Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs (126-150) Quiz

Answer: The guitar sound was heavily influenced by the sound of John Coltrane's saxophone.

Although all of these scenarios may have been plausible, it was the fact that McGuinn was emulating the sound of Coltrane's saxophone. In fact, McGuinn was intrigued by the song "India" which Coltrane released on his album "Impressions". "Eight Miles High" was very controversial when it was released based on its title alone. Fact is, the song was written about flying in an airplane to London and their experiences with their quick climb to stardom. Of course, realizing the era in which the song was released, and realizing that David Crosby was a founding member of the group, some of that controversy may not have been unfounded.

Answer: This song was the first time that a single was number one on the Pop Singles chart in both the US and the UK.

It was bound to happen. At some point the stars and planets would have to align and the same song would top the charts in both the US and UK simultaneously. Well, the Everly Brothers did just that with their hit "Cathy's Clown", arguably their best song of all time. Unfortunately for the duo, this would also be their last number one hit in either country.

Answer: This single would become the first time a song reached number one on the US Billboard Pop Singles chart after the recording artist had passed away.

Otis Redding has the unfortunate distinction of being the first to have his song reach number one posthumously. "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" soared to number one after his untimely death in a 1967 airplane crash. Janis became the second person to have a posthumous number one hit after she passed away from a drug overdose. Both this single and the album "Pearl" were smash hits and topped their respective charts in the US. One of the great "what if" questions of all time is to wonder what would have become of these two careers if they had not passed prematurely.

Answer: "Lust for Life" was co-written by David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

One thing I find amazing about American advertising is that they can turn a song like "Lust for Life", one of the most drug fueled and alcohol inspired songs of all time, into a positive message about their product. This song has been used to promote cruise lines, car dealerships and food products. I wonder if the ad execs even listened to the warped lyrics they were using.
This song also appeared in the movie "Trainspotting", which I feel to be a bit more fitting due to the movie's rampant drug use.
The correct answer was that the song was co-written by David Bowie. I think it was Bowie's influence in the song that has made it useful for commercials and television. Although the lyrics are quite raw, the music has a certain pop quality that most listeners can find enjoyable.

Answer: The B-52's are forever linked to REM as both bands were started in the city of Athens, GA.

No, the B-52's were not from LA, Wisconsin or Moscow, they were from the same town as REM, Indigo Girls, Matthew Sweet, Widespread Panic and The Georgia Satellites. Athens, Georgia is also home to the University of Georgia and the alt-country act Drive By Truckers. Athens has always had a prominent live music scene, mostly from downtown bars and pubs like the 40 Watt Club and the Uptown Lounge.

There is usually a great band playing live in the downtown Athens area if you're ever in the area and want to see a great show.

Answer: This song has been covered by artists as diverse as Pearl Jam, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton and Joan Jett.

"Everyday People" is a heavily covered and sampled song from artists of all genres. One of my favorite versions is the Maroon 5 cover found on the Sly and the Family Stone's tribute album "Different Strokes by Different Folks". The use of samples from the original song is a fitting tribute. Although Sly and the Family Stone did appear at Woodstock, this was not their first performance, nor were the group assembled of siblings.

The band featured an integrated group of white and black members. Sly's band did include his brother Freddie and his sister Rose, but there were other non-family members in the band.

Answer: Joey Ramone wrote this song about the band and their constant time on the road, particularly their fist trip to London.

Joey Ramone had certain fits with obsessive compulsive disorder and he really had a disdain for traveling. It was during a Christmas tour of London when Joey wrote this song after realizing that there was nothing more to do than to sit in his hotel and watch television. Apparently, Joey had burned himself with hot water from a steam kettle before leaving for London and this also had an effect on him.
By the way, the guitar solo has the same note repeated 65 times. How's that for some trivial information?

Answer: Appalonia was not the first choice to play Prince's love interest in the movie.

Appalonia only got the part in the movie after Prince's first choice backed out after production began. Prince wanted to use his protégé, Vanity, as the girl to play opposite his role, but she decided against the project. Prince substituted Apollonia in her role instead. There are small errors in the film where Appolonia's name had to be dubbed over Vanity's name in certain places which are visible with careful scrutiny.
Clarence Williams III was in "The Mod Squad", not "Shaft".
The movie was shot almost exclusively in Minneapolis and none was filmed in Vancouver. There were parts filmed in Los Angeles, though.
There were parts of the film deemed to sexy for an "R" rating initially, but those scenes were shortened in the edit to allow for the "R" rating.

