We're Number Two! - Vol. V Trivia Quiz

Answer: Never My Love

"Never My Love" was the third biggest hit of The Association's somewhat brief recording career. "Cherish" was their first Number One in 1966 followed by their biggest hit ever, "Windy", a four week chart topper earlier in 1967. Unfortunately for The Association and other groups of similar ilk like The Rascals, The Turtles, even The Beach Boys, those that recorded pop-styled ballads heavily reliant on vocal harmonies, the winds of musical taste were changing. By the end of the decade, most of these groups had disbanded and if they hadn't, hits were few and far between. The Association broke up and reformed several times thereafter but their last charting successes were released in 1968. The group, with some surviving original members, continues to perform as of 2010 on the oldies circuit.

"Dedicated to the One I Love" was also a Number Two hit in 1967 by The Mamas and Papas while Johnny Rivers' "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" peaked at Number Three that year. "Wedding Bell Blues" hit Number One for The 5th Dimension in 1969.

Answer: Dancing In The Street

All the hits given as choices meet the criterion of name dropping major U.S. cities but only one charted in 1964, "Dancing In The Street" as recorded by Martha and The Vandellas. Two of the others were by Chuck Berry; "Sweet Little Sixteen" also peaked at Number Two except in 1958 while his "Back In The U.S.A." could do no better than Number 37 in 1959. Meanwhile, "The Heart Of Rock & Roll" was a Number Six offering in 1984 for Huey Lewis and The News.

Martha Reeves began her career at Motown as a secretary and often one of her duties was to sing the lyrics of new songs onto tape for back-up singers to learn their respective parts. This led to steady work as a back-up singer herself and when Mary Wells was unable to make a recording session, Reeves was thrust into action as a soloist. The song went nowhere, but showing promise, she was teamed up with Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford to form the Vandellas. Success soon followed with the Number Four "Heatwave" and the Number Eight "Quicksand" in 1963. "Dancing In The Street" would prevail as their biggest hit before breaking up in 1969.

In the 1980s, the song made a stunning comeback. In 1982, Van Halen's rendition charted at Number 38 then the "gold dust twins", Mick Jagger and David Bowie, reprised it in 1985 and took it to Number Seven on Billboard but all the way to the top in the U.K.

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Answer: Handy Man

Jimmy Jones had the big hit in 1960 with this song and it has now become so personally intertwined with him that he is often referred to as Jimmy "The Handyman" Jones. He followed it up with the Number Three "Good Timin'" later in the year but despite regular studio activity throughout the 1960s, charting success eluded him and it seems that he deserted the music industry late in the decade. However, his legacy lives on especially in the "Northern Soul" circles of great Britain where his music is still frequently heard.

"Handy Man" was another song that made repeat visits to the Hot 100. In 1964, Del Shannon recorded a slightly more rocking version that peaked at Number 22, also cracking the Top 40 in the U.K. Finally, James Taylor took a distinctly laid back rendition, as only he could, to Number Four in 1977. Strangely enough, it failed to chart abroad.

"Handy Man" had the misfortune of trying to dislodge the biggest hit of the year from Number One, "The Theme From 'A Summer Place'" by Percy Faith and it wasn't the only victim of Faith's smash hit. "He'll Have To Go" by Jim Reeves, "Wild One" by Bobby Rydell, "Puppy Love" by Paul Anka and "Greenfields" by The Brothers Four all met the same fate, stranded at Number Two.

Your other quiz choices were as follows: "It's All In The Game" was a huge Number One success for Tommy Edwards in 1958; "The Wanderer" by Dion peaked at Number Two in 1962; and, "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" was a Number Three charter for Gene McDaniels in 1961.

Answer: Chain of Fools

All of these songs were recordings of "Lady Soul", Aretha Franklin, and from early 1967 to the end of 1968 she recorded nothing but hits. In total, she had eleven charting hits during that span and all of them charted at Number 16 or better. Clearly, she earned her moniker. As this is written in 2010, she has had an astounding 76 recordings chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and many more that have charted on the R&B and other subsidiary Billboard charts. Although she's showing signs of slowing down now after nearly 50 years in the music business, she has nothing left to prove... she'll always be the queen of the genre.

