Sounds Of The Sixties Rewound Part 43 Quiz

Answer: Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore was signed up at the age of 16 to Mercury Records. Her debut single, "It's My Party", topped the US charts after it was snatched from under the nose of Phil Spector, who had wanted it for The Crystals.

The following year, 1964, "Maybe I Know" was US number 14 and reached number 20 in the UK.

Answer: The Angels

The Angels hailed out of New Jersey and were noted for a lot of studio work behind other singers.

In 1963 their own recording of "My Boyfriend's Back" was a US number one and a UK number 50.

Answer: Shirley Bassey

Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields wrote "Big Spender" for the Broadway musical "Sweet Charity" in 1966.

Peggy Lee was first to record it, but it is probably best known nowadays for the powerful version recorded by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey. It reached number 21 in the UK in 1967.

Answer: Elvis Presley

Fun fact: Elvis Presley is believed to be the most impersonated singer in music history. Estimates vary of Elvis tribute acts, but some sources tot it up to 100,000.

"Rock-A-Hula Baby" was written for the movie "Blue Hawaii" (1961). That year, "Rock-A-Hula Baby" hit the top spot in the UK charts.

Answer: Timi Yuro

In 1962, Timi Yuor was first to record "What's A Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You)", but it was to be picked up by numerous artists over the years.
Timi Yuro, "the little girl with the big voice", was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1941.

"What's A Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You)" reached number 12 on the Hot 100.

Answer: The Rockin' Berries

Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote "He's in Town" and the first release was by The Tokens in the US. In the UK, The Rockin' Berries took it to number three in 1964.

The Rockin' Berries got together in Birmingham, England, in the late 1950s and had a long performing career from 1961 until 1999, although many line-up changes meant that only one member, Chuck Botfield, remained constant in all those years.

Answer: Cupid's Inspiration

Teddy Randazzo and Victoria Pike wrote "Yesterday Has Gone". In 1969, Cupid's Inspiration took it to number four in the UK. The first release was in 1967 by Anthony and The Imperial.

Anthony and The Imperials were a 1950s New York City vocal harmony band. They had several million-selling records, but lost out to the new sound of the 1960s. The band kept going over the decades, though, and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009.

And just like the Imperials, Cupid's Inspiration have defied the decades. Formed in 1968, they continued performing until 2021.

Answer: Skeeter Davis

In 1962, Skeeter Davis reached the Top Ten on Billboard's Hot 100 Pop, Adult Contemporary, R&B and Country charts with "End Of The World". It was a number two on the pop chart.

Mary Frances Penick was born in Kentucky in 1931. North Americans probably know it, but this quiz author had to look it up to find that 'Skeeter' is a colloquial name for mosquito.

Answer: Connie Francis

Connie Francis had a UK number two with "Robot Man" in 1960. It was also a hit in Australia and New Zealand.

Although she had been around for a while in the 1950s, it was not until the next decade that Connie Francis hit her stride. She was the first woman to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Gale Garnett

"We'll Sing in the Sunshine" was written by Gale Garnett and won her a Grammy in 1965.

A year earlier, it reached number four on the Hot 100 and was a number one in her native New Zealand and in Canada, where the family moved when she was 11.

Garnett was aged just 14 when she wrote the song for Hoyt Axton. He recorded it in in 1963 and Garnett was asked to cut it herself the following year. Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand also covered the song.

Answer: The Drifters

What do you get when four of the Brill Building's top songwriters combine their talents? You get a Hot 100 hit like "On Broadway" for The Drifters.
Two pairings got together to write this one; Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

The song was actually conceived with a girl group in mind. Cynthia Weil said in an NPR interview: "It was about a girl coming to New York and dreaming of Broadway and stardom. It was much more kind of escape from a small town and I'm going to make it. When we met with Jerry and Mike and played this for them, they said, you know, we're doing The Drifters, so it would need a whole other perspective. You can go home and do it yourself, or you can write it with us. And these guys were our idols. We thought they were great and it would be a fantastic opportunity to work with them. So we ended up reworking the song together."

Answer: Manfred Mann

"Oh No Not My Baby" was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and had been recorded by others before Manfred Mann came across it. They took it to number 11 in the UK in 1965.

Manfred Mann had 11 singles hit the Top Ten in the UK in the sixties, including two that reached number one.

Answer: Bobbie Gentry

That "Ode to Billie Joe" - a song about suicide - reached number one on the US charts - is one of the mysteries of sixties music. Indeed, Capitol Records were reluctant to release it, not only because of the morbid subject, but the fact the song was over four minutes long.

Bobbie Gentry wrote the song about a fictional person, although there is a real Tallahatchie Bridge in Money, Mississippi. The song won three Grammys.

Answer: The Beach Boys

Just as The Beatles covered songs first recorded by others, so too did The Beach Boys.

"I Can Hear Music" was first released by The Ronettes in 1966 and then The Beach Boys picked it up in 1969. It reached number 24 on the Hot 100 and number 10 in the UK.

The Beach Boys covered a lot of songs throughout their career, including "Sloop John B", "Do You Wanna Dance","Then I Kissed Her" and "California Dreamin'". The BBs also covered three Beatles songs on their album "Beach Boys' Party!"

For the sake of balance, I did check, but could find no record of The Beatles covering a Beach Boys song.

Answer: The Animals

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and Mann was first to record it. That was pulled after the version by The Animals came out. It reached number two in the UK and number 13 in the USA.

Although "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" was not deliberately written about the Vietnam War, many GIs serving there adopted it as an anthem.

In a February 2016 article, the militaryhistorynow website listed ten songs that "enabled countless soldiers in Vietnam to connect with each other and to 'the World' back home, while helping them cope with the complexities of the war they had been sent to fight" and put "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" at number one.