Color Me Purple Part 7: Mauve Melodies Quiz

Answer: Donny and Marie Osmond

'Deep Purple' was originally an instrumental, written for piano, to which lyrics were added five years later, due to the popularity of the tune in sheet music form. It is a sleepy, sentimental song that tells of the 'deep purple' of twilight falling "over sleepy garden walls". Besides those mentioned it has been recorded by Harry James and his Orchestra (1950s), brother and sister Nino Temp and April Stevens (1960s), and Vic Damone, whose version can be heard in the movie 'Donnie Brasco' (1997). Donny and Marie's version made it to number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1976.

This purple musical question was submitted by spanishliz.

Answer: $1.98

This song would hit number 35 on the Billboard charts and would be followed by 'Ahab the Arab' which would reach number five.

Ray Stevens first released 'Silver Bracelet' at age 18 for Capitol Records in 1957. He then went to Georgia State University for a B.A. in music. In 2019 Stevens was inducted into the Country Musical Hall of Fame.

This purple musical question was submitted by mlcmlc.

Answer: Machine Head

Released in 1972, 'Machine Head' was Deep Purple's sixth studio album, the third to feature the band's legendary Mark II - with Ian Gillan on vocals, Roger Glover on bass, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboards, and Ian Paice on drums. The album was recorded at the end of 1971 at the Grand Hotel in Montreux (Switzerland), after the Casino (where the band had originally booked) burned down - an incident immortalized in the album's most famous song, 'Smoke on the Water'. 'Machine Head' is one of Deep Purple's most successful albums, often featured in lists dedicated to the top classic rock/hard rock/heavy metal albums.

The three incorrect choices are also highly regarded albums by hard rock bands of the Seventies: Led Zeppelin ('Houses of the Holy'), Black Sabbath ('Paranoid'), and Uriah Heep ('Demons and Wizards').

This purple musical question was submitted by LadyNym.

Answer: To join a rock band

'The Purple People Eater' was written and performed by Sheb Wooley (1921-2003), an actor and singer who also appeared in the movie 'High Noon' and the television series 'Rawhide'. The song would reach Number One on the US Billboard Pop Chart and Number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The song describes the creature more fully as a 'One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying, Purple People Eater'. The voice of the title character was created by speeding-up Sheb Wooley's voice in a similar way to how the voices of the Chipmunks were created. One verse of the song explains the goals of the title character: "I said Mr Purple People Eater, what's your line?/ He said eating purple people, and it sure is fine/ But that's not the reason that I came to land/ I wanna get a job in a rock 'n roll band."

This purple musical question was submitted by bernie73.

Answer: Lilacs

'We'll Gather Lilacs' has to be one of the sweetest nostalgia evoking songs ever written. Its lovely haunting melody (particularly if played on violin with piano backing) can almost break the heart because it tugs so hard at the strings surrounding that organ. Composed by the famous Ivor Novello (1893-1951) for the hit musical 'Perchance to Dream' (1945), this song has been released over and over again since then by entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, the lovely Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, and, of course, as a given piece by hundreds of different choral groups.

The lyrics of the song speak of the longing for couples who have been separated during World War II to be reunited once more. However, because of the sweet and sorrowful melody, it also suggests to the listener that, for some, that happy re-union never took place. Perhaps the saddest fact of all associated with this beautiful number was that it was performed at Ivor Novello's cremation service in 1951. His ashes, placed beneath a lilac bush, are marked with a plaque that reads "Till you are home once more". A few of this song's gentle lyrics follow:

"We'll gather lilacs in the spring again
And walk together down a shady lane
Until our hearts have learned to sing again
When you come home once more

And in the evening by the firelight's glow
You'll hold me close and never let me go
Your eyes will tell me all I want to know
When you come home once more..."

This purple musical question was submitted by Creedy.

Answer: Eminem

Marshal Mathers, aka, Eminem, rose to prominence in the late 1990s when his first nationally popular album 'The Slim Shady LP' was released in 1999. He'd previously released a record in 1996 on a smaller scale, that helped him get signed to a national label.

After he started to gain popularity as a solo rapper, he re-joined with several friends and D-12 was revived. They had previously recorded together as an underground act in Detroit.

Based on Eminem's success the group started to write and record an album. As Marshall Mathers, Eminem is listed as a co-writer on each song of the album. As Eminem, he is the co-producer of the album as well.

The song got radio airplay under the name "Purple Hills" in many countries where it was edited to be less about drugs.

The song was on the album 'Devil's Night'.

This purple musical question was submitted by Shadowmyst2004.

Answer: Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was the master of all the musical forms of his time. The prolific prodigy wrote symphonies, concertos, operas, masses, sonatas, and chamber works, including 'Das Veilchen' ('The Violet') K. 476, for voice (soprano) and piano. It is written in three stanzas and is through-composed, meaning each stanza is in a different form and changes tempo and mode (major or minor key) to correspond to the mood of each verse of the poem. In the song, a violet in the field pines for the love of a shepherdess, who carelessly treads on him, but he is happy because he dies at his lover's feet. Mozart adds two lines as a coda to be sung as recitative (freestyle): 'Das arme Veilchen!' ("Poor little violet!"), a long pause, then 'Es war ein herzigs Veilchen' ("It was the sweetest violet").

This purple musical question was submitted by gracious1.

Answer: 'When Doves Cry' and 'Let's Go Crazy'

'When Doves Cry' was released as a single from the album 'Purple Rain' and gave Prince his first number one record in the United States. It remained at the top of the charts for five consecutive weeks, making it the top-selling single of 1984.

The lead single from the album 'Let's Go Crazy' was to become Prince's second chart topping single shortly afterwards, on the Billboard Hot 100 rankings.

Perhaps surprisingly 'Purple Rain', which was also the soundtrack album and title of the 1984 film, never topped the charts, hovering at second place in the charts for just two weeks, and never quite reaching the pinnacle.

This purple musical question was submitted by moonraker2.

Answer: Endless Wire

'A Man in a Purple Dress' was the second track on 'Endless Wire'. The song is something of a tirade against authority figures, both secular and religious. Purple, of course, is associated with royalty. The biretta (a liturgical headdress) worn by bishops in the Roman Catholic Church (and some Anglican and Lutheran churches) is officially called amaranth, which is a shade of purple.

"How dare you be the one to assess
Me in this godforsaken mess
You, a man in a purple dress
A man in a purple dress."

This purple musical question was submitted by looney_tunes.

Answer: Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello are a multinational band, based in the US. Frontman Eugene Hütz is Ukrainian, of Servitka Roma descent, and emigrated with his family across Europe to the US after the Chernobyl meltdown. The band's music is a mixture of punk rock and 'gypsy' music, and incorporates instruments such as violins and accordions. They appeared in 'Everything is Illuminated', a 2005 film based on the Jonathan Safran Froer book of the same name. Hütz also starred in 'Filth & Wisdom', a 2008 film directed by Madonna.

'Start Wearing Purple' is a single from Gogol Bordello's third album 'Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike'. Hütz was inspired to write the song by a neighbour who wore purple and was 'clearly bonkers', and whenever he and his then girlfriend argued, he told her that she 'might as well start wearing purple now'.

This purple musical question was submitted by Kankurette.