Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Rock’n’roll trivia time once again gang. This week, we’re traveling back to the 1970’s.
Our topic this week is ONE HIT WONDERS. By this, I mean artists or groups that had
ONE Top 10 hit. They may have had other songs make the charts, but they only made it
into the Top 10 ONCE. Some of these might be a little tough, but there’s usually a clue in
each question. We have 10 questions, so give yourself 10 points for each correct answer
and let’s see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the questions.
No fair peeking. Good luck.

1. This group from the Netherlands ‘shocked’ the world with several million selling singles,
yet they only had one # 1 on the Billboard charts. The group was anything but ‘blue’
about their success. Can you name this 1970 chart topping hit?

2. This artist engineering many of The Beatles hits and went on to produce Pink Floyd
among others. In 1973, a song he wrote AND sang made it to # 2 on the Billboard singles
chart. Oh Babe, can you name him?

3. She was the daughter of one of the pioneers of pop music. In the Fall of 1977, she ‘lit up’
the Billboard singles chart with her only # 1 hit, which stayed at the top of the charts for a
then record 10 weeks. Can you name her? (HINT: She’s a descendent of one of the heroes
of The Alamo.)

4. This soul/funk group originated in Scotland and although they did have several charted hits,
their ONLY # 1 happened on February 22nd, 1974. One of the members of this group
later worked with Paul McCartney. Can you name the hitmakers?

5. This performer actually made the Top 10 twice with the SAME song. It was a ‘Monster’ hit
in 1962 and went all the way to # 1. It was re-released in 1973 and made it as far as # 10.
Can you name this song and artist?

6. This group yodeled their way into the # 9 spot in the summer of 1973. The name of the
group was Focus. “Hocus Pocus” was the song. Which country was Focus from?
a. Sweden b. Norway C. Holland

7. Rappers these days, are on the charts constantly. Everybody’s rapping, but this American
group was the FIRST to make it all the way to # 1 with a song ABOUT a rapper. Can you
name this group?

8. This 1976 # 1 hit about a trucker inspired a movie of the same name. Can you name the
song and the singer?

9. This song was a ‘pop music’ smash in 1979 making it to the # 1 position. ‘Initially’, the
writer/singer said in interviews that his intent was 'trying to create a fusion of styles that
summarized the previous 25 years of music'. What was the songs’ title and who sang it?

10. This California born singer/songwriter was a member of the 1960’s band Spirit and in the
1970’s, he co-founded the group Jo Jo Gunne. In April 1978, his most successful solo hit
‘thundered’ onto Billboards’ Top 10 chart at # 9, where it remained for 2 weeks. Can you
name the artist and his hit?

ANSWERS

1. The song was “Venus” by The Shocking Blue, who hailed from The Hague, Netherlands.
They formed in 1967 and by 1973, had sold over 13 million records, mostly in The
Netherlands. Shocking Blue disbanded in 1974. In 1989, Nirvana, on their debut album
“Bleach” on the Sub Pop label, covered the Shocking Blue song “Love Buzz”.

2. Norman ‘Hurricane’ Smith engineered The Beatles first album in 1963 and continued until
“Rubber Soul” in 1965. He then became a record producer, working with Pink Floyd on their
debut album, “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” as well as “A Saucerful of Secrets” and
“Ummagumma”. He also produced British groups The Pretty Things and Barcley James
Harvest. On Febuary 17th, 1973, his hit, “Oh Babe, What Would You Say?’ was the # 3 song
on Billboard’s singles chart. Norman Smith died in March of 2008.

3. That would be Debbie Boone. Her song was “You Light Up My Life”. Debbie won a Grammy
Award in 1978 as “Best New Artist”. In the 1980’s, Debbie was recorded more country
material. Her father is ‘50’s & ‘60’s hitmaker Pat Boone and yes, she is a decendant of Daniel
Boone, who died at The Alamo.

4. The Average White Band is the name of the group. Their # 1 hit was the classic instrumental
“Pick up The Pieces”. Their original guitar player, Hamish Stuart, later joined Paul
McCartney’s touring band.

5. Remember “Monster Mash” by Bobby (Boris) Pickett? Pickett had a nightclub act in the late
1950’s and got his nickname because of his spot on impression of horror film actor Boris
Karloff. It was # 1 in 1962, then resurfaced on the chart briefly in 1970, then hit the Top 10
again in 1973. Pickett died in 2007.

6. Focus was formed in Amsterdam, Holland. Jan Akkerman, Thijs van Leer, Martin Dresdan
and Hans Cleuver were the Four original members of Focus.

7. The Jaggerz made it to # 2 in 1970 with the song “The Rapper”. The Jaggerz’ lead singer,
Donnie Iris, went on to a successful solo career with a string of hits in the 1980’s. His
two biggest hits were “Ah! Leah!” in 1980/81 which got to # 29 and 1982’s “My Girl” which
went to # 25.

8. C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” was # 1 in 1976. Two years later, a movie inspired by the song was
in theatres. “Convoy”, the film, directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah, starred Kris
Kristofferson as Martin ‘Rubber Duck’ Penwald. The movie also starred Ali McGraw, Ernest
Borgnine and Burt Young (who played Paulie in the “Rocky” series of movies).

