Answer Songs (2) Trivia Quiz

Answer: When I Was Your Man

All these Bruno Mars songs were in the US Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. The chorus of "Flowers" and "When I Was Your Man" is where the similarities are strongest with similar lyrical elements and ideas although the lyrics in the "Flowers" chorus appear to contradict those of the earlier song. Bruno Mars doesn't seem bothered.

His song got a boost a decade after release, however Tempo Music Investment which bought some rights into the 2012 song decided it wanted compensation and sued Cyrus and the various links in her sales chain. Bruno Mars was not a plaintiff in this action.

Answer: Dolly Parton

The song being 'answered' is Dolly Parton's 1973 song "Jolene" which Parton wrote and recorded. It was the first single from her album of the same name. It has been covered many times, including by Miley Cyrus many times between 2010 and 2019 (including with Dolly Parton in 2010).

There have also been at least three other "Jolene" answer songs, namely "Caroline" (1995) by Kirsty MacColl, "That Girl" by Jennifer Nettles in 2013 and "Diane" by Cam in 2017.

Answer: Eels

E is the stage name for Mark Oliver Everett. "Fresh Blood" (2009) is about a werewolf's desire for fresh blood. "Bone Dry" is from the perspective of the werewolf's victim. "Fresh Blood" was also featured in an episode of the TV series "Rescue Me" (season 6 episode "Legacy") as well as in the "Sneaky Pete" pilot TV episode in 2015.

The song is itself a sequel to the 2007 song "I Want to Protect You" by Eels.

Answer: Elvis Costello

According to Colorado Daily in 2013, Patterson was teaching herself to play Townes Van Zandt's "Loretta" when she got motivated to challenge the stereotype and provide the woman's perspective. Other songs getting her attention include Dolly Parton's "Jolene" with "Never Chase a Man" and Bob Dylan's "To Ramona" (answered with "Wildflower").

The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Band and Michael Jackson were the others. Incidentally, Linda Ronstadt's cover version of "Alison", released in 1979, had more chart success than Elvis Costello's original.

Answer: New Edition

Formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown and childhood friends, New Edition's big break came when they were entered into a local talent contest for a recording contract. Although they lost, the organiser Maurice Starr was impressed enough to have them in the recording studio the next day for what became their debut album.

He wrote "Candy Girl" which was the debut single of the 1983 debut album of the same name. When they parted company from Starr a couple of years later, Starr promptly formed a new boys band, namely New Kids on the Block.

Answer: Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore was at high school when she recorded "It's My Party". The album was rushed out when the single became a hit, as did the answer song when released. The album's songs have a crying theme. The album title came from the first line of the "It's My Party" song.

According to a 2015 interview in the Daily News (New York), the lyrics inspiration came from a songwriter's daughter who was crying at the prospect of her grandparents attending her 'sweet sixteen' party rather than an unreliable boyfriend. The song was written with no singer in mind so there was an element of luck in who got the song. There are at least another six versions of "It's My Party".

Answer: Rhythm & Blues

Released in 1954, "Work with Me, Annie" (written by Ballard) was immediately opposed by the Federal Communications Commission for its overly sexual lyrics. Despite censorship attempts, demand saw it top the US Billboard R&B chart for seven weeks. Their sequel "Annie Had a Baby" (1954) was also a number one hit. A story noted in a book about King Records by Jon Hartley (2010) is that a DJ joked about the follow-up "Annie Had a Baby" record which in turn resulted in orders for the then non-existent single. So the song was composed to fulfill orders.

The Etta James answer song "The Wallflower" (1955), popularly known as "Roll with Me, Henry", also had censorship issues for its double entendre lyrics. A cleaned-up version was released as "Dance with Me, Henry". The Midnighters came back with "Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More)" (1955).

Answer: Eat for Two

The songs listed are the first four tracks from the 1989 album "Blind Man's Zoo" by 10,000 Maniacs. Natalie Merchant wrote or co-wrote all the lyrics on the album. Merchant's "Eat for Two" gives a female perspective on the pregnancy experience as well as anticipation of motherhood with a nod at the complexities of relationships.

The song also appears in "Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings of 10,000 Maniacs" released in 2004.

Answer: Rick Springfield

Australian singer Rick Springfield described the inspiration to the song in Entertainment Weekly in 1999. Taking stained-glass classes, Springfield was strongly attracted from afar to a woman who was attending with her boyfriend. The boyfriend's name didn't work for the song so a name from her T-shirt (that of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Ron Jessie) was used.

Coheed and Cambria released a music video "Jesse's Girl 2" in 2020 in which Rick Springfield appears as a barman and provides some of the vocals. The lyric suggests that Jesse 'dumped' his unstable girlfriend on the protagonist.

Answer: Fiddle

More of a recitation than a song, the basic melody for the 1979 song has parallels with Vassar Clements' 1975 "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" instrumental on which Charlie Daniels played guitar. There are also elements or lyric excerpts of four old-time fiddle tunes identifiable.

The 1979 song was the band's biggest hit and was written because the band lacked a song featuring a fiddle. The 1993 sequel, "The Devil Comes Back to Georgia", saw Daniels playing the Devil's solo with O'Connor playing Johnny's solo, both playing fiddles (or violins).

The same song-writing team wrote both. Johnny Cash does the narration.