Crazy Little Thing Called Rock and Roll Love Quiz

Answer: Elvis Presley

1956
This was a song written for the movie, "The Reno Brothers" but the movie was renamed the same as this song to capitalise on the success of the song. Consequently Elvis's role in the movie, originally a small part, was expanded because of the success of the song. Originally, Elvis had just a small role in the movie, but during filming it became apparent that he was a really big deal, and his role was expanded to take advantage of his stardom. His character is killed at the end of the movie, but Elvis re-appears to reprise the song.

The movie was set during the Civil War. Musical director, Ken Darby, explored songs from that era to adapt for Elvis. He found "Aura Lee," a traditional piece from 1861. Taking that song's melody, Darby and Elvis worked up the song on set, recording it on a soundstage with session musicians on August 24, 1956. Elvis sang it on the "Ed Sullivan Show", weeks before the song and movie were released. From advance orders, they knew they had a big hit as it went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Unlike his rockier numbers, this song was a tender ballad.

Answer: The Everly Brothers

1957. The Everly Brothers, Phil and Don, came from a musical family. They were to influence so many other groups, notably the Beach Boys with their close harmonies and their tandem steel acoustic music. "Bye, Bye Love", written by Boudleaux and Bryant was offered to 30 other groups before the Everly Brothers accepted it.

It went to the top of the Billboard Country charts and number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it went to number six. This was their first big hit. They had three number ones that topped the Billboard Hot 100 including "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", and "Cathy's Clown".

The latter was their biggest hit, released in 1961 and this was their first number one that they had written themselves.

Answer: The Beatles

1964 This song was featured on the 1964 "Help" album. It was never released as a single though it was popular. It was written by John Lennon despite the usual Lennon-McCartney attribution. This was Mr Lennon pretending to be Bob Dylan who coincidentally had become interested in the Beatles at the same time. Mr Lennon has been vague about the lyrics causing some to speculate the song is a message to the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein who was gay.

The song is notable as it is the first Beatles record that features other musicians brought into play on one of their songs, as none of them could play the required flute fade out to the song.

Answer: The Supremes

1964
"Baby Love" was the sequel to "Where Did Our Love Go," which was The Supremes' breakout hit which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. As the first song mentions the word "baby" 68 times, the same song-writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland thought it best that their next single had that word in the title. "Baby Love" was the second of five consecutive hits that went all the way to number one, the remaining three were, "Come See About Me," "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again.
Motown Head, Berry Gordy did not consider that Diana Ross had a big voice but according to Gordy, she could "Oooooh" like nobody else, as she had done on on "Where Did Our Love Go." The first version recorded did not feature any oohing so Gordy sent the team back to re-record the song, where Ms Ross did an extended "ooh-ooh-ooooh-oooooh" to start the song. When this song went to top spot in the US, The Supremes became the first Motown act to have two number one hits.

Answer: Led Zeppelin

1969
"Whole Lotta Love" was the opening track of "Led Zeppelin II" It has a huge sound and lascivious lyrics and it entrenched the band as one of the world's most popular at the the time. The drum sound was huge and laid a platform for the rest of the track. Jimmy Page produced the track, which was recorded in a studio with 28-foot ceilings. The booming sound was achieved by placing the drums on a high platform and placing microphones in unusual places: one was eight feet above the kit, two distant side microphones, and one placed two feet from the bass drum.
Robert Plant's lyrics were based on a 1962 Willie Dixon song sung by Muddy Waters. Compare:
"Baby, you know you need coolin'
Woman, way down inside"

with

"You need cooling
Baby I'm not fooling
I'm gonna send ya
Back to schooling"

A settlement was made with Mr Dixon and he now has a song writing credit with Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin did not release singles in the UK, but "Whole Lotta Love" was the first song they allowed as a US (only) single, and it became their biggest hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and their only top ten hit in the US, despite a running time over five minutes. The UK division of Atlantic Records shortened the song to 3.12 and even pressed copies but Jimmy Page quashed any chance of distribution when he heard the truncated edit. They denounced the project issuing a public statement kyboshing any plans to release the song as a single.

