Royal watchers are calling it 'the Wedding of the Century' as Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot April 29th.Congratulations to the newlyweds. But that got us here at Rock Talk to thinking about the royalty in rock, so the following 5 questions are all about rock's elite...those that have nicknames of King or Queen or some sort of royal title in their name or in one of their song titles.That's a fairly simple explanation and all 5 of the following questions are fairly simple to answer - IF you know your rock'n'roll. So let's see now, shall we?
QUESTIONS.
1. This performer currently lives in Detroit and for decades has been known simply as 'The Queen of Soul'. She gets all of the 'respect' she deserves from the recording industry with award after award. She was the first female performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1985. Who can she be now?
2. Our next question is about the man who formerly drove a truck for a living. He stopped into a Memphis recording studio one day...and the rest is rock'n'roll history. Somewhere along the way someone nicknamed him 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll'. It was not a title he'd ever give himself as he was from humble southern roots. Y'all know who we're talkin' about here?
3. This artist was a country/pop crossover who in the early 1960's, seemingly came from nowhere with hit after hit on the charts. His first Top Ten song was called "When Two Worlds COllide" on RCA Victor Records, but his most famous hit came in 1965 and was about a hobo who travelled the country, riding the rails, doing what he wanted. Some of the lyrics from this Top 4 hit were 'No phone, no pool, no pets....ain't got no cigarettes." What's the 'royal name of this hit and who was the writer/performer?
4. He survived and prospered after a 'Purple Rain'. He even survived having no name for a while. This incredibly talented superstar surrounded himself on stage with beautiful women and for a time, used a uniquely shaped guitar. No more clues, but can you name this one-name star?
5. Twenty five years before there was Lady Ga-Ga...there was "Radio Gaga". This British group had hit after hit on the charts and first became famous in the mid 1970's. Their lead singer was a flamboyant performer who was fearless on stage. While their musical styles changed over the years, the hits never stopped. The movie "Wayne's World" brought them to a new generation of fans. So who is this 'royal' British group?
ANSWERS
1. 'The Queen of Soul' is Aretha Franklin, but you knew that right away, didn't you?
2. He died in August of 1977, but his legend lives on decades past his death. Long live 'The King of Rock'n'Roll'...Elvis Presley. In May of 1994, his daughter Lisa Marie, married the self nicknamed 'King of Pop', Michael Jackson. Their marriage lasted less than two years. By the way, that truck that Elvis drove was for his job at the Crown Electric Company in Memphis.
3. That would be the "King of The Road' himself, Mr. Roger Miller. Miller's other Top Ten hits included "Dang Me", "Engine Engine # 9", "Chug-A-Lug" and "England Swings". In 1965, he won 6 Grammy Awards. He also wrote the music for the 1985 Broadway hit, "Big River". Roger Miller died of cancer in October 1992 at the age of 56.
4. Prince Rogers Nelson, yep that's his real name, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1958. His hits included "Purple Rain", "Little Red COrvette", and his 5 number one's, "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss", "Batdance" and "Cream". He insisted on using an unpronounceable symbol instead of a name from 1993 until 2000. The media dubbed him, 'the artist formerly known as Prince'. He resumed using the Prince name in 2000.
5. Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Brian May and Freddie Mercury were Queen, whose hits included "Bohemian Rhapsody", We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (a # 1 hit), "Another One Bites The DUst" (another # 1) and the aforementioned "Radio Ga-Ga" in 1984. Lead singer Freddie Mercury died on November 24, 1991.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
ROCKIN' THE COUNTRY
The 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards were presented on April 3rd with Taylor Swift being named 'Entertainer of the Year'. Swift is the youngest performer ever to win this prestigious award. Brad Paisley won 'Male Vocalist of the Year' with Miranda Lambert as 'Female Vocalist of the Year' and although country and rock stay pretty much on their own side of the street these days, back in the 1950's, '60's, '70' and even into the 1980's, country artists and their hits were standing side by side on the singles chart with their rock pals. So this week, we're taking a look at some of those country artists who crossed over into the op charts. These were household names at the time, so it shouldn't be too hard now, should it? Here we go now ya'll.
