The Sounds of 1976 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cliff Richard

"Devil Woman" reached the number 6th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 9 in the UK Singles Chart. Cliff Richard's first US hit single was "Living Doll" released in 1959. The single peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made the number one position in the UK Singles Charts for six weeks.

Cliff Richard's backing band was originally called The Drifters. The name was changed to The Shadows after finding out that there was already an American band with the same name.

Answer: The Four Seasons

The first No 1 for the group was "Sherry" released in August 1962. It reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 top slot on September 15, 1962. The original group members were Frankie Valli, Nick Massi, Tommy DeVito, and Bob Gaudio. The line up of the group in 1976 was John Paiva (guitar), Don Ciccone (bass), Lee Shapiro (keyboards), Gerry Polci (drums) and Frankie Valli.

Answer: Electric Light Orchestra

Fronted by Jeff Lynne, "Livin' Thing" peaked at number 13 on the US charts and reached the number 4 position on the UK charts. The band released their sixth album "A New World Record" in October 1976. Tracks from this album was "Telephone Line", "Livin' Thing" and "Tightrope". ELO regularly appeared on the American show "The Midnight Special", a musical programme featuring live acts.

Answer: Detroit Spinners

The song "The Rubberband Man" peaked at the number two position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and hit the 16th spot in the UK.
The Detroit Spinners, or just The Spinners as they are known in the US, were formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. The group's first chart success was in 1961 with the song "That's What Girls Are Made For", reaching the number 27 position.

Answer: Electric Light Orchestra

The track "Evil Woman" was taken from the album "Face the Music", released on October 2, 1975. Other tracks from the album include "Fire On High", "Nightrider" and "Strange Magic". All the songs on this album were written by Jeff Lynne, the lead singer of the band.

Answer: Chicago

Originally called the "The Big Thing" the band was formed in 1967 by seven university music students. They later became "Chicago Transit Authority", but the real CTA complained about the use of the name, so the band's name was changed to Chicago in 1969. The single "If You Leave Me Now" topped the US charts on October 23, and also made the number one spot on the UK singles chart. The next time the band would have a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was in 1982 with the song "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". The single reached the 4th position on the UK sings chart.

Answer: Dancing Queen

"Dancing Queen" was a number one in 15 countries for ABBA. The song would spend 6 weeks at the top in the UK. Members of the band were Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The name ABBA is the acronym of the initials of the band members' first names. I'm sure you all knew that.

Answer: Bee Gees

This was the song that led the Bee Gees into the disco era. The single released on the 21st June, 1976 reached the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at the number five position on the UK sings chart. The Bee Gees released their 12th album "Children of the World" in September, 1976. Tracks from the album include "You Should Be Dancing", "Boogie Child", "Children of the World" and "Lovers". Three singles from the album were charts hits including the number 1 "You Should Be Dancing".

Answer: Peter Frampton

Peter Frampton is an English musician from Kent, England. The single "Show Me the Way" was a track taken from the album " Frampton Comes Alive!" Released on the 6th January, 1976 (U.S.) and February 13, 1976 (UK). The song reached 6th position on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured on the UK singles chart.

Other chart toppers for Peter Frampton in 1976 was "Baby I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do".

Answer: Boney M

Boney M was formed in 1975 by West German record producer Frank Farian. Members of the band were Liz Mitchell, Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams and Bobby Farrell. The single "Daddy Cool" reached the number 6th position in the UK charts and charted in the US. It has been well documented that Bobby Farrell only mimed to Farian's vocals, although Bobby Farrell did sing on live concerts. The single "Rivers of Babylon" was the one of the group's greatest successes, reaching number one on the UK charts and peaking at number 30 on the U.S. pop singles chart.
Interesting aside - Liz Mitchell still tours the world on the strength of her Boney M past!