The Early 60s - Let's Dance Trivia Quiz

Answer: Big Girls Don't Cry

The Four Seasons followed up their debut five week #1 single hit "Sherry" with "Big Girls Don't Cry" that duplicated the feat... five weeks at #1. To my knowledge, they remain the only group to have had such auspicious chart success with their first two singles.

The group remained a significant force on the music scene through 1968. Their fortunes waned somewhat thereafter and despite a return to the charts in the mid 1970s, the comeback was brief. Like many groups of that era, they remain popular attractions on the nostalgia circuit and in Las Vegas. Frankie Valli remains the star as lead singer and the supporting cast of singers in the Four Seasons has undergone numerous personnel changes over the years.

Answer: Paper Roses

Anita Bryant was a natural performer appearing on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Show at the ripe old age of nine in 1949. She later became Miss Oklahoma in 1958 and finished third in the Miss America Pageant that year, her singing talents playing a big part in her success. Her pop recording career only encompassed a period of fourteen months and a total of four top-40 charting songs of which "Paper Roses" was the biggest hit. She later became the spokesperson for the Florida Orange industry and an outspoken critic of homosexuality. Still active in the business, she owns a couple of theaters where she occasionally performs, one in Branson, Missouri, the other in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Her current recordings are now primarily of religious or inspirational music.

Marie Osmond covered the song in 1973 and also charted at #5 with it.

Answer: The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

From the chorus:
"And a thousand eyes can't help but see if you are true to me
So remember when you tell those little white lies
That the night has a thousand eyes".

The singer was Bobby Vee and this ultimately would be his fourth biggest hit following, in order: "Take Good Care Of My Baby", a #1 in 1961, "Run To Him", a #2 also in 1961 and "Come Back When You Grow Up" from 1967, another #3 song but also his only million selling Gold Record. His recordings stopped charting in 1968 and he now is a fixture touring on the oldies circuit.

Answer: Walk Right Back

The flip side of this hit was "Ebony Eyes", a totally forgettable "tragedy" song that peaked at #8 on the charts in February-March 1961. They would only have a couple of more big hits left in their recording career.

Answer: Rhythm Of The Rain

This was the one and only hit for The Cascades.

They formed in 1960 in San Diego and finally packed it up, after many changes in personnel, in 1975. Altogether, the group recorded with ten different record labels hoping to duplicate the success of this hit... never happened!

Answer: Surfer Girl

The initial efforts of the Beach Boys were all surfer themed and this, their fourth release which peaked at #7, was no exception. It was the first Beach Boys song that slowed the tempo down, perfect for slow dancin', as well as their first "love" song.

The flip side which charted at #15 was more in the Beach Boys tradition in terms of a rousing up-tempo style... but the theme switched to cars, a "Little Deuce Coupe"!

Answer: I Like It Like That

This was written and performed by Chris Kenner, a long time Rhythm and Blues man from New Orleans. Unfortunately, his entire career was overshadowed by friend and colleague, Fats Domino, who recorded several of Kenner's songs through the years. This was Kenner's only release that achieved national success although he did have some regional success with his brand of R&B.

He died of a heart attack in 1976 at the age of 46 and ironically, he achieved posthumous recognition 18 years later when one of his co-compositions became a big #2 hit in 1994 by Ini Kimoze, "Here Comes The Hotstepper".

Answer: Alley Oop

This was another one of those novelty numbers that would pop up every now and then, would prove to be immensely popular to the goofs of the era (like me) and would some how make their way to the top of the charts. Other examples - "The Witch Doctor", "Purple People Eater", "Mr. Custer" and "Monster Mash".

The recording "artist" was the Hollywood Argyles. Actually the "group" consisted of a bunch of local session musicians and Gary Paxton, one half of the duo Skip and Flip who just had a couple of #11 hits - "Cherry Pie" and "It Was I". When "Alley Oop" became such a hit, a group was hastily assembled to tour and promote the song but nothing more ever came of it. Paxton continued in the music biz for several years thereafter, mostly in the production area.

Answer: Tell Him

According to the Exciters, just -
"Tell him that you're never gonna leave him
Tell him that you're always gonna love him
Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him right now"

This would be the groups only big hit although they did record an earlier version of "Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy" in 1964 that struggled to #78 on the Billboard charts. Later that year, Manfred Mann would take it right to #1!

The group persisted into the early 1970s without any chart success whatsoever before calling it quits. Now, the lead vocalist for the group, Brenda Reid, is performing again with a twist... her children are her backing vocalists! One of them, L.A. Reid, is an accomplished record producer having worked with such acts as Lisa Lisa, Eric B, and Rakim.

Answer: Hey Paula

Paul and Paula (real names Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson) confined their chart successes to one year - 1963 - and three songs, this #1 debut, a #6 follow up, "Young Lovers" and the #27, "First Quarrel" later in the year. They apparently never got around to recording other potential hits like "Not Tonight, I'm Tired", "Talk To My Lawyer" and "Divorce" but by 1965, Paul was burnt out from the touring grind and abruptly retired. Paula continued on solo for a number of years hoping that Paul would change his mind and reunite the act. He never did and ultimately she retired in the 1980s to become a housewife. He did return to the music business off and on, first as a songwriter and producer, then as part of a Christian music male duo, Land & Hildebrand, that has carried on into the new millennium.

It is with some sadness that I must advise that this particular series of music lyric quizzes from the 1960s is done! Yes, KFTS is going off the air. The problem basically relates to the lyric format... just to create this quiz of ten questions, I reviewed the lyrics of over 250 songs from the era. Some lyrics would have been dead give-aways since they include the song title... others would have been impossible to get since they had no definitive lyrical hooks. Hence, not quizzes that I want to create nor quizzes that I think would be challenging to the quiz-taker yet fun to do. I shall return with some other concepts!