A US Gazetteer in Song - A to I Quiz

Answer: George Hamilton IV

Written by Bob Gibson, Albert Stanton, Lester Brown and John D. Loudermilk, "Abilene" was a U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles number one in 1963.
Although he recorded and toured consistently, George Hamilton IV never repeated the success of "Abilene" in the US, but did have six subsequent Canadian Country chart-toppers.
While supposedly written about the town of Abilene in Texas, in concert with his friends Tom Paxton and Anne Hills, Bob Gibson was chided for writing it about Abilene, Kansas.

Trivia note: GH IV (as he signed his Christmas cards) was from Scots-Irish roots and became a close friend of James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn. They claimed a kinship through the Duke's Scottish line and and GH IV regularly visited the Abercorn Estates at Baronscourt in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Answer: Gram Parsons

"The Streets Of Baltimore" was written by Tompall Glaser and Harlan Howard in 1966 and the first to record it was Bobby Bare in the same year.
Among those to cover it was Gram Parsons, and his version was used in the HBO drama serial "The Wire" (which of course was set in Baltimore.)

Answer: Frank Sinatra

"Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" was written in the early 1920s by Fred Fisher. It was covered by a wide variety of singers and also included in films.
The 'Billy Sunday' mentioned was an evangelist who supported prohibition and was probably not too enamored of the less than saintly reputation Chicago had in the mid 20th Century.
Sinatra, of course, is associated with that other great song about the Windy City "My Kind Of Town", which is also known as "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)."

Answer: Bob Seger

"Get Out Of Denver" was of many Bob Seger road trip songs, and appeared on his 1974 album "Seven." Released by him as a single, the song did not trouble the charts.
The song was covered by other artists, including Dave Edmunds in the UK.

Answer: Marty Robbins

"El Paso" was written and released by Marty Robbins in 1959, it topped both the Billboard Pop and Country charts early in 1960. It also won a Grammy for "Best Country Song.

Answer: George Strait

Released as a single in September 1984, "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" was the opening track of an album of the same name.
The song topped the US Billboard Country charts and reached number ten in the RPM Country charts in Canada.
George Strait secured 44 Billboard Country number ones between 1976 and 2015.

Answer: Glen Campbell

"Galveston" was written by Jimmy Webb, but was made a hit by Glen Campbell in 1969. It topped the Billboard Country Charts and reached number four in the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a Canadian RPM Country charts number one. Webb wrote several hits for Campbell and in an interview in 2011 he said: "Glen was very, very good at commercializing my songs.

He could come up with great intros and great solos, great breaks, and he wrote perfect strings, because he wrote very little. It was a minimalist approach and it just left Glen out there with the song and the guitar. I tended to write a little bit more as an arranger, and probably too much. So I could have done better to have stayed out of Glen's way, I think."

Answer: Dean Martin

In September 1965, "Houston" peaked at number 21 in the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was written by Lee Hazlewood and was the title track of a 1965 album. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200.
Surprisingly for someone with such a well-regarded reputation, Dean Martin only had two Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers, "Memories Are Made of This" (1955) and "Everybody Loves Somebody", (1963).

Answer: Louise Taylor

No, I had never heard of it ether before I started researching this quiz.
Islamorada is a village, population about 6,000, in Monroe County, Florida, and is about 90 minutes drive south of Miami.
For a place that is little more than a dot on a map, it exceeded all other attempts to find a song about a town or place starting with "I" - four were found about Islamorada.
(Before anyone mentions it, I did find and reject "Inglewood" by k. d. lang, and "Indianapolis" by the Bottle Rockets.)
Louise Taylor was a Vermont-born songwriter with six albums to her credit between 1992 and 2012. The song appeared on the 1997 album "Ride."

Answer: Voices of America

"Hands Across America" was a theme song for a giant benefit event that led to 6.5 million people joining hands across the continental USA.
The aim was for people to hold hands in a chain 4,125 miles long through 17 states.
$20 million was raised for soup kitchens and shelters.
(It was probably symbolic in attempting to link hands: for long stretches, particularly in the centre of the country, there were gaps linked by yellow ribbons.)