'The Summer of Love' - 1967 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harry Nilsson

'Hair', which opened off-Broadway in 1967, made its way to the Great White Way a year later and became one of the biggest hits of the decade. Oliver (short for William Oliver Swofford) went to number three in the U.S. pop chart with 'Good Morning, Starshine'.

The family singing group the Cowsills took the title song, 'Hair' to number one in the U.S. in 1969. The 5th Dimension did the same with a medly of two songs, 'Age of Aquarius' and 'Let the Sunshine In'. One other group to benefit was Three Dog Night, who got their second career hit with 'Easy To Be Hard'. Harry Nilsson did not release any songs from the musical.

Answer: Brad Pitt

Both Kidman and Diesel were born on June 20, while Anderson celebrates her birthday on July 1st. Pitt was born December 18, 1963.

Answer: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Even though the concept album has been around since the 1930s, 'Sgt. Pepper' brought it to the forefront of popular music, where it became the inspiration for future albums by groups like the Rolling Stones, the Moody Blues, the Who and others. 'Sgt. Pepper' swept the Grammys that year for best contemporary album, engineering, artwork and, of course, album of the year.

Answer: Detroit, Michigan

What became known as the '12th Street Riot' started when Detroit police were sent to arrest two people at a 'blind pig' (a place to get illegal alcohol, like a speakeasy) on July 23, 1967. When police arrived, there were over 80 people celebrating the return of a Vietnam veteran.

Instead of sending everyone home, the cops decided to arrest everyone on the premises. Onlookers started breaking the windows of nearby businesses and the scene quickly deteriorated. After 5 days of rioting and looting, 43 were dead (including a 4-year-old girl), nearly 500 injured and over 2,000 buildings burnt to the ground.

Answer: Cream

The Doors eponymous first album debuted in January, while their single, 'Light My Fire' went to number one on the U.S. pop charts that summer. Hendrix's first outing, the album 'Are You Experienced?' peaked at number two after its debut in August, following only the Beatles landmark 'Sgt. Pepper' album. Pink Floyd's 'Piper At The Gates of Dawn' album, with Syd Barrett at the helm, was also released in August.
The supergroup of Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce debuted with 'Fresh Cream' a year earlier.

Answer: LSD

While the manufacturing of LSD was halted in 1966, the U.S. government outlawed the drug the following year, with many others countries following suit. 1967 was a big year for the psychedelic drug, enjoying wide use among the musical elite, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Moody Blues and others. Music written or recorded under the influence of the drug (including, allegedly, the hit 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds') garnered a new musical branch called psychedelic or acid rock. Marijuana, cocaine and heroin were all banned to some degree years earlier.

Answer: Josef Stalin

Svetlana Alliluyeva is the youngest child and only daughter of Stalin, who died back in 1953. She went to the American embassy in New Delhi, India to ask for political asylum. Once she arrived stateside in April, she denounced the Soviet regime and her father's policies.

She was later re-granted citizenship in the U.S.S.R in 1984, but has since returned to the U.S. after living in the former Soviet state of Georgia.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

A gold medalist in the 1960 Rome Olympics, the former Cassius Clay announced he had converted to Islam back in 1964, shortly before defeating Sonny Liston in a rematch for the world heavyweight title. Now, three years later, Ali quoted the Koran as his reason for conscientious objection, whereupon he was stripped of the title. Ali would not box professionally again until October, 1970.

He would regain the title in 1974.

Answer: Thurgood Marshall

In making the appointment, President Lyndon Johnson said the replacement of Marshall for the retiring Justice Tom C. Clark was 'the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place'. Marshall, who represented the NAACP in the landmark 'Brown v. Board of Education', would continue to serve on the nation's highest court for 24 years.

He retired from the bench in 1991, two years before his death. One of Marshall's law clerks, Ginsberg, was nominated by President Reagan, but withdrew after his use of marijuana came out. Both O'Connor and Marshall's successor, Thomas, came later.

Answer: The Arab-Israeli 'Six-Day War'

With all the attention on Vietnam, the Six-Day War was a long time in coming, but still came as a surprise to many. Egypt had aligned with Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to cut off Israel from the Strait of Tiran, located between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt had placed over 100,000 men and nearly 1,000 tanks in the region.

The Israeli Air Force responded with 'Operation Force', a pre-emptive strike that hit the heart of the Egyptian military and ensured Israeli air superiority for the remainder of the war.

By the end of the war, Israel had reclaimed the Sinai, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Answer: Timothy Leary

Former Harvard professor Leary had experimented with psychedelic drugs since 1960. By the time of his appearence at the Human Be-In, he had been fired from Harvard and had several run-ins with the U.S. government, especially the FBI (Liddy was one of the many agents who raided Leary's mansion in Millbrook, New York). Leary's friend McLuhan suggested he come up with 'something snappy' to sell the benefits of LSD. Burroughs, author of 'The Naked Lunch', had already made his mark during the age of the Beat Generation.

Answer: San Francisco

Over 100,000 teens and young adults converged on the city of the Golden Gate throughout the year, particularly the neighborhood surrounding the Haight-Ashbury district, with the promise of free love, free drugs and free food. The Summer got an early start with a 'Human Be-In' in January at Golden Gate Park.

Answer: The Jefferson Airplane

The Who were already big in Britain, but hit the U.S. with 'I Can See For Miles', their biggest hit stateside (the song would be released as a single in October). Festival board member Paul McCartney had clamored to get Hendrix on the bill, where he would make a big impact by setting his guitar on fire. Redding made his debut fronting Booker T. and the MG's. Sadly, Redding would be dead by the end of the year.

The Airplane debuted at the 4th of July Berkeley Folk Festival the year before.

Answer: Jessica Simpson

The leader of the Dave Matthews Band has his birthday on January 9, country singer Faith Hill celebrates on September 21 and R&B chanteuse Braxton's birthday is October 7. Other musical babies of the Summer of Love include Gavin Rossdale, Scott Weiland, Layne Staley, Noel Gallagher, Liz Phair, Teddy Riley, Harry Connick, Jr., Navarro and Kurt Cobain. Simpson was born in 1980.

Answer: Scott McKenzie

McKenzie was invited by close friend John Phillips to join the Mamas and the Papas, but opted to be a solo act. Phillips wrote McKenzie's song, as well as playing the guitar. (The then wife Michelle Phillips played the bells on the recording). The song went to number one on the U.S. and U.K. pop charts and made San Francisco THE place to be in the summer of 1967.