Sounds Of The Sixties Rewound Part 32 Quiz

Answer: The Kinks

In 1967, "Waterloo Sunset" was a UK number two for The Kinks.
The song was written by lead singer Ray Davies, who said it was about his sister's lifestyle, but other suggestions were made.

Answer: Brenton Wood

"Gimme Little Sign" was a US number nine in 1967 and peaked at number eight in the UK. It also made the top ten in Australia.

Answer: Darlene Love

The website of Irvine Berlin, who wrote "White Christmas", notes that it has been covered more than 500 times. The 1942 version by Bing Crosby went on to become the best-selling single ever. Guinness World Records claims 50 million copies sold. In 1963, Darlene Love's version was on the seasonal album "A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector".

Darlene Love was a sought-after singer and sang on many records, not all of them under her own name. Phil Spector used her extensively in sessions that were later credited to others

Answer: The Mamas & The Papas

The Mamas & The Papas were not the first to record "Dedicated To The One I Love", that was the 5 Royales in 1957, and then came The Shirelles in 1959 and again in 1961.

In 1967, The Mamas & The Papas' version went to number two on the Hot 100. It peaked at number two also in the UK, their best showing there.

Answer: Billie Davis

In 1964, The Exciters had a number two US hit with "Tell Him".

The following year, Billie Davis took it to number ten in the UK. It was her best showing on the charts.

Answer: Wayne Fontana

Wayne Fontana (birth name Glyn Geoffrey Ellis) was born in England and had been a member of The Mindbenders, who had a couple of hits.

Going solo, "Pamela, Pamela" was a UK number 11 in 1967.

Answer: Jimmy Jones

The first to record "Handy Man" were The Sparks of Rhythm.

Jimmy Jones co-wrote the song and was a member of the Sparks, but did not sing on their recording. He changed the melody before his solo recording which reached number two on he Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.

In 1977, James Taylor took the song to number four on the Hot 100.

Answer: Anthony Newly

"If She Should Come To You" was written in Spanish as "La Montana". English lyrics were added before actor Anthony Newly recorded it in 1960. It reached number four in the UK.

That was one of 12 songs from Newly that made the UK top 40, and two reached the top.

Answer: The Allisons

This quiz author had the pleasure of meeting Harry, one half of The Allisons, on a ski trip to Ellamau in Austria. Harry was an amiable, if rather inept, chalet host. On the first night we persuaded him to play "Are You Sure" on accordion. He was self-taught on the instrument and told us he had never done that before.

The accordion, he said, saved his life when a wardrobe fell on top of the accordion, but was prevented from crushing his head.

On his night off, we guests took him out to dinner at a restaurant and he was a brilliant host. The same could not be said of his cooking: he managed to set the smoke alarm off one night. He also presented some burnt offerings for dinner one night. One party of users ran a bed and breakfast establishment in Scotland and were far from impressed.

The last I heard of him was the following year he was running a chalet in Kaprun, Austria, with his daughter.

He did tell us that after the music glamour faded he worked as an accountant.
"Are You Sure?" was runner-up in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961. It also, Harry told us, kept The Rolling Stones off the top of one of the UK's several singles charts.

Answer: David McWilliams

It was perhaps ironic that presenter Tony Blackburn played this on his BBC Radio 2 show, given that the BBC had effectively banned the song in 1967 - allegedly because it had been promoted heavily by the pirate radio ship Radio Caroline. But then again, Blackburn had made his name as a DJ on...Radio Caroline.

David McWilliams was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and wrote the song about a down-and-out he saw in the nearby town of Ballymena. The record sold a million copies and was a hit across the rest of Europe, including reaching number one in France.

Fifty years after his death, McWilliam's daughter, Many Bingham, recorded a cover. In 1992, the English singer Marc Almond took the song to number four on the UK charts.

Answer: Bobby Vee

"Take Good Care Of My Baby" was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and in 1961 it was their second chart-topper. It was also Bobby Vee's only number one in the USA and reached number three in the UK.

Vee had earlier stood in for Biddy Holly in performances after Holly's death in an air crash.

When The Beatles performed the song in their abortive Decca audition, George Harrison sang lead vocals.

Answer: Lulu

"To Sir With Love" was the title song of a 1967 movie that Lulu starred in with Sidney Poitier. The song was a chart-topper in the USA, but was only a B side in the UK.

This was the only song by the Glasgow-born singer to reach the top ten of the Hot 100. She had ten reach the top ten in the UK, including the number one "Relight My Fire" With Take That in 1993.

Answer: Frankie Vaughan

Frankie Vaughan took "Tower of Strength", a Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard song, to the top of the UK charts in 1961.

Gene McDaniels had a US number five with the song.

While Burt Bacharach is probably most well-known for his compositions with Hal David (and also Carole Bayer Sager), he wrote a number with Bob Hilliard in the period 1960 to 1962 period.

Want to know who was behind the lyrics of "Three Wheels on My Wagon"? - that was Bob Hilliard:

"Three wheels on my wagon
And I'm still rolling along
The Cherokees are chasing me
Arrows fly
Right on by
But I'm singing a happy song..."

Answer: The Ronettes

In 1963, Phil Spector produced his "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector" album featuring Christmassy standards and original songs.

The Ronettes got to sing "Sleigh Ride", which had been a 1950s classic with music by Leroy Anderson and lyrics later added by Mitchell Parish.

The Ronettes version was not released as a single until 2019 and again in 2023, when it charted at number eight in the USA and number 15 in the UK.

Answer: The Walker Brothers

In 1965, "My Ship Is Coming In" was a UK number three for The Walker Brothers. In the 1960s, they were more popular in the United Kingdom than their native United States.

The Walker Brothers had two UK number ones, but only two songs got into the top 40 in the USA - a number 13 and a number 16. "My Ship Is Coming In" topped out at number 63 on the Hot 100.