Not the most pleasant track that you'll ever hear from Eminem. It was written as a "get back at you" song by the artist whose partner, Kim, was denying him access to his daughter at the time. In the track he imagines "doing away" with Kim and dumping her into a lake. Despite the lyric content it would later be used by John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, in 2014 as an argument for free speech. The case in question revolved around a man who had posted some threatening rap lyrics on Facebook, aimed at his estranged wife.
The track was recorded in 1997 and appeared on the "Slim Shady EP" with the title "Just the Two of Us". It later appears on the "Slim Shady LP" as "'97 Bonnie and Clyde".
2. ____ Jones
Answer: Casey
The original "Ballad of Casey Jones" (1902) was written by a railway worker, Wallace Saunders, to highlight the heroism of train driver John Luther Jones who gave his own life to save those of his passengers.
The Grateful Dead would create their own interpretation, which appears on their 1970 album "Workingman's Dead", though this was not the original intention. Legend has it that Rob Hunter, the man who wrote the lyrics for this song, had scrawled the line "Drivin' that train, high on cocaine, Casey Jones you better watch your speed" on a piece of paper and then promptly forgot about it. He discovered it sometime later and felt that there were the makings of a good song there. Mindful of the fact that the band had recently copped some heavy criticism for their use of the word "goddam" in their song "Uncle John's Band" Hunter also sought ways to remove the term "cocaine" from the song. To this end he employed phrases such as "lugging propane" and "whipping that chain" but each option he tried either sounded forced or was an ill fit.
3. ____ Brown
Answer: Charlie
Despite the title the song has nothing to do with the character that appears in the "Peanuts" comic strip created by Charles Schultz. The song was written by the song writing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who were responsible for a string of hits during the 1950s and 1960s. Released in 1959 the song was a big hit for The Coasters climbing to number two on Billboard's Hot 100 in the USA.
4. Ballad of ____ Whitman
Answer: Charles
This ghoulish number appears on Kinky Friedman's 1973 debut album "Sold American" and it attempts to lampoon the actions of Charles Whitman at the Texas Clock Tower Massacre in 1966.
On the 1st of August 1966 Charles Whitman stabbed both his mother and his wife through the heart and then went to the clock tower at the University of Texas where he began to shoot indiscriminately at anyone passing by. At that point in time it was to be the worst mass shooting in the history of the USA.
Friedman's attempt here is a little crude and grisly. He would have been better served to have waited a year and listened to how Elton John and his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, were able to instil a little more delicacy into this form of subject matter with their track "Ticking" that appears on Elton's album "Caribou" (1974).
5. Stupid ____
Answer: Cupid
This song was written by two youngsters in Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka was nineteen at the time and Greenfield a mere three years older. They were invited to provide some songs to Connie Francis who'd had a hit earlier that year (1959) with "Who's Sorry Now".
The boys saw Francis as a "classy lady" and pitched a range of slow ballads at her. She hated them. In desperation producer Don Kirshner suggested that they put forward "Stupid Cupid". Sedaka was horrified by Greenfield responded 'Neil, listen. What have we got to lose, she hates everything we wrote, doesn't she? Play it already!' The song became a massive hit.
6. Grey Goose ____
Answer: Chase
"Grey Goose Chase" is one of two collaborations Brad Paisley undertakes on his "Love and War" (2017) album with rapper Timbaland - yes you read that right, Timbaland. The unlikely combination of a country singer and a rapper, how could they make that work? According to Paisley in an interview with Billboard magazine that, at the suggestion of Timbaland, they should employ a bluegrass style which held a natural rhythm that could work with his rapping. The other collaboration between the two on this album is "Solar Power Girl".
Side note: Grey Goose is a brand of luxury vodka that is made in France.
7. Saint ____
Answer: Claude
For Heloise Letissier (performing as Christine & the Queens) this song was to be her first hit in her native France. The lyrics were inspired by an event that took place on a bus trip that she was on. She spied an eccentric man, dressed extravagantly, talking to himself.
It didn't take long for the people around him to start poking fun at him. In Heloise's eyes, what happened next was remarkable. Everyone on that bus seemed to form a single organism that had the same singular purpose, to verbally attack this man.
She admitted that she did nothing to change the course of this event and, sickened, she escaped at the very next stop. Later she was moved to write about the incident but she needed to provide the unknown man with an identity. The name that she chose, Saint Claude, was the name of the bus station at which she had disembarked.
The track appears on her 2014 album "Chaleur Humaine".
8. ____ the Killer
Answer: Cortez
Appearing on Neil Young's 1975 album "Zuma" this track is one of the most celebrated singles in the annals of Rolling Stone magazine, who have placed it on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Cortez is described as a killer in this recording but how he has managed to attain this sobriquet is left by Young for the listener to discern. The cleverly crafted lyrics leave how he came to kill an open ended subject;
Did he conquer these people by putting them to the sword? Certainly he shed some blood but it should be remembered that the Aztecs welcomed them, allowed them to roam their lands with freedom, and looked upon Cortez as a god.
Did he destroy a way of life? The Aztecs had worked together in harmony to build a better nature for their people. Cortez drove them harder to the point that the new land progressed under the yoke of slavery.
Did he destroy a nation? Cortez brought with him a range of diseases that the Aztecs were not immune to.
Did he kill a future? As Young intones;
"And she loves me to this day
I still can't remember when
Or how I lost my way".
9. ____ Dior Denim Flow
Answer: Christian
This song was released as a free download by Kanye West as part of his "G.O.O.D. Friday" series that was set up to provide a lead in to his fifth studio album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (2010). In all fifteen tracks were released, one week at a time, and four of them made onto the album.
This track sees Kanye hanging out with a series of beautiful women, all models, but whilst they may be physically present his thoughts are not with them, they keep drifting back to one girl he cannot have.
10. ____ E's In Love
Answer: Chuck
Rickie Lee Jones is an artist whose career is dotted with much critical acclaim but is light on commercial success. "Chuck E.'s in Love" would be her first single, one of her biggest hits and the track that would help propel her toward a Grammy for Best New Artist (1979). Jones was performing for a spell at the Troubadour in Los Angeles where a young Chuck E. Weiss worked as a dishwasher. Weiss was good friends with Tom Waits and the three of them (Jones included) would enjoy each other's company on a regular basis. Waits got a call from Weiss late one night to say that he was shooting through to Denver, following some girl he'd taken a fancy to.
As Waits hung up he said to Jones "Chuck E.'s in love" and a moment of inspiration was born.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor 1nn1 before going online.
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