Zooming in on 33 1/3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Andre 3000

André "3000" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, as Outkast, are considered to be one of the most influential hip hop duos of all time. The pair originally wanted to be called 'The Misfits', but that was already being used so they hit upon 'outcast' as a synonym and altered the spelling.

"Hey Ya" was a track from their double album, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below", released in 2003, both members taking an individual style for their album but releasing them together under the banner of Outkast.

The video of "Hey Ya" featured Andre 3000 playing all the members of a much larger band.

Phoenix Rising's smpdit completed this question and can definitely shake it like a Polaroid picture.

Answer: Meatloaf

The song was released as a single off the powerful album, "Bat Out of Hell". With Jim Steinman's amazing lyrics, Meat Loaf's powerful and very versatile voice, and Todd Rundgren's guitar playing, how could it NOT be a hit?

Fun Fact. When the single was released in Japan, it was translated as "66% is Good Enough"- mathematically correct, I guess, but lyrically insipid.

This question was introduced by Phoenix Rising's ozzz2002 who was at one of Meatloaf's concerts in 1978 and was blown away by his performance. "Meatloaf" he said, "almost blew the roof off the old Hordern Pavilion in Sydney".

Answer: Green Day

Originally formed as a punk rock band in 1987, Green Day is seen as one of the groups that helped popularise punk music in the United States. The band's name was chosen to reflect their interest in the drug scene.

From 2011, the band (using the name Foxboro Hot Tubs) played a number of secret shows where they performed new material. Lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong said at the time "We are at the most prolific and creative time in our lives... This is the best music we've ever written, and the songs just keep coming."

In 2012 Green Day recorded 37 songs for this project and debated releasing a double album. However, they decided on a trilogy and the result was the albums "Uno!", "Dos!" and "Tré!" released later in that year. Each album cover featured the face of a different band member. In 2013, the documentary "Cuatro!" was produced, reflecting the creative process for their trilogy project.

Billie Joe Armstrong commented that each of the three albums has a totally different vibe. "The first one is power pop. The second is more garage-y, Nuggets-type rock. And the third is supposed to be epic." The trilogy was well-received by music critics, although fans were less enthusiastic if sales numbers and chart performance are considered.

(Footnote) The album titles all include an upside down exclamation mark at their starts, however, the FT system does not allow that to work when copied and pasted. The end result came out as an "i" so it was omitted.

It was a red-letter day when Phoenix Rising's psnz finished working on this question.

Answer: Matchbox Twenty

"3AM" is, rather appropriately, the third song on Matchbox 20's debut album, "Yourself or Someone Like You", released in 1997. "3AM" was written by Rob Thomas and his fellow band members in Tabitha's Secret earlier in the 1990s. Rob Thomas was inspired to write "3AM" by his experiences caring for his mother who had cancer while he was a teenager. Thomas chose the specific time of 3:00 AM because bars typically stop serving alcohol by then.

When it was first recorded, "3AM" was played at a slower tempo. The speed was increased when Matchbox 20 recorded their first album.

Phoenix Rising player Rizeeve is happy to compose and present this question at 3 am, and the team quiz makes it not as lonely as the song lyrics suggest.

Answer: ZZ Top

ZZ Top formed in Houston, Texas in 1969 and by the time they signed their first recording contract in 1970, they had a settled line-up of Billy Gibbons (guitar, lead vocals), Dusty Hill (bass, vocals), and Frank Beard (drums, percussion) that were still together 50 years later. Gibbons and Hill sported full-length beards for much of their career whilst, ironically, Frank Beard remained clean shaven. Taking their name from a portmanteau of BB King and Texan Blues singer ZZ Hill, ZZ King quickly became ZZ Top. The name reflected their blues/boogie sound.

"Tres Hombres" (1973) was their third album and was their first album to enter the US Charts, reaching the number eight position on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It sported the hit, "La Grange", about a brothel in a small town in Texas, which in part inspired the movie "Best Little Whore House in Texas".

This Phoenix Rising question was escrita por un solo hombre 1nn1.

