Top of the Pops Trivia Quiz

Answer: I'm the One

'I'm the One' could almost be considered a let-down for Gerry and the Pacemakers. Released in January, 1964 the song only managed to get to number two on the UK (BBC Radio 1) charts. That's a bit deflating when you consider that their first three singles; 'How Do You Do It', 'I Like It' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' all reached the coveted UK number one slot. They became the first act to have their first three singles all reach number one on the UK charts and it wasn't until 1983-84 that fellow Liverpudlians, 'Frankie Goes to Hollywood', matched the effort.
(For the record)
'Headline News' is a 1964 song by Edwin Starr. 'Main Attraction' (1962) is by Pat Boone and 'Mr Wonderful' was released in 1957 by Peggy Lee.

Answer: Liquidator

Harry (the J stands for Johnson) is better known as a record producer and the director of Harry J Records which is based in Jamaica. The single, 'Liquidator', is an instrumental piece that made its way to number nine in the UK (BBC Radio 1)charts. Its popularity was given a boost when it was taken to heart by the skinhead culture that was beginning to flourish in London at the time. Interestingly it was also used as an introduction to the Staple Singers' song 'I'll Take You There' as part of Barack Obama's presidency campaign.
(For the record)
'Man on Fire' was released by Frankie Vaughan in 1957. 'Dyna-Mite' was a hit for Mud in 1973 and Elmer Bernstein wrote 'Man With the Golden Arm' in 1956. Jet Harris released a version of the song in 1962.

Answer: Ernie

'Ernie' became a UK Christmas number one hit in 1971 on BBC Radio 1's charts and stayed in the top spot for four weeks. The first time that Benny had performed the song was on his television show in 1970, though he'd written the number as early as 1955. The deeds of the fictional Ernie were actually based on Benny's own experience as a milkman.

Answer: Leader of the Laundromat

This song is a parody of the Shangri-La's 1965 number one hit 'Leader of the Pack. It was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss whose previous claim to fame was 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini', that was a number one US hit, on the Billboard charts, for Brian Hyland in 1960. Ron Dante, who sang lead vocals for The Detergents, would go on to provide the voice for The Archies' hit 'Sugar Sugar' in 1969.
(For the record)
'Leader of the Pack' (1964) was a US (Billboard charts) number one hit for The Shangri-La's. 'Leader of the Band' is a Dan Fogelberg song from 1981 and '(I'm the) Leader of the Gang' was a UK number one for Gary Glitter in 1973 according to the BBC Radio 1's charts.

Answer: King of Pain

'King of Pain' was the second single to be released from The Police's 1983 album 'Synchronicity'. Despite not being accompanied by a music video the song still managed to reach number three on US Billboard charts, making it one of the band's most successful recordings. Weird Al Yankovic, on his album 'In 3-D', would parody the song a year later using the title 'King of Suede'.
(For the record)
Elvis Presley released 'King Creole' in 1958, The Hollies recorded 'King Midas in Reverse' in 1967 and Roger Miller released 'King of the Road' in 1965.

Answer: Supersonic Rocket Ship

This disc was released in 1972 and is another song that sees Ray Davies pining for a much simpler way of life. Probably his best exhibition of this was 'Apeman' released a year earlier. 'Supersonic Rocket Ship' was only moderately successful for the band reaching number 16 on the UK BBC Radio 1 charts. The track appears on The Kinks double album 'Everybody's in Show-Biz'. The second disc is a live recording which features the track that is the title of this quiz, 'Top of the Pops'.
(For the record)
'Super Freak' was released by Rick James in 1981 and 'Superfly' was a Curtis Mayfield release from 1972. Donovan had a lot of success with 'Sunshine Superman' (1966) which peaked at number two on the UK charts (BBC Radio 1) and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

Answer: King

The song was written and recorded by Ned Miller in 1957 but, strangely, it did not chart. After successful negotiations with his label the song was re-released in 1962, meeting with outstanding success. It reached number two on Billboard's US Country charts, number three on the Adult Contemporary charts and peaked at number six on the pop charts.

In 1963 it got to number two on the UK charts.

Answer: The Great Gig in the Sky

'Great Gig in the Sky' is the last track on side one of Pink Floyd's massively successful 1973 album 'Dark Side of the Moon'. The chord progression was written by their keyboard player, Rick Wright, however, the highlight of the track are the stunning vocals provided by Clare Torry. Her sole instructions were to create a vocal for the music without generating lyrics. At first she struggled with the concept then hit upon the idea that should try to use her voice like an instrument. She was eventually awarded part of the song writing credit for the track.
(For the record)
Hard to believe but 'The Great Airplane Strike' is a real song title and it was released in 1966 by Paul Revere and the Raiders. 'The Greatest Man I Ever Knew' (1992) is by Reba McEntire and 'Great Balls of Fire' (1957) is by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Answer: It's Now or Never

'It's Now or Never' has managed to sell over 25 million copies for Elvis Presley. The melody was borrowed from Edvardo di Capua's 1898 work 'O Sole Mio'. The lyrics were put together by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold. Schroeder would end up writing 17 songs for Elvis, five of them (including 'It's Now or Never') would go to number one in the US Billboard charts. The others are 'I Got Stung' (1958), 'A Big Hunk o' Love' (1959), 'Stuck on You' (1960) and 'Good Luck Charm' (1962). The latter was also co-written with Wally Gold.
(For the record)
'It's Impossible' was recorded by Perry Como in 1971, 'I Can See For Miles' by The Who in 1967 and 'I'll Stop at Nothing' is a Sandie Shaw song from 1965.

Answer: 'The Mighty Quinn' by Manfred Mann

Alternatively known as 'Quinn the Eskimo', the song was written by Bob Dylan in 1967. Dylan did not release it as a single but recorded it as part of his 'Basement Tapes' session.
For Manfred Mann the song was a huge success, sitting at number one on BBC Radio 1's UK charts for two weeks and peaking at number ten on the Billboard charts in the US. Manfred Mann, however, was not done with the song, re-recording a radically different version that ran a little over six minutes with his third band, The Manfred Mann Earth Band. It appears on their 1976 album 'Watch'.
(For the record)
On the US Billboard Hot 100 'Mighty Mighty' (1974) got to number 29, 'Mighty High' (1975) to number 69 and 'Mighty Clouds of Joy' (1971) reached number 34.