I was watching a hit TV show the other night and just happened to be taping the end credits. I saw a name I recognized as the person who'd written the theme song. I had no idea that he'd done this theme, so that got me to thinking about other TV show themes written by musicians you might not have thought did those things. Now, I'm not talking about the CSI franchise that uses The Who's songs for their themes. These are, for the most part, original theme songs written for the specific programs although for the purpose of this quiz, one of the themes was re-recorded from a hit song.
So that's the basis of this week's quiz. Hopefully, I explained it well enough...so as Jackie Gleason used to say when he finished his opening monologue and segued into the rest of his weekly TV program..."And away we go".
QUESTIONS:
1. The theme from "The Office", the North American version (not the Ricky Gervais British original), starts with a short, catchy piano tune. It's a very distinctive theme. There are no words, but none are really needed. The composer of "The Office" theme is a former member of the rock groups Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne and scored two Top hits on his own. In 1978, he went Top Ten with "Thunder Island" and in '79 'Cruised' into the Top 40 with his second chart hit. Can you name this artist/TV theme composer?
2. Unfortunately, this singer/songwriter recently passed away, but during his career, he had one Top Ten hit and one that made the Top 30. His father and mother were famous musicians, although not in the rock field, and this artist wrote the themes for not one, but two successful TV series. One featured three 'Golden Girls' in Florida and the other theme was for a hit series set in New York starring Paul Riser and Helen Hunt. Big props if you can name the singer/songwriter AND the two hit series his songs were featured in as the theme.
3. "You're gonna make it after all" is a lyric that was made famous as part of the theme song for a super successful TV series starring a female actress who worked in a fictional TV newsroom with an angry boss and a kinda-sorta dumb anchorman. The series was usually # 1 during its run from 1970 until 1977. The theme was titled, "Love IS All Around" and another lyric from the theme was "Who can turn the world on with a smile. Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile." Sure, now you know the theme don't you? Ok, here's the tough part. Who wrote and sang that theme? (HINT: Think Buddy Holly, but remember he died in a plane crash in 1959).
4. The Disney Channel hit TV series "Hanna Montana" starred Miley Cyrus as a average everyday teen who lived a secret life as a pop star. The theme song that ran at the beginning of every episode was called "Best of Both Worlds" and was co-written by a man who had two Top Ten hits and a couple of other lesser hits during the late 1980's, early '90's. Who co-wrote the "Hanna Montana" theme song? (HINT: It's not singer Aaron Neville, but the name is somewhat similar).
5. Women tuned in to this hit TV series to see Bo and Luke, but men were glued to the screen when Daisy came on with her tight fitting outfits. This series, set in the southern U.S., also featured a famous car painted like a Confederate flag. The theme song was written and sung by a country music legend, who also narrated this series. Can you name both the singer and the TV series?
ANSWERS:
1. Jay Ferguson, the man who had a Top Ten hit in 1978 with "Thunder Island" and a Top 40 hit in 1979 with the song "Shakedown Cruise" is the gentleman who wrote the catchy theme for "The Office".
2. The late Andrew Gold wrote the theme for Paul Riser's TV series, "Mad About You" that ran from 1992 until 1999. The song was called "Final Frontier". Andrew's prior success was when his # 25 hit, "Thank You For Being A Friend' was adapted as the theme to "The Golden Girls" which aired between 1985 until 1992. Andrew Gold died on June 3 of this year at the age of 59. His father was Academy Award winning composer Ernest Gold and his mother, Marni Nixon, supplied the singing voice for actresses such as Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady", Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and Deborah Kerr in "The King And I". Gold had played on records by and toured with Linda Ronstadt from 1973 until '77 and then occasionally during the '80's and '90's.
3. The Mary Tyler Moore theme song, "Love Is All Around", was written and performed by Sonny Curtis, who was the lead guitar player in Buddy Holly's Crickets. Sonny was also in Buddy's pre-Crickets group, The Three Tunes. After Buddy's plane crash, Sonny worked with The Everly Brothers. He's written several hit songs, including "I Fought The Law" which was a hit for the Bobby Fuller Four; "Walk Right Back" recorded by The Everly Brothers; "More Than I Can Say' which was a minor hit in 1961 for Bobby Vee and in 1980, went to # 2 with a version by Leo Sayer. Sonny also co-wrote the # 1 country hit, "I'm No Stranger To The Rain", sung by Keith Whitely. His songs have been recorded by Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Perry Como and Andy Williams as well as The Clash and Dead Kennedys.