"Chain of Fools" was actually written by Don Covay in the early 1950s but his original recording of the song was not a success. Aretha's version spent two weeks at Number Two behind "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" by John Fred and His Playboy Band. Her only solo Hot 100 hit to reach Number One was among your other choices, "Respect" in 1967. "Baby I Love You" reached Number Four in 1967 while "Think" was another 1968 hit that climbed to Number Seven.

Answer: A Groovy Kind Of Love

Okay, it wasn't "My Love" by Petula Clark or "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles. Both of those were Number One hits in 1966 and 1967 respectively. " Love (Can Make You Happy)" by Mercy was a Number Two hit but in 1969, three years later. That leaves "A Groovy Kind Of Love" as the correct choice.

In 1965, The Mindbenders with Wayne Fontana as lead man scored a Number One hit in America and a Number Two in the U.K. with "Game Of Love". Shortly thereafter, Fontana left the group in pursuit of a solo career but it didn't seem to matter as "A Groovy Kind Of Love" might attest. However, maybe it did! Their next recording, "Ashes To Ashes", fared well enough in Britain at Number 14 but charted an abysmal Number 55 in America. That was that! The group appeared in the 1967 movie "To Sir With Love" as the band playing at the graduation dance but even that exposure could not revive their now moribund fortunes. They disbanded within the year in 1968 and we're left wondering what went wrong.

"A Groovy Kind Of Love" also appeared on Petula Clark's 1966 album "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" and it surprised me that her management didn't release the song as a single in competition with The Mindbenders. Quite frankly, I much preferred Clark's version... but then, I was smitten with her at the time! Eventually, the song itself would reach the top of the charts on both sides of the pond although it took 22 years. Phil Collins did the honors in 1988.

Answer: Can't Get Used To Losing You

If you knew that "Can't Get Used To Losing You" by Andy Williams was the song in question, good on ya and congratulations. If you didn't know it, you might have sorted out the answer by deduction. The big clue was "TV series host" - Andy Williams was one and none of the other songs' artists were ever engaged in such a capacity. Roy Orbison sang "Only The Lonely" and although it qualifies as a Number Two hit, it charted in 1960. Peter and Gordon performed "A World Without Love" but it was a Number One hit in 1964. Finally, Johnny Tillotson recorded "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin", a Number Three hit in 1962.

Andy Williams began his recording career in the mid-1950s and his style was always oriented toward the adult contemporary market. His only Number One hit was "Butterfly" in 1957, a cover of Charlie Gracie's rock-a-billy hit that also topped the Hot 100 that year. Almost all of Williams' biggest hits were recorded in the 1950s such as the Number Seven "Canadian Sunset", the Number Three "Are You Sincere" and the Number Five "Lonely Street". Oddly enough, the song that he is most readily identified with, "Moon River", was never released as a single.

During the 1960s, Williams focused on his TV duties from 1962 to 1971 but continued to release best selling albums of standards, show tunes and other soft pop offerings until the mid-1970s when he largely retired from recording altogether. He continued to tour however, then in 1992, he was among the first non-country artists to establish a theatre in Branson, Missouri. He still makes the occasional appearance there in his semi-retirement.

Answer: Last Kiss

This was essentially the last of those macabre "teen death" songs to become a hit. The first really big one was Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel" which went right to the top of the Hot 100 early in 1960. Later that year, Ray Peterson released "Tell Laura I Love Her" and it rose to Number Seven. "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean peaked at Number Eight in 1964 just a few months before J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers entered the charts with "Last Kiss". While those earlier songs were primarily the product of a songwriter's morbid imagination, at least "Last Kiss" had basis in fact.

In December of 1962 near Barnesville, Georgia, a car loaded with teenagers accidentally swerved into the path of a flatbed truck. Some resources indicate that three people were killed, others suggest that six met their doom. Certainly, one of the victims was 16 year old Jeanette Clark. A friend of Clark's, Wayne Cochran, wrote the song in dedication to her, recorded it with his band and it attained some regional success. A wheeler-dealer record producer from Texas named Sonley Roush heard the song and became obsessed with it. The Cavaliers were a band from San Angelo, Texas that he was familiar with. They had just recruited a new vocalist named J. Frank Wilson and through sheer persistence, Roush convinced them to record it, then tirelessly promoted it. It was starting to make its mark nationally when fate stepped in. Roush was driving Wilson to a concert when he fell asleep at the wheel and collided head on with a semi. He died on the spot. Wilson was seriously injured with a broken leg but was able to appear on American Bandstand, crutches and all, a couple of weeks later. That performance vaulted the song into national prominence and to its Number Two chart position.

