Sounds Of The Sixties Rewound Part 38 Quiz

Answer: The Beach Boys

Did you pick up on that amazing bass line by Brian Wilson on the record? No?...that's because Carol Kaye played it in the studio. None of the Beach Boys played in the studio, although Wilson did play it in concert.

Mike Love wrote the lyrics and Carl Wilson sang lead. It took two months to record the single in six LA studios. It was probably worth it; the song topped the charts in the UK, Australia and the USA. It peaked at number two in Canada.

In June 2025, 'Mojo' magazine compiled a list of "Brian Wilson And The Beach Boys' 50 Greatest Songs", placing "Good Vibrations" at number two and noting: "a song that everyone recognises, but only one man knows for sure what it really means."

Meanwhile, in 1978, a shop called 'Good Vibrations' opened in Belfast and was hailed as a nursery for punk rock in Northern Ireland. It was a place where fledgling bands such as The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, The Outcasts and Rudi could hang out. The Good Vibrations record label was also important to the northern Irish punk scene, with The Undertones' single, "Teenage Kicks" one of its best known releases.

Answer: Cass Elliot

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote "It's Getting Better" and Cass Elliott took it to number 30 on the Hot 100 in 1969.

It was the first solo single for Elliott after she left The Mamas And The Papas. It has been reported that she did not particularly like the songs Mann and Weil wrote for her.

Elliott had one of the sweetest voices of her time and died all too young aged 32. (Ignore the myths; she died of a heart attack.)

Answer: The Rolling Stones

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger and was the first number US one for the Rolling Stones. It also topped the charts in the UK in 1965.

Jagger later said: ""People get very blasé about their big hit. It was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band. You always need one song..."

Answer: Clodagh Rodgers

The United Kingdom produced a host of fine female singers in the 1960s, but Clodagh Rodgers was often overlooked.

She was born in Northern Ireland and discovered by songwriter Kenny Young when she appeared on a TV talent show. Young wrote "Come Back And Shake Me" and it reached number two in the UK.

Rodgers also represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest and maintained a busy schedule of television appearances until going into near-retirement in 1979. She died in 2025.

Answer: Ben E. King

Phil Spector and Jerry Leiber wrote "Spanish Harlem" and Ben E. King made it a US number ten in 1960.

This was the first solo single for King. In 1971 Aretha Franklin had a US number two with the song.

It is debatable whether Jerry Leiber actually liked Spector. He said: "He wore his ambition like a topcoat; it was all over him... Phil was like a puppy dog, except he wasn't especially lovable. Everywhere I went he would follow." That was not a solo view. George Harrison worked with Spector, but was said to "loathe" some of Spector's production values.

Answer: The Zombies

In 1968, "Time Of The Season" reached number three on the US Hot 100 - months after the band had broken up. The tried to reunite again on the strength of the hit, without lead singer Colin Bluntstone, but this was short-lived and it was all over for them by 1969.

Answer: Don Gibson

Hal David teamed up with Paul Hampton to write "Sea of Heartbreak". It reached number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1961.

Gibson has a string of successes on the US country charts, often with his own compositions. He recorded from 1956 until 1980 and had two country number ones.

Answer: Pink Floyd

In 1967 Pink Floyd took "See Emily Play" to number six in the UK.

It was written by Syd Barrett, one of the founder-members of Pink Floyd. Unfortunately he imbibed a little too much on the hard drugs scene and by 1968 the band could no longer continue with him, or maybe vice-versa.

Barrett was by all accounts a happy, balanced person until the drugs got the better of him. Perhaps getting away from Pink Floyd was best for him. He died 30 years after getting out of the business.

Answer: Cat Stevens

In 1967, Cat Stevens made "Matthew & Son" a UK number two. It was his second single.

It also squeezed into the US Cash Box Top 100 and the Canada Top 100 (RPM). It topped the charts in New Zealand.

In 2023, 'Smooth Radio' in the UK placed "Matthew & Son" at number seven in their countdown of "Cat Stevens' ten greatest songs, ranked".

Answer: The Monkees

"I'm A Believer" topped the charts in the UK, Canada, Australia and the US in 1966.. It was written by Neil Diamond, who also recorded the song on an album.

Mickey Dolenz sang lead vocals, but none of band played instruments in the studio.

At first The Monkees were dismissive of the song. Years later, Neil Diamond was asked if he resented the fact that his songs were going to a made-for-TV-band and replied: "The head of my record company was very angry - I'd given away a number one hit - but I was thrilled. See, I was a songwriter, first and foremost. I kind of reluctantly became a recording artist, you know? I wanted to write songs and have other people record them ... but nobody would record my stuff, so I had to sing the songs myself."

Answer: Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon

"Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache" reached number four in the UK in 1968. It did not crack the Hot 100.

Although they hailed from Rochester, New York, the band had more success in Europe.

Answer: Marty Wilde

Bobby Vee had a US hit with his version of "Rubber Ball", but Marty Wilde's cover reached number nine in the UK.

Answer: The Brook Brothers

The Brook Brothers had a busy series of releases in the 1960s and "Warpaint" was their biggest success, reaching number five in the UK.

The warpaint is a reference to the amount of makeup that women (and who knows, men) slap on their faces.

The Brooks were actual siblings, Geoff and Ricky, but after first performing in 1956, their style of suit was swamped by Beatlemania and over by 1965.

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon wrote "Homeward Bound" in England.

In 1990, he told 'Song Talk' magazine: "That was written in Liverpool when I was traveling. What I like about that is that it has a very clear memory of Liverpool station and the streets of Liverpool and the club I played at and me at age 22. It's like a snapshot, a photograph of a long time ago. I like that about it but I don't like the song that much. First of all, it's not an original title. That's one of the main problems with it. It's been around forever. No, the early songs I can't say I really like them..."

In 1966 the song reached number five in the USA and number nine in the UK.

Answer: Susan Maughan

Confused? you might be if you were to hear "Bobby's Girl" played on radio without introduction. Was it Susan Maughan's version or Marcie Blane's?
Both were released in late 1962 with very similar musical arrangements. Maughan reached number three in the UK and Blane number three in the USA.

Blane was out of the business within a few years, citing dissatisfaction. "The music business was impossible for me to deal with. Everything changed. I felt very isolated and very lonely and I decided not to continue, I couldn't. It was too difficult. I didn't feel comfortable in front of a lot of people, with everyone making a fuss. I didn't have the sense of myself I needed. It's taken all these years to be able to enjoy what there was."

Maughan recorded extensively but without repeating that success for several years and appeared in regular TV slots before her star, too, waned.