Sounds Of The 60s Rewound Part 8 Quiz

Answer: Ray Charles

Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell wrote "Georgia On My Mind" in 1930.
But is it about the State of Georgia? Maybe not: neither was from the state, but Carmichael had a sister named Georgia.

What is not in doubt is that Ray Charles was from Georgia. Many others recorded it before he took the song to the top of the US charts and number 24 in the UK in 1960.

And of course "Georgia on My Mind" was officially designated as Georgia's state song in 1979.

Fun fact: until 2024 New Jersey was the only state in the Union that did not have a state song. In that year "New Jersey's For You and Me" by Kathleen Golden Murphy and Shannon Murphy Flannery was designated.

Answer: Al Caiola & His Orchestra

The main theme for the 1960 movie "The Magnificent Seven" was composed by Elmo Bernstein. He has been credited with more than 100 movie scores.
"The Magnificent Seven" theme was nominated for an Oscar. Bernstein was nominated 24 times and won once.

Al Caiola & His Orchestra took the theme to number 35 in the USA. The John Barry Seven had a UK number four with their cover in 1961. Yes, that John Barry, the man who went on to compose a plethora of movie themes; winning six Academy Awards in the process.

Answer: Junior Walker & the All Stars

"(I'm a) Road Runner" was a US number 20 for Jr. Walker & the All Stars in 1966.

The song was on the album "Road Runner", which featured an image of a road runner bird on the cover, suggestive of the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons of the time

Fun fact: you know the way Road Runner always out-ran the coyote? Well, in truth, coyotes can run faster than road runners. We were lied to all of our childhoods, people!

Answer: The Hollies

The Hollies released "Sorry Suzanne" in 1969 with Terry Sylvester instead of Graham Nash on lead vocals after Nash was head-hunted to join David Crosby and Steven Stills. The song reached number three in the UK, and was a number one in Switzerland.

Nash had left because he did not feel that his bandmates were willing to go on the same musical journey as he was.

When 'Gold Radio' compiled a list of "The Hollies' 15 best songs, ranked" in January 2025, they placed "Sorry Suzanne" at number 14.

Fun fact: if you have ever seen clips of The Hollies in action in their later years, you may have noticed that drummer Bobby Elliott invariably wore a hat. It was not just a fashion statement, Elliott was self-conscious about losing his hair. He later claimed to be the first musician to adopt hat-wearing while performing. He also prominently displayed his own name, as well as the band's, on his drum kit.

Answer: The Chiffons

Well of course the radio show 'Sounds of the 60s" would not be normal without a Carole King/Gerry Goffin composition, and "One Fine Day" was the one in this episode.

King and Goffin were married at the time and the song was written for their baby-sitter - who just happened to be the singer Little Eva.

She had had a hit with the King/Goffin song "The Loco-Motion", but "One Fine Day" did not work out for her voice so the all-girl group The Chiffons got it. They took it to number five in the USA in 1963

Their version was to later be used in several movies.

Years later, Carole King released the song and it became her first top 40 hit.

Answer: Denny Laine

Denny Laine wrote "Say You Don't Mind" in 1967 after going solo from The Moody Blues. It failed to chart, although Colin Blunstone had a UK number 15 hit with it in 1972.

The song was part of the playlist for Paul McCartney and Wings after Laine joined them. Laine was part of the outfit from 1971 until Macca broke it up in 1981.

By then Laine had grown dissatisfied with how he perceived he was treated. In particular, Laine co-wrote "Mull Of Kintyre", one of the biggest-selling UK singles ever - but only got a flat fee. (It was number four on a list of "The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart").

Answer: Ruby & the Romantics

Was this one that got away from Dionne Warwick? She recorded a demo, but the song went to Ruby & the Romantics, who took it to the top of the Hot 100 in 1963.

Warwick had always liked the song and included it in her album "Heartbreaker" in 1983.

The song became something of a staple for singers in the 1960s. Even Frankie Valli had a crack at it, making it a number 11 in 1975.

Answer: Matt Monro

In the 1960s in the UK and USA, a number of crooners held out their smooth vocalisations against the pop groups.

One of those was the English singer Matt Monro. Frank Sinatra said he was one of the finest male vocalists in the business.

Brought up in relative poverty in London, Monro sought escape in the music he heard on radio.