QUESTIONS:
1. J.R. Ewing (played by actor Larry Hagman) was an nasty dude on the TV series "Dallas". A disc jockey named Gary Burbank had a minor hit in 1980 with "Who Shot J.R.?", a song based on the plot of one of the TV show's season ending cliff hangers. There was one country singer, who's initials were J.R. that had quite a few hits on both the country and the pop charts. His first pop 'crossover' hit, "Four Walls" made it to # 11 on the pop chart in 1957. His last Top 50 hit came in 1966. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the COuntry Music Hall of Fame in 1967. Do you name his name?
2. Another country/pop cossover singer/songwriter whose initials were also J.R. had two of his songs become hits for Elvis Presley. He went on to make the country & pop charts on his own several times. In fact, two of his pop hits made the Top ten chart in 1970 and '71. He later had his own TV series called "Concrete Cowboys" and he co-starred in severalmovies, including "Smokey Anmd The bandit 1 & 2". So who was this 'Hot' country/pop performer?
3. This singer was born in Delight, Arkansas and was a member of a group of elite and very busy Los Angeles session musicians known as 'The Wrecking Crew', who played on hundreds of hit records during the 1960's. This particular guitar player also became a touring member of The Beach Boy for a short while. His singing, and later his TV and movie careers took him to the upper heights of show business fame and fortune. From 1968 until 1972, he had his own TV show called "The ________ __________ Goodtime Hour". He co-starred in several movies, including one with John Wayne. Just wHo is this country/pop superstar?
4. Throughout Hollywood history, there have been many singing cowboys - Tex Ritter, Gene Autry, Jimmy Wakely, Rex Allen and 'The King of The Cowboys' himself, Roy Rogers. Roy and Gene both had long lasting careers in the movies, on record and on TV. Roy Rogers TV theme song, "Happy Trails", written by Roy's wife and TV show co-star Dale Evans, was used at the end of their weekly TV show. A cover version of "Happy Trails" was recorded by a 1980's heavy metal band. What's the name of this band? Extra props if you can name the album it was on.
5. This country/pop crossover singer was born in Texas and in the early 1960's, was a member of The Kirby Stone Four and The New Christy Minstrels. He then formed a pop group called The First Edition and they had two Top 10 hits in the late 1960's. This performer then went solo and his career skyrocketed with hit after hit on both the country and pop charts. His first number one pop hit happened in 1980 with a song written by Lionel Richie of The Commodores. His second number one, in 1983, was a duet with a female country/pop superstar. The singer we're we're looking for also became an actor in movies and TV. He branched out into the restauarant business for awhile, but that didn't last very long. Who is he?
ANSWERS
1. Jim Reeves was the man in question. Reeves' biggest pop hit was 1960's "He'll Have To Go". Reeves died in a plane crash on July 31,1973 at the age of 40. He charted 80 country hits during his life and even after it from 1953 until 1984. His last 7 songs that hit the pop charts came after his tragic death.
2. Remember "Amos Moses"? How about 1971's "When You're Hot, You're Hot"? Jerry Reed wrote 'em and 'sang 'em. The two songs he wrote that Elvis recorded were "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man".
3. Glen Campbell was the name we're looking for. Glen charted almost 40 songs on the Pop singles chart, but his only two number one hits were "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1975 and "Southern Nights" in 1977. That movie he co-starred in with John Wayne was "True Grit". He also was in "Norwood" and "Strange Homecoming". He charted some 75 country hits.
4. Roy Rogers famous theme song, "Happy Trails" can be heard on Van Halen's 1982 album, "Diver Down". David Lee Roth did a fine job singing it too. Roy and Dale would have been proud.
5. Did you ever eat at a Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant? It was actually pretty good food. One episode of the TV series "Seinfeld" centered around a Kenny Rogers restaurant. Kenny charted over 40 songs on the Pop singles chart and many more on the country charts. His only number one pop hits were "Lady" in 1980, written by Lionel Richie and "Islands In The Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton in 1983.