Answer: Captain and Tennille

1975 "Love Will Keep Us Together" was written by Neil Sedaka in 1973. Mr Sedaka released it in France where it was a minor hit. Daryl Dragon (born 1942) was a session musician best known for playing keyboards for the Beach Boys. (Mike Love gave him the moniker of Captain because of his propensity to wear Captain hats).

In 1972 Toni Tennille (born 1940) was working on a musical she co-wrote called "Mother Earth" when she met the Captain when she moved the musical from San Francisco to Los Angeles and the Captain was appointed the musical's new keyboard player. (Toni Tennille later played for the Beach Boys as an additional keyboardist - She was the first "Beach Girl").

After the musical, the two became a duet and started playing together. An early version of what was to become a later hit, "The Way I Want to Touch You" led to a recording contract.

They recorded "Love Will Keep Us Together" (The Captain wanted to record "I Write The Songs" - made famous soon after by Barry Manilow). The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1975, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

The duo were married the same year and other hits followed. They divorced in 2014 but Ms Tennille was at the Captain's bedside when he died in January 2019.

Answer: Donna Summer

1975
Known professionally as Donna Summer, LaDonna Adrian Gaines (1948 - 2012),was an American singer who became known as the "Queen of Disco".

Before she wrote "Love to Love You Baby" which was her breakthrough hit, Ms Summer was more of a folk-pop artist. This song was written by Ms Summer and European producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. This was also the first big hit for Mr Moroder, who went on to be hugely successful as a songwriter and producer. The song attracted controversy because the moans and groans heard on the record made the record sound like it had sexual overtones. This was intentional but later, when Ms Summer became a mother she regretted these inclusions. Despite this, the record was a huge hit and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Several number ones followed. Ms Summer sold over 100 million records in a twenty year career.

Answer: Eagles

1976
When founding Eagles member Bernie Leadon left the group after the "One of These Nights" album and was replaced by Joe Walsh, the Eagles made a conscious decision to move away from their country rock roots and move more to rock and roll. Two of the tracks written for their blockbusting album "Hotel California" were such rock songs: "Victim of Love" and "Life In The Fast Lane". The original idea for "Victim of Love" was brought to the group by guitarist Don Felder who wanted to sing the finished song. However the rest of the group was not happy with his vocal contribution so the producer took him out for a meal while drummer (and main vocalist) Don Henley laid down a new vocal track which was used on the album.
On the run out groove to side 2 of the Hotel California album, scratched into the vinyl is the message: "V.O.L. is a five piece live." This means that the song "Victim of Love" was played live in the studio by all five Eagles playing together, as previously, they had been accused of lifelessness in the studio.

"Victim of Love" was not released as a single.

Answer: Nicolette Larson / Neil Young

1978
Nicolette Larsen (born 1952) was working as a vocalist for Emmylou Harris and went with her to see Linda Ronstadt in 1977. Neighbour Neil Young dropped in as he was looking for a new female back up singer. She subsequently sang on his next two albums. "Lotta Love" was written by Neil Young and included on "Comes A Time" album. How it ended up with Ms Larsen is debatable. According to an interview with Don Shewey in "Rolling Stone" in 1979, Ms Larsen said "I got that song off a tape I found lying on the floor of Neil's car. "I popped it in the tape player and commented on what a great song it was. Neil said: 'You want it? It's yours.'"
Regardless Mr Young recorded it for his 1979 album "Comes a Time" and Ms Larsen recorded as the lead single off her album "Nicolette" (with a much lusher sound replete with strings and horns). The single reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 while the album reached number 15 on the US Album charts. Rolling Stone declared her Female Vocalist of 1978 on the strength of the one album. Ms Larsen and Mr Young shared a brief relationship at the time. Ms Larsen was unable to repeat the success of this single and album. Her only other success on the Billboard Top 40 charts was in 1980 when she sang "Let Me Go, Love," a duet with Michael McDonald which reached number 35. She died suddenly in 1997, aged 45.

Answer: Queen

1979
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was written by Freddie Mercury on an acoustic guitar in a Munich hotel. Mr Mercury said he wrote the song in ten minutes and the simplicity of the music is due to his lack of knowledge of guitar chords. However, version dependent, this song contains at least six chords. Whenever they played this track live, Mr Mercury would play acoustic guitar until 1984 when he switched to a Telecaster. It was the first song he ever played guitar at any Queen gig. The track has been described as being Rockabilly and is a tribute to Elvis Presley. The record company were nervous about this song originally as Queen wanted to release it as a single but they need not have worried - The single went to number two on the UK Singles chart, number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Australia, Canada and key European countries.
Another Queen song "Somebody to Love" was also 'eligible" to included in this quiz.

Answer: Joy Division

1980 Joy Division were a post-punk band from Salford in the UK. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was written by lead singer Ian Curtis as a cynical response to "Love Will Keep Us Together". He suffered from depression and epilepsy and his marriage was breaking down when he wrote this song.

The lyrics are heart-breaking. The single was not initially meant for an album, but less than three months after the song was recorded, Mr Curtis took his own life. The band had a pact that they would disband if one of them died and so they did (The remaining members formed New Order some time later).

The single was added to their second album "Closer" and released after Mr Curtis' death and released as a single where it did almost as well as the original release (13 on the UK Singles Chart) when it reached number 19.

Answer: Foreigner

1984 Lou Gramm, vocalist, and Mick Jones, guitarist, wrote most of the Foreigner songs to date. However, this song was written by Mr Jones alone. Mr Gramm had reservations, as he felt the song pushed them away from their rock base into adult contemporary territory, despite each of the three previous albums all containing a ballad; and their 1982 smash, "Waiting for a Girl Like You", a ballad, being their biggest hit to date.

They need not have worried. This song was a worldwide number one. Mr Jones wanted a choir on the record and it turned out that the band's lawyer also represented a choir called the New Jersey Mass Choir.

They became the chosen choir, becoming the first gospel choir to appear on a number one popular music hit.

Answer: Bon Jovi

1986
in 1985, Bon Jovi had a minor hit with "Runaway" reaching number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, not bad for a band big in New Jersey but nowhere else. They were signed to Polygram on potential. The record company gave them a songwriter, Desmond Child of "I Was Made for Loving You" fame. The first day the trio collaborated, he, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora wrote "You Give Love a Bad Name". The song went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. There were unsubstantiated rumours that the song was about Diane Lane, whom Mr Bon Jovi was dating at the the time, but he explained it wasn't: "the lyrical inspiration was more of a universal feeling" he stated at a Polygram press conference in 1986.
The same trio wrote "Living On a Prayer" as a follow up to "Bad Name". It too went to number one - worldwide.

Answer: R.E.M.

1987
This was R.E.M's first top ten single, going to number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 16 on the UK Singles Chart when it was re-released in 1991. Often misinterpreted as a love song, it is actually quite sarcastic as the narrator admits to using his lover ("Another prop to occupy my time").
The song stemmed from a riff from Peter Buck, then the rest of the band filled out the music with Michael Stipe adding the brutal lyrics at the end. The song and corresponding album "Document" took R.E.M from college radio darlings to mainstream success.

Answer: U2 with B. B. King

1989
U2 met BB King at a King concert in Dublin in 1987 and the two acts met up each having admired the others' work. Mr King asked Bono to think of him sometime when he was writing a song. "Love Came to Town" was the result. The song was first performed at a Fort Worth concert in 1978, where BB King was the support act for U2, then Mr King would appear on stage with U2 singing this song and "Angel of Harlem".
The two acts recorded the song at Sun Records in Memphis where BB King was revered. This version was included on the hit album "Rattle and Hum". Released as a single, the song went to number six on the UK Singles Chart but surprisingly it only reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.