Do You Know Your Hooks? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

The Crash Test Dummies took "Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm" all the way to Number Four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in April, 1994. The song appeared on their second album, "And God Shuffled His Feet", which was released in 1993, and was produced by former Talking Heads member, Jerry Harrison.

Answer: Old Days

One of the most successful American bands of all time, Chicago pushed "Old Days" all the way to Number Five on the U.S. Billboard chart in June, of 1975. Formed in the mid-1960s as Chicago Transit Authority (later shortened to just Chicago), the band went on to create some of the best-known and classic songs ever, like their 1970's hits "Saturday in the Park", "25 or 6 to 4", and "If You Leave Me Now", and 1980's chart entries, "Look Away" and "Along Comes A Woman".

While the band went through many lineup changes (probably the best known configuration of the group featured Peter Cetera, who was the lead singer on a great many of their hits), they continued to enjoy successful tours despite not having a song on the U.S. Billboard Top 40 chart since they placed "Chasin' the Wind" at Number 39 in March, of 1991.

Answer: Runaway

Whether they were known as Jefferson Airplane (1965-1973), Jefferson Starship (1974-1984), or just Starship (1984-1991), this band charted in every incarnation. Their song, "Runaway" (from the LP, "Earth"), just missed getting into the Top Ten on the U.S. Billboard chart in the Summer, of 1978, settling in at Number 12.

Interestingly, each new name change brought the group greater success than they had previously enjoyed. As Jefferson Airplane, the highest chart position the group achieved on the U.S. Billboard chart was in 1967, with "Somebody To Love"; it peaked at Number Five. Then, in 1975, Jefferson Starship climbed all the way to Number Three with the song, "Miracles". Finally, Starship achieved the group's greatest success as the band reached the Number One position three times with "We Built This City" (1985), "Sara" (1986), and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (1987).

Answer: Babylon

David Gray, a singer/ songwriter from England, placed "Babylon", a track from his LP, "White Ladder", on the U.S. Billboard chart in February, of 2000. Although the song didn't break into the Top 40 on this side of the Atlantic (only peaking at Number 57), it did get a good amount of airplay; however, "Babylon" did go all the way to Number Five in the U.K.

Answer: I'm No Angel

A member of one of the most influential bands in rock and roll history, Gregg Allman, organist and singer of the Allman Brothers Band, placed "Im No Angel" at Number 49 on the U.S. Billboard chart in the Spring, of 1987. While Allman released five solo LPs, it was his work in the band his brother, Duane, founded that Gregg saw his greatest success as he performed on some of the group's most recognizable hits like, "Whipping Post" and "Midnight Rider".

Sadly, Allman passed away on May 29, 2017 (Duane had died in 1971 from a motorcycle accident), but his music lives on forever.

Answer: One

1976 saw the formation of one the world's most recognizable and beloved bands, U2. With a lineup that saw very little, if any, change in their history, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr, David Evans (The Edge), and Paul Hewson (Bono) created great music that not only sounded good to the ears, but challenged our worldview, also. "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday", "With Or Without You", and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" are just a few of the great songs the band released that you can still catch on any classic radio station now and again.

"One", from their 1992 LP, "Achtung, Baby", climbed all the way to Number 10 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and is one of my most favorite songs by the group. It's rare that I can come across this song on the radio and not stop to listen to it.

Answer: When A Woman's Fed Up

A former member of the 1990's R&B group, Public Announcement, Robert (R.) Kelly, has to be considered as one of the most talented and prolific entertainers in American music history. He has not only worked with artists ranging from Michael Jackson to Celine Dion, from Ron Isley to Jay-Z, but he also received a Grammy award for his song "I Believe I Can Fly", which was from the live-action and animated movie, "Space Jam", featureing former Chicago Bulls basketball player, Michael Jordan, along with many popular Loony Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

While many of Kelly's songs seem to slant towards a more graphically sexual nature, this one, "When A Woman's Fed Up", captures the truth of a woman's nature once she's had enough of her lover's lying and cheating. As he correctly sings:

"When a woman's fed up, there ain't nothin' you can do about it,
It's like running out of love and then it's too late to talk about it."

The song reached Number 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in late 1998 and was a Top Five hit on the R&B side in January, of 1999.

Answer: Love Is A House

September 5, 1987, saw the Force MDs ('MD' was short for 'Musical Diversity') reach Number One on the U.S. R&B Billboard chart with, "Love Is A House", which stayed in that spot for two weeks. Although the group had very little success on the U.S. Billboard Pop chart (they only had one Top Ten entry, "Tender Love", which appeared on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart in April, of 1986), they did score a great many hits on the R&B side throughout the 1980's with such classics as "Tears", "Here I Go Again", and "Itchin' For A Scratch".

Answer: I Can't Tell You Why

You know the names...Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh. They were all members of The Eagles at one time or other, arguably the greatest rock and roll band in American music history. Formed in 1971, in Los Angeles, California, the lineups may have changed here and there, but the music always remained constant and great; in fact, their 1976 LP, "Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)", ranks among the best-selling albums of all time.

The band placed five songs at Number One on the U.S. Billboard Chart, but "I Can't Tell You Why" (sang by Schmit) only got as high as Number Eight, in 1980. Personally, I think it's one of the group's best songs ever and that it should have made it to the top of the charts, too. The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1998. Sadly, Glenn Frey passed away, in 2017.

Answer: Zoom

Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Prince dominated the U.S. Billboard charts during the 1980s, but there was one other person who was just as prolific yet is often overlooked during that decade...Lionel Ritchie. Whether he was reaching Number One (five times), hitting the Top Ten (13 straight times), or co-writing "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson, Ritchie was without question one of the biggest stars of the 1980's. However, the success Ritchie experienced as a solo artist was just a continuation of the previous success he'd enjoyed with his former band, The Commodores.

Formed with his fellow Tuskegee Institute (Alabama) college classmates in the latter part of the 1960's, the Commodores would go on to become one of the biggest R&B acts of all time with songs like "Easy", "Just To Be Close (to You)", and "Brick House" as part of their vast musical catalog. One of the group's best-loved songs which received pretty good airplay, but never charted, was called "Zoom"; it can be found on the band's 1977 self-titled LP. Just sing the words "Zoom, baby..." to any Commodores fan and you'll most likely hear, "I like to fly away", in response. Just a great song, in my opinion.