Sounds Of The 60s Rewound Part 46 Quiz

Answer: The Four Seasons

In 1965, "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" was a number one in Canada for the Four Seasons. It reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Four Seasons had 40 US number ones in the 1960s. At the time this quiz was written in August 2026, the Four Seasons were still performing, although Frankie Valli was the only original member.

An altered version of "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)" by Scottish pop sensations the Bay City Rollers was a number one in UK, Ireland and Australia in 1975.

Answer: Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote "Trains and Boats and Planes" and Bacharach made the first release. Later, Gene Putney turned it down, but it was recorded by Anita Harris and Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. In 1966 Dionne Warwick took into number 22 on the Hot 100.

While the Bacharach version did not chart on the Hot 100, it was a UK number four in 1965.

A cautionary note: If you seek an Artificial Intelligence answer to the question "did Burt Bacharach have any hits as a singer" you may get (as I did) the reply "No, Burt Bacharach did not have any chart hits as a primary singer". As well as "Trains And Boats And Planes", Bacharach had a UK number one collaborating with Elvis Costello on "Toledo".

So, if you're thinking in relying on AI for a quiz, in the words of the Colorado-based property inspector Brent Fletcher: "Don't do that".

Answer: Gladys Knight & The Pips

"Take Me In Your Arms and Love Me" barely crept onto the Hot 100 (number 98), but was a number 13 in the UK in 1967.

In February 2026, 'Ultimate Classic Rock' published a feature "40 of the Most Influential Black Female Singers of the '60s and '70s" and placed Gladys Knight at number 11. That was two places higher than Dionne Warwick and four ahead of Roberta Flack - make of that what you will.

Answer: Gene Chandler

"Duke Of Earl" was a 1962 US number one for 'Gene Chandler', birth name Eugene Dixon. Dixon had been lead singer with The Dukays who had developed and recorded the song. But their record company sold it on and Dixon/Chandler left for a solo career.

Although he kept busy, he was never again to crack the US top ten.

Answer: Johnny Nash

Sam Cooke was first to record "Cupid", then in 1969 Johnny Nash had a UK number six hit with it - one better than Sam Cooke. The Nash version reached number 39 on the Hot 100 while Cooke made number 17.

Answer: The Mamas & the Papas

According to 'American Songwriter', the Mamas and the Papas "spent hours in the studio arguing about how much they hated what would become the band's biggest hit: "Monday, Monday."

The record sold 160,000 copies on the first day, propelling the track to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It was their first and last US chart-topper.

Of the foursome, only John Phillips, who wrote it, really liked the song. In her autobiography, Michelle Phillips recalled that at the time she and Cass Elliott said "It's just about the worst song we've ever heard. It's so pretentious..." On the other hand Cass Elliott later named. "Monday, Monday" as one of her favourite Mamas & The Papas tracks.

In 1966, the song also topped the charts in Canada and reached number three in the UK.

Answer: José Feliciano

In 1967, "Light My Fire" was a US number one for The Doors. This was the song that got them banned from 'The Ed Sullivan Show'. The producers wanted them to change one line, Jim Morrison said he would, but sang the original "Girl we couldn't get much higher" anyway.

In 1968, the Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano released a Latin-tinged version that reached number three on the Hot 100 and won a Grammy. It was his only US top ten, and also reached the top in Canada.

Answer: The Monkees

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and was the fourth single released by The Monkees. It was a US number three and UK number 11 in 1967. The Monkees had three US number ones in 1966 and 1967.

A 'Rolling Stone' readers' poll in 2012 put "Pleasant Valley Sunday" at number four in their top ten.

Answer: Tommy Roe

In 1963, Tommy Roe took "The Folk Singer" to number four in the UK. It ran out of steam at number 84 on the Hot 100. Roe had had a transatlantic number one the previous year, but entered a barren spell until another chart topper in 1969.

Early in his career, in the strength of his first number one, Roe toured in England with Chris Montez and on that same tour were The Beatles.

He recalled in an interview: "The Beatles were a featured act and it ended up being a springboard for their career because there was so much attention - you know, they were like four Elvis Presleys on stage. They would perform and it would turn into chaos in the audience. Chris and I were headlining the tour, but we had to flip the billing around because you couldn't follow these guys."

