Sounds Of The 60s Rewound Part 10 Quiz

Answer: The Tams

"Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy" was first recorded by The Sensational Epics in 1968 but it is the version by The Tams that is most remembered nowadays. It made number 61 on the Hot 100 in 1968 and number 32 in the UK two years later.
It was also recorded by Booker T. & the MGs and The Gentle Touch, both in 1968.

The Tams got together in 1960, in Atlanta, Georgia. The name came from the Tam O'Shanter hats they wore on stage.

A 1991 cover by one-name Liverpool singer Sonia peaked at number 22 on the UK singles chart.

Answer: The Ronettes

Pete Andreoli, Vini Poncia, and Phil Spector wrote "Do I Love You" and the first recording was by The Ronettes. It was released a plethora of times thereafter.

Backed by Spector's famed 'wall of sound' production, The Ronettes' version reached number 34 on the Hot 100 in 1964.

The 'wall of sound' was developed by Spector and engineer Larry Levine, aided and abetted by the top session musicians in LA's Wrecking Crew.

To make it work, Spector and his engineers recruited numerous musicians to build layer upon layer of music recorded through an echo chamber - essentially recording the song live in one take. Spector preferred to use session singers in the studio, so on many of the recordings attributed to groups, only the lead singer's voice was used.

Spector's method influenced The Beach Boys, although Brian Wilson adopted a different approach, over-dubbing instruments and vocals in post-production.

Answer: Billy Fury

"In Thoughts Of You' was Billy Fury's 11th and last UK top ten hit.

Furey had been on the scene before The Beatles swept to popular attention and although his popularity waned, he continued recording and perfuming for several more years.

Furey also had an acting career, including "Play It Cool" in 1962 and "That'll Be the Day" in 1973. In the latter, he played the lead singer in a rock band.
Incidentally, the movie also featured some of the best musicians around at the time, including Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and David Essex.

Answer: The Rolling Stones

Others had recorded "Time Is On My Side" before the Stones got their hands on it.

It became their first US hit, reaching number six on the Billboard charts in 1964. It was a number five in the UK and number three in Canada.

"Time is On My Side" was one of two songs the Stones performed on their first 'Ed Sullivan Show' appearance in October 1964.

Answer: The Toys

"A Lover's Concerto" emerged from a classical music melody, "Minuet In G", attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer, who wrote the words, were also behind some of the biggest hits for The Four Seasons.

The song was a US number two and UK number five in 1965.

High school friends Barbara Harris, Barbara Parritt and June Montiero were The Toys. "A Lover's Concerto" was their debut single and biggest hit. The Toys split up in 1968.

Answer: Diana Ross & The Supremes

For most the the 1960s, The Supremes (in all nomenclatures) were on the top of their game, chalking up hit after hit.

"I'm Livin' In Shame" was a US number ten in 1969, reaching number 14 in the UK.

It was, in a way, a sequel to their chart-topper "Love Child".

Answer: Peter Starstedt

Peter Sarstedt was a hard musician to pigeonhole. Was he a pop writer/singer? Probably not. His forte was writing and adapting ballads and folk music. He certainly was not 'hip' among those who'd discovered The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Beach Boys.

In 1968, "I am a Cathedral" was a UK number 53, but did not chart in the USA.

Answer: Dusty Springfield

In 1964, "I Only Want To Be With You" was the debut solo single from Dusty Springfield. It reached number four in the UK and number 12 in the US.

Known as 'The White Queen of Soul", Dusty learned to love the Motown sound while touring in the USA.

In 1964, she was deported from South Africa for refusing to sing before a segregated audience.

Answer: The Hollies

Graham Gouldman was aged just 19 when he wrote "Bus Stop"for The Hollies. In 1966, it was a number five on both the British and American charts.

Gouldman wrote it while riding on a bus through Manchester.

Graham Nash, lead singer of The Hollies at that time, said the band quickly recognised it as a hit. They recorded it in a 90-minute session.

This quiz author's favourite cover is by the Mona Lisa Twins. They covered the song, as well as many of the best sounds of the sixties, during their two-year residency in the Cavern Club in Liverpool. (The singers are Mona Wagner, who was born in Vienna on June 16th 1994 and her twin sister Lisa, who - coincidentally - was also born in Vienna on June 16th 1994. Sorry, just wanted to recycle an old joke by the English stand-up and television comedian Steve N. Allen.)

Answer: Scott Walker

Scott Walker took "Lights Of Cincinnati" to number 13 in the UK charts in 1969.

He had sung with the trio The Walker Brothers - they were not brothers.

There did seem to be a trend in the 1960s for groups to promote family relations, even though they were not related. Others to use it included The Doobie Brothers, The Righteous Brothers, and The Allisons (Bob Day and John Alford). The latter, after going back to his original name, Harry, was an entertaining ski chalet host for this quiz author in Austria in about 2002. He taught himself to play accordion and claimed it had saved his life on one occasion when a wardrobe fell in the chalet, but crashed into the accordion case rather than on top of him.

Scott Walker embarked on a solo career and The Walker Brothers reunited for several years from 1979.

Answer: The Crystals

Only one of The Crystals actually sang on the recording, Dolores "La La" Brooks. She was 15 at the time. Phil Spector had a group called The Blossoms sing during a recording session in Los Angeles.

It ended up a UK number two and US number six in 1963.

The Beach Boys and Kiss were among the other acts to cover the song.

Answer: Esther & Abi Ofarim

"Cinderella Rockefella" was sung by the husband and wife duo of Esther & Abi Ofarim, and was a hit across Europe, topping the charts in several markets. It helped that the song was released in several languages.

While Esther and Abi were from Israel, the song was written by the American duo of Mason Williams and Nancy Ames - they also wrote the theme song for the "Smothers Brothers Show".

Fun fact: Esther & Abi Ofarim and Sonny and Cher were the only two married couples (to date) who reached number one on the UK charts.

Answer: Aretha Franklin

"I Say A Little Prayer" was one of a string of songs that Hal David and Burt Bacharach wrote for Dionne Warwick. She released the song in 1967 and it reached number four on the Hot 100.

However, the following year, Aretha Franklin took it to number four in the UK and number ten in the US.

Warwick and Franklin were two of the dominant black female singers of the 1960s. As well as a professional rivalry, there was some animosity. Franklin was later quoted: "We've never been friends, and I don't think that Dionne has ever liked me."

Answer: Unit 4+2

In 1965, Unit 4+2 had a UK number one with "Concrete & Clay".

The band got together in 1963 but had little success with their first releases. Exposure on pirate radio stations took "Concrete and Clay" to the top of the UK charts.

The band had few successes thereafter and broke up in 1970.

Answer: Kyu Sakamoto

"Sukiyaki" was just the fourth song not in English to top the Hot 100, and the first in Japanese. Between January 1958 and January 2025, 39 songs in languages other than English had reached the top ten of America's most definitive chart.

It would not take a genius to work out that the majority of those were in Spanish, 23; followed by Korean, eight; German, three;, French and Italian, two apiece; and Japanese, one.

On this quiz author's first visit to the USA, he was interested to note that language signs in a factory he toured (Lerrino Mozzarella Producers near Denver, Colorado) were in English and Spanish. It was also the cleanest factory he had seen to that date, or since.

Anyway, back to Kyu Sakamoto - his US chart-topper sold 13 million copies worldwide. Let's put that tally into perspective: it is more than the top-selling Beatles single of all time, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (12m).