4. Robbie Nevil and co-writer Matthew Gerrard wrote the "Hanna Montana" theme song, "Best of Both Worlds". Robbie's biggest hit, 1988's "C'est La Vie", went to # 2 on Billboard's singles chart.
5. The title song to "The Dukes of Hazard" TV series was written and performed by Waylon Jennings, who was credited as "The Balladeer". The hit TV show aired from 1979 to 1985 and Waylon's work was featured in 132 episodes, ironically more than episodes than the two stars, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, who are credited on 128 programs. The two held out for more money and left the show for a time. There were 146 episodes in the series in total. The Dukes car, known as the General Lee was featured in 142 episodes.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hurray! Huzzah! Whooppee!!!
The Collingwood Elvis Festival is finally here (Thursday July 21 to Sunday July 24th), so if you're in the Collingwood, Ontario area (oh heck, even if you're in Columbus Ohio or Hartford, Connecticut), c'mon up to Collingwood and join in the celebrations of the King of Rock and Roll. There are hundreds of Elvis Tribute artists to enjoy, lots of incredible music and plenty of fun, fun, fun (wait that was a Beach Boys song, not an Elvis one).
True Elvis fans will once again have no problems with any of these questions.
QUESTIONS:
1. While living and filming movies in Hollywood during the 1960's, Elvis met The Beatles. True or false?
2. Elvis worked with many female actresses throughout his movie career, including Barbara Stanwyck (1964's "Roustabout"), Tuesday Weld (1961's "Wild In The Country"), Mary Tyler Moore (1969's "Change Of Habit"), Shelley Fabares (1965's "Girl Happy",'66's "Spinout" & '67's "Clambake") and Ann-Margaret (1964's "Viva Las Vegas"). Which one of the following three actresses did Elvis NOT work with in any of his movies: a. Mary Tyler Moore b. Nancy Sinatra c. Ava Gardner
3. In 1968 Elvis starred in a TV special for Singer Sewing Machines as the sponsor. It later became known as the Comeback Special, but it was simply titled "Elvis", Which television network aired this special?
4. Where did Elvis and Priscella get married?
5. Linda Thompson was Elvis' girlfriend from 1972 until '76. Although she never married Elvis, she did later marry two other famous men (separately of course). One was an Olympic champion and the other was a 15 time Grammy Award winner. Can you name these two former husbands of Linda Thompson?
ANSWERS:
1. You betcha those musical icons of the 1960's met. Elvis was living at 565 Perugia Way in Bel-Air (an exclusive area of Los Angeles) and on Friday night, August 27, 1965, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came a-callin'. They arrived at 10 o'clock at night, stayed until 2AM and a good time was had by all.
2. No trick question this time. The correct answer is c. Ava Gardner, although Ava DID co-star in a real-life marriage with another music idol. From 1951 until '57, she was married to Frank Sinatra. It was Ava's third and final marriage. Frank's daughter Nancy Sinatra (from his previous marriage) co-starred with Elvis in 1968's "Speedway"
3. NBC aired the "Elvis" special. NBC and RCA Victor, Elvis' record label, were both owned by General Electric so that may have helped NBC snag the King's special. Colonel Tom Parker had wanted Elvis to end the special with a Christmas tune, but producer Steve Binder convinced Elvis to sing a song especially written for the TV special called "If I Can Dream". "Elvis" aired at 9PM on December 3, 1958 and was the most watched TV special of 1968 by women 18 to 49 years of age.
4. Elvis and Priscilla Beaulieu became man and wife on May 1, 1967 in a suite at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The two honeymooned in Palm Springs, California, then moved into a mansion in Beverly Hills. They divorced in 1973.
5. Linda Thompson went on to marry Olympic Gold Medal decathlete Bruce Jenner (he's now Kim Kardashian's step-dad) in 1981. They had two sons and divorced in '84. In 1991, Linda married Canadian born musician, record producer and composer David Foster. She filed for divorce from David in 2005.
True Elvis fans will once again have no problems with any of these questions.
