Sounds Of The 60s Rewound Part 47 Quiz

Answer: The Beatles

In 1966 "Paperback Writer" was a number one on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2023, 'NME' - what old fogeys like this quiz author used to call 'New Musical Express' - presented an online feature "The Beatles: every song ranked in order of greatness" and of the 188 mentioned, "Paperback Writer" was placed at number eight.

Answer: Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson wrote "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" for the 1969 movie "Midnight Cowboy", however the producers preferred Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'".

If Nilsson was disappointed, he may have been reconciled by the fact he had a hit singing the Neil song. It reached number six in the USA and number 23 in the UK.

Answer: The Cookies

So, our mandatory CaroleKing/Gerry Goffin song in this quiz. The Cookies had a US number seven hit with the song in 1963.

The original Cookies were a trio from New York City active firstly from 1954 to 1958 and later from 1962 to 1968. Personnel changed in between.

Answer: The Troggs

Chip Taylor wrote "Wild Thing" and made lots of money, much of which ended up in the hands of various casinos.

(For no reason at all, that brings to mind the quote attributed to the Northern Ireland footballer (soccer player) George Best: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered".)

The Troggs were presented with two songs to chose from: "Wild Thing"and "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind." They recorded it in about 20 minutes.

In a 'Mojo' magazine interview, Reg Presley recalled: "We recorded Wild Thing and "With A Girl Like You" at the same session. We had about three quarters of an hour to get our gear set up for them to get a balance, then record and get out. It was at the end of a session Larry Page and his orchestra had booked. Larry was our manager and said we could have any time left over. So we recorded very fast-and for rawness, you can't whack it."

In 1966 it was a US number one and UK number two.

Answer: The Easybeats

The Easybeats were a popular band from Australia, although most of the members were of European origin.

In 1966, "Friday On My Mind" was their second single to be released internationally. It made number six in the UK and number 16 in the USA. It was, naturally, an Australian number one.

Internal disputes and drug abuse hampered their development and they managed just one more International hit, "Hello How Are You", a UK number 20 in 1968.

Answer: Donovan

In 1966, Donovan took "Mellow Yellow" to number two on the Hot 100 and number eight in the UK.

Donovan Leitch was born in Glasgow, but the family moved to England. He hailed out of the folk tradition and some called him "the British Dylan".

His first single was released in 1965 and was a UK number four. He had seven UK top ten hits in the 1960s, one of which topped the US charts. Strangely, perhaps, none of his singles chartered in Canada, although a compilation "greatest hits" album reached number two there in 1969.

Answer: The Beach Boys

It took the Beach Boys 20 recording sessions to finish "Heroes And Villains". A combination of lyrics by Brian Wilson and music by Van Dyke Parks, it was intended for the "Smile" album and was a UK number eight and US number 12 in 1967.

Van Dyke Parks became recognised as someone to move songs to a different level. While he had his own releases, notably his "Song Cycle" album of 1968, idiosyncratic is perhaps the kindest word to use for it. Writing for all music website, Jason Ankny called the LP "an audacious and occasionally brilliant attempt to mount a fully orchestrated, classically minded work within the context of contemporary pop."

Other reviewers were not so kind, but this may have been the album Brian Wilson wanted for "Smile" but did not pull off. Among those VDP worked with were Phil Ochs, Grace Kelly, Delaney Bramlett, The Byrds, Loudon Wainwright III, Rufus Wainwright, and Harry Nilsson.

This quiz author has long admired the work of VDP in producing and arranging the "Greatest Hits" album by Phil Ohs. (Spoiler alert, this was not an album of the greatest hits of Phil Ochs - since he never had any.)

Answer: Eden Kane

"Well I Ask You" was a UK number one for Eden Kane (birth name Richard Sarstedt) in 1961. It was also a number one in Ireland and reached number 15 in Australia, but peaked at 119 in the USA.

Kane was to have four more UK top tens, and went on to a career in acting and record producing. Among his acting rolls were in the "Star Trek" series "The Next Generation" and "Star Trek Voyager." Blink and you might have missed him in two "Columbo" features.

Answer: Jeff Beck

After leaving The Yardbirds, the first single from Jeff Beck was "Hi Ho Silver Lining". It reached number 14 in the UK in 1967.

The song was conceived by the American duo Scott English and Larry Weiss, but English later admitted to having hated it. English had played an unfinished version to UK producer Micky Most who loved it and convinced him to finish it. It was Jeff Beck's best performing song as a solo artist.

Answer: Johnny Kidd and the Pirates

"Shakin' All Over" was a UK number one for Johnny Kidd and the Pirates in 1960. Five years later, The Guess Who reached the top of the Canadian charts with their cover.

Johnny Kidd and the Pirates were a pre-Beatles outfit that probably did not get the support they deserved from record companies. They were performing original music while the record companies were repackaging imports from across the Atlantic.

This was to be the best seller from Johnny Kidd, who died in a car crash in 1966.

Answer: The Four Pennies

In 1964, The Four Pennies took "Juliet" to number one in the UK.
The band had modest success but lost an influential member and their career stalled by 1966.

Answer: Timebox

"Beggin'" was first released by The Four Seasons in 1967 and made number 16, but a year later it was covered by Timebox in the UK and reached number 38 in the charts.

Timebox got together in Lancashire in 1965. Although they released several singles, "Beggin'" was the only one to trouble the chart compilers.

Answer: Dean Martin

"Gentle On My Mind" had been around for a while when Dean Martin took it to number two in the UK in 1969.

It had been a solo number 39 on the Hot 100 in 1967 for Glen Campbell. The following year he sang it as a duet with Bobbie Gentry on an album that topped the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

Answer: Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye had a UK and US number one with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" in 1968. It reached number eight in Canada.

It had been through several hands, including Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Isley Brothers and Gladys Knight and the Pips. Marvin Gaye's version was recorded somewhere in the mix, but initially not released as a single. It was on a 1968 album and was plucked from the song list by a Chicago radio DJ, and only then was it released as a single. It was Gaye's first number one and caught the top spot on the Hot 100 for seen weeks, a record at that time for a Motown song.

An IMDb feature "The 50 greatest male R&b singers of all time" placed Marvin Gaye at number one.

Answer: Young-Holt Unlimited

In 1968, Barbara Acklin released a song called "Am I the Same Girl". It reached number 33 on the US R&B charts. In 1992, the British outfit Swing Out Sister took it to to the top of the US Adult Contemporary Chart.

But in 1969, the Barbara Acklin vocals were removed and a piano piece added so that an instrumental "Soulful Strut" reached number one in Canada and number three on the Hot 100.

Young-Holt Unlimited were a Chicago jazz group who never reached such dizzy chart heights again and disbanded in 1974.