They Also Sang! (But, Who WERE They?) Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Staccatos had a few songs that you might be familiar with. See if you can guess the name of the group AFTER they hit it big, based on the following songs... "Werewolf" "Signs" "Money Back Guarantee"

Answer: Five Man Electrical Band

The Canadian group, Five Man Electrical Band, was known as the Staccatos from 1963 until 1968. They did share an album with one of the other choices given; the Guess Who once recorded on one side of the album "The Wild Pair", and Five Man Electrical Band recorded the other side.

There was an interesting purchase price for the album. It was only available for purchase by mail-order and it sold for $1.00 and... 10 Coca Cola bottle caps!

2. The Primettes later in their career had such hits as the following: "Where Did Our Love Go?" "Baby Love" "Come See About Me" By what name do most of us remember them?

Answer: Diana Ross and the Supremes

In 1959, the group known as The Primettes began their singing career together. Later, when they changed their name to Diana Ross and the Supremes, they had hit after hit to their credit!

3. The Blackjacks were arguably one of the most prolific singing groups ever. Many of their works were written by members of the group, although others sometimes helped. When a fourteen-year old auditioned for admission into the group, with the encouragement of a fifteen-year old member, a sixteen-year old member thought that he was too YOUNG to qualify! (Hee hee; as if two years difference in age was that big of a deal. Let me give you three of their LESS well-known hits.) "Julia" - named after one of the singer's deceased mother "Pepperland" - a song 'revisited' on a later album "Getting Better" - a reference to a drug-related "bad" trip Anyway, the group didn't exactly "set the world on fire" as The Blackjacks. That success came later, after several name changes. What name were they using when they did finally make it to the big time?

Answer: The Beatles

Shortly after changing their name from The Blackjacks to The Quarrymen, and prior to their subsequent names, The Silver Beetles and finally to simply The Beatles, the group went through several drummers until Pete Best stepped in. Later still, Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr) became probably the best known drummer for the group.
John Lennon was hesitant to bring George Harrison into the group, even though Paul McCartney introduced him. John felt that George was just too young to be an effective member. Luckily for the rest of us, John was wrong!

John wrote the song "Julia" in memory of his mother who had been run over and killed by a drunken police officer who was off duty. John was 17 years old at the time.

4. The Downbeats. Who? Yeah; you know... The Downbeats. Okay, I see the quizzical look on your face. Let me give you some of their songs to mull over, and let's see if you can come up with their more popular name. "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" "Indian Reservation" "Kicks"

Answer: Paul Revere and the Raiders

Paul Revere and the Raiders started their musical career as The Downbeats, but changed their name in 1960.

(In November 1966 the band sang a song on the popular-with-kids television series, "Batman".)

The song "Kicks" had only made it to the number four spot on the charts in the mid 1960s, but in 1970 their song, "Indian Reservation" made it to the coveted number one position, albeit for only one week.

5. A twelve year old kid formed a group called The Tornadoes. A year later, the name of the group was changed to the one that many of us are familiar with. The group became a pop-culture icon with such diverse hits as the following: "Hanky-Panky" "I Think We're Alone Now" "Sweet Cherry Wine" What was the more easily recognized name of the group that had originally been known as simply The Tornadoes?

Answer: Tommy James and the Shondells

Thomas Jackson's group Tommy James and the Shondells had originally been called The Tornadoes very briefly. The original Shondells eventually all left the group, with the exception of Thomas, and finding a group called The Raconteurs he "reinvented" them as the new Shondells. He then adopted the stage name of Tommy James for himself.

A string of hits followed them besides the ones mentioned already. They had a wide range of hits that included "Mirage"; "Mony, Mony"; Crystal Blue Persuasion"; "Crimson And Clover" and "Draggin' The Line", just to name a few.

Tommy had been a child model at the age of four and was not shy to appear on stage.

"Hanky-Panky" was done originally by a group called The Raindrops, but it took Tommy James and the Shondells to launch it to the top of the music charts.