9. M (real name Robin Scott) was the lead singer and writer of “Pop Muzik” which hit # 1 for
one week in November of 1979. A cover version of the song appeared on the soundtrack
album for the 1998 movie, “A Night At The Roxbury” starring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan.
The film was based on a recurring skit from TV’s Saturday Night Live.

10. Jay Ferguson was born in Burbank, California (home to NBC, Universal, Warner Brothers
and the Walt Disney Studios) was a member of the groups Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne. In April
1978, his most successful solo hit, “Thunder Island” landed in the # 9 spot on Billboard’s Top
10 chart. The song remained # 9 for 2 weeks, then dropped out of the Top 10.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

It’s time for even more rock’n’roll trivia. Get your brain matter rockin’ and we’ll start rollin’ right now. This time, it’s the ‘WHAT’ quiz. Give yourself 10 points for each correct answer and let’s see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are at the end, so if you’re ready, let’s get started…

1. In WHAT U.S. city was Bob Dylan born?

2. Three British-born brothers formed a musical group in the
late 1950’s and went on to become a world wide phenomenon
with sales of over 200 million records/cassettes/CD’s during
the 1960’s and ‘70’s. WHAT is the name of their group?

3. In the early 1960’s, a hit record by Ernest Evans helped
create a major dance craze around the world. WHAT name
did Ernest Evans perform under?

4. The Grammy Awards have been handed out since 1958.
WHAT is the name of the only solo artist (or group) to have
to return their Grammy?

5. In the history of Billboard magazine, first published in 1894,
only ONE artist (or group) has had the top 5 singles on the
‘Hot 100’ chart. WHAT is the name of this artist or group?

6. In WHAT city is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame located?
a. Memphis b. Cleveland c. Los Angeles

7. This successful actor had several hit TV series. On record,
he recorded a version of The Beatles “Lucy In The Sky With
Diamonds”. WHAT is the name of this actor?

8. Rock’n’roll has a sad history of losing some of its’ hitmakers
at a young age. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison of The
Doors and The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones were each 27 when
they died. Drummers Keith Moon of The Who and Led
Zeppelin’s John Bonham both passed away at the age of 33.
The youngest rock’n’roll star to perish accidentally was only 17
years old. WHAT is his or her name?

9. Rock performers sometimes change their name several times
before becoming successful. Caesar & Cleo became Sonny &
Cher. The Golliwogs changed their name to Creedance
Clearwater Revival. The Four Lovers became The Four
Seasons (aka “The Jersey boys”). WHAT name did Tom &
Jerry choose that took them to the top of the charts several
times?

10. The name Led Zeppelin was given to the group by The Who
drummer Keith Moon. WHAT was the original name of the
group?

ANSWERS

1. Bob Dylan (real name of Robert Allen Zimmerman), was born
in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24, 1941. His family moved to
Hibbing, Minnesota when Bob was 6 years old.

2. Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb formed The Bee Gees and had
many hit records, including “Words”, “To Love Somebody”,
“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, “Stayin’ Alive”, “You
Should Be Dancing”, “How Deep Is Your Love”. Their
younger brother Andy also had several hit records, many
written and produced by brother Barry.

3. Ernest Evans, better known as Chubby Checker (a name
given to him by the then-wife of American Bandstand host
Dick Clark), recorded “The Twist”, a song that was number
one in both 1960 and 1962. Chubby is still performing today.

4. Milli Vanilli, so far, is the only group (or solo artist) that has
been asked to return their Grammy Award. The reason was
because the groups’ two supposed lead singers (Fabrice
Morvan and Rob Pilatus) did not sing on Milli Vanilli’s debut
album. They were recruited as front men by songwriter/
producer Frank Farian after the first album had already been
recorded. Rob Pilatus was found dead of an apparent drug
overdose in a Frankfurt, Germany hotel room in 1998. Milli
Vanilli won their Grammy as ‘Best New Artist’ in February of
1990 and the Grammy organization recalled the award in
November that same year.

5. That would be The Beatles, who, on the Billboard chart of
April 4, 1964 had the number 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 song. # 1 was
“Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Twist And Shout” was # 2, # 3 was
“She Loves You”; “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was at # 4
and “Please Please” was # 5.

6. The Rock and Roll hall of Fame + Museum is located in
b. Cleveland.

7. William Shatner’s version of The Beatles, “Lucy In The Sky
With Diamonds” is a classic, with the actor ‘speaking’ the
song in his best Captain James T. Kirk style. His hit TV
series include “Star Trek” (1966 – 1969), “T.J. Hooker”
(1982 – 1986), “Rescue 911” (1989 – 1996) and “Boston Legal”
(2004 – 2008). He’s also appeared in dozens of other TV
shows, including one iconic episode of “The Twilight Zone”.
Montreal born Shatner has a new TV series airing this fall
titled “S#*t My Father Says”.

8. 17 year old Ritchie Valens was killed on February 3, 1959 in
the same plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly
and J. P Richardson (aka The Big Bopper). Roger Peterson,
the pilot, died as well. The three stars had just finished a
concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa and were on
their way to their next gig when the plane went down.

