Songs and Bands About Captains Quiz

Answer: The Magic Band

Don Van Vliet and Frank Zappa became acquainted as teens in Antelope Valley High School. The Captain Beefheart name first appeared on a movie script the two collaborated on called "Captain Beefheart vs. the Grunt People". He assumed the stage name when assembling a band in the mid-sixties. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band signed to the A&M label and did a version the Bo Diddley tune, "Diddy Wah Diddy", and a song titled "Moonchild" by David Gates.

In 1966 they signed to Buddah Records and the following year "Safe as Milk" was the first of a dozen albums that Beefheart released between 1967 and 1982. Don Glen Vliet took up painting after retiring from the music business. Country Joe's band was called The Fish. Big Brother and the Holding Company was a San Francisco area band that hired Janis Joplin as their singer.

The Charlatans was a Bay Area band in the sixties.

Answer: Neil Diamond

"Song Sung Blue" was Neil's second Number One hit and was from his "Moods" album. "Cracklin' Rosie" was his previous Number One from his 1970 "Tap Root Manuscript" album. "Moods" was Neil's eighth LP release and he wrote all the songs contained on the album including "Captain Sunshine". "Captain of a Shipwreck" was a captain song from Neil's 2005 "12 Songs" album.
Don McLean released "American Pie" in 1972. "Without You" was Nilsson's 1972 hit and Neil Young released his hit single, "Heart of Gold", the same year.

Answer: San Francisco

Blues Image only had one Top Twenty hit. "Ride Captain Ride" reached the Number Four position and was written by the band's singer, Mike Pinera, and their keyboard player, Frank Konte. The band formed in Tampa in 1966 and became the house band in a Miami club.

In the late sixties the band relocated to California, signed a deal with Atco Records and released an eponymous album in 1969. Their second album, "Open", contained "Ride Captain Ride". The hit was certified as a Gold Record before the end of 1970. "Open" was the second of the band's three albums and they split up as their third album was being released. Most of the band members went on to work with other bands such as Iron Butterfly, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf. The first two lines of the song were; "Seventy-three men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay, Rolled off of their ship, and here's what they had to say".

Answer: Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffet wrote all the songs on his debut 1970 album, "Down to Earth", including "The Captain and the Kid" and a song titled "Captain America". The album it did not chart when it was released in 1970 by Barnaby Records, a small label owned by Andy Williams. Buffett later recorded the song on the "Havana Daydreamin'" LP for the ABC Dunhill label and also released "The Captain & the Kid" as a single in 1976.
Johnny Nash recorded "I Can See Clearly Now" in 1972, "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" was done by Holmes in 1979 and Bertie Higgins recorded "Key Largo" in 1982.

Answer: The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers wrote "The Captain and Me" as well as "China Grove" and "Long Train Runnin'" for their 1973 "The Captain and Me" album. Fellow member Patrick Simmons composed other tunes on the LP including "South City Midnight Lady" and "Clear as the Driven Snow". "China Grove" and "Long Train Runnin'" became Billboard hits, but "The Captain and Me" was not a hit single released from the album. Jeffrey "Skunk" Baxter cut some guitar, pedal steel and steel guitar tracks on the album. "The Cover of Rolling Stone" was a 1972 hit by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show.

The Moody Blues released "I'm Just A Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band" the same year and "The Joker" was a 1972 release by The Steve Miller Band.

Answer: A Drug Dealer

"Captain Jack" made overt references to drug use and smoking pot. The first line of the chorus was "But Captain Jack will get you high tonight". In addition to the drug references the song was also over seven minutes long, which didn't fare well with disc jockeys in the early seventies except on late-night FM stations. "Piano Man" was Billy Joel's second album, following "Cold Spring Harbor". Billy admittedly wrote "Captain Jack" about an actual dealer in his Long Island neighborhood and claimed that it was actually an anti-drug song. The single release of "Piano Man" reached Number Four in 1974 and the album topped out at Number 27. Dolly Parton sang a version of a song from the album called "Travelin' Prayer" in 1999 and earned a Grammy for her efforts.

Answer: Daryl Dragon

Keyboardist Daryl Frank Dragon wed Toni Tennille in 1975 and they have remained married. In the early seventies Toni was in a musical called "Mother Earth". She had heard that Daryl was between tours with The Beach Boys and asked him to play in the show.

After the show was over she joined him on the Beach Boys' tour dates. They found themselves unemployed after the tour and began working as a duo in a local restaurant which led to a contract with A&M Records. Their first hit song for the label was "Love Will Keep Us Together" and a succession of hits followed including "Lonely Night (Angel Face)", "Muskrat Love" and "You Never Done It Like That".

Their popularity led to an offer to do a television variety series and concerts at the White House for such dignitaries as Queen Elizabeth.

When they weren't performing together they were each in-demand session artists for numerous bands. Richard Wright played for Pink Floyd, Jon Carin has worked for Pink Floyd and Roger Waters and Kevin Moore was with Dream Theater.

Answer: Heart

Double had the US Top Twenty hit with "The Captain of Her Heart". The song is a haunting ballad about a girl who waits for her lost love to return.

Answer: Brown Dirt Cowboy

"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was the biggest selling hit from "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy". The single peaked at Number Four in the US. "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" had the distinction of being the first album to debut at Number One on the US Pop Album chart.

It remained in the Number One position for seven weeks. The names on the album were pseudonyms for Bernie Taupin and Elton and the concept album musically chronicled the struggles they faced in the beginning of their careers.

In addition to Elton's guitar player, Davey Johnstone, John Lennon recorded some guitar tracks on the album under his alias, Dr. Winston O' Boogie. "Madman Across the Water" was Elton's fourth studio album, released in 1971. "Victim of Love" was a 1979 Elton John album and "Tumbleweed Connection" was done in 1970.

Answer: Crosby, Stills and Nash

Crosby, Stills and Nash's 1980 "Replay" album was essentially a retrospective of hits recorded previously by the band or individual members of the band at various times. The album does not have any recordings that had been done with Neil Young. "Love the One You're With" was originally done on the 1970 "Stephen Stills" album. "Change Partners" was on "Stephen Stills 2" the following year.

Other songs on the LP include "Carry On", "Change Partners" and "Marrakesh Express". Guest artists who contributed to the recording included James Taylor, Jerry Garcia, Joe Vitale and Dallas Taylor. "Cool Change" was done by Little River Band in 1980. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers released "Don't Do Me Like That" in 1980 and "Let Me Love You Tonight" was a hit by Pure Prairie League the same year.