6. Okay, so this question doesn't QUITE qualify for the standard of previous names for the group or artist, since they were never actually known by this name. I found it so uniquely interesting, though, that I just had to include it. What '60's group had originally CONSIDERED calling themselves by the unusual name of Sweet 'n' Sour Rock 'n' Roll? Hits include: "White Room" "Crossroads" "Sunshine Of Your Love"

Answer: Cream

Cream, one of several groups that featured Eric Clapton, had (probably wisely) decided against the name Sweet 'n' Sour Rock 'n' Roll, opting instead for Cream (as in the cream-of-the-crop).

Other groups that Clapton played in were John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, The Yardbirds and Derek and the Dominoes.

7. This group formed in 1964 was known as both The M B's and The M B-5. Previously they had appeared using the names El Riot and the Rebels and Krew Cats, although each of those earlier groups had only some of the individuals that later became the M B's. They artfully managed to link classical music with rock and roll; fusing the sounds of both genres artfully and quite successfully. Listed below are some of their hits. Can you identify the group and tell me what they were more commonly known as? "Gemini Dream" "Legend Of A Mind" "Nights In White Satin"

Answer: The Moody Blues

Their debut album was entitled "The Magnificent Moodies", and it premiered in 1965. Their album "Days Of Future Passed", released in 1967 became one of the most successful albums of that time era.
The concept of the album was to take a musical 'tour' through an entire day with such songs as "The Day Begins"; "Morning Glory"; "Dawn Is A Feeling"; "Another Morning"; "Lunch Break:Peak Hour"; "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?); "Evening: Time To Get Away"; "The Sunset"; "Twilight Time"; "Nights In White Satin"; and finally, "Late Lament".

8. Originally consisting of two combined groups, The Chanteurs and The Desideros, this group changed its name to The Hi-Lites. Later they underwent another name change, and finally still one more change was in the offing. By what name do most of us know the group that sang the following songs? "A Letter To Myself" "Oh Girl" "Have You Seen Her?"

Answer: The Chi-Lites

The Hi-Lites, which eventually changed their name to Marshall and the Chi-Lites (with Marshall Thompson as one of the singers), later became simply known as The Chi-Lites, in honor of their hometown, Chicago. The group was originally formed in 1958.

9. Tom and Jerry had a number of hits during their singing career. Who? That's right; Tom and Jerry. Many of their earlier works reflected the influence of the Everly Brothers, according to the duo themselves. What was the name which most of us may better recognize these two musicians by who sang, among many other hits, the following songs? "Bridge Over Troubled Water" "The Sounds Of Silence" "I Am A Rock"

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had been friends since their early childhood, growing up about three blocks apart in Queens, New York and first meeting each other in elementary school in 1953. By 1955, they were writing their own songs together and had their first major success with a 1957 tune called "Hey, Schoolgirl" which sold over 100,000 copies.
One of their songs was later dedicated to a mutual friend, Andrew Goodman. The song was entitled "He Was My Brother", and the dedication came posthumously. Andrew was one of three young Civil Rights workers who was murdered in Mississippi on June 21, 1964.

Simon and Garfunkel often went their separate ways; coming back together for an album or a gig; then they would split again, several times throughout their singing career.

Their last album prior to their "revival" album, "Live In Central Park", was "Bridge Over Troubled Water", which was arguably their best effort, with the song of the same name holding the number-one position on the music charts for six weeks, but remaining on the charts for much longer.

10. Billy Lee And The Rivieras had a few hits. Yep, they did. You probably never heard of them by that name, though, so I will provide you with some songs that you might remember. You will probably recognize these tunes that became popular under the group's "other" name. "Devil With A Blue Dress On" "Jenny Take A Ride" "Sock It To Me-Baby!"

Answer: Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels

The group, Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels, was headed up by William S. Levise, Jr.
(I hear you wondering:'How'd he get "Mitch" out of that'?
I don't know, either.)

After his initial band called Tempest, he went on to front for a band called Billy Lee & The Rivieras, which was later called by the name you may be most familiar with.

Mitch was greatly influenced by the works of Little Richard.

Singer Winona Ryder took the stage name "Ryder" from the cover of one of Mitch's albums that belonged to her father.

Source: Author logcrawler

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Just a little test to see if you know the ORIGINAL names of some famous singers and groups of the '60s and '70s. (Hey, maybe some of them are not so famous, but that's okay too.)

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