Talking To The Beat Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rod Stewart

"I can tell by your eyes that you've probably been cryin' forever
And the stars in the sky don't mean nothin' to you, they're a mirror
I don't want to talk about it, how you broke my heart..."

Originally a Crazy Horse song from 1971, numerous artists picked it up. In 1975, sung by Rod Stewart, it topped the Official UK singles charts and made Number 44 in the Billboard Hot 100. In 1990, Stewart took a revised form of the song to Number Two in the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Answer: Harry Nilsson

"Everybody's talking at me
I don't hear a word they're saying
Only the echoes of my mind..."

Written by Fred Neil and released as a single by him in 1966, three years later the song was made a hit by Nilsson when it appeared on the soundtrack of the movie "Midnight Cowboy" (1969). Nilsson's version reached Number Six on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts. It also won a Grammy.

Answer: Dave Edmunds

"There are some things you can't cover up
With lipstick and powder
Thought I heard you mention my name
Can't you talk any louder

Don't come any closer, don't come any nearer
My vision of you can't come any clearer
Oh, I just wanna hear girls talk..."

"Girls Talk" was written by Elvis Costello for his 1979 album Get Happy! !. Dave Edmunds took it to Number Four in the Official UK Pop Charts in 1979.

Answer: Ella Fitzgerald

"Please don't talk about me when I'm gone
Oh honey, though our friendship ceases from now on
And listen, if you can't say anything real nice
It's better not to talk at all is my advice."

The song was written by Sam H. Stept, Sidney Clare and Bee Palmer in 1930. It became a jazz standard and was covered by a wide range of artists. Fitzgerald covered it in 1979 with Count Basie and His Orchestra.

Answer: Bonny Raitt

"People are talkin', talkin' 'bout people,
I hear them whisper, you won't believe it.
They think we're lovers kept under cover,
I just ignore it but they keep sayin' we...
Laugh just a little too loud,
Stand just a little too close,
We stare just a little too long.
Maybe they're seein', somethin' we don't darlin'.

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
(Somethin' to talk about)
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
(Somethin' to talk about)
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
How about love?"

Released in 1991, this was a Grammy winner for the singer. It also reached number Five in the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Crystal Gayle

"You've been talkin' in your sleep
Sleepin' in your dreams
With some sweet lover
Holdin' on so tight
Lovin' her the way
You used to love me
Talkin' in your sleep
With lovin' on your mind."

Released in 1978, the song reached Number One in the US Country Charts and Number 18 in the Billboard pop charts. It also topped the Canadian RPM Country Tracks and was a Number 11 in the UK pop charts.

Answer: Captain Sensible

"Happy talkin', talkin', happy talk
Talk about things you'd like to do
You've got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?"

This was a Rogers and Hammerstein song from the musical movie "South Pacific" (1949.) In 1982, the British punk rocker Captain Sensible took it to Number One in the UK pop charts.

Answer: Bob Dylan

"Well, I was feelin' sad and feelin' blue
I didn't know what in the world I was gonna do
Them Communists they was comin' around
They was in the air
They was on the ground
They wouldn't gimme no peace
So I run down most hurriedly
And joined up with the John Birch Society
I got me a secret membership card
And started off a-walkin' down the road
Yee-hoo, I'm a real John Bircher now
Look out you Commies."

Written in 1962 while Dylan was still into protest songs, this was a satire on the anti-communist John Birch Society in the USA. The song provoked controversy when Dylan auditioned for the 'Ed Sullivan Show' and the producers seem to like it. They changed their minds though and insisted that it would not be aired. Dylan walked off the set and even Ed Sullivan denounced the decision of the show's producers. The song was also pulled from Dylan's already recorded and pressed "Freewheelin" album.

Answer: Eddie Murphy

"If I could talk to the animals, just imagine it
Chattin' with a chimp in chimpanzee
Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting with a cheetah
What a neat achievement it would be..."

The song was written for the Disney film "Dr Doolittle" (1967) and sung by Rex Harrison. In the 1989 remake of the movie, Eddie Murphy took over the vocals. It was also covered by Dean Martin and Bobby Darin.

Answer: Dr Hook

"Night falls on the city, baby feels the beat
Slick and sexy angel of the street
The queen of all the night birds watch her when she walks
She don't say nothing but baby makes her blue jeans talk."


This was a Billboard Hot 100 Number 25 for Dr Hook in 1982. Dr Hook had six top ten singles in the Billboard pop charts between 1971 and 1982. "Sylvia's Mother" (1971) and "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" (1979) were among them. The latter was a UK Number One, while "Sylvia's Mother and "Walk Right In" (1977) both topped the Canadian charts.