My Favorite Songs of the 1960s - Part 17 Quiz

Answer: Jackson 5

The Corporation wrote "ABC." The Jackson 5 recorded it in December 1969 and released it early the following year as a single. The song reached number one on the charts. The group performed it on various shows, including "American Bandstand" (February 21, 1970) and "The Ed Sullivan Show" (May 10, 1970). The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame on November 7, 2016.

"ABC" has been covered by performers such as Cimorelli, Tori Kelly, Sara Lowra, and The Barbershop Harmony Society.

Answer: The Beatles

Paul McCartney wrote "All Together Now" in 1968. In the movie "Yellow Submarine" (1968), the song is shown in various languages written on the screen. The song was released in 1969 when the soundtrack for "Yellow Submarine" was released.

The song has been recorded by many artists, including The Muppets (the Anything Muppets, which were Muppets that were not assigned a specific role, but used for whatever was needed at that time), Andre 3000, Lizzo, and The Sugarbeats.

Answer: Rising

John Fogerty wrote "Bad Moon Rising," and Creedence Clearwater Revival recorded the song in 1969. The song reached number two on the US charts and number one in the UK. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked the song number 364 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010.

It was covered by artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmylou Harris, The Battlefield Band, and The Reels.

Answer: Sue

Shel Silverstein, a children's author, wrote the words to "A Boy Named Sue." The song is about a boy who gets teased and gets into many fights because his father named him Sue before walking out on the family. Johnny Cash first recorded it on February 24, 1969, at San Quentin State Prison. It reached number two on the charts. Shel Silverstein also recorded a single of the song that same year.

The song has been covered by other artists, including Miley Cyrus, Chris Janson, The Brothers in Black, and The Confederate Railroad.

Answer: Troubled

Paul Simon wrote "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 1969. It was released in January 1970, with Art Garfunkel singing lead. It was released as a single and as part of their final studio album, "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The song won five Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals, and Album of the Year. The single reached number one on the charts, staying there for six weeks.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is one of the most covered songs of all time. Artists such as Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson have covered it. "Rolling Stone" named it Number 66 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

Answer: Sesame Street

Joe Raposo, Jon Stone, and Bruce Hart wrote the song "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street" in 1969. It was the theme song for "Sesame Street," a new children's television show. Jazz harmonicist Toots Thielemans first played it, with a children's choir backing it up. For the first 23 seasons, this was the version that was heard. Later on, the version of the song has been changed from time to time. For example, seasons 24-29 used a calypso-sounding version. However, the song itself, even with changes, has always been the theme for "Sesame Street."

The song has been covered by Bob McGrath, Cher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and The Smart E's among other artists.

Answer: My heart

Paul Simon wrote "Cecilia" in 1969. Simon and Garfunkel first recorded the song in 1970. The song reached number four on the US chart. The lyrics "making love in the afternoon" were controversial at the time Simon wrote the song. On "The Howard Stern Show", Simon said the drumming at the beginning was not done with drums. It was people banging on guitar cases.

The song has been recorded by several artists, including Snuggs, Times Two, Morgan James, and Smokey Robinson.

Answer: Suzanne

James Taylor wrote "Fire and Rain" in 1969. He first recorded the song in 1970. Suzanne in the song was his childhood friend, Suzanne Schnerr, and it was written in reaction to her suicide. The song reached number two on the Canadian charts and number three on the US charts. Taylor has said the song was in three parts: the first part losing his friend Suzanne, the second part overcoming his drug addiction, and the last part accepting his fame.

The song has been covered by many artists such as the Isley Brothers, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Cissy Houston.

Answer: peace

John Lennon wrote "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969. It is an anti-war song. It was first recorded in a hotel room in Montreal, Canada, with Yoko Ono and some friends. The song was written during Lennon and Ono's "bed-in." John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band was the name on the recording. The song reached number 14 in the United States and number two in Great Britain. One of the people playing guitar with Lennon was Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers. The song is mainly the line, "All we are saying is give peace a chance," over and over again. However, there are also random words and names overdubbed throughout.

Originally, the song was credited to Lennon-McCartney. Lennon expressed regret at giving McCartney credit, as this was his first solo song. Also, he explained that Yoko Ono helped him write the song, and she was not given credit.

