Meow-sic Trivia Quiz

Answer: Al Stewart

Al Stewart's album and single, both called "Year of the Cat" were released in 1976. It was his seventh studio album and was certified a platinum record in 1977. This means that it sold one million copies at that point. The cat theme extended from the song to the cover art on the album. It shows a woman who is dressing up as a cat for a costume party.

Answer: No

Sir Thomas John Woodward was born in 1940 in Wales. When he started in the music industry in 1963, he changed his name to Tom Jones, a nod to his maternal grandmother whose last name was Jones. The song "What's New Pussycat" was on an album of the same name that was released in 1965.

The song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Tom Jones (Thomas John Woodward) was knighted in 2006 by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music".

Answer: Zulu

Solomon Linda wrote this song under the title "Mbube" in the Zulu language in the early twentieth century. "Mbube" means lion in Zulu. In 1961, George David Weiss wrote the English lyrics of the song. It was then called "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". In 1961, the Tokens first recorded the revised version that many are still able to sing along with even today.

Many other artists have recorded this song over the years.

Answer: Nashville

"Nashville Cats" was a song released by the Lovin' Spoonful in 1966. Despite its name, this song wasn't technically about the furry pets that many have. John Sebastian, the lead singer of the group, wrote the song as a salute to the outstanding musicians in Nashville, Tennessee.

He held them in high esteem, saying in the third line of the song, "Nashville cats, been playin' since they's babies".

Answer: The Stray Cats

"Stray Cat Strut" was released in the UK 1981 and in the US in 1982 by a group known as the Stray Cats. The video was a fun one, showing the musicians and actors singing and strutting around in an alley. The song peaked at Number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In 1988, "Guitar World" magazine also ranked the guitar solo from the song Number 92 on the "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All Time" list

Answer: Father-son relationship gone poorly

Harry Chaplin wrote many songs that had a story line. "The Cat's in the Cradle" is one of them. It tells the story of a young man who has a baby boy that he doesn't make time for as the child grows. When the man grows older and retires and tries to reach out to his son, it is too late.

The relationship was never formed and the son now doesn't have time for the father. Chaplin was 38 years old when he died in a car accident, but he had released ten albums at that point.

Answer: Honky

"Honky Cat" was released in 1972. It was written by the dynamic duo Elton John (music) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics). The song was on Elton John's fifth album called "Honky Château" that premiered just before he went on a US tour in late 1972. "Honky Cat" peaked at Number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Ted Nugent

"Cat Scratch Fever" was the first song on an album of the same name that Nugent released in 1977. He wrote the song (music and lyrics). The song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 (US) in 1977. In 2009, it was named the 32nd best hard rock song of all time by VH1, a cable network in the US.

Answer: A Night to Remember

"A Night to Remember" was Lauper's third studio album and was released in 1989. The song "Like a Cat" is about a woman who doesn't want to be owned by her man, treated like a pet. The lyrics make it clear that she will not be tamed like a pet cat. The album did not do as well as her first two albums in the US, but it was her highest charting album in the UK where it peaked at Number Nine.

Answer: False

Petula Clark sang this song about a cat that sat in a window, looking like it wanted to fly away with the birds. At less than two minutes, it is a short song that was written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon. Although there were high hopes for the song, it only made it to Number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This was Clark's least successful US song up to 1967 when it was released. It is not really surprising that is wasn't overly successful because it is somewhat mournful and not perky like her previous songs.