Answer: James Brown's backing band was a New York singing group called The Flaming Flamingos.

No, Brown's backing group was called The Famous Flames, and they weren't from New York. They were a singing group from Georgia who were an integral part of James Brown's early success. If it weren't for the different dynamic between the smooth harmonies of The Famous Flames and Brown's gritty vocals on "Please, Please, Please", who knows if the song would have achieved the popularity it did.

Many people think The Famous Flames should have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when Brown was inducted. Sadly, they were not included.

Answer: This song was the first recording to feature Roy Orbison on guitar.

All of these statements are true except Roy Orbison playing on the song. That was Chet Atkins on the electric guitar.
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant were a married song writing team responsible for many hits, including several songs written for The Everly Brothers. "Wake Up Little Susie", "Devoted to You", "Bird Dog" and "Bye Bye Love" (among others) were all penned by the Bryants.

Answer: Kashmir has been a hotly disputed area controlled by India, Pakistan and China.

Kashmir was never the capital of Morocco, which is actually Rabat, and not Casablanca. Although there may be ships built in Egypt, Kashmir is nowhere close to Egypt. And Alexander the Great did not battle the Greeks for control of Kashmir, as he was himself of Greek nationality.
Kashmir is located between the borders of India, Pakistan and China. There have been several wars in the area, each country trying to secure the boundaries of this region.

Answer: Paul McCartney has admitted that his bass line from this song was taken almost note for note from a popular Chuck Berry song titled "I'm Talking About You".

Yes, Ringo was already in the band when they released their debut album "Please Please Me" which featured the song "I Saw Her Standing There". And it might be true that George was a fan of Mr. Moore, and I'm certain that Lennon had been a fan of Mr. Water's, but it was Paul who claimed to have stolen the bass line from a song belonging to Mr. Berry's.

This song would introduce The Beatles to many fans as it was the lead in track to their debut album.

Answer: Bass guitar was provided by funk legend Bootsy Collins.

No, bass guitar was not by Bootsy. In addition to doing drum programming, Sly did the bass programming tracks as well.
This song, released in 1971 in the US, would be the last number one hit single for the band. Due to the group's terrible drug use and reputation for not being able to perform reliably, their popularity declined. This decline would lead to the group disbanding and reforming several times throughout the 70s and 80s, but with none of their earlier success.

Answer: This song was included on the "Rubber Soul" album of 1966.

The song was actually released in 1966 on the album "Revolver", not "Rubber Soul". This song was sung by McCartney, with backing vocals by Lennon and Harrison, but none of them supplied any of their instrumental talents to the song. George Martin, the producer of the song, used eight studio musicians playing a double string quartet for the song's music.

Answer: Elton's first US television appearance was singing this song on "The Andy Williams Show".

No, this song was not featured in this made-up plot to "Family Guy", but Elton John did make an appearance as himself in an episode of "The Simpsons".
"Your Song" was indeed Elton's first hit in the US and the UK, but it did not appear on his debut album, it came from his second album simply titled "Elton John".
Bernie Taupin wrote this song while living with Elton John in their early days of writing music together. The song was reportedly written over the morning breakfast with Elton writing the music shortly after.

Answer: Eric Clapton made a special guest appearance on this song playing the guitar solo.

The Beatles were in a terrible state of fighting and unrest during the recording of "The Beatles" in the latter part of the year 1968. Tensions were high and their recording process was highly disrupted. Band members were not even working together on the creation of songs.

When the band recorded the song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", George Harrison, the writer, was not happy with the sound. He thought things did not flow naturally. So, he arranged to have his good friend, the one and only Eric Clapton, to come in and record the guitar solo.

His move was brilliant. With Clapton in the studio, all band members appeared more relaxed and at ease with one another and the song was recorded more cohesively. Compared to other songs on this album, this song sounds more like the band were working as a unit instead of solo artists. Absolutely one of the better sounding songs on the entire album.

Answer: This song was produced by famed producer Phil Spector.

