Sounds Of The Sixties Rewound Part 42 Quiz

Answer: Reparata & The Delrons

Brownie points if you knew "Captain Of Your Ship" from the 1968 release and not its use in a television advertisement for a popular rice-based dessert in the 1990s.

Reparata and the Delrons hailed from New York City and got together in 1962; they had a couple of songs reach the lower end of the Hot 100.

"Captain Of Your Ship", with changed personnel, only managed number 127 in the USA and number 13 in the UK.

Answer: Brenda Lee

In 1962, "Here Comes That Feeling" was a UK number five for Brenda Lee. It was a number 40 in Australia and number 89 on the Hot 100.

Brenda Lee, "Little Miss Dynamite" was just 12 years old when she had her first hit record, "One Step At A Time", in 1957. She went on to become one of a select number of singers to have hits in four decades - five if you include a Canadian Country number 85 in 1991.

Answer: Neil Sedaka

In 1962, Neil Sedaka broke a run of near-misses on the Hot 100 when "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" became his first number one. Eight had fallen just short earlier. It was also a number one in Canada and a number seven in the UK.

For all his presence across four decades, Sedaka only had three songs hit the top of the Hot 100.

Answer: The Who

"Happy Jack" reached number three in the UK and number 24 in the USA in 1966. It was on the band's second LP and the title of that LP in the USA was changed from "A Quick One" to "Happy Jack".

Now, "Happy Jack" is a song that, some say, divided opinions among Who fans. The style was a bit at odds with a previous run of singles, but it was the band's best outing on the UK charts to that point and was their introduction to the US top 40.

Answer: Cher

The Byrds and Cher fought a battle over covers of Bob Dylan's "All I Really Want To Do".

Both released versions in 1965. Cher won out in the US, number 15 to number 40 by The Byrds, while in the UK the Byrds got to number four and Cher to number nine.

Answer: Tom Jones

Time was the producers of "James Bond" movies insisted that the theme song had to have the same title as the film. John Barry and Don Black had written a different song ("Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") for the 1965 outing, but had to come up with something new.

"Thunderball" was the fourth on the official sequence, with Sean Connery reappearing as "007".

In 2022, 'Classic FM' in the UK listed "Thunderball" at number 21 in their countdown of "All 24 James Bond theme songs ranked from worst to best, based on musical merit". Of course you want to know: the number one on that list was "Diamonds Are Forever" by Shirley Bassey.

When the single was released in 1965, it reached number 35 in the UK and number ten in Canada.

Answer: John Fred & His Playboy Band

In case you are wondering, yes, "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" was a parody of The Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds".

It was a US number one and a UK number three.

John Fred Gourrier, a former baseball and basketball player, wrote the song and claims that John Lennon loved it. Apart from one other minor hit, Gourrier's recording career was short lived.

Answer: Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Like many other Motown hits, this was written by Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland. In 1965 it reached number eight in the USA and number 26 in the UK.

So, Motown had quite a stable of stars during the 1960s and perhaps the Vandellas did not quite make the top division. They were to some extent in the shadow of Diana Ross with or without The Supremes, and there was a feeling that the Vandellas were not given the same support.

Even today you can go to various corners of the internet and find people having discussions on who were better, Supremes or Vandellas.

Answer: Crazy Elephant

"Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" was a one-hit wonder for Crazy Elephant in 1969. It reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and number 12 in the UK.

The band failed to chart with any further releases.

Answer: The Mindbenders

"A Groovy Kind Of Love" just missed out on the top spot in both the USA and UK in 1966.

It was written by Carole Bayer Sager and Toni Wine - Sager was 22 at the time and teaching in high school, while Wine was 17 and still a student at high school.

Carole Bayer Sager had an impressive number of hits in a catalogue of around 400 songs that she wrote or co-wrote. In that career she chalked up an Oscar, two Golden Globes, and a combined 15 nominations, including a Grammy win for Song of the Year, for "That's What Friends Are For."

As well as Wine, she collaborated with Burt Bacharach (to whom she was married for a time), David Foster, Neil Diamond, Carly Simon, Michael Jackson, Neil Sedaka, Bette Midler, and Albert Hammond, to mention just a few.

Answer: The Rolling Stones

Surprisingly, for all its drugs reference, "19th Nervous Breakdown" was not banned by broadcasters. It reached number one in the UK and number two in the USA in 1966.

The title came first. Mick Jagger said of a 1965 US tour: "We had just done five weeks hectic work in the States and I said, 'Dunno about you blokes, but I feel about ready for my nineteenth nervous breakdown'." Jagger and Keith Richards then put the rest of the song together.

The Stones had had four UK number ones before "19th...", and officially it only made number two on the UK charts, but did top the 'NME' and 'Melody Maker' charts. It reached number two also on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached number nine in Canada and topped the charts in Germany.

Answer: Nancy Sinatra

Lee Hazlewood wrote "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for himself, but it went to Nancy Sinatra when he was teamed up as her producer.

The song reached number one in the UK and USA, and "half the countries in the world", according to Hazlewood.

Answer: Ketty Lester

"Love Letters" was written as an instrumental for the 1945 movie of the same name. Vocals were added and Dick Haymes took it to umber 11 in the USA in 1945.

In 1962, Ketty Lester had a Hot 100 number five and UK number four with a changed arrangement.

Lincoln Mayorga played piano on that track. As well as being staff pianist at Disney Studios, Mayorga was kept busy playing accompaniment for scores of songs across all genres. Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Vikki Carr, Mel Torme, Andy Williams, Ernie Freeman, Frank Zappa, and Quincy Jones were among those he backed.

This quiz author first came across Mayorga through his work with the folk singer Phil Ochs. That helped move Ochs from his protest singer rut into more lyrical and abstract songs. Ochs, of course was the best protest singer of his generation - bar none.

But what about Ketty Lester? You may remember her from her role as Hester-Sue Terhune on the US television series "Little House on the Prairie" and as Helen Grant on "Days of Our Lives". "Love Letters", though, was her best-selling song.

Answer: The Beach Boys

"Barbara Ann" was written by Fred Fossert in 1958 - Barbara Ann was his sister.
The Regents were first to record it and it made number 13 on the Hot 100.

Then, while Brian Wilson was working on his pet project "Pet Sounds" for The Beach Boys, their record company were pushing for an album in 1964. In order to buy time, the band produced an album of their favourite songs in a party-like setting.

"Beach Boys' Party" included covers of Beatles, Bob Dylan, and The Everly Brothers. While they were in the studio, Dean Torrence called in and persuaded them to cover "Barbara Ann". Torrence, one half of Jan & Dean, had recorded but not released the song in 1962.

"Beach Boys' Party" would ultimately outsell "Pet Sounds", even though the latter became considered Brian Wilson's masterpiece.

Answer: Dusty Springfield

"Son Of A Preacher Man" was offered to Aretha Franklin, whose father had been a preacher. She turned it down initially, but later covered it.

Dusty Springfield made it a UK number one and US number ten in 1969. Elvis Presley and Bobbie Gentry, Nancy Sinatra, Tina Turner and Joss Stone were among those to also record it.

Of all those who did sing it, many people regard Springfield's version as the best. Springfield had had a run of hits, but they dried up after "Preacher Man".