Devil or Angel Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bobby Vee

As Bobby Vee, Robert Thomas Velline has had 34 Hot 100 chart hits. Ten of the recordings have hit the Top 20. After a few releases that did not chart well, "Devil or Angel" reached number six and began a string of hits for Bobby Vee, including the number one "Take Good Care of My Baby".

Other hits include "Rubber Ball", "Run to Him" and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes". When Bobby was only 15 he and some fellow North Dakota schoolboys calling themselves Bobby Vee and the Shadows were given the task of filling in for Buddy Holly and his band after Buddy Holly's plane crashed.

They were a success and Bobby went on to have a solo career. Singer/Songwriter Gene Pitney had a successful career with songs such as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Town Without Pity". Sam Cooke sang for the gospel group Soul Stirrers before having a succession of hits on the charts such as "Wonderful World" and "You Send Me". Bobby Rydell was one of the Philadelphia Bandstand Boys whose hits include "Forget Him" and the number two "Wild One".

Answer: Mark Dinning

"Teen Angel" was written by Jean Dinning and her husband, Red Surrey. Jean's brother, Mark Dinning, took it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February, 1960. Despite being a sad ballad, the song began a string of hits on the same subject matter including Ray Peterson's 1960 hit "Tell Laura I Love Her", Pat Boone's 1961 "Moody River" and "Patches" by Dickey Lee in 1962. Dinning never duplicated the success of "Teen Angel".

He had three minor hit records following "Teen Angel" and continued to perform until his sudden death from a heart attack at only 52.

Answer: The Penguins

"Earth Angel" was originally released by The Penguins in 1954 on the Dootone label as the B side to "Hey Senorita". "Earth Angel" quickly became more popular and reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and number eight on the Pop Chart for three weeks in 1955.

The song would be the only Top 40 hit by The Penguins. Actual authorship of the song is not clear because it was mired in litigation for some time. The song also became a major hit for The Crew-Cuts in 1955. Since then many artists have recorded their own versions of the song. The Five Satins are best known for their fifties hit song "In the Still of the Night".

The Spaniels recorded "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight". The Moonglows' first successful release was the 1954 Chess recording of "Sincerely".

It became a number one R&B hit and was covered by The McGuire Sisters.

Answer: Neil Sedaka

"Next Door To An Angel" reached number five for Neil Sedaka in 1962. Other early hits for Sedaka include "The Diary" "Oh! Carol", "Calendar Girl", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do". "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" made it to number one in 1962. "Oh! Carol" was written for Sedaka's former girlfriend, Carole King.

In 1975 Sedaka recorded a slower version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." It reached number eight on the charts in 1976. Neil became the second artist after The Ventures to hit the Top Ten twice with two separate versions of the same song. Fabian had a series of hit singles including "I'm a Man", "Hound Dog Man", "Turn Me Loose" and "Tiger". Paul Anka recorded his first single titled "I Confess" at age 14. In 1959 Frankie Avalon's "Venus" and "Why" both went to number one.

Answer: Merrilee Rush

"Angel of the Morning" was written by songwriter Chip Taylor and originally recorded by Evie Sands for Cameo-Parkway Records in 1967. Cameo-Parkway Records went bankrupt so the song received no promotion. The song was then recorded by Merrilee Rush and went to number seven in 1968.

The highest-charting version was recorded and released in 1981 by Juice Newton, hitting number one on the Billboard chart. Chip Taylor also released a version of the song with Carrie Rodriguez. After releasing her national hit, "Different Drum", Ronstadt toured with Jackson Browne, The Doors and Neil Young. Kim Carnes was a member of The New Christy Minstrels before recording her hit, "Betty Davis Eyes".

Sheena Easton's first US hit single was "9 to 5" but was renamed "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's hit movie title song "9 to 5".

She went on to record the Bond theme "For Your Eyes Only".

Answer: Curtis Lee

Curtis Lee had two recordings produced by Phil Spector. They were "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" and "Under the Moon of Love". Both songs were written by Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee. Tommy Boyce would later team up with Bobby Hart and write over 300 pop and rock songs.

