*** music trivia ***

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I knew that. 40 years ago. I bought a Best Of Tommy James and the Shondells out a bargain bin once. He had a lot of good songs. Best 99 cents that I ever spent. Or close to it.

"My dog Sam eats purple flowers" :

[Ky Fried Redleg]

You don't know how bad I want to hear Roy say he got sh#tfaced at a Tommy James show back in 1970... Tommy was born in Dayton.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

The thing about Tommy J is that he's one of those guys that just knew how to make a good pop song. He knew the recipe and did over and over again. Kinda like another native Ohioan, the one that I am hoping someone will name when I ask the question below.

163. Like Tommy James, this singer/songwriter was born in northern Ohio. He was famously part of a band from 1970-75, then he and the band parted ways. He moved from a hard-rocking, Beatles-influenced sound with the band toward soft rock balladry during his solo career starting in 1975. Speaking of '75 and his first solo effort, his first hit as a solo performer was crafted by blending classical melody with his own pop songwriting. You see, this artist was a classically trained musician. One day he was listening to some records of the legendary Russian-American composer-pianist, Sergei Rachmaninoff and was inspired to write a song. Btw, Rachmaninoff was one helluva piano player.

The singer/songwriter adapted the verse for his first solo hit from the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s "Piano Concerto No. 2" and used the chorus from his own 1972 song , resulting in a hit song that went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. He made a rather costly mistake , however. You see, he initially thought the 1901 Rachmaninoff piece was in the public domain. However, it was still protected outside the US, leading to an agreement where the Rachmaninoff estate received 12% of the royalties. A later hit by the singer, which went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1976 also used a melody from a Rachmaninoff symphony(No. 2, Adagio movement) , which he also had to share royalties on.

Don't mess with those Rachmaninoffs!

Can you name this power pop balladeer from northern Ohio and his first solo hit song from 1975 that the Rachmaninoff estate struck gold with(the record was certified gold in 1976)?

[Roy Tucker]

You don't know how bad I want to hear Roy say he got sh#tfaced at a Tommy James show back in 1970... Tommy was born in Dayton.

Nah, nothing like that. I do have the 45 of “Hanky Panky”.

I swear the Shondells (before they were “Tommy James and”) played at a sock hop at my junior high like about 1966 but I can’t find anything on it.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Tommy James was born 79 years ago TODAY in Dayton. HAPPY 79th BIRTHDAY, TJ!!!


164. The question above mentioned the back-to-back #1's that were covers of Tommy James' songs. There is a third cover of a Tommy James song that hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 about six years before Billy Idol and Tiffany topped the chart with their versions of a Tommy song. Can you name the other cover , along with the artist who took it all the way to #7 on the Billboard chart?

Btw, more than 300 artists have covered Tommy James' songs.

[texasdave]

The Raspberries was one of those bands that I never could quite understand, outside of the above song. I would listen to their music and think to myself that it was alright. Just that. Alright. None of their other songs stirred anything inside of me. In fact, I felt like they plagiarized all of it.

Eric Carmen was not on my 'must-have' list. Too slow and - in a word - sappy.

[texasdave]

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts was a cover machine. In addition to 'Crimson and Clover', JJ's most famous song 'I Love Rock and Roll" was a cover song.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

165. This is one of my all-time favorite one-hit wonders. Came out the summer of my junior year in high school. The song had nothing to do with cars or cruising , as the title might suggest, but it was one of our favorite tunes to crank up the radio to and cruise around town . The song , released in 1978 and the second single from the band's debut album, was a top 20 song in Canada, Australia , and New Zealand and top ten in the Netherlands. It was the #15 song in America on my birthday in the fall of '79. That's as high as the song reached on the Billboard Hot 100. The band that recorded the song has one of the weirdest band names ever. Part of the band's name came about because the lead singer had severe hay fever and he would often sneeze, or sniff, a lot. That, combined with the singer's original idea of calling the band "The Tears," resulted in the quirky, memorable band name. The earliest incarnation of the band, which formed back in 1973 , was called Ashes of Moon.

A dozen years after the song charted in America, it was re-released and went all the way to #1 in the Netherlands. Why? It was used in a radio and television ad campaign for the Pioneer car stereo throughout Europe. You might remember this song for its inclusion in films like “Boogie Nights” and later “Anchorman 2”, plus appearances in TV shows like “The Walking Dead.” I just love the groove of this song. The song was actually born back in '73 when the singer/songwriter , after being awakened in his little English apartment, went for a late night walk. Then a gutar riff suddenly hit him. He rushed back home and wrote the song in a matter of minutes.

The song pretty much laid dormant for years before exploding on the scene in '79. With its steady rhythm, catchy hook, playful guitar phrases and that distinctive Moog solo , the song became a worldwide hit. Suddenly, the band with the weird name went from obscurity to international recognition. They never duplicated the success they had with this one big hit. In fact, the band began to fracture soon after the release of the debut album, with key members of the band leaving. A true one hit wonder. But, man what a good one !