The story doesn't quite end there! Wilson's performance on American Bandstand was without the original Cavaliers but with studio musicians. Wilson was into all the bad things - drugs, booze and sex and was punted from the group shortly after the song was recorded. He quickly assembled another Cavaliers group, went on tour and recorded a few more studio tracks for release. He thought stardom beckoned but the public thought otherwise. His follow-up release barely eked into the Hot 100 at Number 85 and within five years he was out of the music business entirely. Following eight failed marriages and a life of debauchery, he passed away at the age of 49 in 1991. All in all, this song and its history yields one sorry tale!

"Last Kiss" didn't die with J. Frank Wilson and Sonley Roush. It was remade by a Canadian group named Wednesday in 1973. Their version went all the way to Number Two in Canada and when released in the U.S., managed a Number 34 chart placement on the Hot 100. Then in 1999, Pearl Jam recorded it again for a whole new generation of listeners. Guess where it charted? You bet... Number Two. We'll see where it goes in 2025!

Answer: Shop Around

"Shop Around" was written by Smokey Robinson with some help from Barry Gordy. Originally it was slower in tempo, more like a blues ballad, and intentions were for it to be sung by Smokey's wife Claudette with the Miracles providing backup support. One night Gordy had an inspiration. He rounded up the group and informed them that he wanted the song to be recorded more up-tempo and he further decided that Smokey would do the vocal. At 3:00 A.M. they laid down the track and a few weeks later the group had their first big hit. Like many of the songs already featured in this quiz, this one too would have a second life. The Captain and Tennille took it to Number Four in 1976. With Tennille's vocalization and a slightly slower tempo, it perhaps sounded more like the original was intended to. For some peculiar reason, neither version made an impression overseas.

"Mama Said" was a Number Four hit for the Shirelles in 1961 while "Puppy Love" reached Number Two for Paul Anka a year earlier. "Because They're Young" was an instrumental hit for Duane Eddy which made it to Number Four in 1960. Another instrumental, "Calcutta" by Lawrence Welk, denied Smokey Robinson and The Miracles the honor of their first release reaching the top of the Hot 100.

Answer: Do You Want To Know A Secret

Of course all of your choices were Beatle songs. Two of them were Number Ones in that monumental year, "Love Me Do" and "I Feel Fine" while "P.S. I Love You" was a (tongue in cheek) disastrous Number 10 for the Fab Four. Ironically, this song did not chart for The Beatles in the U.K.

Instead, they gift wrapped it for another group in the Brian Epstein stable of artists, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Just as ironically, their recording reached the same position on the U.K. charts... Number Two. I suppose it was just meant to be!

Answer: Take A Letter Maria

I sure hope you didn't leap at the first "obvious" answer, "When A Man Loves A Woman". That was a Number One hit for Percy Sledge in 1966. Your other two choices were also Number One hits, "Me And Mrs. Jones" for Billy Paul in 1972 and "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" for The Temptations in 1971. "Take A Letter Maria" was the Number Two hit for R.B. Greaves and the lyric describes the scene. He is sitting with his secretary, Maria, just after she's taken his dictation for a letter to be sent to his soon-to-be ex-wife and his lawyer asking for a divorce when he discovers she's been philandering. With that out of the way, he just then notices that Maria is pretty darn nice!

Greaves, who was born in Guyana (then British Guyana) of American parents who were stationed at an Air Force Base there, had a very brief recording career indeed. His follow up recording of "Always Something There To Remind Me", a cover of a song performed by both Sandie Shaw and Dionne Warwick in the mid-1960s, stalled at Number 27 and subsequent releases charted in the nether regions of the Hot 100. By the end of 1970, he was released from his recording contract and a comeback bid in the late 1970s bore no fruit. It appears that he abandoned his music career shortly thereafter.