9. Tom & Jerry decided to use their real last names – (Paul)
Simon & (Art) Garfunkel.

10. Before Led Zeppelin became world famous rock’n’rollers, they were called The New
Yardbirds.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

It’s another round of rock’n’roll trivia. Hope you’re enjoying this feature. This time, it’s the ‘Who’ quiz….and we’re not talking about the ‘60’s group from England who had the rock opera “Tommy” or recorded the theme songs from all 3 CSI television series. You’ll figure it out pretty quickly. Answers are at the end, so if you’re ready, here we go…

1. WHO was the first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame?

2. WHO was the teenager who was pulled up on stage from the
audience in Bruce Springsteen’s video for “Dancing In The
Dark? (HINT: she later became a famous TV star)

3. One of the all time greatest blues performers was born
McKinley Morganfield in 1915 in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. He
influenced rock legends Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and
The Rolling Stones along with many others. In fact, the
Stones took their name from one of his songs. WHO is he?

4. WHO made the following statement: “Rock and roll is phony
and false, and sung, written and played, for the most part, by
cretinous goons”? (HINT: He was a world famous singer and
actor).

5. James Brown was nicknamed ‘The Godfather of Soul’. Guitar
legend Eric Clapton is also known as ‘Slowhand’. Michael
Jackson nicknamed himself ‘The King of Pop’. WHO has the
nickname of ‘The Killer’?

6. WHO is the performer that likes to refer to her audience as
‘monsters’? (HINT: She’s a fashion icon).

7. In 1978, the movie “American Hot Wax” was released. It’s
loosely based on the life of pioneering disc jockey Alan Freed,
who is credited with coining the phrase ’rock’n’roll’. In the film,
Freed’s driver/sidekick is played by a current late night talk
show host. WHO is it?

8. This contemporary hitmaker, whose real name is Katheryn
Elizabeth Hudson is engaged to marry British comedian/actor
Russell Brand. Her current hit is “California Gurls”. WHO is she?

ANSWERS

1. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin was the first female
inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

2. That teenager was Courtney Cox, who went on to star in the
hit TV series “Friends”.

3. That blues great changed his name from McKinley
Morganfield to Muddy Waters.

4. Frank Sinatra, whose nickname was the ‘Chairman of the
Board’, said that about rock’n’roll.

5. ‘The Killer’ is much better known as legendary rock’n’roll
piano man, Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1989, Dennis Quaid starred
as Jerry Lee in the movie “Great Balls Of Fire”. In the film,
“Rock 30” actor Alec Baldwin played Jerry Lee’s cousin and
television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart.

6. That would be Lady Gaga.

7. The late night talk show host who appeared in the movie
“American Hot Wax” is Jay Leno. His character’s name was
Mookie.

8. The “California Gurls” girl is Katy Perry.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Real names Trivia

Howdy, welcome to the blog. We'll start off with some real name trivia. Enjoy.

BEYONCE – Her real name is actually Beyonce Giselle Knowles. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Beyonce first became famous as a member of the group Destiny’s Child. Her father Mathew was the groups’ manager.

PINK – Whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and was performing in Philadelphia clubs by the age of 14. Her nickname, Pink, was given to her by friends because she blushed often and was easily embarrassed.

GENE SIMMONS – The KISS frontman with the tantalizing tongue and the hit TV show “Family Jewels”, was born in Haifa, Israel as Chaim Klein Witz. One of his early jobs included teaching 6th grade in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City.

LADY GAGA – The woman who changes outfits more often than Elton John goes by the real name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. She enrolled in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts at the age of 17. By 19, she was signed to Def Jam Records, but was dropped from the label 3 months later. She once recorded an EP of ballads with some friends from NYU under the name The Stefani Germanotta Band.

FRANKIE VALLI – The man with the amazing falsetto and lead singer of The Four Seasons, whose history is chronicled in the hit play “The Jersey Boys”, was
born in New Jersey, naturally, as Frank Castelluccio.

BONO – The U2 frontman and social activist is also known by his real name of Paul David Hewson. When U2 began, Hewson used the name Bono Vox, but eventually dropped the Vox.

ALICE COOPER – The ‘shock’ rocker and radio host of “Nights With Alice Cooper” heard on over 100 radio stations around the world, was born in Detroit, Michigan as Vincent Damon Furnier.

FLAVOR FLAV – He’s the guy with the giant clock around his neck, star of the reality TV show, “Flavor Of Love”, and former member of the group Public Enemy. His real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr.

STING – Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner is this former Police man’s real name. He was born in Wallsend, England and his nickname came from performing in a band called The Phoenix Jazzmen and he wore a black and white sweater with stripes onstage. One of his bandmates thought the sweater made him look like a wasp, hence the nickname Sting.

ICE-T – The former rapper and co-star of NBC-TV’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” was born in Newark, New Jersey. His parents named him Tracy Lauren Marrow. After the death of his parents, T moved to Los Angeles to live with his aunt in South Central LA. He got involved with local street gangs and eventually became a member of the West Side Rollin 30’s Original Harlem Crips.