QUESTIONS:
1. While living and filming movies in Hollywood during the 1960's, Elvis met The Beatles. True or false?
2. Elvis worked with many female actresses throughout his movie career, including Barbara Stanwyck (1964's "Roustabout"), Tuesday Weld (1961's "Wild In The Country"), Mary Tyler Moore (1969's "Change Of Habit"), Shelley Fabares (1965's "Girl Happy",'66's "Spinout" & '67's "Clambake") and Ann-Margaret (1964's "Viva Las Vegas"). Which one of the following three actresses did Elvis NOT work with in any of his movies: a. Mary Tyler Moore b. Nancy Sinatra c. Ava Gardner
3. In 1968 Elvis starred in a TV special for Singer Sewing Machines as the sponsor. It later became known as the Comeback Special, but it was simply titled "Elvis", Which television network aired this special?
4. Where did Elvis and Priscella get married?
5. Linda Thompson was Elvis' girlfriend from 1972 until '76. Although she never married Elvis, she did later marry two other famous men (separately of course). One was an Olympic champion and the other was a 15 time Grammy Award winner. Can you name these two former husbands of Linda Thompson?
ANSWERS:
1. You betcha those musical icons of the 1960's met. Elvis was living at 565 Perugia Way in Bel-Air (an exclusive area of Los Angeles) and on Friday night, August 27, 1965, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came a-callin'. They arrived at 10 o'clock at night, stayed until 2AM and a good time was had by all.
2. No trick question this time. The correct answer is c. Ava Gardner, although Ava DID co-star in a real-life marriage with another music idol. From 1951 until '57, she was married to Frank Sinatra. It was Ava's third and final marriage. Frank's daughter Nancy Sinatra (from his previous marriage) co-starred with Elvis in 1968's "Speedway"
3. NBC aired the "Elvis" special. NBC and RCA Victor, Elvis' record label, were both owned by General Electric so that may have helped NBC snag the King's special. Colonel Tom Parker had wanted Elvis to end the special with a Christmas tune, but producer Steve Binder convinced Elvis to sing a song especially written for the TV special called "If I Can Dream". "Elvis" aired at 9PM on December 3, 1958 and was the most watched TV special of 1968 by women 18 to 49 years of age.
4. Elvis and Priscilla Beaulieu became man and wife on May 1, 1967 in a suite at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The two honeymooned in Palm Springs, California, then moved into a mansion in Beverly Hills. They divorced in 1973.
5. Linda Thompson went on to marry Olympic Gold Medal decathlete Bruce Jenner (he's now Kim Kardashian's step-dad) in 1981. They had two sons and divorced in '84. In 1991, Linda married Canadian born musician, record producer and composer David Foster. She filed for divorce from David in 2005.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Collingwood Elvis Festival
It's that wonderful time of year again. Time to celebrate all things Elvis. The annual Collingwood Elvis Festival is almost here, so in honour of 'The King of Rock 'N' Roll", for the next two weeks, the questions will be all about Elvis. True Elvis fans won't have a problem with any of these, so good luck.
Well, I guess there's not much else to say, except "thank you! Thank you very much!"
QUESTIONS
1. Elvis' mom Gladys was 46 when she died in 1958. Elvis was 42 when he died in 1977. At what age was Elvis' father when he passed away?
2. After Elvis received his draft notice in 1957, the Draft Board gave him a 60 day deferrment to complete a movie. Which movie was it?
3. Any Elvis fan knows that his full name is Elvis Aaron Presley (although his birth certificate issued by the state of Mississippi misspelled it as Aron. His Social Security card also spelled it Aron). He had a twin brother who died at birth. What was the full name of Elvis' twin?
4. Sam Phillips of Sun Records was the man who signed and recorded Elvis for the first time. His first release on Sun was "That's All Right". Which popular Memphis disc jockey played it for the very first time?
5. There are dozens of names that Elvis was given for various movies. One of the following three names was not an Elvis movie character's name. Can you guess the wrong one? a. Danny Fisher b. Lonnie Beale c. Jimmy Tomkins.
ANSWERS
1. Elvis' dad, Vernon Elvis Presley, died on June 26, 1979 at the age of 63. He outlived his son by less than two years.
2. The movie Elvis completed before he reported for induction into the U.S. Army was "King Creole". Elvis received a 60 day deferrment from the Army to finish the movie and reported for induction on March 24, 1958.
