Until Death Do Us Part Trivia Quiz

Answer: And When I Die

"And When I Die" was Blood, Sweat and Tears' third consecutive single to reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969, following "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and "Spinning Wheel". Nyro, who was only 17 when she wrote the tune, composed a number of songs which were successfully recorded by other artists in the late '60s and early '70s, including "Wedding Bell Blues" by The 5th Dimension and "Eli's Coming" by Three Dog Night.

Answer: Tears in Heaven

"Tears in Heaven" was co-written by Clapton and Will Jennings shortly after the death of his son Conor. Conor accidently fell out of a window on the 53rd floor of a New York City apartment building where he was staying with his mother. On the morning he died, the windows were temporarily left open by a janitor for cleaning puposes, and sadly Conor ran straight out of one while playing hide-and-seek with his nanny.

The song, which initially appeared on the soundtrack album for the 1991 film "Rush", was also included on Clapton's extremely popular "Unplugged" album, which was recorded during his appearance on the MTV series of the same name. "Unplugged" featured acoustical versions of some of Clapton's prior material, including "Layla" and "Before You Accuse Me".

It went on to become his biggest selling LP to date, with sales of over 26 million copies worldwide.

Answer: Timothy

"Timothy" was written by Rupert Holmes, who would become much better known in the late '70s thanks to his monster hit "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December of 1979. Due to the subject matter of the song, "Timothy" was banned by some radio stations in the U.S.; even so, it still managed to reach number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.

The Buoys' success was short-lived, however, as none of their subsequent releases cracked the top 40 on the U.S. pop charts.

Answer: Tell Laura I Love Her

Teenage tragedy songs started flooding the charts in the late '50s and early '60s. Disc jockeys at the time humorously referred to these songs as "tear jerkers", "death discs" and "splatter platters", and they remained extremely popular up until about 1965.

However, with the onset of the "British Invasion", their popularity began to wane and they eventually went the way of the dodo. "Tell Laura I Love Her", which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, was the first of two top ten singles Peterson would have in 1960, the other was "Corinna, Corinna", which peaked at number nine.

Answer: Fire and Rain

"Fire and Rain" was Taylor's breakout hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. According to a 2005 five interview with Scott Simon of National Public Radio, the song was written in three parts. The first verse is about his friend Suzanne, who committed suicide in 1968.

The second verse refers to his struggles with drug addiction and depression, and his efforts to overcome them. The final verse looks back at his past, and his climb to fame and fortune. The reference to "flying machines" in the last verse refers to his early days as a member of the band The Flying Machine.

Answer: (Don't Fear) The Reaper

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper", which appeared on Blue Oyster Cult's 1976 LP "Agents of Fortune", was the groups most successful single, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, and was considered somewhat controversial at the time.

Many people interpreted the lyrics to be about suicide or even murder-suicide, but Roeser has stated the song is about eternal love, not suicide. The tune does have a generous helping of cowbell, and if you're not familiar with the skit I referenced in the question, seek it out online and watch it, you'll be glad you did.

Answer: Candle in the Wind

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson), was obviously the focal point of "Candle in the Wind", but according to lyricist Bernie Taupin, the song could apply to a number of people. In the Eagle Vision documentary about the making of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" Taupin stated: "The song is about the idea of fame or youth or somebody being cut short in the prime of their life.

It could have been about James Dean, it could have been about Montgomery Clift, it could have been about Jim Morrison...how we glamorize death, how we immortalize people." Following the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Taupin reworked the lyrics to the song, and it was re-recorded and released under the title "Candle in the Wind 1997", which was a tribute to Diana. The single went on to become the second biggest selling record of all-time, trailing only Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".

Answer: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot by James Earl Ray on April 4th 1968, as King stood on the balcony of the hotel he was staying at in Memphis, Tennessee. There is one glaring mistake in the first line of that final verse, the shooting actually occurred at 6:00pm, not early morning. Bono, the band's lead singer, wrote the lyrics to the tune and is aware of the error, sometimes changing the line to "Early evening, April four" in live performances. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" was U2's first top 40 single in the U.S., reaching number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, It was also their first top five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number three.

Answer: Hey Joe

The Leaves released their version of "Hey Joe" in late 1965. It first appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 1966, eventually reaching number 31, and spending nine weeks on the chart. Hendrix recorded a much slower version of the song and released it in the United Kingdom in December of 1966.

The single became his first top ten hit, reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart in early 1967. Over the years, more than 70 artists have recorded versions of the song, including ones by "Weird Al" Yankovic and Eddie Murphy.

Answer: Ohio

On May 4th, 1970, the Ohio National Guard were called in to help disperse a group of Kent State University students, who were protesting against the Vietnam War. After the crowd refused to disperse, the protest turned ugly, and some of the National Guardsmen fired into the crowd, killing four people and leaving nine others wounded. Band member Neil Young wrote the song shortly after seeing pictures of the killings in a copy of Life Magazine.

The song was banned by some AM radio stations, due to its criticism of Richard Nixon and the Ohio National Guard, but still managed to reach number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.