QUESTIONS:
1. J.R. Ewing (played by actor Larry Hagman) was an nasty dude on the TV series "Dallas". A disc jockey named Gary Burbank had a minor hit in 1980 with "Who Shot J.R.?", a song based on the plot of one of the TV show's season ending cliff hangers. There was one country singer, who's initials were J.R. that had quite a few hits on both the country and the pop charts. His first pop 'crossover' hit, "Four Walls" made it to # 11 on the pop chart in 1957. His last Top 50 hit came in 1966. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the COuntry Music Hall of Fame in 1967. Do you name his name?
2. Another country/pop cossover singer/songwriter whose initials were also J.R. had two of his songs become hits for Elvis Presley. He went on to make the country & pop charts on his own several times. In fact, two of his pop hits made the Top ten chart in 1970 and '71. He later had his own TV series called "Concrete Cowboys" and he co-starred in severalmovies, including "Smokey Anmd The bandit 1 & 2". So who was this 'Hot' country/pop performer?
3. This singer was born in Delight, Arkansas and was a member of a group of elite and very busy Los Angeles session musicians known as 'The Wrecking Crew', who played on hundreds of hit records during the 1960's. This particular guitar player also became a touring member of The Beach Boy for a short while. His singing, and later his TV and movie careers took him to the upper heights of show business fame and fortune. From 1968 until 1972, he had his own TV show called "The ________ __________ Goodtime Hour". He co-starred in several movies, including one with John Wayne. Just wHo is this country/pop superstar?
4. Throughout Hollywood history, there have been many singing cowboys - Tex Ritter, Gene Autry, Jimmy Wakely, Rex Allen and 'The King of The Cowboys' himself, Roy Rogers. Roy and Gene both had long lasting careers in the movies, on record and on TV. Roy Rogers TV theme song, "Happy Trails", written by Roy's wife and TV show co-star Dale Evans, was used at the end of their weekly TV show. A cover version of "Happy Trails" was recorded by a 1980's heavy metal band. What's the name of this band? Extra props if you can name the album it was on.
5. This country/pop crossover singer was born in Texas and in the early 1960's, was a member of The Kirby Stone Four and The New Christy Minstrels. He then formed a pop group called The First Edition and they had two Top 10 hits in the late 1960's. This performer then went solo and his career skyrocketed with hit after hit on both the country and pop charts. His first number one pop hit happened in 1980 with a song written by Lionel Richie of The Commodores. His second number one, in 1983, was a duet with a female country/pop superstar. The singer we're we're looking for also became an actor in movies and TV. He branched out into the restauarant business for awhile, but that didn't last very long. Who is he?
ANSWERS
1. Jim Reeves was the man in question. Reeves' biggest pop hit was 1960's "He'll Have To Go". Reeves died in a plane crash on July 31,1973 at the age of 40. He charted 80 country hits during his life and even after it from 1953 until 1984. His last 7 songs that hit the pop charts came after his tragic death.
2. Remember "Amos Moses"? How about 1971's "When You're Hot, You're Hot"? Jerry Reed wrote 'em and 'sang 'em. The two songs he wrote that Elvis recorded were "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man".
3. Glen Campbell was the name we're looking for. Glen charted almost 40 songs on the Pop singles chart, but his only two number one hits were "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1975 and "Southern Nights" in 1977. That movie he co-starred in with John Wayne was "True Grit". He also was in "Norwood" and "Strange Homecoming". He charted some 75 country hits.
4. Roy Rogers famous theme song, "Happy Trails" can be heard on Van Halen's 1982 album, "Diver Down". David Lee Roth did a fine job singing it too. Roy and Dale would have been proud.
5. Did you ever eat at a Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant? It was actually pretty good food. One episode of the TV series "Seinfeld" centered around a Kenny Rogers restaurant. Kenny charted over 40 songs on the Pop singles chart and many more on the country charts. His only number one pop hits were "Lady" in 1980, written by Lionel Richie and "Islands In The Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton in 1983.
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