It wasn't Phil Spector who produced this track, it was the great Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records who was at the helm. It was also Mr. Wexler who began calling Wilson by the nickname "The Wicked Pickett", a moniker that Atlantic used to promote him.

Answer: This was the last song the band performed with Keith Moon on the drum kit.

Pete did write this song for a rock opera, only the title was "Lifehouse".
If you have been to a Kiss concert in the last couple of decades, you probably did here "Won't Get Fooled Again", but Kiss did not perform it. The band comes out on stage to this song right as the lights go down and the crowd goes wild.
If you've ever seen any stock footage of The Who, or been fortunate enough to see them in concert, you most likely saw the band play this song as the last song of the night, as they often used it as their encore.
Unfortunately for Who fans, Keith Moon passed away a couple of months after The Who were recording their film "The Kids are Alright" in a live-studio setting. Interestingly, Keith Moon and Mama Cass Eliot passed away in the same room; Eliot passing away approximately four years before Moon.

Answer: For a lark, Diddley recorded this song with more modern rock and roll chord progressions than the usual standard blues chords he usually would use.

Bo Diddley showed you that Bo knows at least one chord, because that's how many he used in the recording of this song. He decided to let the rhythm and the lyrics move this song along. Chord changes? Who needs 'em?
Listen to the lyrics of this song and you'll certainly get the thought of something bordering on the occult. With images of chimneys made of human skulls and cobra snake neck ties, who wouldn't?
And even with the support of Chess Records, this song could not chart on any of the popular charts of the era, not even the R&B chart.

Answer: This would be the first time that a U2 single would chart in a higher position in the US than it did in the UK.

In 1987, this song reached the top of the US Billboard Singles chart, while it only saw a number four ranking on the UK counterpart. The song is one of U2's most popular songs, whether played on the radio or in front of 50,000 screaming fans.
Not only did The Edge play on this song, this song was the first to use the popular Infinite Guitar, a device used to electronically create a note to sustain indefinitely on the guitar.

Answer: The Beatles recorded a song titled "Maggie Mae" for their "Let it Be" album.

Rod Stewart joins a select few acts to top the album and singles charts in the US and UK at the same time with his single "Maggie May" and his album "Every Picture Tells a Story". The Beatles (with John, Paul and George as solo artists), Beyonce and Simon and Garfunkel are other acts to accomplish the feat.

But only The Beatles released another song with the same title, even with slightly different spelling. The Beatles "Maggie Mae" was released on "Let it Be" and is their second shortest song on any of their albums at only 40 seconds long.

Answer: William Burroughs used this phrase in the book "The Soft Machine" when he referred to his character as "the heavy metal kid".

Although Steppenwolf recorded this song in the fall of '67 (it wasn't released until June of '68 in the US), no one from the band actually wrote the lyrics. Mars Bonfire (née Dennis Edmonton-what a great stage name!) was the brother of Steppenwolf drummer, Jerry, and he wrote this and a few other Steppenwolf tunes.
The Shakespeare quote I provided started off as an actual quote, but I sort of added on to make it incorrect. The actual quote is sort of a favorite of mine and is taken from "The Merchant of Venice". The real quote is as follows:
"The man who hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted."

Answer: This song was Chuck Berry's first US number one single on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

This song only a managed a number eight ranking in the US for Chuck Berry, but The Beach Boys version actually surpassed that, reaching number five with their "disco" version of this classic.
Also released on "One Dozen Berrys" were the songs "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Reelin' and Rockin'", two of my favorite Berry songs.

Answer: Jazz drummer Lenny White lent his talents for this song.

No, Lenny White didn't play the drums on this song, or any other collaboration with David Bowie for that matter. The drummer on this one was Mick Woodmansey, who played on several of Bowie albums.
Lenny White is best known for his work with legends such as Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Al DiMeola, Jaco Pastorius, Stan Getz, Stanley Clarke and many others.

Answer: Big Joe Turner was the first to record this song.

Although all four men recorded versions of this song, it was Big Joe Turner who recorded it first. Big Joe was known as a blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri who worked with some of the greats in the industry. Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, all the band leaders wanted Big Joe to sing with their outfits.
Bill Haley's version of the song may have been more successful based on chart rankings and sales, but Big Joe's 1954 release has to be recognized as one of the more influential songs of the early rock and roll era.