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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Opposites in Songs
| What opposites could you derive from a 1959 Cliff Richard hit and a track from Meatloaf from 1981? | Opposites in Song
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Living / Dead. 'LIVING Doll' by Cliff Richard and the Drifters was the last UK single released by the group before they became The Shadows. It reached number one in the UK and number 30 on the US Billboard charts in 1959.
'DEAD Ringer for Love' reached number two in the UK charts in 1981 for Meatloaf.
| 'Young GIRL' was a hit in 1968, while 'I'm a BOY' reached the UK charts in 1966. Which two groups recorded these songs? | Opposites in Song
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Gary Puckett and the Union Gap / The Who. Gary Puckett reached number one in the UK and number two in the US with 'Young Girl' in 1968.
The Who was a group that formed in the UK in 1964. 'I'm a Boy' was originally written for a rock opera called 'Quads' which never reached fruition. The song reached number two in the UK charts, but never showed on the US Billboard charts.
| 'LOW Rider' was a hit for an American band in 1975. 'The Tide is HIGH' was a hit for another American band in 1980. Which two bands were these? | Opposites in Song
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War / Blondie. War was a band formed in California by Eric Burdon in 1969 after the breakup of The Animals (of 'House of the Rising Sun' fame). Blondie was an American punk-rock band formed in 1975.
| Where was Bruce Springsteen dancing in 1985, which could have an opposite meaning to what The Doors were trying to do with a fire in 1967? | Opposites in Song
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dark. In 1985 Bruce was 'Dancing in the DARK' and in 1967 The Doors wanted you to 'LIGHT My Fire'. Don't start on me; I know it isn't a direct opposite, but dark is opposite enough from light, so I win!
| 'COLD As Ice' by Foreigner and 'HOT Love' by T. Rex are opposites; in what years were they released? | Opposites in Song
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1977 / 1971. 'Cold As Ice' is probably Foreigner's best-known track, peaking at number six in the Billboard charts and number 24 in the UK.
'Hot Love' was T. Rex's second single release after 'Ride a White Swan'. (All right, I can hear you! Technically, before this, the band was Tyrannosaurus Rex).
| 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie DOWN' reached number six in the UK charts in 1971; in the same year 'Move on UP' reached number twelve. Who sang these two songs? | Opposites in Song
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Joan Baez / Curtis Mayfield. Reaching number one on the US Billboard charts and number six in the UK, 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' tells the story of the last days of the American Civil War. Joan Baez has possibly the best-known version of the song, which was originally released by The Band in 1969.
OK, so 'Move on Up' was not a fantastically well known song outside of the UK, but Curtis Mayfield is known worldwide and this track featured on his 1970 debut album 'Curtis'.
| Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder collaborated on a very big hit in 1982. Reaching number one in several countries around the world, which song, containing opposites, was this? | Opposites in Song
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Ebony and Ivory. The lyrics included:
'Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don't we'?
Is it just a song about music or is there a deeper meaning involving racial harmony and integration? I'll leave you to form your own opinion.
| Two more opposites for you; which two groups sang 'GOOD Vibrations' and 'BAD to Me'? | Opposites in Song
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Beach Boys / Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. 'Good Vibrations' was a world-wide number one hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. 'Bad to Me' was written by John Lennon (attributed to Lennon/McCartney) especially for Billy J. Kramer. It was released in the UK in 1963 (1964 in the US); this was the song that propelled Billy J. Kramer on the road to stardom. (He was a VERY under-rated performer in my opinion).
| A song from 1968 contained the lines:
'I am just a ___ boy, though my story's seldom told,
I have squandered my existence for a pocket full of mumbles such are promises',
Those lyrics contain an 'opposite' to a song from 1964 which had these strange lyrics:
'Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum'.
Which opposite pair would this be? | Opposites in Song
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Poor / Rich. The year 1968 saw the release of Simon and Garfunkel's 'The Boxer', which was the story of the struggle of a poor boy from New York.
'If I Were a Rich Man' is, of course, from the musical 'Fiddler on the Roof'.
| In 1966, Ike and Tina Turner released a song with a title that contained two sets of opposites. The title was 'River ___, Mountain ___'. What are the two missing words in order? DO NOT use punctuation in the answer! | Opposites in Song
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Deep High. On its original release in the US, this Phil Spector produced song only reached number 88, even though the record has since been acclaimed as one of the greatest songs of all time. 'Rolling Stone' put it at number 33 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Of course 'River' and 'Mountain' could also be classed as somewhat of opposites.
| In 1967 the Beatles had a hit with what song that contained an opposite in the title?