He also spoke of presenting a Beatles record to the president of one US record company president who played it in is office and declared "That's the worse piece of crap I've ever heard in my life."

Answer: Tom Jones

In 1965, "It's Not Unusual" was a UK number one and reached number ten in the USA.

This was the second single from Jones, the first failed to chart. He had nine more UK top 10s in the 1960s, including another number one.

Answer: Barbara George

In 1961, "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" was the debut single from Barbara George. It reached number three on the US Hot 100. It was to be her only top 30 hit.

Answer: Judy Clay and William Bell

William Bell and Booker T. Jones wrote "Private Number" for Otis Redding, who died before he could record it.

In 1968 Bell teamed up with Judy Clay to record the song and it reached number eight in the UK and number 75 in the US.

Answer: Elvis Presley

In 1969, Elvis Presley topped the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number two in the UK with "Suspicious Minds". The song was written by Mark James and - unlike many other of his releases - Presley was not given songwriting credit.

It is thought that from 1954, The King performed almost 1,800 concerts. All of these were in North America. It has been speculated that the reason for this was that his manager "Colonel Tom Parker" was an an illegal immigrant to the USA and did not have a passport. He was afraid that if he left the USA, he would not get back in. Despite being offered huge sums of money, "Parker" refused to allow Presley to perform in Europe or Japan.

"Parker" was earning an estimated 50 percent of Presley's income (other managers got 15 percent). He feared this being discovered and that if Presley was able to get outside the USA, some rival producer or record company would poach him.
Depending on whichever source you look up, "Parker" earned $100m from Presley's career. Writing for 'Luxury London' in 2024, Rob Crossan called "Parker": "...the most memorable and divisive manager in the history of show business."

"Parker" claimed to have been from West Virginia, but was actually born Andreas Cornelis Dries van Kuijk in Breda, the Netherlands, in 1909. He stowed away on a cruise liner to enter the USA illegally in 1929.

Answer: Dion

"Runaround Sue" was a US number one and UK number 11 in 1961.
Two years later Dion married a woman called Sue, but she was not the subject of the song.

Dion had his first chart entry in 1958, and charted regularly for the next seven or eight years. "Runaround Sue" was his only US number one.

In the late 1950s Dion toured with Buddy Holly. In January of 1959, the tour bus broke down in Clear Lake, Iowa. Holly decided to charter a plane to fly to the next venue in Fargo, North Dakota. In a 2023 interview with Jim Clash for 'Forbes' magazine, Dion recalled: "It was an all-night drive to Fargo, just two hours by plane.

"Buddy took us into this room and he said, "Listen, there's only four seats on the plane." The pilot would take one, and there was room for only three others. One of the headliners couldn't go. The four of them left for the airport around midnight. I got on the bus with some of the back-up musicians. The plane took off and, within five minutes, crashed in a storm. The next morning, when we showed up and pulled into the hotel in Fargo, I remember it as a sunny day.

"We got off the bus and the locals were in the lobby watching this black-and-white TV. It was coming across the screen that these three rock 'n' roll artists had died in a plane crash. Jim, it was hard to get my mind around it. I didn't even know how to grab onto that. It baffled me. I have a good memory before that happened but, after, I don't remember too much."

(The article gives a fascinating insight into the music scene in the 1960s, if you would like to read it, try an internet search for "Dion DiMucci: Who Were 'Runaround Sue' And 'The Wanderer'?" - it's on the Forbes site.)

Answer: Peter, Paul and Mary

John Denver wrote "Leaving On A Jet Plane" while he was a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio. Some say that the song was about a young man leaving a wife or lover to go to serve in Vietnam.

On one of his BBC specials, John Denver said: "This is a very personal and very special song for me. It doesn't conjure up Boeing 707s or 747s for me as much as it does the simple scenes of leaving. Bags packed and standing by the front door, taxi pulling up in the early morning hours, the sound of a door closing behind you, and the thought of leaving someone that you care for very much"

In 1969, Peter Paul & Mary had a Billboard number one hit with the song. It reached number two in the UK and topped the charts in Canada. It was their sole number one.