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Quiz about Rock Me Silly
Quiz about Rock Me Silly

Rock Me Silly Trivia Quiz


These silly or novelty songs made us all laugh throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. All songs were actual charted hits in the U.S. See which of them you recall and giggle along with the memories.

A multiple-choice quiz by fredsixties. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
fredsixties
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
311,512
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
10 / 15
Plays
2435
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 92 (0/15), turaguy (8/15), Guest 104 (10/15).
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Question 1 of 15
1. The Trashmen flew into the Top Ten in 1963 with this aviary delight. What song was it? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. Sheb Wooley cut this colorful tasty tune way back in 1958. Can you guess the name of this one? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. What's the hurry? What group sped to the top five on the charts with "Beep Beep" in 1958? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Ross Bagdasarian had a couple of novelty hits in the 1950s. This particular song involves Christmas. Which song was it? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. Ok, enough with the 1950s stuff. The next "hit" was more a local sensation than anything else. It was a song from a comedian turned children's television host. Who gave us "The Mouse"? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. Halloween would not be the same without this 1962 hit. Which is it? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. The Detergents had a 1965 parody tune with "The Leader Of The..."

Answer: (sudsy - one word)
Question 8 of 15
8. This was one of the most controversial songs of the 1960s, being banned on many radio stations across the U.S. due to its sensitive subject matter concerning mentally ill people. What song was this? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. 1969 saw a novelty tune called "Moonflight"


Question 10 of 15
10. Ray Stevens made a number of novelty records over the years. His 1969 release conjured up thoughts of wild animals and the jungle. What song was this? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. An unusual artist named Daddy Dewdrop produced a big 1971 hit about a "chick" in a dream. What song was this? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. The king of novelty, Ray Stevens, makes another appearance here with this song based on a fad of the mid 1970s. What song is this?

Answer: (Don't look Ethel - two words)
Question 13 of 15
13. There was a novelty song in 1976 that was recorded by someone with a Cast of Idiots.


Question 14 of 15
14. No novelty quiz would be complete without this entry from Elmo and Patsy. Can you name the song of the season? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. If your funny bone hasn't been tickled enough, here's one more. An American born Australian singer and songwriter named Joe Dolce hit pay dirt with this Italian oriented hit in the early 1980s. What song? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Sep 11 2024 : Guest 92: 0/15
Sep 07 2024 : turaguy: 8/15
Sep 07 2024 : Guest 104: 10/15

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Trashmen flew into the Top Ten in 1963 with this aviary delight. What song was it?

Answer: Surfin' Bird

"Surfin' Bird" was a combination of songs originally performed by The Rivingtons. You had "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird is the Word" which that group had recorded and released prior to the appearance of "Surfin' Bird". The Trashmen were performing in a club and combined the two songs. By coincidence a record producer heard the performance and offered them a recording contract.

They cut the record and it eventually shot to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
2. Sheb Wooley cut this colorful tasty tune way back in 1958. Can you guess the name of this one?

Answer: Purple People Eater

Wooley recounted how a strange monster came to earth to join a rock band. The monster was described as "a one eyed, one horned flying purple people eater". "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". So went the lyrics.

Wooley's cannibalistic monster did ok for himself. The song hit the top of the Billboard charts reaching number one in 1958.
3. What's the hurry? What group sped to the top five on the charts with "Beep Beep" in 1958?

Answer: The Playmates

"Beep Beep" peaked at number four on the Billboard charts in 1958 for The Playmates. They had recorded two songs prior to this, but with limited success. Interestingly, during this time, American Motors was marketing their Rambler, one of the vehicles which are prominently mentioned in the song. (The other car in the song was a Cadillac).

As a result of the song, sales of the Nash-Rambler reportedly shot up. Also of note was the fact that a different version of the song was recorded for British audiences due to a ban on airplay for songs with brand names mentioned in the lyrics.
4. Ross Bagdasarian had a couple of novelty hits in the 1950s. This particular song involves Christmas. Which song was it?

Answer: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)

Bagdasarian a.k.a. David Seville, was the voice behind Alvin and The Chipmunks on all their recordings. "The Chipmunk Song" is the tale of Alvin and his anticipation of Christmas Day and the hope of getting a hula hoop for Christmas. Funny stuff from the genius Bagdasarian.

The song became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1958. Bagdasarian also scored with "The Witch Doctor" earlier that same year.
5. Ok, enough with the 1950s stuff. The next "hit" was more a local sensation than anything else. It was a song from a comedian turned children's television host. Who gave us "The Mouse"?

Answer: Soupy Sales

"Hey, do The Mouse yeah". Guess anything could do well if it was catchy. "The Mouse" was a fictitious dance created in the mind of comedian Soupy Sales. Soupy probably holds the record for getting the most pies thrown in his face during a career. Anyway the song was a novelty hit for Sales in the New York City area in 1965 scoring Top 20 status on several local music station surveys.

He even performed it on "The Ed Sullivan Show" which was the premier variety show of the era.
6. Halloween would not be the same without this 1962 hit. Which is it?

Answer: The Monster Mash

"The Monster Mash" was a 1962 number one Billboard Hot 100 charting hit for Bobby (Boris) Pickett, an aspiring actor who was moonlighting between auditions by performing with a band called The Cordials. This song was a pure accident, after he imitated a Boris Karloff type voice while singing during one of his gigs.

