Monday, March 12, 2012

TIME KEEPS ON SLIPPIN’, SLIPPIN’, SLIPPIN’ INTO THE FUTURE

This past weekend most of North America pushed the clocks ahead by one hour to kick off Daylight Savings . That got me to thinking about time, and the fact that there are dozens of hit songs over the years that either were about time, or had time in the title. Examples include “Time Won’t Let Me”, a top 5 hit in 1966 for The Outsiders; “Time (Clock Of The Heart)”, a number 2 hit for Culture Club in 1983; “Give Me Just A Little More Time”, a number 3 song in 1970 for Chairmen Of The Board; “Time Is Tight” a number 6 instrumental hit in 1969 from Booker T & The MGs and “Time Of The Season, a number 3 song for The Zombies in 1969. So this time out, (see how cleverly I got the word time in there), our trivia blog is about time. And frankly, it is about time (oh, I’m getting good) we did one on this topic. To make this as a little easier, all of the ‘time’ songs in this quiz were Top 10 hits from the 60’s to the 90’s. So, take your time (I really have to stop that) and see how well you do. Also, there’s no...(wait for it, wait for it)...time limit.

QUESTIONS:

1. This ‘time’ song came from a Scottish singer who first entered the singles chart in 1976 with “Year of The Cat”. That one eventually made it to number 8 in 1977. The following year, his ‘Time’ song zoomed all the way up to number 7. Who’s the artist and what’s the name of this song?

2. This singer used to date “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicolette Sheridan. He also racked up 23 chart hits (which included two number ones) from 1983 through 1997. He took a 1966 Percy Sledge number one hit back to the top of the charts in 1991. His ‘Time’ song happened that same year. So, who’s the singer and what was his ‘Time’ hit?

3. She was a fun loving singer who first hit the charts in 1983. Her second single in ’84 became her first number one. She was known for having colourful hair and for her ‘unique’ speaking voice. She won the 1984 Grammy for ‘Best New Artist’. She also play Marianne Lugasso in several episodes of Paul Riser’s TV series ”Mad About You” from 1993 until 1999. Can you guess who this performer is as well as her 1984 number one ‘Time’ hit?

4. A plane crash in 1973 cut short this singer/songwriters career. but what a success he was up to that point. He first hit the singles chart in 1972 with a Top Ten hit, then the following year, hit number one TWICE. One of those was his ‘Time’ song. Now, there’s no ‘messing around’ with this ‘bad, bad’ performer. So, who is he and what was his ‘Time’ hit?

5. For our final question, we’re looking for a British band that first ‘rolled’ onto the charts in 1964. This group was marketed as ‘bad boys’ of rock. Some critics have called them ‘The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band’. Their ‘time’ song hit the charts in 1964. Have you got the ‘stones’ to name the song and the group?

ANSWERS

1. It was Glasgow born Al Stewart with his song “Time Passages”. By the way, both of Stewarts’ Top Ten hits, “Year Of The Cat” and ”Time Passages” were produced by Alan Parsons, who had his own time hit called “Time” in 1981. That one went to number 15 on the singles chart.

2. Michael Bolton took “Time, Love And Tenderness” to number 7 on the singles chart in 1991. His two number ones were 1990’s “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” and “When A Man Loves A Woman” in ‘91.

3. Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is the singer. You know her better as Cyndi Lauper. Her first hit, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” went to number 2 on the singles chart. In 1984, Ms.Lauper, who grew up in Queens, New York, hit the top of the charts for the first time with “Time After Time”, a song she co-wrote with Rob Hyman. Cindy repeated that number one success in 1986 with the song “True Colors”.

4. In 1973, the late Jim Croce had two number one hits. The first was “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” which was number one for two weeks in July. Then in December, came “Time In A Bottle”. Croce and 5 other people, including his lead guitarist Maury Muehleisen, died in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana on September 20, 1973. At the time of his death, Croce was just 30 years old.

5. The song is 1964’s “Time Is On My Side” by The Rolling Stones. The Stones first charted that year with their version of Buddy Holly & The Crickets, “Don’t Fade Away” which got as high as number 48. They next charted with “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back”) which went to number 24, and the follow up, “It’s All Over Now” made it to number 26. Then came “Time Is On My Side” which went to number six...and the rest is rock and roll history. The Stones hit number one 8 times and charted 57 songs on Billboards’ Hot 100...at least so far.