Songs Of The Century: Part 2, 10-1 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Georgia, oh Georgia No, no, no, no, no peace I find Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind..." At number ten in our list of the "Songs of The Century" by US airplay is one that has become a standard. Who was the jazz-oriented great who first sang it?

Answer: Hoagy Carmichael

The song was co-written by Hoagy Carmichael with Stuart Gorrell in 1930, and was to be a hit for Ray Charles in 1960 - he took it to the top of the charts. It later became the official song of the State of Georgia.

The song was about Georgia - not the state but Hoagy Carmichael's sister, Georgia.

The song has been covered by some of the greatest names in 20th Century music, among them Fats Waller, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Nelson, Louis Armstrong, Nat Gonella, Glenn Miller, Jo Stafford, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Tom Jones.

The song was among the 'top 50 greatest songs of all time' as listed by "Rolling Stone" magazine in 2003.

2. "Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain Telling me just what a fool I've been I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain And let me be alone again..." At number nine on the list of the "Songs of the Century" by US airplay was Rhythm Of The Rain". Which band first made it a hit?

Answer: The Cascades

"Rhythm of The Rain" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 and reached number five in the UK. In Ireland and Canada, it topped the charts.

Cascades lead singer John Gummoe claimed to have written the song while serving on a US Navy ship off the coast of Japan. It was raining at the time.

3. Which band became 'an overnight success' - after 11 years in the music business - when they released "Baby I Need Your Loving"? It was to go on to become the eighth most played song on US radio and television in the 20th Century.

Answer: The Four Tops

Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland were the songwriters behind this and numerous other hits in the 1960s. The Four Tops had been together for around 11 years when Brian Holland saw them in a club in Detroit and straight away invited them back to his studio where they recorded the song in just a few hours.

The Dozier-Holland-Holland team were behind a string of hits for several bands. Among them were: "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" (The Temptations); "Band of Gold" (Freda Payne); "Baby Love" (The Supremes); and "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" (Marvin Gaye). They were the men behind 14 hits for The Supremes.

4. "And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson Jesus loves you more than you will know..." And so did radio stations in the USA in making this the seventh most played record of the 20th Century. What, though, was the title of the song originally intended to be?

Answer: Mrs Roosevelt

When he was making the movie "The Graduate" in 1967, producer Mike Nichols wanted to use three existing Simon & Garfunkel songs, and asked Paul Simon for another for the soundtrack. Simon told him he had an unfinished song "...about times past - about Mrs. Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio and stuff."

The song had no connection with the storyline, but Nichols asked him to complete it, but change the title to "Mrs Robinson". [Source: Goran Blazeski in "The Vintage News", February 2017.]

The rest is history. It was the first rock song to win a Grammy for Record of the Year and reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

5. "Sittin' in the mornin' sun I'll be sittin' when the evenin' comes Watchin' the ships roll in Then I watch 'em roll away again I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay Watchin' the tide, roll away I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay Wastin' time..." Poignant words in the number six song on our countdown of America's most played songs in the 20th Century. In which city had Otis Redding been performing when he was inspired to write a song?

Answer: San Francisco

Redding had recorded the song just three days before his death on December 10, 1967. It was the first posthumous number one on the US music charts.

Redding recorded his vocals backed by Booker T & The MGs, and producer Steve Cropper was rushed into mixing the song (in Memphis) by a record company.

Cropper told NPR in 1990: "He had been at San Francisco playing The Fillmore, and he was staying at a boathouse (in Sausalito, across the bay from San Francisco), which is where he got the idea of the ship coming in. That's about all he had: 'I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.' I took that and finished the lyrics."

The song won two Grammys in 1968.

6. "You're just too good to be true Can't take my eyes off of you You'd be like heaven to touch I want to hold you so much..." Who had this number two chart hit that found a place at number five among the top 100 most-played records on American radio and television in the 20th Century?

Answer: Frankie Valli

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and is cited by some sources as one of the most-covered song in popular music. It also found a place in numerous Hollywood movies.

Despite all this, it only took Valli to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Andy Williams was to have a number five with it in the UK.

BMI, the source for this list, calculated that the song had been played more than six million times on US radio and television in the 20th Century.

7. "Stand By Me" became a big hit for Ben. E. King and earned a place at number four on a list of "Top 100 Songs of the Century". What was the occupation of the man who wrote the song?

Answer: Methodist minister

This was a gospel song written by Charles Albert Tindley in Philadelphia in 1905. It quickly became popular in many churches throughout the southern part of the USA.

In 1955, The Staples Sisters recorded the song. Ben E. King wanted to cover it with his band The Drifters, but their manager would not allow it. Years later as a solo artist, he sang it for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and they added to the lyrics.

8. Cited by some as "the most covered pop song of all time", which Paul McCartney composition was placed at number three on the BMI list of the 100 most played songs on American radio and television in the 20th Century?

Answer: Yesterday

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, with 3,000 versions, "Yesterday" was the most covered song of all time. It was also top of the BMI playlist chart for a time. BMI has calculated that the song was played more than seven million times on US airwaves in the 20th Century.

Paul McCartney wrote the song while on holiday with Jane Asher in Portugal in 1965. He borrowed a guitar from Bruce Welch of The Shadows to complete it.

McCartney was the only Beatle to play on the recording. He was backed by a string quartet, an introduction by Sir Gorge Martin that McCartney was initially hesitant about. In concerts, McCartney played it on solo acoustic guitar.

In 1965, it was 'top of the pops' in six countries.

9. "You ask me if there'll come a time When I grow tired of you Never, my love Never, my love..." Which band had a huge it with "Never My Love", a song that was number two on our countdown of the "Songs Of The Century" in terms of US airplay?

Answer: The Association

The Association was born after the split of the 13-member "The Men" in 1965. The six remaining members started to play as The Association.

After several singles sank without trace, their recording of "Never My Love" became a number two on the Billboard Hot 100. "Never My Love" was written by the brothers Don and Dick Addrisi.

A second song by The Association, "Cherish", was number 22 on the BMI list of most played songs in the 20th Century.

10. The song that headed a list of "The Top 100 Songs of the Century" was played more than 8m times on US radio and television in the 20th Century. No clues, just tell me which it was.

Answer: You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

Written by Barry Mann, Phil Spector and Cynthia Weil, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" knocked Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" off the top spot.

The song was first and most famously recorded by The Righteous Brothers (who, of course, were not siblings).

The 'brothers' were Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, who began signing together in The Paramours in 1962. They had several minor hits before signing with Phil Spector.

The song was a number one in the USA, Canada and the UK. Surprisingly, they only achieved one more number one, "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration", in 1966.

The duo split up in 1968 to pursue solo careers. Bill Medley reformed The Righteous Brothers with Bucky Heard. Bobby Hatfield died in 2003.

Source: Author darksplash

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

From the annals of BMI, we look again at a smorgasbord of questions on the top songs of the 20th Century - based on US radio and television airplay.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>