When They Were Young Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Tokens

In 1955, Sedaka and some classmates from his Brooklyn high school, Hank Medress, Eddie Rabkin, and Cynthia Zolotin, started a band called the Linc-Tones. A short while later, Rabkin was replaced by Jay Siegel, who'd become a driving force for the band. They would have some minor regional hits such as "While I Dream", "I Love My Baby" and "Come Back Joe", all released in 1956. The Linc-Tones changed their name to the Tokens & the Coins and released the album "Neil Sedaka and the Tokens & the Coins" in 1958. Soon after, Sedaka would leave to pursue a solo career and the band trimmed their name down to simply The Tokens. The band would release a string of singles and albums in over forty years before calling it a day in 2000. They are best remembered for their 1961 hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

Sedaka's solo career started slowly. His first solo singles, "Laura Lee", "Ring-a-Rockin'", and "Oh, Delilah!", all from 1957, did not chart. His breakthrough single was "The Diary" in 1958, which, in turn, led to a string of solo singles.

Answer: Charlie Johnson

Charles Weedon Westover had a love for country music, which inspired him to learn to play the guitar. This got him part-time work as a rhythm guitarist in The Moonlight Ramblers at the Hi-Lo Club, a band whose lead singer was Doug DeMott. DeMott was fired in 1958 for drunkenness, and Westover took over as leader and singer, naming himself Charlie Johnson and renaming the band as the Big Little Show Band.

A key moment for Shannon came when Max Crook joined the band in 1959 as their keyboard player. The pair started writing songs together, one of which was entitled "Little Runaway". Crook sent some demo tapes to a DJ in Ann Arbor, who sent them to a Detroit talent agency and the next moment the pair were signed to Bigtop Records. Charlie Johnson was convinced to change his name to Del Shannon; "Little Runaway" had its title trimmed to "Runaway". It was released in 1961 and the rest is history.

(Note) All of the residents in the town of Rock Ridge in the film "Blazing Saddles" were named Johnson.

Answer: Buffalo Springfield

A 12 year old Rod Stewart got into rock and roll after seeing Bill Haley & His Comets in concert. Two years later his father bought him a guitar and, the following year, he joined a skiffle band with some of his schoolmates called the Kool Kats. He started playing the harmonica after seeing folk singer Wizz Jones, busking at Leicester Square.

This led to Stewart joining the Dimensions (1963-1964) as a harmonica player and part-time vocalist. He joined the Jeff Beck Group (1967-1969) and, with Beck, he co-wrote the songs "Let Me Love You" (1968) and "Spanish Boots" (1969). In 1969 he would join the Faces as their lead vocalist but also started his own solo career at a similar time.

Stewart released his debut solo album "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" in 1969, and a year later he was releasing the Faces' debut "First Step". In 1971 Stewart's solo album "Every Picture Tells a Story", made him a household name but it created tensions with the Faces. By 1974, under the weight of Stewart's increasing popularity and the departure of Ronnie Wood to join the Rolling Stones, the Faces folded.

Answer: US Marine

Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield started as a duo in 1963 after parting ways with their former band The Paramours. At the end of one of their first gigs as a duo, a US Marine, from the El Toro Marine base, shouted "That was righteous brother". After the show he would meet and greet the pair, hailing them with "Hey righteous brothers, how ya doin'". Bill and Bobby would tell this story on an episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show" in December of 1965 after, previously, releasing one of their biggest hits, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" in 1964.

Answer: The Beach Boys

You will know Daryl as the Captain from the duo the Captain and Tennille, who had a number one hit with "Love Will Keep Us Together" in 1975. Prior to forming the duo with his (then) wife Toni Tennille, Daryl had spent time as the keyboard player for the Beach Boys between 1967 and 1972. Mike Love christened him with the nickname "Captain Keyboard", which was later shortened to simply "Captain". As a tongue in cheek reference to the name, Dragon began to wear a captain's hat on stage and it became a permanent prop.

Answer: The Hollies

There's no prize for identifying that Nash is the "N" in CS&N, better still, Crosby, Stills & Nash. Prior to forming that trio in 1968 he had been a founding member of the Hollies. That band formed in Manchester in 1962 and was the brainchild of both Nash and his school friend Allan Clarke. The band stood out with their distinctive three-part harmonies and produced a string of hits such as "Just One Look" (1964), "Bus Stop" (1966) and "On a Carousel" (1967).

Another project of Nash's was the setting up of a publishing company with Clarke and Hollies guitarist Tony Hicks called Gralto Music Ltd. The company, which published the songs written by the Hollies, derived its name from the amalgam of the three names GR(aham), AL(lan) and TO(ny). One of their early signings was a young man named Reginald Dwight, soon to be Elton John, who provided piano and keyboards for the Hollies between 1969 and 1970.

Answer: Alabama

Alabama formed in 1969 as a project of cousins Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook. They were an amateur collective at the time thanks to paying jobs or schooling. They initially jammed as Young Country who'd gained some attention by winning a high school talent contest. It wasn't until 1972 that they'd committed to becoming a professional band, changing their name to Wildcountry.

However, it would be five years before they could manage to secure a one-off record deal with GRT Records (1977). The label suggested they change their name to The Alabama Band, which was then reduced to just Alabama. The group would endure further label changes before landing at RCA. They would achieve success with singles such as "Love in the First Degree" (1981), "Mountain Music" (1982) and "Song of the South" in 1988.

Answer: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake

The following represents a timeline of bands and names that eventually led to "The Beatles".
- 1956 John Lennon formed a band with some of his school mates. They called themselves Blackjack.
- That same year they abandoned that name as there was another band in town with the same one. Lennon changed the name to The Quarrymen after the name of their school, Quarry Bank High School.
- 1957. John meets Paul McCartney at a fete and feels they have a common musical interest. He persuades Paul to join The Quarrymen.
- 1958. Paul invites a friend of his, George Harrison, to join the band. John is not convinced of the idea, feeling that George was too young.
- 1959. John's school friends have departed the band, leaving John, Paul and George as the backbone of the band. They change their name to Johnny & the Moondogs.
- 1960 is a big year for the band. In January, John persuades a friend of his, Stuart Sutcliffe, to join the band and they agree to change their name again. This time, inspired by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, they become The Beatals.
- 1960 (again) in May they revert to The Silver Beetles.
- 1960, and by August, they have settled on The Beatles.

(Footnote) "Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake" is the name a 1968 album by the English band the Small Faces.

Answer: Sun

Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935 - October 28, 2022) made his first recordings in 1952 at J&M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, and early recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis began playing the piano with two of his cousins, Mickey Gilley (country music singer) and Jimmy Swaggart (televangelist).

In 1956 he began recording as a solo artist and as a session musician for other Sun Records artists, including Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. His piano playing can be heard on many tracks recorded at Sun Records in late 1956 and early 1957.

Some of his hits are "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", and "Great Balls of Fire" (his greatest hit).

Answer: Yardbirds

Eric Clapton is seen as one of the most influential guitarists in rock music and he has left his fingerprints on numerous bands and acts. He first gained attention as a sixteen year old while busking in Kingston Upon Thames in London. By 1962 he was performing as a duo with Dave Brock, who would go on to form the progressive rock band Hawkwind.

In January of 1963 Clapton would join the London based band the Roosters, where he rubbed shoulders with Tom McGuinness, who would leave soon after to be the bass player for Manfred Mann. Seven seems to be a significant number for Clapton as he was only with the Roosters for seven months before joining Casey & the Engineers for a seven gig tour. At the end of that, in October of 1963, he joined up with the Yardbirds as their lead guitarist, where he remained until March 1965. At this point he joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, where he remained for a few months, played with three other acts before rejoining the Bluesbreakers for seven months in October of 1965.

At this point Ginger Baker invited Clapton to join him and Jack Bruce (a former Bluesbreaker) to form the power trio of Cream. In 1968 he and Baker joined forces with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech to form Blind Faith. That band would last seven months.