(Careful! note the date) | More Opposites in Song
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Hello, Goodbye. 'From Me to You' was released in 1963.
'A Hard Day's Night' was released in 1964.
'Hello, Goodbye' was released in 1967.
'Upside, Downside' I made up.
| Going back in time to 1952 we find Frankie Laine with a song which contains the lyrics:
"Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'
On this, our weddin' day
Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'
Wait, wait along"
Twenty one years later Gladys Knight sang a song with the lyrics:
"L.A. proved too much for the man,
So he's leavin' the life he's come to know,
He said he's goin' back to find
Ooh, what's left of his world,
The world he left behind
Not so long ago.
He's leaving,".
Which two opposites could you derive from these two song?
(NOT the song titles. Just the opposites!) | More Opposites in Song
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Noon Midnight . 'High Noon', by Frankie Laine, was released in 1952. Tex Ritter sang the song in the movie of the same name.
'Midnight Train to Georgia' was released in 1973 by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
| 'Shiny HAPPY People' was a number ten hit on the Billboard charts in 1991 (number six in the UK).
'SAD Songs(Say so Much)' was a number seven hit in the UK reaching number two in the US in 1984.
Who performed these tracks? | More Opposites in Song
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REM / Elton John. REM are an American group formed in 1980 (REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement - a stage of sleep where the eyes can be seen to move rapidly).
'SAD Songs(Say so Much)' was a hit for Elton John - probably known best for the song 'Candle in the Wind'.
| Tony Orlando used to sing with a group in the 1970s, their most famous hit being 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree'
This group is in direct opposition to part of the title of a Kinks hit from 1967.
What are these two opposites?
Just the NAME OF THE GROUP and the SECOND word of the SONG TITLE. NO PUNCTUATION | More Opposites in Song
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Dawn sunset . Also known for hits like 'Candida' and 'Knock Three Times', Tony Orlando and DAWN had a world wide Number one hit with 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree'.
'Waterloo SUNSET', by the Kinks reached Number two in the UK in 1967 and is considered by many people to be one of the greatest songs of the 1960s.
| Now for two hits from the same group.
What two 'opposite' words connect two hits by 'Men at Work' from 1981 and 1983? | More Opposites in Song
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Under / Over. OK I know that 'Overkill' is one word and, therefore, is not a direct opposite of the word 'Under' but I still think it can be considered that way.
A world wide number track from the Australian band Men at Work was entitled 'Down Under', whilst 'Overkill' reached number 13 in the US and number 21 in the UK.
| Canned Heat had a hit with 'ON the Road Again'.
Michael Jackson had a hit with the single 'OFF the Wall'.
Which two years were these originally released?
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1968 / 1980. 'OFF the Wall' was released as a single in 1980 and was the title track taken from the 'Off the Wall' album which was released in 1979.
Canned Heat are a Californian rock band which formed in 1965 and are still working in 2010.
| Now we go to a song (more of my era) that Bernard Cribbins sang. This was released in the UK in 1962 and was about two men moving a piano.
Moving forward in time to 1996 Everything But the Girl hit number 1 in the US dance charts and number eight in the UK with a song which could be said to be an opposite.
What were the two songs? | More Opposites in Song
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'Right Said Fred' /' Wrong'. OK so maybe I'm the only person in the world who remembers Fred (A Gonk) trying to move a piano from an upstairs room with no success, even after they took the doors off etc (It is on 'Youtube'). But I think enough of you should have heard of 'Wrong' by Everything But the Girl.
Incidentally the group who had a hit with 'I'm too Sexy' were called Right Said Fred. Guess where they got their name from (Maybe I am not alone in remembering the song).
| Can you complete the title of this 1966 hit by The Yardbirds?
'Over, --- , Sideways, Down.' | More Opposites in Song
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under. The Yardbirds were a British group that spawned the careers of three of the worlds greatest guitarists (OK OK! 'arguably' three of the worlds greatest guitarists). Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
'Over, Under, Sideways, Down' was released in 1966 reaching number 13 in the US and number ten in the UK.
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