3. The full name of Elvis' twin was Jesse Garon Presley. He was delivered stillborn on January 8, 1935.
4. Although he wasn't related to Sam Phillips, the DJ's name was Dewey Phillips who worked at WHBQ in Memphis.
5. Sorry, this one was a trick question. Elvis played all three of these characters in various movies. Danny Fisher was the name of Elvis' character in 1958's "King Creole"; He played Lonnie Beale in "Tickle Me", released in 1965; Elvis played Jimmy Tomkins in 1956's "Loving You". It was only Elvis' second movie. A few of the other names Elvis was given for movie characters include: Clint Reno ("Love Me Tender"), Tulsa McLean ("G.I. Blues"), Pacer Burton ("Flaming Star") and Toby Kwimper ("Follow That Dream") .
Saturday, July 9, 2011
SUMMER
Just in case you hadn't noticed, summer is officially here (unless you live in Australia where it's now winter), so we thought this week we'd make our trivia quiz fit the season. As usual, there are 5 questions and each one is about a song with summer in the title. There's one question from the 1950's, '60's, '70's, '80's and '90's but they aren't in chronological order, so good luck.
QUESTIONS:
1. During the 1970's, there were a couple of 'summer' songs that made the singles chart, including "Summer Nights" from Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in 1978, "Summertime Blues" from The Who in 1970 and "Summer" by War in 1976, but the summer song we're looking for charted in 1972 from a duo that were former members of The Champs from 1958 until 1965. That's the group that had the 1958 hit "Tequila", although these two joined the band after the hit happened. One of them had a hit making brother who was also one half of a duo, if that helps at all. Think Summer and see if you can come up with the duo and the hit song that made it to # 6.
2. There'll be no tag days for this superstar. He easily made a successful transition from music to TV acting to movie star. He's originally from Philadelphia and, as part of a recording duo, had hits from 1986 until 1993 when he went solo, starred in a TV series based on his recording character, then hit the motherlode with film stardom. He's also scored three # 1 hits as a solo performer, two of which came from movies he starred in. In the summer of 1991, he and his musical partner had the biggest hit of their career with a 'summer' song. Can you name the this Ten hit as well as the name of the performer?
3. This singer/songwriter died at the age of 21, but not before he had 7 hits on the singles chart. His first hit, "Sittin' In The Balcony", came in 1957 and made it to # 18. His biggest though happened the following year (1958) when a song he wrote zoomed all the way up to # 8. Several other performers have recorded this hit, including Blue Cheer, The Who and country artist Alan Jackson. The question is - who's the artist and what was his 'summer' hit?
4. He was a founding member of a 'high flying' group that formerly backed up Linda Ronstadt on tour. Many, many hits from that group hit the charts, they were the darlings of both FM and AM radio. They famously broke up, saying they'd get back together "When Hell Freezes Over". Naturally, they did get back together and named their 1994 reunion album, "Hell Freezes Over". This performer also had a hugely successful solo career in the 1980's and '90's with 6 Top Ten hits (although he never made # 1, something his old band did 5 times in the 1970's. The song we're lookin for went Top 5 in 1985. So who's the performer and what was his 'summer' song? (HINT: If you think baseball, you'll be very close)
5. "Summertime", "A Summer Song", "Summer's Comin'" and "In The Summertime" are just four 'summer' songs from the 1960's. The song we're looking for though, came from a group that had 3 American members and 1 Canadian. This was their first and only # 1 hit. From 1965 until 1967, this group had 7 Top Ten hits. They supplied the musical for several '60's films, including Woody Allen's "Waht's Up Tiger Lily" and Francis Ford Coppolla's "You're A Big Boy Now". Can you name the group and their # 1 'summer' hit?
ANSWERS:
1. In 1972, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, better known as Seals & Crofts, had the # 6 song with "Summer Breeze". Jim Seals brother, Dan Seals was one half of England Dan & John Ford COley, who had such hits in the '70's as "I'd Really Love To See You Again" and "Nights Are Forever Without You".
2. Before he became an 'A' list movie star, Will Smith was known as The Fresh Prince. In 1991, D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince took the song "Summertime" to # 4 on Billboards' Hot 100 singles chart. Two of the # 1 hits he had as a solo artist were "Men In Black" and "Wild Wild West", both films Will starred in.
3. In 1958, Eddie Cochrane recorded "Summertime Blues", which as the question states, has been covered by several other artists over the years. Cochrane died in a car crash during a British tour in 1960. While his recording career was short, his legacy lives on with songs he wrote, including "C'mon Everybody", being performed by the likes of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The White Stripes and The Sex Pistols.