Their first hit was "Lazy Elsie Molly" by Chubby Checker in 1964 and they went on to write such hits as "Last train to Clarksville". In 1961 "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" hit the Top Ten. Once Lee's affiliation with Spector ended he had no more significant hits. Lee was handsome and talented enough to have been considered a Teen Idol if his career endured.

Although known for his holiday hit, "Jingle Bell Rock", Bobby Helms also had a hit with "My Special Angel" in 1957. Among Bobby Day's best known songwriting efforts is "Over and Over", later made popular by the Dave Clark Five.

In 1958 Robin Luke wrote and recorded "Suzie Darlin'" in his basement. The number five hit was named after his little sister.

Answer: Shelley Fabares

In 1962 Shelley Fabares was acting as Donna Reed's daughter on "The Donna Reed Show" when she had a number one hit with "Johnny Angel". She followed "Johnny Angel" with "Johnny Loves Me", which reached number 21 the same year. She went on to act with Elvis in three of his films. Fabares married Jan & Dean's record producer, Lou Adler, in 1964 and they separated in 1966.

She later married actor Mike Farrell. Shelley and Annette Funicello have been friends since they were young teenagers. Shelley was a bridesmaid at Annette's first wedding. Annette had a string of hits starting with "Tall Paul" in 1959 before her beach-movie career.

In 1962 Marcie Blane's "Bobby's Girl" made it to number two. Diane Renay is best known for her 1964 hit song, "Navy Blue".

Answer: Lonely Night (Angel Face)

"Lonely Night (Angel Face)" was a 1976 hit single for the Captain & Tennille. It peaked at number three on the Billboard singles chart in March and at number one on the Adult Contemporary charts. It was their third of 14 hit singles. Daryl Dragon had been backing The Beach Boys and was between tours when Toni Tennille called him in to audition as a replacement keyboardist for a show she was doing called "Mother Earth".

She joined Dragon in the next tour with the Beach Boys and when the tour was over they began performing as a duo Encino, California.

The gig led to a contract with A&M Records. "Angel From Montgomery" was written and done by John Prine and covered by Susan Tedeschi. "Angel Eyes" is by ABBA and "How Could An Angel Break My Heart?" is a Toni Braxton hit.

Answer: Sweet Black Angel

"Sweet Black Angel" is a cut from the Rolling Stones' 1972 "Exile on Main Street" album. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards about civil rights activist Angela Davis. Prior to inclusion on the album it was released as the flip side to "Tumbling Dice". "Devil in Her Heart" was a George Harrison number during the Beatles' early sixties tours.

It was originally recorded by the Donays. "Angel Come Home" was written by Carl Wilson and Geoffrey Cushing-Murray for the The Beach Boys. It is on their 1979 "L.A. (Light Album)" album . Dennis Wilson sings lead vocal. "Friend of the Devil" was done by The Grateful Dead.

The music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson with lyrics by Robert Hunter. It is the second track from Dead's 1970 "American Beauty" album.

Answer: Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels

At number four, "Devil With A Blue Dress On" is the highest charting single for Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels. The 1965 hit song is a medley combined with "Good Golly Miss Molly". Mitch Ryder also charted "Sock it to Me-Baby!" at number six in 1967 and "Jenny Take A Ride!", which reached number ten in 1965.

In the seventies Ryder attempted a cabaret style show and the chart hits stopped coming. Winona Laura Horowitz took "Winona Ryder" as a stage name after seeing a Mitch Ryder album in her father's collection. Little Richard had a string of hit singles beginning in 1955 including "Tutti Frutti", "Lucille" and "Long Tall Sally".

In 1955 James Brown was singing with a band called The Avons when they had their first hit with "Please, Please, Please".

He then changed the name of his backing vocalists to The Famous Flames. Contrary to popular belief the Famous Flames was not his musical band. Several former members of Little Richard's band joined Brown when Richard abruptly quit the music business. Bob Seger once stated that Little Richard was the first one that left a musical impression on him. Seger also admitted that Brown's "Live at the Apollo" is his favorite record.