You remember this cool ass song, don't you, and the band with the weird name who took the song into the top 20 of the Billboard chart when I was just turning 17 years old ?

[Revering4Blue]

165. This is one of my all-time favorite one-hit wonders. Came out the summer of my junior year in high school. The song had nothing to do with cars or cruising , as the title might suggest, but it was one of our favorite tunes to crank up the radio to and cruise around town . The song , released in 1978 and the second single from the band's debut album, was a top 20 song in Canada, Australia , and New Zealand and top ten in the Netherlands. It was the #15 song in America on my birthday in the fall of '79. That's as high as the song reached on the Billboard Hot 100. The band that recorded the song has one of the weirdest band names ever. Part of the band's name came about because the lead singer had severe hay fever and he would often sneeze, or sniff, a lot. That, combined with the singer's original idea of calling the band "The Tears," resulted in the quirky, memorable band name. The earliest incarnation of the band, which formed back in 1973 , was called Ashes of Moon.

A dozen years after the song charted in America, it was re-released and went all the way to #1 in the Netherlands. Why? It was used in a radio and television ad campaign for the Pioneer car stereo throughout Europe. You might remember this song for its inclusion in films like “Boogie Nights” and later “Anchorman 2”, plus appearances in TV shows like “The Walking Dead.” I just love the groove of this song. The song was actually born back in '73 when the singer/songwriter , after being awakened in his little English apartment, went for a late night walk. Then a gutar riff suddenly hit him. He rushed back home and wrote the song in a matter of minutes.

The song pretty much laid dormant for years before exploding on the scene in '79. With its steady rhythm, catchy hook, playful guitar phrases and that distinctive Moog solo , the song became a worldwide hit. Suddenly, the band with the weird name went from obscurity to international recognition. They never duplicated the success they had with this one big hit. In fact, the band began to fracture soon after the release of the debut album, with key members of the band leaving. A true one hit wonder. But, man what a good one !


You remember this cool ass song, don't you, and the band with the weird name who took the song into the top 20 of the Billboard chart when I was just turning 17 years old ?

Driver’s Seat - Sniff and The Tears. Also, one of my favorites.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[texasdave]

The singer-songwriter of this tune, Paul Roberts, also painted album cover. Just an FYI.

And, yes, great song.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

165. This is one of my all-time favorite one-hit wonders. Came out the summer of my junior year in high school. The song had nothing to do with cars or cruising , as the title might suggest, but it was one of our favorite tunes to crank up the radio to and cruise around town . The song , released in 1978 and the second single from the band's debut album, was a top 20 song in Canada, Australia , and New Zealand and top ten in the Netherlands. It was the #15 song in America on my birthday in the fall of '79. That's as high as the song reached on the Billboard Hot 100. The band that recorded the song has one of the weirdest band names ever. Part of the band's name came about because the lead singer had severe hay fever and he would often sneeze, or sniff, a lot. That, combined with the singer's original idea of calling the band "The Tears," resulted in the quirky, memorable band name. The earliest incarnation of the band, which formed back in 1973 , was called Ashes of Moon.

A dozen years after the song charted in America, it was re-released and went all the way to #1 in the Netherlands. Why? It was used in a radio and television ad campaign for the Pioneer car stereo throughout Europe. You might remember this song for its inclusion in films like “Boogie Nights” and later “Anchorman 2”, plus appearances in TV shows like “The Walking Dead.” I just love the groove of this song. The song was actually born back in '73 when the singer/songwriter , after being awakened in his little English apartment, went for a late night walk. Then a gutar riff suddenly hit him. He rushed back home and wrote the song in a matter of minutes.

The song pretty much laid dormant for years before exploding on the scene in '79. With its steady rhythm, catchy hook, playful guitar phrases and that distinctive Moog solo , the song became a worldwide hit. Suddenly, the band with the weird name went from obscurity to international recognition. They never duplicated the success they had with this one big hit. In fact, the band began to fracture soon after the release of the debut album, with key members of the band leaving. A true one hit wonder. But, man what a good one !


You remember this cool ass song, don't you, and the band with the weird name who took the song into the top 20 of the Billboard chart when I was just turning 17 years old ?

SUCH a cool song. Another one of those I NEVER grow tired of hearing. I listen to it several dozen times a year and still love it.





The drummer's a beast:

[Ky Fried Redleg]

The thing about Tommy J is that he's one of those guys that just knew how to make a good pop song. He knew the recipe and did over and over again. Kinda like another native Ohioan, the one that I am hoping someone will name when I ask the question below.

