy" (1983).
The Hollywood Walk of Fame honored Ms. Bassey with a star in 1991.
She became Dame Shirley Bassey in 1999, compliments of Queen Elizabeth II.

Interesting fact: Shirley Bassey also sang the theme songs from later James Bond films, "Diamonds are Forever" (1971) and "Moonraker." (1979).

Answer: Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline drove her fans "Crazy" when she took her signature song to the number nine position on the Billboard Hot 100 list and to number two on their Hot Country Singles list. "Crazy" continued a hot streak for Ms. Cline, whose previous recording earlier that year was "I Fall to Pieces". On "Rolling Stone's" list of the Greatest Songs of All Time, Patsy Cline's version of "Crazy" placed 85th. Between 1955-1962 she recorded two dozen singles and in 1995 she was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Patsy Cline's meteoric career came to a sudden end when she was killed in a foul-weather related plane crash, March 5, 1963. She was 30 years old.

Interesting fact: In 1973, The Country Music Hall of Fame made Patsy Cline the first female solo vocalist they ever inducted.

Answer: Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffett and his group, "The Coral Reefer Band, recorded "Margaritaville" in 1977. In a career that began back in the mid-sixties, Buffett has recorded over 65 singles, and more than 25 albums. At the time he wrote his autobiography, "A Pirate Looks at Fifty (1998), "Margaritaville" was his best selling single and the only one to crack the top ten.
Jimmy Buffett's legions of fans are known by the moniker of "Parrot Heads" (or "Parrotheads").

Interesting fact: So popular is "the Pirate" that his autobiography became a New York Times Number One Non-fiction Bestseller in June 1998.

Answer: Dawn featuring Tony Orlando

When the single hit the top of the charts, it had sold over three million copies in just three weeks, and it remained number one for a month. Their 1973 album "Tuneweaving" featured it as the number six track. The group had several names in a very short period of time. In 1971 when they had their first number one Billboard Hot 100 list song, "Knock Three Times", the band was known simply as Dawn. When they tied that yellow ribbon two years later, they had become "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando", and when they landed atop the Billboard Hot 100 list in 1973 for the third time, they went by the sobriquet of "Tony Orlando and Dawn". Others who covered the wildly popular ditty include Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como.

In 2008 Tony Orlando and Dawn were welcomed into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Interesting fact: In its 2008 anniversary issue, celebrating 50 years of the Hot 100 list, Billboard magazine listed "Tie a Yellow Ribbon..." as the 37th best song ever recorded.

One more note: I don't want to leave you sitting on pins and needles about what happens when he nears his destination. By now he's told all his fellow passengers what he's hoping for and then he realizes "now the whole dam bus is cheering and I can't believe I see a hundred yellow ribbons round the old oak tree". Don't you just love happy endings?

Answer: Bobby Vinton

"Blue Velvet" was also track number five from his album "Blue on Blue" (1963).
When it hit the top of the Billboard list on September 21, 1963 it stayed there for three weeks.
From 1962-1964, Bobby Vinton had more Billboard number one hits (four), than any other male singer. Yup, even more than "The King", Elvis Presley and "The Chairman of the Board", Frank Sinatra. Vinton's songs were "Roses Are Red" (1962), "Blue Velvet" (1963), "There! I've Said It Again" (1964), and "Mr. Lonely" (1984). Bobby Vinton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6916 Hollywood Boulevard.

Answer: Crystal Gayle

"People" magazine bestowed her with that honor in 1983. Famous for her long tresses, she was the American Music Awards winner of Favorite Female Country Artist in 1979-1980-1986. "Don't it Make my Brown Eyes Blue", which was track number one on her "We Must Believe in Magic" album, won Crystal Gayle the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Performance.

Interesting fact: Crystal Gayle, who has recorded more than 60 singles in over 35 years, is the younger sister (by 19 years) of C&W singing icon, Loretta Lynn.

Answer: Nat "King" Cole

At the end he is left to wonder: "Are you warm, are you real, mona lisa? Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art"? The great Nathaniel Adams Coles, later to be known as Nat King Cole began his musical career as one of the best jazz pianists of his time. In over 30 years, Cole recorded over 25 albums, more than 175 singles and even appeared in excess of 20 movies. (His last film, 1965's "Cat Ballou" co-starred Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin). The "King" also took (They Tried to Tell Us We're) "Too Young" (1951) to numero uno on Billboard's Hot 100 list. "Unforgettable" (1951), "Ramblin' Rose" (1962) and "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" (1963) are just a few of his more popular tunes.

Interesting fact: In 1997, Nat King Cole was granted the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame welcomed him in 2000.