4. Don Henley, a founding member of The Eagles, took his solo song, "The Boys Of Summer" to # 5 on February 9, 1985.
5. The 1960's summer hit we were looking for was "Summer In The City" by The Lovin' Spoonful, which was # 1 during the week of August 13, 1966 and remained # 1 for 3 weeks. It was replaced by Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". The Lovin' Spoonful were lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian, Canadian Zal Yanovsky on lead guitar, Steve Butler on bass and drummer Joe Butler. The group was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and not a second too soon as Zal Yanovsky died two years later.
QUESTIONS:
1. During the 1970's, there were a couple of 'summer' songs that made the singles chart, including "Summer Nights" from Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in 1978, "Summertime Blues" from The Who in 1970 and "Summer" by War in 1976, but the summer song we're looking for charted in 1972 from a duo that were former members of The Champs from 1958 until 1965. That's the group that had the 1958 hit "Tequila", although these two joined the band after the hit happened. One of them had a hit making brother who was also one half of a duo, if that helps at all. Think Summer and see if you can come up with the duo and the hit song that made it to # 6.
2. There'll be no tag days for this superstar. He easily made a successful transition from music to TV acting to movie star. He's originally from Philadelphia and, as part of a recording duo, had hits from 1986 until 1993 when he went solo, starred in a TV series based on his recording character, then hit the motherlode with film stardom. He's also scored three # 1 hits as a solo performer, two of which came from movies he starred in. In the summer of 1991, he and his musical partner had the biggest hit of their career with a 'summer' song. Can you name the this Ten hit as well as the name of the performer?
3. This singer/songwriter died at the age of 21, but not before he had 7 hits on the singles chart. His first hit, "Sittin' In The Balcony", came in 1957 and made it to # 18. His biggest though happened the following year (1958) when a song he wrote zoomed all the way up to # 8. Several other performers have recorded this hit, including Blue Cheer, The Who and country artist Alan Jackson. The question is - who's the artist and what was his 'summer' hit?
4. He was a founding member of a 'high flying' group that formerly backed up Linda Ronstadt on tour. Many, many hits from that group hit the charts, they were the darlings of both FM and AM radio. They famously broke up, saying they'd get back together "When Hell Freezes Over". Naturally, they did get back together and named their 1994 reunion album, "Hell Freezes Over". This performer also had a hugely successful solo career in the 1980's and '90's with 6 Top Ten hits (although he never made # 1, something his old band did 5 times in the 1970's. The song we're lookin for went Top 5 in 1985. So who's the performer and what was his 'summer' song? (HINT: If you think baseball, you'll be very close)
5. "Summertime", "A Summer Song", "Summer's Comin'" and "In The Summertime" are just four 'summer' songs from the 1960's. The song we're looking for though, came from a group that had 3 American members and 1 Canadian. This was their first and only # 1 hit. From 1965 until 1967, this group had 7 Top Ten hits. They supplied the musical for several '60's films, including Woody Allen's "Waht's Up Tiger Lily" and Francis Ford Coppolla's "You're A Big Boy Now". Can you name the group and their # 1 'summer' hit?
ANSWERS:
1. In 1972, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, better known as Seals & Crofts, had the # 6 song with "Summer Breeze". Jim Seals brother, Dan Seals was one half of England Dan & John Ford COley, who had such hits in the '70's as "I'd Really Love To See You Again" and "Nights Are Forever Without You".
2. Before he became an 'A' list movie star, Will Smith was known as The Fresh Prince. In 1991, D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince took the song "Summertime" to # 4 on Billboards' Hot 100 singles chart. Two of the # 1 hits he had as a solo artist were "Men In Black" and "Wild Wild West", both films Will starred in.
3. In 1958, Eddie Cochrane recorded "Summertime Blues", which as the question states, has been covered by several other artists over the years. Cochrane died in a car crash during a British tour in 1960. While his recording career was short, his legacy lives on with songs he wrote, including "C'mon Everybody", being performed by the likes of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The White Stripes and The Sex Pistols.
4. Don Henley, a founding member of The Eagles, took his solo song, "The Boys Of Summer" to # 5 on February 9, 1985.
5. The 1960's summer hit we were looking for was "Summer In The City" by The Lovin' Spoonful, which was # 1 during the week of August 13, 1966 and remained # 1 for 3 weeks. It was replaced by Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". The Lovin' Spoonful were lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian, Canadian Zal Yanovsky on lead guitar, Steve Butler on bass and drummer Joe Butler. The group was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and not a second too soon as Zal Yanovsky died two years later.
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