"Give Peace a Chance" has been covered by several artists such as The Peace Choir, Louis Armstrong, Yoko Ono, and System of a Down.

Answer: Brother

Bobby Scott and Bob Russell wrote "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" in 1969. Kelly Gordon first recorded the ballad that year. Later that same year, The Hollies also recorded the song. It became a hit worldwide for them. At the time, Russell was dying from lymphoma. He and Scott only met three times to write the song. The title came from an 1884 book by James Wells called "The Parables of Jesus." A little girl was carrying her baby brother, and someone saw her struggling and asked her about it. Her reply was, "No, he's not heavy; he's my brother."

The song has been covered by artists such as The Osmonds, Neil Diamond, Bill Medley, and Gotthard.

Answer: George

George Harrison wrote "Here Comes the Sun" in April 1969 while at his friend Eric Clapton's house. The song was recorded that same year on the "Abbey Road" album. George sang lead on the song. In 2019, the song was used to promote the album's 50th anniversary. It peaked at number three on the US charts. In 1976, Harrison appeared with Paul Simon on "Saturday Night Live" and they sang the song as a duet.

The song has been covered by many artists, including Nina Simone, George Benson, Booker T & the M.G.'s, and Joe Brown.

Answer: A Boy Named Charlie Brown

While Vince Guaraldi wrote most of the music for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," it was John Scott Trotter who wrote the song "I Before E."

In the movie, Charlie Brown's team has once again lost a baseball game. Charlie Brown is depressed that he never wins anything. Lucy Van Pelt suggests he enter the spelling bee at school. She is joking, but Charlie Brown enters after his friend Linus (Lucy's little brother) encourages him. He wins his class spelling bee and goes on to the schoolwide championship. Linus (voiced by Glenn Gilger) helps Charlie Brown (voiced by Peter Robbins) learn the rules of spelling. They sing the song "I Before E," while Snoopy plays the Jew's harp. He almost loses due to nerves, but Snoopy plays the Jew's harp outside the window, and Charlie Brown wins the school spelling bee. He goes on to the National Spelling Bee in New York City. He makes it to the final round, but loses when he misspells "beagle" (ironically, that is what Snoopy is).

Answer: Promises, Promises

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" for the musical "Promises, Promises." It is included in 1969 because that is when the song was released to the general public. It was first sung, however, in the musical by the characters Fran Kubelik (originally played by Jill O'Hara) and Chuck Baxter (originally played by Jerry Orbach) in the second act of the show. The song was nominated for Song of the Year at the "12th Annual Grammy Awards," but lost to "Games People Play" by Joe South.

Johnny Mathis was the first to record it, which only reached 35 on the US charts. In December 1969, Dionne Warwick covered the song, and it reached number six on the US charts. Bobby Gentry recorded it a few months earlier, and her version reached number one on the UK and Australian charts.

Answer: Roger Miller

Kris Kristofferson wrote "Me and Bobby McGee" and Roger Miller recorded it in 1969. His version reached number 12 on the country charts in the US. Nine days before Janis Joplin died, she recorded the song for her album "Pearl." She learned the song from Bob Neuwirth, another singer. At the time she recorded, Kristofferson was in Peru filming a movie. He did not learn she recorded it until after she died. Joplin's version reached number one on the charts and became her only number one single. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked the Janis Joplin version number 148 on its "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

The song has also been covered by many other artists, including Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot, Pink, and The Grateful Dead.

Answer: My Way

Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude Francois wrote the original song "Comme d'habitude." Paul Anka wrote the English version in 1969. Anka said he wrote the English version with Frank Sinatra in mind and used words that reflected the way he heard Sinatra talk. Frank Sinatra was the first to record the English version in December 1968. It was released in 1969. It reached number 27 on the US charts and number five on the UK charts. However, the song became Sinatra's signature song.

His daughter, Tina Sinatra, said Sinatra hated the song and found it "self-serving and self-indulgent." In 2000, Sinatra's version of the song from 1969 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

"My Way" has been covered by Paul Anka, Elvis Presley, Robbie Williams, Sid Vicious, and many other artists.