Beatles Something in Common Trivia

1. In 1979, a compilation album "The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away" brought together 20 songs that Paul McCartney or John Lennon wrote but were released by others. Who took "Bad To Me" to the top of the UK charts in 1963?

From Quiz The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away

Answer: Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas

In 1964, Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas took "Bad To Me" to number one on the UK charts. It was one of six songs that Lennon and McCartney had given to the group. Others included on the album "The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away" were: "I'll Keep You Satisfied" (1963); "From a Window" (1963); and "I Don't Want to See You Again" (1964). Billy J. Kramer was part of the Brian Epstein stable along with The Beatles. He and the Dakotas had five top 30 songs in the UK between 1963 and 1967.

From Quiz Ladies of the Beatles

Answer: Nancy

Paul wrote this tale of an Old West love triangle. The Gideons provided the bible.

From Quiz Beneath The Beatles

Answer: Jimmy Nicol

Andy White was the drummer on studio versions of songs like "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You". Pete Best was the original drummer (after Paul McCartney) before he was replaced by Ringo. Stuart Sutcliffe was the original bassist before being replaced by Paul McCartney.

From Quiz The Big Beatles Cover Up: Exposed

Answer: Arthur Alexander

Arthur Alexander had a number 68 hit with "Anna (Go To Him)" on the US pop chart in 1962. It did not chart in the UK. The Beatles recorded it for their "Please Please Me" album which was number one for 30 weeks on the UK album chart in 1963. In the US the track was on the "Introducing The Beatles" album which spent nine weeks at number two on the US album chart in 1964. Solomon Burke had a number 44 hit with "Cry To Me" on the US pop chart in 1962. It did not chart in the UK. Gene Chandler had a number one hit for three weeks with "Duke Of Earl" on the US pop chart in 1962. It did not chart in the UK. Sam Cooke had a number nine hit with "Twistin' The Night Away" on the US pop chart in 1962. It reached number six on the UK chart.

From Quiz The Beatles in 1966

Answer: Maureen Cleave

Maureen Cleave worked as a correspondent for the London "Evening Standard" and often conducted interviews with members of the Beatles. Her most famous interview occurred when she spoke with John Lennon in early March 1966. During the course of the conversation, Lennon told Cleave, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink...We're (the Beatles) more popular than Jesus now." According to Cleave, Lennon wasn't being arrogant while he was making the statement. When the interview was published in the UK, most readers didn't react very strongly. However, when Lennon's quote was published in a U.S. teeny-bopper magazine a few months later, a firestorm was created in the American press. Several Southern "Bible Belt" ministers called for teenagers to boycott the Beatles. The group's albums were burned in many cities throughout the South. When the Beatles began their U.S. tour in August 1966, Lennon issued an impromptu statement of apology for the "Jesus" remark during a press conference in Chicago. Tony Barrow, Dick James, and Derek Taylor were all members of the Beatles "family."

From Quiz Beatles' Two-Word Song Titles

Answer: Hey Jude

The Beatles' hit "Hey Jude" was the biggest selling single in their career. The song topped music charts around the world in the fall of 1968. The lyrics read: "The minute you let her under your skin / Then you begin to make it better." With the release of "Hey Jude", Apple Records got off to a spectacular start. The Buck Owens' song "Act Naturally" was released by the Beatles in 1965, "Paperback Writer" came out in 1966, and "Hello Goodbye" appeared in 1967.

From Quiz Welcome to The Beatles' Zoo! (part I)

Answer: Bird

One popular belief is that the song is a teasing jibe by John Lennon at his friend Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in reference to Jagger's pop star girlfriend ("bird" in British slang of the era) Marianne Faithfull. In the final interview before his death in 1980 (with Playboy magazine) John Lennon said this was a throwaway song with random words of psychedelia added in designed to sound like it meant something. He considered it one of his worst songs.

From Quiz Beatles' Songs Containing Numbers - Part 1

Answer: 4,000

From "A Day In The Life": "I read the news today oh boy Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" The holes reference was lifted from a newspaper article and referred to the number of potholes in the streets of Blackburn. The amount of material required to fill said holes was considered to be such that it would fill the Albert Hall, hence the reference later in the song: "Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall"

From Quiz Beatles' Songs Containing Numbers - Part 2

Answer: Not A Second Time

I hope you got this, the title is a bit of a giveaway! In addition, the other three tracks are all instrumentals that contain no lyrics.

From Quiz Eight Days A Week

Answer: Past Masters, vol. 1

"Lady Madonna" was the A-Side to a single that in 1968 reached #4 in America, but went to #1 in Britain.

