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Quiz about Top 40 Radio IV Novelty Tunes
Quiz about Top 40 Radio IV Novelty Tunes

Top 40 Radio IV - Novelty Tunes Quiz

Top 40 Radio was about variety; R&B, folk, rock, country, and even odd songs like these. Perhaps you'll remember some of them. All chart info is from Billboard.

A multiple-choice quiz by JRooowe. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
JRooowe
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
344,455
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
627
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Question 1 of 10
1. Just who did they mean when "The Hollywood Argyles" described this fellow as "a mean motor scooter and a bad go-getter?" Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. Who was responsible for the 1958 song "Bird On My Head"? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Australian Rolf Harris had a Top 10 hit back in '63 with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down." What animal was NOT mentioned in that song? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. Back in 1968 Guy Marks sang of his love. Just how did he describe her eyes? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. In 1956 this duo made the Top 10 with their "break-in" record "The Flying Saucer (Parts 1 & 2). Who were these guys? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. Back in 1958 everybody was singing this. Can you complete the line?
"Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla _____
_____."

Answer: (Two Words)

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Question 7 of 10
7. One of the sillier records to make the Billboard charts was "The Mummy." This effort by "Bob McFadden and Dor" reached number 39 in 1958. Who was Dor? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. One of the weirdest songs to come out of the '50s was the 1956 car crash song "Transfusion." Who sang this Top 10 hit? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. Edd Byrnes played a car park attendant on the TV show "77 Sunset Strip." To cash in on the popularity of his character, the hip hair-combing Kookie, Warner put out "Kookie Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" by Edd and Connie Stevens. It was a Top 10 hit in 1959. What were Edd's closing words to Connie? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. In 1959 Paul Evans sang of his unfortunate double date. It seems his buddy ended up hugging and kissing "Seven Little Girls Sitting In the Back Seat" while Paul was stuck doing the driving. Just who was that guy in the back seat? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Just who did they mean when "The Hollywood Argyles" described this fellow as "a mean motor scooter and a bad go-getter?"

Answer: Alley-Oop

 "Alley-Oop" was their only hit record... but in 1960 it reached number one on the Billboard charts. It was, of course, based on the long-running comic strip caveman.
2. Who was responsible for the 1958 song "Bird On My Head"?

Answer: David Seville

 Between his Number One hits "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song" Seville squeezed in this novelty. It peaked at Number 34. Minneapolis quartet The Trashmen performed "Surfin' Bird" in 1963. Tippi Hedren starred in the film "The Birds" and mostly just got pecked... which she didn't sing about.
3. Australian Rolf Harris had a Top 10 hit back in '63 with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down." What animal was NOT mentioned in that song?

Answer: dingo

 As he lay on his deathbed the stockman gave out some last minute instructions;
"Keep me cockatoo cool" "mind me platypus duck" "take me koala back" etc.
If he had a Living Trust the stockman could have included all these instructions as part of the distribution of his estate.
4. Back in 1968 Guy Marks sang of his love. Just how did he describe her eyes?

Answer: they matched her red scarf

 Comedian Guy Marks had a minor hit with "Loving You Has Made Me Bananas".
It went like this:

"Your red scarf matches your eyes
You closed cover before striking
Your mother was a steamfitters dream
And loving you has made me bananas."

Ah... romance!
5. In 1956 this duo made the Top 10 with their "break-in" record "The Flying Saucer (Parts 1 & 2). Who were these guys?

Answer: Buchanan & Goodman

 "The Flying Saucer" reached number three on the Billboard charts. Record producer Dickie Goodman (inventor of the "break-in" genre) placed a dozen more entries in the Billboard charts, including the 1975 Top 10 hit "Mr. Jaws".
In 1989 Goodman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 55.
6. Back in 1958 everybody was singing this. Can you complete the line? "Ooo eee ooo ah ah ting tang walla walla _____ _____."

Answer: bing bang

 David Seville's "Witch Doctor" was number one on the Billboard charts for three weeks in mid-1958. He went on to even greater success later that year with the introduction of "The Chipmunk Song." The amazing success of his Chipmunk gimmick pretty much took over the rest of his career.
7. One of the sillier records to make the Billboard charts was "The Mummy." This effort by "Bob McFadden and Dor" reached number 39 in 1958. Who was Dor?

Answer: Rod McKeun

 Dor was the name Rod sometimes used when appearing at poetry readings in the late '50s. Greater success as a poet and song writer was just ahead. He was the author of the 1967 mega-selling "lyrical poetry" book "Listen to The Warm."

"This is the way it was while I was waiting for your eyes to find me."
― Rod McKuen, Listen to the Warm
8. One of the weirdest songs to come out of the '50s was the 1956 car crash song "Transfusion." Who sang this Top 10 hit?

Answer: Nervous Norvus

 He had a drink, was speeding and crashed while passing. Norvus sings of contusions, convolutions, confusion and is requesting a transfusion. Norvus (aka Jimmy Drake) was a truck driver until his success with "Transfusion". Any other similarity to Elvis would be totally amazing.
9. Edd Byrnes played a car park attendant on the TV show "77 Sunset Strip." To cash in on the popularity of his character, the hip hair-combing Kookie, Warner put out "Kookie Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" by Edd and Connie Stevens. It was a Top 10 hit in 1959. What were Edd's closing words to Connie?

Answer: "Baby... you're the ginchiest!"

 Edd never had another Top 40 hit. Connie, who starred as Cricket Blake on the popular TV show "Hawaiian Eye," had a Top 10 hit a few months later with "Sixteen Reasons." She appeared on dozens of TV shows, including eight episodes of "The Love Boat" (as seven different people).
10. In 1959 Paul Evans sang of his unfortunate double date. It seems his buddy ended up hugging and kissing "Seven Little Girls Sitting In the Back Seat" while Paul was stuck doing the driving. Just who was that guy in the back seat?

Answer: Fred

 Singer/songwriter Evans' songs have been recorded by such stars as Elvis, Jackie Wilson, Pat Boone, and The Coasters. He was co-writer of the Bobby Vinton number one hit "Roses Are Red." He did not write "Seven Little Girls..."
Source: Author JRooowe

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
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Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series My Top 40 Radio Quiz collection:

One great thing about "Top 40" radio was the variety. In the same hour you could get Elvis, The Drifters, the Singing Nun, Bobby Vee-Darin-Vinton AND Rydell. These quizzes cover the Top 40 years before the British Invasion.

  1. Top 40 Radio I - Pre-Beatles Difficult
  2. Top 40 Radio II - Pre-Beatles Tough
  3. Top 40 Radio III - Pre-Beatles Tough
  4. Top 40 Radio IV - Novelty Tunes Average
  5. Top 40 Radio V - Pre-Beatles Average

Referenced Topics
Music   Animals   Other Music   Vocabulary   Wild Birds   Names   Australians: Famous & Historical   Comedy Music   Who Sang This   Producers   Poets   Trucks   1960s Country Music  

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