The Piper Calls The Tune Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull started playing in Blackpool, England in 1967 as a folk group. Their music progressed into progressive rock and subsequently hard rock. Not known for hits, nevertheless, such classic songs as "Bouree" (1969), "Aqualung", "Locomotive Breath" (both 1971) and "Thick as a Brick" (1972) featured Ian Anderson peppering said songs with lively flute interludes (when not singing).

Pink Floyd, another 60s British start-up, have another connection to this quiz: Their debut 1966 album, the only one under the leadership of Syd Barrett, was called "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn".

Answer: Men at Work

Men at Work started in Melbourne in June 1979 with Colin Hay, lead vocals/ guitar, Ron Strykert on bass guitar, and Jerry Speiser as the drummer, soon after joined by Greg Ham on flute, sax and keyboards (who can forget his sax in their debut single "Who Can It Be Now). John Rees on bass guitar joined later, with Strygert switching to lead guitar.
In 1983, they had an an Australian first: simultaneous number one album and number one single in the respective United States Billboard charts: "Business as Usual" and "Down Under" (1981). They achieved a similar feet on the Australian, New Zealand, and United Kingdom charts.

In 2010, Larrikin Records successfully sued Hay and Strykert, their record label (Sony) and their music publishing company (EMI Songs Australia) because of the appropriation without attribution of "Kookaburra" (a 1932 Australian nursery rhyme) for the flute line in "Down Under".

Answer: The Mamas and The Papas

"California Dreamin'" was a song written by husband and wife team John Phillips and Michelle Phillips in 1963 while they were part of the New Journeymen (an earlier version of the Mamas and Papas, a New York City folk group). It was first recorded by Barry McGuire, with the Phillips couple being back up singers on the record, but it did not chart.

The Mamas and Papas' version was a slow chart climber finally reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966 but it became the biggest selling single of the year.

The song signalled the end of the 'sunshine pop" era of the California sound and ushered in the the counterculture sound that followed. The Mama and Papas formed in 1965 when Denny Doherty, formerly of the Mugwumps, another folk act, joined the New Journeymen; Cass Elliot, Doherty's Mugwumps band mate, joined later.

The Mamas and the Papas released five studio albums and 17 singles selling 40 million records worldwide in the next four years. In 1998 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Van Morrison

Van Morrison, who initially was part of Irish rock group Them, moved to New York in 1969 when his first album 'Astral Weeks" was a commercial failure in 1969. It was here that he recorded the album "Moondance" abandoning folk-jazz for rhythm and blues/rock music which incorporated soul, jazz, pop, and Irish folk into one very cohesive album. "Moondance"was a critical and commercial success. "Moondance" became arguably one of the greatest albums of all time.

"Moondance" the song was not released as a single until 1977. It reached the Billboard Hot 100 but only just despite its acoustic overall sound with a walking bass line, distinctive flute and saxophone components - unusual to see both of these instruments together on a rock song even though it had a jazz swing theme.

Answer: AC/DC

Guitarist brothers Malcolm and Angus Young and lead singer Bon (Ronald Belford) Scott were all born in Scotland but emigrated (separately) to Australia when they were kids. They formed AC/DC in 1973 in Sydney and soon had a national following. This hit was from their second Australian album "T.N.T." (1975) and featured a call and response segment where Angus Young would play a short piece on the guitar with a complementary piece played by Bon Scott on his bagpipes (Mr Scott played in a pipe band in his youth - as a drummer!).

This was one of AC/DC's most enduring songs but when Mr Scott died in 1980, his replacement Brian Johnson, who replaced Scott as AC/DC's lead vocalist, would not perform the song as a sign of respect for his predecessor.

Answer: The Corrs

The all-sibling group got their break when they auditioned for the 1991 film "The Commitments". Three received musical parts with lead singer Andrea being successful with a speaking part. From that experience they gained a manager and a subsequent recording contract.

They went on to have seven successful studio albums 1995-2003 and at the time were the first Irish band to who have held the top two positions at the same time (1998) in the UK album charts, with "Talk on Corners" at number one and "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" at number two. Remaining true to their roots they never lost their Irish sound with many songs having the youngest Corr punctuating her singing with frequent melodic bouts on the tin whistle (Often mis-reported as a piccolo).

While they achieved world-wide success, they could only enjoy limited success with North American audiences.

Answer: Led Zeppelin

...And the other reference is "Your head is humming and it won't go / In case you don't know / The piper's calling you to join him". The song of course is "Stairway to Heaven" perhaps the most analysed song ever recorded. It was recorded in 1971, written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often erroneously called "Led Zeppelin IV").

The song is often referred to as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The song has three sections, the next section louder and faster than the previous one.

The song is ostensibly about a woman who accumulates money but she realises she can't buy her way into heaven, as the last line is delivered a cappella, "And she's buying a stairway to heaven." It is still unclear whether the recorder-like sounds in the first section are recorders played by John Paul Jones or whether he produced the sound via a mellotron.

When played live, the mellotron was used.

Answer: Eric Burdon and War

Because of his distinctive vocals, many attribute this song to Eric Burdon's previous English band, The Animals. While The Animals were undoubtedly talented with hits like "House of the Rising Sun", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "I'm Crying" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" all from the mid to late 60s, the group suffered from poor management and by early 1969 they had disbanded. Eric Burdon and War (later, War) formed in Long Beach California in 1969.

They blended rock, funk, jazz, Latin soul, rhythm and blues, and reggae. "Spill the Wine" was typical of their sound, with bongo, sax, flute and jazz drumming added to the usual rock band instruments.

It was their first hit and reached top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was top five in several other countries.

Answer: The Troggs

"Wild Thing" was a song written by American songwriter Chip Taylor. It was originally recorded and released by the American rock band the Wild Ones but it was not successful. It was then released by the English rock band the Troggs. where it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1966.

It was their first hit and was the biggest until "Love Is all Around" two years late which also became a number one hit for Scottish band Wet, Wet, Wet. When asked by the songwriter why they chose an ocarina (a clay flute, sometimes called a shepherd's flute, popular in the middle east) singer Reg Presley said that one was used in the demo version the songwriter had sent them. Mr Taylor replied, "No, that was the engineer messing about putting his thumbs together and blowing through them and it just sounded like an ocarina." That was the last time a hit rock song featured an ocarina until 1985 when John Mellencamp released "R.O.C.K in the USA".

Answer: The Beatles

The Beatles arguably experimented with more instruments than any other group of the time. Flutes and piccolos were used but played by session players. The first Beatles' song with a flute was "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" written by John Lennon but attributed to Lennon/McCartney.

The track has sparse instrumentation: acoustic guitars (Harrison and Lennon), a light bass line, no backing voices and some percussion from brushed snare, tambourine and maraca added by Mr Starr. Flutes, played by John Scott, replaced the harmonica sound Mr Dylan favoured. "Fool on the Hill" featured three flutes all played by session musicians. Ray Swinfield, P. Goody, Manny Winters are credited with flutes and piccolos on "Penny Lane" as is Mike Winfield who played the English Horn (another 'pipe').

The opening of "Strawberry Fields Forever" does not feature a flute as some thought but the flute like sound is produced by two mellotrons played by Mr Lennon and Mr McCartney.