Easy A Trivia Quiz

Answer: Adam

Bruce Springsteen deals with a father/son relationship in this track that is as bitter as it is loving. He draws upon the imagery of Adam and Eve in the Bible and their relationship with their rebellious son Cain who kills his own brother out of jealousy. Springsteen would later describe this song, which appears on his 1978 album "Darkness on the Edge of Town", as being somewhat autobiographical and he deliberately made the sound as jarring as possible so that it clashed with the other, more melodic, songs on the album.

Answer: Arthur

"When you get caught between the moon and New York City" is a line that Peter Allen wrote for a song that he was working on with Carole Bayer Sager, however, it was never finished. Some years later Burt Bacharach, who was romantically involved with Bayer Sager at the time, was asked to write the score for the film "Arthur" (1981) and he invited Carole to write the lyrics for the main theme.

She felt that the line Allen had written earlier fitted beautifully to an idea she had, got his permission and the rest was a top selling single and an Oscar for Best Original Song.

Answer: Abraham

This 1968 single, written by Dick Holler, was recorded by Dion (he of "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue" fame) is a tribute to the heroes of civil rights that were assassinated for their efforts. These include Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. There is mention of "Bobby" in the last verse and this is a reflection of Robert F. Kennedy who was shot dead in 1968.

Dion recorded this as a "comeback" hit and it helped him regain his standing in the music industry after spending a number of years battling a heroin addiction. Surprisingly, Holler's previous claim to fame was the novelty hit "Snoopy & the Red Baron".

Answer: Amos

This is a novelty song about a young Cajun boy who has a passion for hunting alligators. It appears on the 1970 album "Georgia Sunshine" by Jerry Reed and it proved to be a breakthrough hit for the singer. He soon followed that up with "When You're Hot, You're Hot" which also earned him a Grammy nomination. Reed would make a name for himself as an actor in the "Smokey & the Bandit" series of movies, that starred Burt Reynolds, in the 1970s.

Answer: Ahab

As a child Ray Stevens enjoyed the stories of the "Arabian Nights" and this was the inspiration behind the song. In this 1962 ditty Stevens tells of Ahab who falls for one of the sheik's belly dancers. This doesn't sit well with the sheik and before he can do something drastic about it, Ahab and Fatima (the belly dancer) make good their escape on a camel named Clyde. Clyde, the camel, is supposedly named after the lead singer of the Drifters, Clyde McPhatter, and he would continue to play a part in Stevens' career. For a number of years Stevens would release records under the banner of Clyde Records.

Answer: Axel

Named after the main character, Axel Foley, played by Eddie Murphy, this became the celebrated theme to the 1985 movie "Beverly Hills Cop". It was originally called the "Banana Theme" as it was planned to be played during the scene where Axel shoves a banana into the tailpipe of a police car. Written by German electronic musician Harold Faltermeyer, who also wrote the movie's score, it would help propel the soundtrack to a Grammy Award.

Answer: Alex

This song appears on the 1987 album "Pleased to Meet Me" by The Replacements and is a tribute to the man many people consider to be the creator of "power pop". Chilton, often cited as a seminal influence by a number of highly regard performers, was the lead singer of both the Box Tops and Big Star but lived his life in relative obscurity.

This point was highlighted by The Replacements, for whom Chilton would produce several songs, with a touch of irony in the lyrics; "And children by the million sing for Alex Chilton/When he comes 'round/They sing, "I'm in love/What's that song?/Yeah, I'm in love, with that song".

Answer: Alexander

Despite its title this is not strictly a "ragtime" song. In 1910 Irving Berlin wrote a song called "Alexander and His Clarinet" but was not enamored with it and the re-written version ("Alexander's Ragtime Band") was created a year later. The first song was also released which, technically, makes this one a sequel.

It became an instant hit and has been recorded numerous times. Bing Crosby would chart with it twice, it would help Ella Fitzgerald earn a Grammy in 1959, Johnny Ray had a hit with it in 1954 and the Grateful Dead would refer to it the lyrics to their song "Ramble on Rose".

Answer: Arnold

This song was written by Syd Barrett, an original member of Pink Floyd, and it was the band's debut single, released in 1967. It wasn't released on an album until it appeared on the band's 1971 compilation LP "Relics". The title character is a cross dresser who would reportedly steal bras and knickers from the clotheslines of residents in the Cambridge (England) area where Barrett grew up.

His mother is supposed to have lost some of her "frillies" to the cross-dressing Casanova.

Answer: Andy

David Bowie described Warhol as one of his greatest inspirations so it was little wonder that he should pen a tribute to him. At the time that he wrote the track he had not met Andy but would do so soon after and had the privilege of playing the track to his "muse". Bowie would describe in an interview in 2003 for "Performing Songwriter" magazine that Warhol "hated it".

The track appears on Bowie's critically acclaimed 1971 album "Hunky Dory".