He then wrote the lyrics to this song which has been going strong for over 40 years. The song was released two more times, in 1970, and in 1973, when it again got to the Top Ten on the Billboard charts.
7. The Detergents had a 1965 parody tune with "The Leader Of The..."

Answer: Laundromat

This funny tune was a response tune, spoofing the Shangri-Las' tune "Leader Of The Pack" which had been a number one tune in late 1964. The group was led by Ron Dante, who later would go on to fame and fortune as the mastermind of The Archies. ("Sugar, Sugar").
8. This was one of the most controversial songs of the 1960s, being banned on many radio stations across the U.S. due to its sensitive subject matter concerning mentally ill people. What song was this?

Answer: They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa

The song was recorded under the name of Napoleon XIV, a.k.a. Jerry Samuels.
"Some groups protested the apparent mockery of mental illness, while other groups attacked the apparent comparison of Napoleon's wife to a "mangy mutt". Few women are likely to be 'put in' the ASPCA, so it is most likely that the song was about a lost dog (see also attached record cover). The protesters put pressure both on radio stations directly and on the stations' advertisers. This was especially felt in New York City, where Top 40 stalwarts WABC and WMCA soon dropped the record from airplay and skipped it during their countdown shows, much to the confusion of the young teens that made up a large part of those broadcasters' audience. The record was soon banned from airplay as BMI took the unprecedented step of withdrawing its certification."*

Despite all the controversy, the song managed a number three placing on the Billboard charts before being pulled from the airwaves. It was recertified eventually, but by that time it had lost all its momentum and disappeared from the charts.
* Wikipedia
9. 1969 saw a novelty tune called "Moonflight"

Answer: True

It actually was what was called a "break-in" record where you would have a narrator describing an event or telling a story and interviewing people. The responses would be in the form of snippets from well known recordings. The label says the artist was Vik Venus, but most radio aficionados know him as Jack Spector, a legendary New York disc jockey.

The recording simulates an interview of two astronauts who return from a trip to the moon. The snippets are taken from popular recordings on the Buddah record label, on which this record was also released. Coincidentally (or not) 1969 marked the first manned excursion to the moon.
10. Ray Stevens made a number of novelty records over the years. His 1969 release conjured up thoughts of wild animals and the jungle. What song was this?

Answer: Gitarzan

Stevens recorded this hilarious tune complete with the warbling sound of a Tarzan like character, a wife named Jane, and a pet monkey grunting. Also included is a laugh track. The song recounts a musical evening in the jungle with Jane and the monkey singing along. Funny stuff.

The song actually did very well on the charts, peaking at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts, and number ten in Canada.
11. An unusual artist named Daddy Dewdrop produced a big 1971 hit about a "chick" in a dream. What song was this?

Answer: Chick -A -Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It)

Daddy Dewdrop a.k.a. Dick Monda, cut this tune backed by some studio musicians, for a cartoon series entitled "Sabrina and the Groovey Ghoulies". The song was rerecorded and released in the U.S. to a number nine placing on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The lyrics told the story of a crazy dream that the singer had, and chasing a girl in a black bikini through a series of rooms.
12. The king of novelty, Ray Stevens, makes another appearance here with this song based on a fad of the mid 1970s. What song is this?

Answer: The Streak

An odd fad of the 70s was Streaking, the act of stripping to your birthday suit and running through a public place. Ray capitalized on this for one of his biggest all time hits, "The Streak", the story of a news reporter interviewing a man and his wife who had been in the presence of a streaker in various venues around their small hometown. Eventually "Ethel", the wife, decides that it's enough fun for her to try it herself.

The song ended up selling over five million copies worldwide. It went to number one in the U.S. and the U.K. and was a hit in many other countries as well.
13. There was a novelty song in 1976 that was recorded by someone with a Cast of Idiots.

Answer: True

Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots recorded "Disco Duck" in 1976. Dees, a disc-jockey who was working in Memphis Tennessee at the time, created this parody of the 60s hit "The Duck" and took it to the top of the Billboard charts for one week that year. The basic premise was that of a guy at a dance party who has this uncontrollable urge to get up and dance like a duck when the music plays.

The song was complete with a Donald Duck like voice singing verses in the background.
14. No novelty quiz would be complete without this entry from Elmo and Patsy. Can you name the song of the season?

Answer: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Yes, it was "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer", first released in 1979 with the husband and wife team of Elmo and Patsy Shropshire as the singers. The song took about five years to become a Christmas standard, beginning on the West Coast and gradually spreading eastward in various local releases and airplays between 1979 and 1984, when it became a national hit.

By the end of 1984, the song had sold almost 500,000 copies on various record labels throughout the U.S.
15. If your funny bone hasn't been tickled enough, here's one more. An American born Australian singer and songwriter named Joe Dolce hit pay dirt with this Italian oriented hit in the early 1980s. What song?

Answer: Shaddap You Face

"Shaddup You Face" actually was a major international hit for Joe Dolce in 1981. It is rich with Italian humor. Dolce is of Italian ancestry and sang the song with a heavy Italian accent. It actually was a number one song in 11 different countries including the U.K. and Dolce's adopted homeland of Australia. The song was also covered in 35 different languages.
Source: Author fredsixties

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