Top 40 Duos 1950s-1980s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sam and Dave

Sam Moore and Dave Prater performed together for 20 years, from 1961 through 1981 and are members of The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. They had their biggest success in the mid 1960s when "Hold On I'm Comin", reached Billboard number 21 in 1966, "Soul Man" was a number two hit in 1967, and "I Thank You" reached number nine in 1968. Dave Prater died in a car crash in 1988.

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel

Of course it was Simon and Garfunkel. Starting their career in 1957 under the stage name "Tom and Jerry", they hit the big time in 1965 with "Sounds Of Silence" and continued to record smash hit after hit well into the 1970s. They have won two individual Grammy Awards, first for "Mrs. Robinson" in 1968, and then for "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 1970, as well as a Lifetime Acheivement Award" presented to them in 2003.

They also were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Class Of 1990.

Answer: Sonny and Cher

Yep, easy one. Sonny and Cher sold over 80 million records worldwide. Their career as a duo lasted 11 years, spanning the years 1964 through 1975. Cher has gone on to a successful solo career, while Sonny went into politics and was elected to the U.S. House Of Representatives, before his untimely death in a skiing accident in 1998.

Answer: Mel and Tim

It was Mel Hardin and Tim McPherson who propelled "Backfield" to a peak of number ten on the Billboard charts in 1969. They released a few subsequent songs in the early 70s but couldn't match the success of this one song.

Answer: Paul and Paula

Paul and Paula (actual names Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson) recorded the song in 1963, and since it would have sounded kind of silly to bill themselves as Ray and Jill, they renamed themselves Paul and Paula for this Billboard hit that reached number one that year.

Answer: McFadden and Whitehead

Gene McFadden and John Whitehead were responsible for many of the hits coming out of Philadephia in the 1970s. They wrote such hits as "Back Stabbers" (for the O'Jays) and "I'll Always Love My Monmma". They actually started recording some of their own music in 1977 and this song made it onto the charts in 1979, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard charts. Both men have passed away, Whitehead in 2004, and McFadden in 2006.

Answer: Skip and Flip

Skip and Flip (aka Clyde Battin and Gary S. Patton) met while attending the University of Arizona in the late 1950s. They had three songs on the Billboard charts in two years. The highest charting hit was "Cherry Pie" which reached the number 11 position in 1960.

Answer: Pratt and McClain

Truett Pratt and Jerry McClain were the voices behind many of the TV jingles of the 1970's. They were known professionally as Brother Love. They recorded the theme for the TV show "Happy Days" in 1976, and it became a number five Billboard hit.

Answer: Jan and Dean

William Jan Barry and Dean Ormsby Torrence actually preceded the Beach Boys by a couple of years. They had been recording since 1958, and scored a number ten hit with "Baby Talk" in 1959. They capatilized on the surf sound with "Surf City" in 1963 which was a number one hit. 1964 saw the aformentioned "Little Old Lady From Pasadena", as well as the song "Dead Man's Curve", a spooky omen of what was to come, as Barry was involved in a near fatal car accident in 1966, just a short way from the real Dead Man's Curve in California.

Although they returned to recording in late 1967 the pair could not duplicate their earlier success. Jan Barry passed away in 2004.

Answer: Santo and Johnny

Santo and Johnny Farina came from Brooklyn, New York, and sent this instrumental hit to the top of the charts in late summer of 1959. After recording some other music in the U.S., with less success, they signed with an Italian record label and had several hits in Europe. They reprised their success in 1973, recording the theme to "The Godfather".

Answer: Hall and Oates

Daryl Hall and John Oates can be found on just about any Billboard chart from 1976 through 1988. Starting with "She's Gone" in 1976, and continuing through the rest of the 70's with songs like "Rich Girl", and going into the 80's with "Kiss On My List", "Private Eyes", and "I Can't Go For That", among many, many others, Hall and Oates are generally recognized as one of the most successful duos of all time.

Answer: Seals and Crofts

"Summer Breeze" sent these two (James Seals and Darrel "Dash" Crofts) to the big time in 1972, reaching number 6 on the Billboard U.S. charts. They followed with a less successful song called "Hummingbird", but zipped right back to that number six position with "Diamond Girl" in 1973.

Answer: England Dan and John Ford Coley

England Dan (Dan Seals) was the younger brother of "Dash Crofts (see question 12), and he hooked up with John Coley on a number of hits during that time. They are erroneously considered one hit wonders although they hit the Top 10 four different times.

This song was a number two hit, but they also scored in 1976 with "Night Are Forever Without You" which reached number ten, 1978's "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again", which reached number nine, and 1979's "Love Is The Answer" which peaked at number ten.

Answer: Zager and Evans

Yes, it was Zager and Evans who took this song to number one in the summer of 1969. They had no other Top 40 hits.

Answer: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were as dynamic a duo as you could find in the 60s. Unfortunately their fame was brief. Tammi joined Motown as a solo artist in 1965 and had only moderate success, until she was teamed with Gaye in 1967. They recorded "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" which was a number 19 hit on Billboard that year.

They followed with "Your Precious Love" (Billboard Number five), and "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" (Billboard number ten). They had recorded some other songs,which were released in later years, but in late 1967, during a live performance, Terrell collapsed on stage, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

She passed away in 1970 at age 24.