163. Like Tommy James, this singer/songwriter was born in northern Ohio. He was famously part of a band from 1970-75, then he and the band parted ways. He moved from a hard-rocking, Beatles-influenced sound with the band toward soft rock balladry during his solo career starting in 1975. Speaking of '75 and his first solo effort, his first hit as a solo performer was crafted by blending classical melody with his own pop songwriting. You see, this artist was a classically trained musician. One day he was listening to some records of the legendary Russian-American composer-pianist, Sergei Rachmaninoff and was inspired to write a song. Btw, Rachmaninoff was one helluva piano player.

The singer/songwriter adapted the verse for his first solo hit from the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s "Piano Concerto No. 2" and used the chorus from his own 1972 song , resulting in a hit song that went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. He made a rather costly mistake , however. You see, he initially thought the 1901 Rachmaninoff piece was in the public domain. However, it was still protected outside the US, leading to an agreement where the Rachmaninoff estate received 12% of the royalties. A later hit by the singer, which went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1976 also used a melody from a Rachmaninoff symphony(No. 2, Adagio movement) , which he also had to share royalties on.

Don't mess with those Rachmaninoffs!

Can you name this power pop balladeer from northern Ohio and his first solo hit song from 1975 that the Rachmaninoff estate struck gold with(the record was certified gold in 1976)?

The Russian Rachmaninoffs got 12% of Mr Carmen's royalties on this song. This was the Cleveland native's first big solo it.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

166. If you can't drive 55, you might want to avoid listening to this song while driving. More on that in just a minute.

This song was inspired by tennis player , John McEnroe, who was a friend of this band and its leader. John would come to the band's shows and hang out with them. McEnroe is a big music guy who plays music has his own band, and so his friend had it in mind that she would write a song for him to do. Some of the song was written while the singer was on a plane, and she has admitted that she may have "nicked" one of the top-line melodies from an overhead announcement on the British Airwaves flight : "Dong-dong-dong-dong … Welcome to British Airways.’” Wonder if she has to pay them royalties? lol

Now, why would you maybe want to be careful while driving while listening to this song? About 4 years ago, a UK-based specialist car insurance broker, did a study to determine the most dangerous driving songs.

The insurance provider used a Spotify API to analyse over 900 songs from driving playlists and studied the beat per minute (BPM) and energy rating of each track to decide which would have the most significant negative impact on driving.

The study found motorists were more likely to speed, brake late and have lower road awareness if they were listening to songs with a higher tempo

The song I described above was rated the most dangerous driving song , receiving a risk score of 1836, far out - distancing the #2 song, "Running Down a Dream" by Tom Petty.

While you should never drink and drive, maybe you shouldn't even sing and drive to this song. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986, and was the band's second top 10 hit.

Can you name this song that makes for dangerous driving and the brass-kicking band who recorded the song?

[texasdave]

Chrissie Hynde is my favorite female rocker. One of the few that actually rock, Stevie Nicks rocks? Child, please.



I wonder how they came up with that score?

This Pretenders song seems would be much more dangerous.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I love me some Fleetwood Mac but I'm convinced that Stevie Nicks was a goat in a previous life.

167. About Ms. Nicks. On the day of her wedding to Kim Anderson in 1983, the couple were driving to Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara when Prince's song, "Little Red Corvette" came on the car radio. Stevie started humming along to the song(like a goat, no doubt), especially inspired by Prince's lush synthesizers in the song. She retrieved a tape recorder and later that night, in the couple's honeymoon suite , recorded a demo of a song inspired while humming along, earlier in the day to Prince's "Little Red Corvette." Stevie later called Prince and told him the story of the song's creation.

One night about a week later , Prince came down to the studio and played synthesizers during the recording of the song. Though he wasn't credited for his work on the song, his Purple Majesty received 50% of the publishing royalties on the song. According to Stevie, when Prince finished doing his thing, "he just got up and left as if the whole thing happened in a dream."

Synth player Dave Bluefield , who said he programmed the song's rhythm on a drum machine and played the main chords on his synthesizer, claims Prince did the "8th note upbeats" in the upper octaves during the main chorus. The artist formerly known as Purple Crazy had a different story. Prince said, "When I got there, her and Jimmy Iovine couldn't figure out how to work the drum machine...because people were using live drums at that point...so I went down there and programmed it for them and pretty much played most of the song there in about twenty or thirty minutes"

Regardless of how much or how little Prince contributed to the song, he received half of the publishing royalties and it was his classic , "Little Red Corvette ," that served as the inspiration for the song. This song was Nicks' third highest-charting solo single(#5) on the Billboard Hot 100 , behind "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"(#3) and "Talk to Me"(#4).


Can you name the song that served that was birthed on Stevie Nicks wedding day in 1983 as she was humming along in the car to Prince's "Little Red Corvette."

I could never make this sh#t up...could I?


Can you name the song?

Better yet, give me your best goat impression while singing this song.