Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad Quiz

Answer: Larry Mullen, Jr.

Larry Mullen, Jr. was a teenager who played the drums and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin when he requested "musicians" to meet with him - in his home's kitchen - and form a band. That was September of 1976; the group decided on the name "Feedback" for themselves. The boys would later call themselves "The Hype" before deciding to be "U2".

Answer: Boy

The band's first attempt at releasing an international recording garnered them only modest success. The album, "Boy", did well in their native Ireland and did well in Canada (based on record sales) but failed to break into the top fifty of most other charts that were established at that time.

The album's liner notes give U2 credit for writing all of the songs included on that album. A review/quote from wikipedia.com gave the following: "... the album's lyrics reflect on adolescence, innocence, and the passage into adulthood ..."; a theme which seemed to have been echoed by many, in essence if not in verbatim.

Answer: Sunday Bloody Sunday

"War" would be U2's first Number One album on the UK charts. It included the song, "Sunday Bloody Sunday", an homage to what was known in the UK as the Bogside Massacre that happened in Derry, Northern Ireland on 30 January 1972. Although (unsurprisingly), it was considered "controversial" upon its release and during the band's initial live performance(s) of the song, it remained a popular part of their set list for decades to follow. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was often mentioned on lists of "best political protest songs"; the entertainment magazine, "Rolling Stone" included it on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." U2's album, "War" also included another favorite - different subject, same feelings - titled, "New Year's Day" that became the band's first single to chart within the top ten rated songs on the UK charts.

Answer: Live Aid

Live Aid was a multi-city benefit event that featured live concerts in major cities around the world - two of those were in London, England and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Live Aid spawned other concerts and events - also to benefit Ethiopian famine relief - that allowed a total of almost two billion people to be a part of the "audience". During their performance in London, Bono leaped from the stage and personally selected a few young folks from the audience to embrace - he even did a brief slow dance with one young woman - all to the amazement and appreciation to U2 fans, worldwide. This was a very important gesture for the band when they were just becoming well known and it would be included among the moments many people mention as defining the persona of U2 as one of the most amicable and approachable acts in music history.

Answer: The Joshua Tree

"The Joshua Tree" was the band's fifth album and their most successful, to date. By the time "The Joshua Tree" was released, U2 had toured - internationally - every year since 1980 and had developed a phenomenal fan base. Sources credit not only that worldwide indulgence into their own musical potential but their developing camaraderie with other flourishing musicians such as Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Bob Dylan, Steven Van Zandt and Van Morrison, for the spiritual, yet, multi-genre embracing tone of the album. All songs were credited as written by U2. "The Joshua Tree" would be the first U2 album to reach Number One on the charts in the United States and would also afford U2 to win their first Grammy Award - Album of the Year (for 1988).

Answer: Adam Clayton

Adam Clayton was the bass guitarist for U2 from their early days and through their early success. He was among the young lads who responded to his classmate's request for musicians to meet and (hopefully) form a band. Adam Clayton's family and the family of band mate, David Evans (aka the Edge), were friends for a period of time that began in the mid-1960s. Adam Clayton was forthcoming about his struggles with alcohol abuse.

After an especially thwarting incident in 1996, Clayton vowed to become completely sober.

His sobriety was recognized and commemorated with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award (given to those who have a positive impact on the health and well-being of others in the music community) in June of 2017 at the MusiCares.

Answer: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "With or Without You" were both a part of the multi-platinum selling album, "The Joshua Tree" released by U2 in 1987. Well into the 21st century both of those songs remained among the most popular, most requested, most performed and most covered (by other performers) songs in U2's repertoire. Both songs have been included on lists of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as published by the magazine "Rolling Stone".

The song reflects sounds and sentiments of spiritual - or, gospel - songs that both Bono (who is given credit for the lyrics of the song) and the Edge (who along with other band members are given credit for its title and melody) appreciated throughout their careers.

A wonderful comedy skit from late night (American) television is an episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". U2 participated in Conan's comedy bit "Celebrity Secrets" where they (U2) joked that the inspiration for the song came from a trip to a grocery store and there they could not find the cereal, Boo Berry.

It is just too funny!

Answer: Achtung Baby

Band members of U2 have admitted the stress and "sting" of the less than stellar reception of the album "Rattle and Hum" that followed the wildly successful "The Joshua Tree", caused them a near break-up. All four members allowed their creative forces to re-develop with time away from each other and intentional education of/exposure to even more musical influences than ever.

The result was their seventh studio album - "Achtung Baby", that was released in November 1991. "Achtung Baby" would become one of U2's most successful albums.

It would earn the band the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The songs "One", "Mysterious Ways", "Even Better Than The Real Thing", and "The Fly" were all included on the initial release of "Achtung Baby".

Answer: Johnny Cash

For the first time, fans of U2 heard a voice other than Bono's - or, any member of U2 - featured as the lead vocal. Bono insisted it was Johnny Cash's voice he had heard as he had written the words of "The Wanderer". It may not have been an expected choice, at the time, but it proved to be a memorable collaboration. That was just one example of the careful marketing plan that was a part of U2's strategy with the release of their albums and their approach to their tours during the early part of the 1990s.

Their efforts would be rewarded. In June of 1993 the band signed a record deal that was said to have made them the "highest paid rock group - ever".

Answer: Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad

Although Frank Sinatra never recorded "Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad" it was included (as mentioned in the question) as a part of his 80th birthday celebration. Then it was sung by Bono and the Edge and had most likely been recorded for that event only a few days prior to the celebration. Very little was written about the song since it did not enjoy the chart success that many, many other U2 songs enjoyed.

Some accounts (unsubstantiated) claim that U2 had "pitched" the song to Frank Sinatra before that big birthday celebration.

Some accounts also mention that Sinatra had intended to record it - eventually. (Frank Sinatra died in May of 1998.) Frank Sinatra's daughter, Nancy, later included the song on her album, "Nancy Sinatra" that was released in 2004.

She featured U2 members, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. on her own recording of "Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad".