Who Put the Bomp? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Chords

"Sh-Boom", also sometimes called "Life Could Be a Dream" was recorded by two groups in 1954, but the first was The Chords. Their rendition would reach number two on the Billboard R&B Chart.

A Canadian quartet by the name of The Crew Cuts also hit the charts with their (more traditional) version later in the same year, and it reached number one and stayed there for nine weeks.

Answer: The Edsels

"Rama Lama Ding Dong" was originally written in 1957 and released in 1958, but did not get a lot of exposure until the early '60s, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.

As one of the plethora of 'doo wop' bands of the era, 'Rama Lama Ding Dong' doesn't really mean anything, but it became an inspiration to other songs, like "Who Put the Bomp?" by Barry Mann (1961), which has the line, "Who put the Ram in the Rama Lama Ding Dong?"

Answer: Otis Redding

"Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa", subtitled "Sad Song", was the first track on Redding's 1966 album "Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul". It reached number 12 on the Billboard R&B chart, and number 29 on the Billboard Pop chart.

According to Songfacts.com, "When Otis Redding worked up a song, he would sing out the horn arrangement by vocalizing "fa fa fa" to indicate where the horns should go and what they should play. In this song, he used those 'fa's to form the rhythm, following in the tradition of songs like "Be-Bop-a-Lula" and "Da Doo Ron Ron."

In the chorus, the song takes listeners behind the scenes, as we hear Otis instructing his horn section, the Memphis Horns, when to play:

"Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa... Your turn." [horns play]"

Answer: The Beatles

"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" was a track on the Beatles' 1968 album "The Beatles", aka "The White Album". It was not initially released as a single in the USA or the UK, but fared well elsewhere, reaching number one in a number of countries. When the Beatles belatedly put it out as a single in the US many years later, it only reached number 39 (Billboard Hot 100) in 1976.

Some controversy surrounded this song as Paul McCartney appropriated the phrase from a friend of his, Nigerian musician Jimmy Scott. Eventually, Scott's efforts to receive a composing credit for the song ceased in a quid pro quo agreement.

Answer: Diana Ross

"Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoo" was released with Diana Ross' second album, titled "Everything is Everything". After the album release, the song was released in the UK as a single in 1972, reaching number twelve on the UK Singles Chart.

According to UDiscoverMusic.com, "The story goes that Diana was voicing this song, but its writer-producer Deke Richards had not completed the lyrics, so the singer filled in with nonsense words. Berry Gordy, Motown's boss, thought those curious non-lyrics made it distinctive. It was released like that and it became a big UK hit in 1972."

Answer: ABBA

"Dum Dum Diddle" was released on ABBA's 1976 album, "Arrival", but was not a single release. Some criticisms later arose about the song, largely because of the title and lyrics, following publication of Carl Magnus Palm's book "ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions" in 1994.

In it, band member Björn Ulvaeus discusses "Dum Dum Diddle", stating that the lyrics were written at the last minute, just before a recording session, and that "it might as well have been Dumb Dumb Diddle!".

Answer: The Police

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" was released as the second single on the 1980 album "Zenyatta Mondatta". It peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached number five on the UK Singles chart.

According to Sting.com, the song was about the attraction people have to simple songs. And, responding to criticisms about the song, Sting stated, "The lyrics are about banality, about the abuse of words, the lyrics have an internal logic."

Answer: Phil Collins

"Sussudio" was released as a single from Phil Collins' third solo album, "No Jacket Required". It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the album it came from also reached number one on the Billboard 200 (as well as in a number of other countries).

According to "VH1 Storytellers: Phil Collins", 'Sussudio' was born out of improvisation while Collins was playing with a drum machine. He decided to keep it as it was, and used it as an imaginary name to represent any girl that was the object of a schoolboy crush.

Answer: Crash Test Dummies

"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" was the lead single from the Crash Test Dummies' 1993 album "God Shuffled His Feet", faring quite well around the globe, despite criticism. And while it reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles chart, it never got past number fourteen in their home country (Canada).

The poignant song describes three kids ostracised due to various problems they have faced in life, with the 'mmm mmm mmm mmm' dividing up the stories.

In the VH1 'Pop-up Video', we learned that "Brad Roberts had decided to hum, rather than actually sing, the refrain of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" because humming the refrain sounded more resigned to him and that he never wrote lyrics for it."

Answer: Hanson

"MMMBop" was the lead single from Hanson's debut album "Middle of Nowhere" in 1997. It was originally written in 1995 for their demo album, but in a slower style. In the pepped up version, it reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles charts, in addition to topping charts in multiple other countries around the world.

Zac Hanson told Songfacts: "MMMBop represents a frame of time or the futility of life. Things are going to be gone, whether it's your age and your youth, or maybe the money you have, or whatever it is, and all that's going to be left are the people you've nurtured and have really built to be your backbone and your support system."