His daughter, Michelle, said: "He used to listen to Radio Luxembourg and the music he heard transformed him and took him away from reality. He'd listen to Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Perry Como."
He started singing in pubs: "When he was 14, he started touting for work in the East End, offering to get up and sing with the resident band, and pass the hat around for change. That was just enough to survive... but music was everything."

"Portrait of My Love" was a UK number three in 1960.

Answer: Four Tops

"Bernadette" was based on a real person, or at least an amalgamation of real people. Lamont Dozier, one the three co-writers, said it was about a girl he knew when he was aged 12.

The song reached number four in the USA and number eight in the UK.

Despite what you may read elsewhere, an "altered version" of the song was not used in "The Big Bang Theory" on TV. That "Bernadette" was written by Kate Miucci and Simon Helberg, two of the actors on the show..

Answer: Evie Sands

"Just call me angel of the morning, (angel)..."

The song was written by Chip Taylor, and first recorded by Evie Sands. Her vision reached number seven in the USA.

In 1981, Juice Newton had a number four on the Hot 100 with the song.

Incidentally, she had a bigger hit with "Queen Of Hearts," which went to number two.

This was a great frustration to the Welsh rocker Dave Edmunds, who had sung "Queen of Hearts" earlier, but had to stop playing it in the USA in case audiences thought he was ripping of a Juice Newton Song.

Edmunds released it in 1979 and took it to number 11 in the UK.
(Dave Edmunds remains one of this quiz author's favourite rockers. Edmunds suffered a severe medical emergency at home in August 2025 and, according to his wife, Cicci, basically died in her arms. He was revived and in hospital for several weeks.)

Answer: The Beatles

"Here Comes The Sun" was written by George Harrison on one of Eric Clapton's guitars in Clapton's garden. Surprisingly, it only made number 58 in the UK in 1969.

Years later, Tom Petty, who played with Harrison in the Traveling Wilburys, told 'Rolling Stone' magazine: "No piece of music can make you feel better than this. It's such an optimistic song, with that little bit of ache in it that makes the happiness mean even more."

Many covers have been recorded and in 1976 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel took it to number ten in the UK.

So, time for a "Sounds of the Sixties" corny joke, as told by presenter Tony Blackburn. "An email here from Karen in Denmark, 'my boyfriend says I'm stingy, but I'm not buying that'".

Answer: The Byrds

In 1965, The Byrds ensured that a Bob Dylan song hit the top of the US charts for the first time with their cover of "Mr Tambourine Man". It was also a chart-topper in the UK. This was also the first single from The Byrds.

One of the big changes to the cover by The Byrds was the jangling 12-string guitar part by Roger McGuinn. It was also played in 4/4 time instead of Dylan's 3/4 time.

Another guilty little secret; while McGuinn played guitar on the recording, the other instruments were by LA's infamous Wrecking Crew and not by the other Byrds. They did sing harmony, though.

Answer: Pinkerton's Assorted Colours

In January 1966 Pinkerton's Assorted Colours took "Mirror Mirror" to number nine in the UK. A few months later "Don't Stop Loving Me Baby" stalled at number 50.

So whatever became of Pinkerton's Assorted Colours? They had been formed in Rugby, England, 1959 as The Liberators, and then became The Wild Ones, before changing to PAC.

In 1969, after lineup changes, they became The Flying Machine and had a top ten US hit with "Smile A Little Smile For Me", although it never made the British charts.

Answer: Barbara Lewis

In 1963 "Hello Stranger" peaked at number three on the Hot 100. It was the first and biggest hit for Barbara Lewis, who also wrote the song.

Lewis had started to write songs at the age of nine, and wrote all the songs for her debut album: this was a rarity among female singers of the time.

In 1977 Yvonne Elliman had a US number 15 and UK number 26 with the song.

Answer: Herman's Hermits

Making the top ten on the Hot 100 for three different bands is the claim to fame of "Silhouettes".

Written by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay, The Rays took it to number three in November 1957. That same month, a version by The Diamonds reached number 20.

The Rays were a black band, The Diamonds were white.
There is a historical context here. In the 1950s it was not uncommon for white bands to pick up and release songs that had previously been released by black bands.

Then, in 1965 Herman's Hermits released a cover that reached number three in the UK and number eight in the US. Peter Noone sang vocals on the recording, but none of the other Hermits played; instead session musicians were drafted, including a guitarist called Jimmy Page. I wonder whatever happened to him?