Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The "Queen Of Soul", Miss Aretha Franklin, released a song co-written by Stevie Wonder in late 1973 that peaked at #3 during a 17 week stay on the charts. It was sung by Stevie soon after its inception in 1967 but not used until 1977 when it was included on his massive 40 track "Anthology" album. It has since been recorded by many top artists including Luther Vandross and Cyndi Lauper, and was featured in 2006 by contestant Katharine McPhee, to rave reviews, on "American Idol".
2. While lead singer for "The Drifters", Ben E. King rewrote an old gospel song and wanted the group to record it, but their manager passed on it. After leaving the band he called on the legendary songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who fine-tuned the song into a huge hit that remained in the Billboard Top 40 for 24 weeks in 1961 but could get no higher than #4. John Lennon recorded the song for his 1975 album "Rock 'n' Roll", and the original version re-entered the charts at #9 in 1986 and was catapaulted into the #1 position on the U.K. Charts in February 1987 by courtesy of a movie of the same name that was released that year.
3. Crystal Gayle, the youngest sister of the revered country artist Loretta Lynn, scored her biggest hit on debut in 1977 with a song that topped the country charts for four weeks and lasted 18 weeks on the Billboard Top 40 list where it peaked at #2 for three weeks. In 1978 this hit won her a Grammy Award for "Best Female Country Vocal Performance". It was written by Richard Leigh with the title being attributed to his dog.
4. Rock group Queen produced a song written by Freddie Mercury and lifted off their 1977 Album "News Of The World" that remained on the Billboard Top 40 for 17 weeks and peaked at #4. The song was closely challenged by its' B side for top status and both have come to be played together on many radio broadcasts because of their similarities - not the least being the types to produce a sing-along atmosphere.
5. Immediately following the success of three Top Ten hits from the movie "Grease", another hit emerged for Olivia Newton-John in late 1978, and although staying in for 17 weeks it couldn't get further than #3. It was lifted off her album "Totally Hot" and reached #4 in the U.K. and #7 in Australia. Written by John Farrar who had previously contributed songs for her in the afore-said movie, including the #1 smash with John Travolta, "You're The One That I Want".
6. In 1965 The Righteous Brothers recorded a song that had previously held three Top Ten positions - all back in 1955. Les Baxter's Orchestra got it to #1, and vocal versions from Al Hibbler and Roy Hamilton achieved #3 and #6 positions respectively. This release remained in the Top 40 for 22 weeks during which it peaked at #4. Following a top rated movie in 1990 that featured this rendition of the song it became an international hit by not only returning to the Billboard Top 40, but topping the charts in the U.K. for four weeks and becoming the top selling single of the year. Originally it was supposed to be the B side of a Goffin/King/Spector song "Hung On You", so Bill Medley produced it.
7. R&B vocal group the Spinners had their longest running hit in 1976 with a song that the band's producer wrote originally for his son. It was the last song to feature Pillipe Wynne on lead vocals after a relatively short five year stint with the group. Though staying in for 17 weeks and reaching #2 for three weeks it's aspirations of reaching the top were thwarted by Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night" that hogged that position for eight weeks. It did, however, reach #1 on the R&B Charts for one week. In 2004 the song was used in television commercials for OfficeMax.
8. Following backup work for stars such as Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton, Rita Coolidge hit the charts in her own right in mid-1977 with a powerful song that lasted 17 weeks and reached #2 for one week, a position it also reached on the Australian Top 40. The song was recorded much earlier on by The Dells and also covered by Jackie Wilson on his 1967 album of the same name. The song was featured in the movies "Ghostbusters 2" and "Death To Smoochy".
9. Country singer Jim Reeves scored his biggest hit on the U.S. charts in January 1960 with a song that also hit the #1 position in Norway. It stayed in the Top 40 for 20 weeks and spent three of these at #2 - being denied Top position by Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place" that held First position for nine weeks and was ranked the #2 hit of the 60s. (Beaten only in the last months of the decade by The Beatles' "Hey Jude").
10. The longest running of them all that failed to reach the Top was a fairly inconspicuous hit from singer/songwriter/producer Paul Davis who, in 1977, produced a song that stayed around in the Top 40 for 25 weeks and peaked only at #7. It occupied a spot in the Hot 100 for 40 weeks - a record that remained until beaten by Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" in 1982. In a relatively short singing career he made the Top 40 on eight occasions with two Top Tens.
Source: Author
muffin1708
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