From Quiz The Girls in The Beatles Song Titles

Answer: A name Paul concocted

Many tourist have seen an "Elenor Rigby" tombstone in a cemetery in the Liverpool, England area, and some accounts have Paul and John strolling through a cemetary and getting the inspiration from the headstone. The question of why one-half of "The Beatles" was in a cemetery remains a mystery. In an interview, Paul claimed that "Rigby" was the name of a store and "Eleanor" was from the actress Eleanor Bron. He thought the name "Eleanor Rigby" sounded natural.

From Quiz Objects in Beatles Songs

Answer: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

This song is about a picture drawn by Julian Lennon (John's son) about a schoolmate called Lucy.

From Quiz Animals in Beatles Songs

Answer: monkey

Some say this song is about Yoko Ono. Others say it is about the Mareshi.

From Quiz The Women of the Beatles

Answer: Madonna & Lady Madonna

"Lady Madonna, children at your feet. Wonder how you manage to make ends meet? Who find the money when you pay the rent? Did you think that money was heaven sent?" This song is credited to both John Lennon and Paul McCartney and was released as a single before the "White Album" came out.

From Quiz Beatles Supporting Characters

Answer: Father McKenzie

He also was the one who was wiping his hands as he walked from the grave. He made himself known from "Eleanor Rigby" on the "Revolver" LP in 1966.

From Quiz Cast And Characters

Answer: Desmond

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da! The Jones couple met when Desmond saw Molly's pretty face.

From Quiz The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away

Answer: Cilla Black

Cilla Black's version hit number 35 on the UK charts. Cilla also covered "It's for You" in 1964, and "Step Inside Love" in 1968, other Lennon and McCartney give-aways. "Step Inside Love" was to be the theme song for Black's TV shows for many years. The Beatles had sung "Love of the Loved" during an audition for Decca. As an aside, on the day The Beatles auditioned for Brian Epstein, a singing duo called The Allisons also auditioned. They were not chosen and went away mystified about why he had chosen a bunch of scruffy scousers over them. [Anecdote related to this quiz author by an Allisons member in Ellmau, Austria, winter 2001]. Cilla Black went on to have a stellar career as a singer and later television presenter. She had 11 top ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, including two at number one.

From Quiz A Beatle of a Different Insect

Answer: Peter Max

Peter Max was born in Berlin, Germany in 1937. A German Jew. His family fled Berlin in 1938 settling in Shanghai, China where they lived for ten years before moving to Haifa, Israel, where they lived for several years before moving further westward and winding up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He began his formal art training at the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan in 1956. His fame exploded in the 60s and he became a very popular artist in the following decades. His health has severely deteriorated in the past decade. A 2019 New York Times article mentioned he is suffering from advanced dementia and that his deteriorated mental state has been exploited in a massive art fraud scheme dating back to at least 2015.

From Quiz An Attempt at an Original Beatles' Quiz (sigh)

Answer: Boys

"Boys" (1960) was a Dixon/Farrel composition recorded by the Shirelles as a B-side to their "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" single in 1960. The song was sung with the same words as the Shirelles without changing to "Girls" so it was always mildly embarrassing to the other Beatles when it was sung. "Boys" was always the "drummer's song". Pete Best used to sing it before Ringo joined the band. The song was recorded for the Beatles' 1962 British album, "Please, Please Me" and on the American "Introducing...The Beatles" which was released in January 1964. Starr sang lead vocal on only eleven Beatles' songs, writing two: "Don't Pass Me By" (1968) and "Octopus's Garden" (1969).

From Quiz A Beatles Trip Around the Globe

Answer: Hamburg

Hamburg, with a population of around 1.8 million, is the second largest city in Germany. The Beatles played nightclubs such as the Star Club, Indra, and the Kaiserkeller in the red light district of Hamburg, the Repperbahn.

From Quiz It's The Beatles: It's Not The Beatles

Answer: Del Shannon

"From Me To You" was a number 77 hit on the US pop chart for Del Shannon in 1963. It never charted in the UK. The Beatles original version was released in the US in 1963 on the Vee-Jay label but failed to chart. It was re-released as the B-side of "Please Please Me" on the Vee-Jay Label and reached number 41 in 1964. The Beatles version was number one for seven weeks on the UK chart in 1963 and was the first of 11 consecutive UK number one hits for them. Lou Christie had a number six hit on the US pop chart with "Two Faces Have I" in 1963. It failed to chart in the UK. Bobby Vee had a number three hit on the US pop chart with "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" in 1963. It reached number three on the UK chart the same year. Tommy Roe had a number three hit on the US pop chart with "Everybody" in 1963. It reached number nine on the UK chart the same year.

