Sounds Of The 60s Rewound Part 11 Quiz

Answer: Marvin Gaye

The Temptations had "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" on an album in 1966. That year, Jimmy Ruffin recorded a version with The Temptations as backing singers.

In 1969, Marvin Gaye released it as a single and it made number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

Although the release sold massively, nowadays if you try to find the best songs listed by Marvin Gaye, you probably will not find "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" among the top ten or fifteen.

Answer: Petula Clark

"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" was written by the British songwriting duo of Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. The song made number six in the UK and number nine on the Hot 100 in 1966.

Petula Clark later named it as one of the favourite of her releases.

Her birth name was Sally, but her father changed the name to Petula for her singing career. (Don't waste your time looking up famous people called Petula: I've done that for you and the answer is ...Petula Clark.)

Answer: The Everly Brothers

"Let It Be Me" was a 1957 release by Jill Corey in 1957. It was a reworking of the French song "Je T'Appartiens."

Three years later Phil and Don took it to number seven on the Hot 100 and number 13 in the UK.

"Let It Be Me" was covered by several other singers, including Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson.

I may have mentioned in previous quizzes in this series that I once stayed in a ski chalet hosted by one half of the British 1960s duo The Allisons.

He was talking about his career and said when they went to discuss a recording deal, the company told them their kind of harmony music was going out of style. He said they had tried to pitch themselves as "the British Everly Brothers."
The Allisons could not understand why the company chose to go with four "scruffy scousers" instead. Granted The Beatles did smarten up later on.

Answer: The Beatles

It has been said that one thing that differentiated Paul McCartney and John Lennon - especially in later years - was that Lennon wrote personally introspective lyrics while McCartney took inspiration from the wider world around him and wrote about that.

Whether or not that is factual, McCartney started off with the name - "Eleanor Rigby". He later said: "It just came. When I started doing the melody I developed the lyric. It all came from the first line. I wonder if there are girls called Eleanor Rigby?"

None of the fab four played instruments on the tracks, it was a string sensible scored by producer George Martin.

The song reached number 11 on the Hot 100 in 1966. In his solo career, McCartney included it in his set lists for many years.

Answer: The Beach Boys

"God Only Knows" was a bit of a departure for The Beach Boys from their earlier sings. It came from Brian Wilson's personal interest in spirituality. Carl Wilson handled lead vocals.

American audiences did not seem to like it. The song topped out at number 39 on the Hot 100 - it had been banned in some places in the USA because of the word "God" in the title - but reached number two in the UK.

Paul McCartney described "God Only Knows" as the "greatest song ever written."
"It's one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It's really just a love song, but it's brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian."

Answer: Sandie Shaw

Burt Bacarrach and Hal David wrote "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me" for Dionne Warwick. Lou Johnston had a US number 49 with it in 1964.
That same year, Sadie Shaw made it to the top of the UK singles chart.

In 2022, classicrockhistory.com inexplicably put it at only number two in their list of "Top 10 Sandie Shaw Songs".

Answer: The Move

The Move were a band that were big in Britain but made no impact on American markets. "Blackberry Way" was their sole UK number one, topping the charts in 1968.

Members of the band went on to form the Electric Light Orchestra and then Wizzard.

Roy Wood wrote "Blackberry Way" but is probably unforgettable for his performances with Wizzard [SIC] from 1972. They had numerous hits in the UK, including the smash "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day".

Top tip: if you would like a gold-plated pension, then write a hit Christmas
song. It is estimated that Roy Wood earns £200,000 a year from "I Wish It Could Be Christmas...". That, by the way, is loose change for Noddy Holder and Jim Lea of Slade, who reportedly earned £1m a year from "Merry Christmas Everybody". (Let's not mention Mariah Carey...)

Answer: Jackie Wilson

"I Get the Sweetest Feeling" made it to number 34 on the Hot 100 in 1968. Four years later, it reached number nine in the UK.

A native of Michigan, Jackie Wilson Began a solo career in 1957 and was a prolific releaser of albums for almost 30 years, without a lot of chart success, it has to be said. He had seven singles on the top ten of the Hot 100.

Known as "Mr Excitement" for his energetic stage presence, his style inspired many other singers, including Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Michael Jackson.

Answer: Cass Elliott

"Make Your Own Kind Of Music" was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who probably did not get the recognition that other songwriting duos had. They had previously written "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place".

After the Mamas And The Papas folded, Cass Elliott recorded this song and took it to number 36 on the Hot 100 in 1969.

Blessed with perfect pitch, her clear contralto voice with the band and as a solo artist made Cass Elliott one of the best singers of her time.

That, conveniently, brings us around to the classic musical definition of perfect pitch. It's when you throw an accordion into a skip/dumpster and it lands squarely on top of a banjo.

(I'd better give credit where it is due, that line comes from Stewart D'Arrietta, an Australian who does great tribute shows to Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits - not on the same night, of course.). This quiz author has been privileged to see him with a full band and in a duo in his Cohen interpretations.

Answer: Tom Jones

Burt Bacharach and Hal Davis wrote "What's New Pussycat?" For the Peter Sellers movie of the same name.

Bacharach later recalled: "I came up with the melody for 'What's New Pussycat?' by watching how bizarre and brilliantly weird Peter Sellers' character was in the movie."

Tom Jones said in an interview with "Q" magazine: " When I first heard it I thought, '! What the bloody hell do they want me to sing this for?' But Burt Bacharach explained, 'I want the big voice to sing this bloody crazy song', and you put it on, it's a classic."

In 1965 the song made number three on the Hot 100 and number 11 in the UK.

Answer: Brian Hyland

Brian Hyland was not the first to record "Sealed With a Kiss", that was The Four Voices in 1961.

The Hyland version reached number three in both the UK and US 1962. In 1975, Hyland took the song back into the British charts and reached number seven.

Hyland had two songs in the Hot 100 top ten in the 1960s - I'll not mention the other one here; it's bound to come up sooner or later in this quiz series.

Answer: Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin wrote "Things" and released the single in 1962. It reached number three in the US and Canada, and number two in the UK.

In 1958, "Splish Splash," a novelty song Darin wrote, became an international hit.

He had a lengthy singing and acting career and was also involved in politics, being a part of the Robert F. Kennedy campaign. He died in December, 1973 and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Frank Ifield

"I Remember You" was written for the 1941 musical "The Fleet Is In". Twenty years later, English/Australian crooner Frank Ifield took it to the top of the charts in Australia and his native UK.

Ifield had six other songs enter the Aussie top 30 in the 1960s.

Answer: James & Bobby Purify

'James & Bobby Purify' were the cousins James Purify and Robert Lee Dickey. Their biggest hit was "I'm Your Puppet", which reached number six on the Hot 100 and number 12 in the UK in 1966. They were to have several more hits in the 1960s.

Dickey quit the business at the end of the 1960s for health reasons but James Purify recruited a new 'Bobby Purify' - Ben Moore. They re-released the song in 1976 and got another UK number 12.

Answer: Love Affair

Love Affair were originally a five-piece from London that got together in 1966 and had a brief five-year career. They had two top tens on the UK charts in 1967 and a year later "A Day Without Love" reached number six.

In 1968, only the Beatles sold more records in the UK than Love Affair. In all, the band had five career top tens and were noted for using session musicians to cut the singles, but, to be fair, that was not uncommon for many bands in the 1960s. They were also known for a condescending attitude towards the Press