Everybody's Talking At Me: The Fred Neil Story Multiple Choice Quiz | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Everybody's talking at me. I don't hear a word they're saying, Only the echoes of my mind. People stopping, staring, I can't see their faces, Only the shadows of their eyes..." These are the opening words of perhaps the most famous song written by the American folk/blues singer Fred Neil. He released it as a single, but it flopped. Who took the song to the higher reaches of the US charts?

Answer: Harry Nilsson

The song appeared on Fred Neil's 1967 self-titled album, but his single version made no inroads into the charts. It was picked up by Nilsson and included on the soundtrack of the 1969 movie "Midnight Cowboy". It reached number 6 in the US pop charts and earned Nilsson a Grammy.
Neil wrote the song in the studio one night after the producer said he could not go home without laying down another track. It's said that his version, much sparer in arrangement than Nilsson's, was done in one take.
Some sources claim that "Everybody's Talking" was preferred by the filmmakers to "Lay Lady Lay", which Bob Dylan had written for the movie.

2. "Everybody's Talking" is a song that is closely associated with the Oscar-winning movie "Midnight Cowboy" in 1968. But many years later it appeared on the soundtrack of another Oscar winning picture. Which of these was it?

Answer: Forrest Gump

"Midnight Cowboy" was the first movie rated X or NC-17 in the USA to win an Oscar for 'Best Picture'. "Forrest Gump" (1994) won six Oscars. It also tipped its hat to "Midnight Cowboy" in a scene in which one of the characters was almost run down by a taxi - a similar scene appeared in "Midnight Cowboy". The song "Everbody's Talking" was also playing in the background.

3. The American blues and folk singer Fred Neil produced some memorable songs and also had an indelible influence on many other singers. Where was he born?

Answer: Cleveland, Ohio

Neil was born on March 16th 1936 in Cleveland, and died on July 7th 2001 in Summerland Key, Florida. He grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. He performed for a time in a duo with Vince Martin and among those to have paid homage to him were John Sebastian, Jeffy Jeff Walker and Tim Hardin.

4. The singer Fred Neil also plied his trade as a jobbing songwriter among dozens of others who worked out of one New York City location. Which of these, a home of many hits, was it?

Answer: Brill Building

The Brill Building at 1619 Broadway in Manhattan was a hits factory. Among those to have worked there at one time or another were Burt Bacharach & Hal David; Neil Diamond; Gerry Goffin & Carole King; Phil Spector; Gene Pitney; and Neil Sedaka.

5. Fred Neil was noted as a singer as well as a songwriter. Which soon-to-be mega star famously provided harmonica backing for him in the folk clubs of 1960s New York City?

Answer: Bob Dylan

Dylan backed Neil in performances at places like the Cafe Wha?, one of the centres of the folk music revolution of the 1960s. Neil encouraged Dylan, as he did other up-and-coming singer/songwriters, among them David Crosby. Crosby said of Fred Neil: "'He taught me that everything was music." [quoted in the 'Rolling Stone' obituary of Fred Neil by Anthony DeCurtis, 2001.] In the liner notes to "The Other Side of Fred Neil", Richie Unterberger wrote: "No other performers from the New York folk scene were as skilled at blending blues, folk, and rock influences into a tuneful and soulful whole, throwing in some pop, gospel, and even Indian influences along the way."

6. In 1965, Fred Neil recorded his first album, "Tear Down The Walls", as part of a duo. Who was the other half?

Answer: Vince Martin

Vince Martin had a hit, "Cindy, Oh Cindy" as part of The Tarriers in 1957. Others to play on the Neil/Martin album included John Sebastian and Felix Pappalardi.
John Sebastian said of Neil: " "Whatever we were calling it, it definitely had the qualities of rock'n'roll. But the styles were always just this side of rock'n'roll."

7. "Come on baby Let me take you by your hand Ah come on sweet thing Let me take you by the hand Can't you see I wanna be your candy candy Your candy man..." This was another song from the pen of Fred Neil. It was also the B side of a hit single called "Crying" by a famous shades-wearing performer. Who had that hit?

Answer: Roy Orbison

"Crying" was US Number 2 in 1961. "Candy Man" made it to Number 25 for Orbison that same year.
In the liner notes to Neil's album "Bleecker and MacDougal" Richie Unterberger wrote: "Neil's genre-blending and songwriting were extremely influential on the musicians that were about to break folk-rock wide open, as [John] Sebastian soon did in the Lovin' Spoonful. Sebastian's own composing, he acknowledges, was influenced by 'the natural way [Fred] could combine these various styles just by being who he was.'"

8. "Would you like to know a secret just between you and me I don't know where I'm going next, I don't know who I'm gonna be But that's the other side of this life I've been leading That's the other side of this life..." These are the opening lyrics of a Fred Neil song that also found its way onto a B side. Which high fliers recorded it and featured it heavily in concerts?

Answer: Jefferson Airplane

"The Other Side of This Life" was the B-side of "Plastic Fantastic Lover", which peaked at number 133 in 1968. The Airplane dedicated "Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" and "House at Pooneil Corner" to Fred Neil. The song was also covered by Peter, Paul & Mary, the Lovin' Spoonful and the Youngbloods.

9. "Moody, bluesy, and melodic" is how Fed Neil was described on the website devoted to his life and music. It seemed he had barely started as a singer before he disappeared to his beloved Florida, where he devoted a lot of time to promoting the welfare of creatures familiar to many along the State's shores. Which species was it?

Answer: Dolphin

Neil co-founded The Dolphin Research Project in 1970 to campaign against the exploitation of these beautiful creatures. He largely retired in 1970, though did make a number of musical comebacks, mainly in support of The Dolphins Research Project. His last public performance was in 1981.
He also wrote a song called "The Dolphins":
"This old world may never change
The way it's been
And all the ways of war
Can't change it back again

I've been searchin'
For the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder
Do you ever think of me..."
(All the creatures mentioned are listed as Florida state animals).

10. "Come back baby - baby won't you come back Come back baby to me Now I know why all sad hearts cry Baby baby come to me Ah well I cried all night ever since you left me Nothing has gone right - oh lonely old me..." This was one of the songs that Fred Neil wrote before turning to singing and performing himself. Which ill-fated rock'n'roller covered the song?

Answer: Buddy Holly

While Buddy Holly wrote (or co-wrote) many of his own songs, he also performed those by other songwriters, including Roy Orbison, Fats Domino, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller and Chuck Willis.
Holly only released three records during his lifetime, but had a huge influence on the music of his day. He died when his plane crashed taking him from a performance in Clear Lake, Iowa, to Moorhead, Minnesota, on February 3rd 1959.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Everybody's Talking At Me: The Fred Neil Story Quiz

"Everybody's talking at me, I don't hear a word they're saying, Only the echoes of my mind" are the opening words of one of the most famous songs by Fred Neil, a songwriter often forgotten by music lovers, but not the many musicians who revered him.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>