From Quiz Ladies of the Beatles

Answer: Julia

Julia, his mother, died from a hit-and-run in 1958, ten years before the release of the "White Album". John included reference to Yoko, whose name translates from the Japanese as 'child of the sea', with the lyric "Oceanchild, calls me."

From Quiz Beneath The Beatles

Answer: Cans of Heinz beans

Ringo had a lot of allergies due to peritonitis and was not sure he could eat the food he would be served.

From Quiz The Big Beatles Cover Up: Exposed

Answer: The Cookies

The Cookies had a number 17 hit with "Chains" on the US pop chart in 1962. It reached number 50 on the UK chart in 1963. The Beatles recorded it on their UK album "Please Please Me" in 1963, US album "Introducing The Beatles" in 1964. The Shirelles had a number eight hit with "Baby It's You" on the US pop chart in 1962. It did not chart in the UK. The Beatles did a cover version on the UK album "Please Please Me" in 1963, US album "Introducing The Beatles" in 1964. They did a live version (recorded in 1963 for the BBC radio programme "Pop Go The Beatles") on the "Live At The BBC" album. Released in 1994 it reached number one on the UK album chart and number three on the US album chart. It was released as a CD and Vinyl single in 1995 and it reached number seven on the UK chart and number 67 on the US pop chart. The Chiffons had a number one hit for four weeks with "He's So Fine" on the US pop chart in 1963. It reached number 16 on the UK chart in 1963. In 1976 George Harrison was found guilty of subconscious plagiarism of this song when writing "My Sweet Lord". The Crystals had a number one hit for two weeks on the US pop chart with "He's A Rebel" in 1963. It reached number 19 on the UK chart.

From Quiz The Beatles in 1966

Answer: Butcher

On March 25, 1966, veteran photographer Robert Freeman conducted a London photo shoot with the Beatles in order to publicize the upcoming release of the band's "Yesterday...and Today" album in the United States. The most noteworthy of the pictures came to be known as the "Butcher Baby", or "Butcher Cover" photo. In this picture, the four Beatles were shown sitting with white smocks covered by pieces of raw meat and the limbs of dismembered plastic dolls. The Beatles were wearing sardonic grins in this gruesome photo. In the USA, horrified Capitol Records executives rushed to halt the release of this photo on the album cover. However, about 750,000 copies of the "Butcher Baby" album cover were printed. A few copies with this album cover were distributed to retail stores, but most of the "Butcher Baby" records were destroyed. In some cases, Capitol executives ordered a non-threatening photo of the Beatles (the "Steamer Trunk" photo) to be pasted over the "Butcher Baby" photo. In the USA, a "Butcher Baby" copy of the "Yesterday...and Today" album is a highly prized collector's item.

From Quiz Beatles' Two-Word Song Titles

Answer: Martin

Sweet Loretta Martin and Jojo were the main characters in the Beatles' hit single "Get Back." The lyrics say,"Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman/ But she was another man..." The single version of the song was released in the spring of 1969 and reached the number one spot on the U.S. singles charts in late May.

From Quiz Welcome to The Beatles' Zoo! (part I)

Answer: I Am The Walrus

When Lennon decided to write confusing lyrics, he asked his friend Pete Shotton for a nursery rhyme they used to sing. Shotton gave them this rhyme, which Lennon incorporated into the song: "Yellow matter custard, green slop pie, all mixed together with a dead dog's eye. Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick, then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick." (YUCK!)

From Quiz Women In Beatles Songs

Answer: Lime Street

This song was released off the Beatles last album (to be released that is) "Let It Be" (1970). "Maggie" is British slang for prostitute. Rod Stewart wrote a song called "Maggie May", and his version was about the first girl he slept with. Pretty much the same idea of both songs (a woman who's had a sex life), the only difference is that Stewart's is spelled differently from the Beatles'.

From Quiz Beatles' Songs Containing Numbers - Part 1

Answer: Eight

"Eight days a week I love you Eight days a week Is not enough to show I care" The title of this song is attributed to one of Ringo Starr's quirky sayings. This is allegedly the first pop song to fade up from silence.

From Quiz Beatles' Songs Containing Numbers - Part 2

Answer: Two

"Well, it's the second time I've caught you talking to him Do I have to tell you one more time I think it's a sin" "You Can't Do That" was released as the B-side of "Can't Buy Me Love". Musical oddities of this song were that John played lead guitar instead of George, and Ringo played a cowbell!

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:47 AM

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