Answer: Van Halen

"Jump" was Van Halen's only US number one hit. It deviated from the hard rock, guitar sound for which the band was well known, instead relying heavily on the keyboard for its sound. "Van Halen III" was released in 1998 and, as the question stated, the title was a direct reference to the band's third recorded line-up. This album features the vocal talents of Gary Cherone, lead vocalist for the band Extreme, and it would be the only Van Halen album he'd feature on. This also proved to be bass player Michael Anthony's last album with the band. He would eventually be replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang.

Van Halen was the only American band amongst the choices so, hopefully, that made it a little easier for you. Fair Warning: Phoenix Rising's mike32768 has kept his Balance well-in-hand ever since 1984 and his Different Kind of Truth allows him to say that since then, he's had no Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

Answer: Johnny Mathis

"Misty" was originally an instrumental standard written by American jazz pianist Erroll Garner in 1954. Johnny Burke later wrote the lyrics, and Johnny Mathis released the song on his 1959 album "Heavenly". Clint Eastwood being a fan of Johnny Mathis, and upon hearing his rendition, selected Garner's instrumental for his movie "Play Misty for Me" (1971). Mathis performed "Misty" at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Incidentally, the singer had once been an Olympic hopeful himself (high jump) but chose to pursue his music career instead. In "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" (1994), a therapist recommends to the romantically frustrated Jane (Priscilla Presley) and Frank (Leslie Nielsen) that they "put on the 24-hour Johnny Mathis station" as part of his prescription for passion.

Mathis first recorded "Twelfth of Never" in 1957. The phrase "twelfth of never" is an adynaton or idiom of improbability, used to express an event that is highly improbable if not impossible (think "when pigs fly" or "when hell freezes over"). In the song, "the twelfth of never" refers to the date the singer will stop loving his darling, meaning that he will forever love her.

Phoenix Rising's JCSon chose to hone his talents at question writing rather than pursue a career in music. It's not for me to say, but chances are he chose well.

Answer: ELO

Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan formed the band The Electric Light Orchestra in Birmingham in 1970. They wanted their music to be a mix of pop with classical overtures, hence the name Electric Light Orchestra (later shortened to ELO). Two singles were released off their third album "On the Third Day". "Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle" featured Marc Bolen of T-Rex on twin lead guitar alongside Jeff Lynne. The other single, "Showdown", was originally recorded as a stand-alone single, because it was recorded under another label. The consequence is that it did not appear on the original album releases in the UK, but did show up on the US releases.

Despite founding member Roy Wood leaving the band early on, the core band stayed together and were successful for thirteen years. They hit their stride around 1975 with "Face The Music", which reached gold status. The following year they went a step further, being awarded platinum albums in the UK and the US for "A New World Record". Since then, ELO had continued in one guise or another, and were still touring and recording in 2019, nearly 50 years later!

Leith 90 gave this question a spin and deemed it a hit.

Answer: Status Quo

Playing in a three piece is not easy as there is no mid-range from a second guitar (Status Quo) or some keyboards (Talking Heads). This means the guitarist has to cover both lead and rhythm roles which results in the bass player needing to step up when the guitar player switches to lead, leaving the bass player to play at least an octave higher to fill in sonically. Some three-piece bands employ a second guitarist when they play live, but Muse, Placebo, and Blink-182 are "traditional" three piece rock bands. Status Quo generally maintained a five member line-up.

This Phoenix Rising question was written by ex-bass guitarist 1nn1 who preferred playing in four and five piece rock bands to help cover his limited talent.

Answer: George Harrison

This was Harrison's seventh studio album and the first one that he would release on his own record label Dark Horse. The collection of songs on this album was seen by critics as a return to form for the ex-Beatle and, amongst its highlights, was the satirical "This Song". That track was the first single to be released from the LP and its focus is the notion of plagiarism in song-writing, a sore point with Harrison at the time, as it came hot on the heels of the court ruling going against him for the song "My Sweet Lord" (1970), a single that was deemed to sound too much like the Chiffons' song "He's So Fine" (1963). Amongst the other highlights on the album were Harrison's tribute to Smokey Robinson ("Pure Smokey") and "Crackerbox Palace", a track inspired by a meeting with comedian Lord Buckley's then manager.

This fab question was presented by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.