*** music trivia ***

[Roy Tucker]

182 is the Turtles

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/arti..._stoned-151574

[texasdave]

183. The 1976 Scottish boy band has to be THE BAY CITY ROLLERS. The song must be I only wanna be with you.

The girl on Ed Sullivan and his really big shoe might be dating the Son of a Preacher Man.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

A couple of more ON THIS DATE IN ROCK HISTORY questions:

182. On this date , MAY 10, in 1969 this band played a special performance at the White House , as guests of Tricia Nixon. According to the band's frontman, they snorted cocaine off of Abraham Lincoln's desk in the library, which they had been given access to for their dressing room. One bandmember was so high and intoxicated that he fell off the stage at least five times during the set in what was described as a "notorious and bad" performance. The bandmember who kept falling off the stage was also seen hitting on LBJ's daughter in front of her husband.

Who were these bad boys?




183. On this date in 1964, this British gal made her TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, singing her hit that peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and # 4 on the UK Singles charts. It was her debut solo single. This same song charted several more times .

In 1976, a Scottish pop rock band of teen idols took it again to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the UK singles chart. My gal, Nicolette Larson, took the song to #53 in 1982. Her record was produced by her hubby, Andrew Gold. The Tourists also covered the song( #4 UK Singles) in '79 and Samantha Fox took the song to #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989 . The song's writer , Mike Hawker, wrote the song for his new bride, Jean Ryder.

Can you name the singer who debuted the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on this date in 1964 and can you name the Scottish pop boy band who made it a big hit again in 1976?

One of my 80's "Crushes" :

[Ky Fried Redleg]

178. Back when I was seven years old, there were two songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at the very same time. Both songs had the names of US states in the title and both songs alluded to the same natural phenomenon. Both songs peaked in March of the same year.

One song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Cashbox. It marked a comeback song for the singer who hadn't had a hit song for over 10 years. This was the last of his 24 Top 40 hits.

The other song peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on Cashbox . It was written by Eddie Rabbitt and featured Ronnie Milsap on piano. It was one of the singer's first hits of the decade, and the first of his five top 40 hits for the year in which it charted.


Can you name these two songs and the singers who recorded them?

#4 /March 1970 :





#16/March 1970

[Ky Fried Redleg]

184. This is the story of one of the most bizarre songs in the history of Billboard charted music. We have to go back more than 55 years for this one. The song in question here was recorded in 1970 by a five-member American pop band that formed in the Wilkes Barre /Scranton PA area back in 1965. They released eight singles during their active run between 1969 and 1975, but it the biggest of those singles that is the subject of this question. In fact, it is the only major hit this band ever had.

The band had signed a single record deal with Scepter Records (same record label as BJ Thomas). But when the label refused to provide the financial assistance to promote the record, the band called on a young 20 year-old singer/songwriter for help. The writer's plan was to let controversy promote the record. He would write a song with an implied subject matter so controversial that the song would be banned, thus generating interest and boosting record sales. We all know that controversy creates interest.

The writer's inspiration came from the country song " Sixteen Tons" and the Tennessee Williams play Suddenly, Last Summer, combining a tragic miner's tale with the taboo topic of cannibalism.

The writer wanted the song to get played on the radio but , at the same time, he wanted the dark, macabre subject matter to get the song banned by radio stations to create buzz. To get past radio censors and drum up buzz, and make the song appealing to listeners, he disguised the borderline-gruesome lyrics to a degree by juxtaposing them against a light, bouncy melody with a heavy emphasis on brass and string orchestrated and conducted by Howard Reeves. Whenever I think of this song , I am reminded of Warren Zevon's "Exciteable Boy," a song with a very dark subject matter of rape and murder of a prom date , but with a light, bouncy, pop melody.


The writer's plan worked to perfection. Radio stations caught on to the dark theme and immediately started banning the track. However, the controversy made teens highly curious, leading to massive record-buying and relentless song requests that forced other stations to play it to keep up with demand . Another thing of note, once Scepter Records realized the song was climbing the charts, they panicked and tried to quiet the outrage by telling DJs that the subject of the song was actually a mule, rather than a human. The writer pushed back , however, confirming the song was indeed about cannibalism.

The young writer and arranger of this song also played piano on the track, just as he did on "Tracy, " the hit song by the Cufflinks in 1969. He also played the signature piano riff on the '76 hit "A Glass of Champagne," by the British rock band , Sailor, and then went on to have his own #1 hit in 1979 and another top 10 hit in 1980.

Do you know the title of this controversial song , which peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1971(it was #87 for all of 1971) ? Also, do you know the name of the writer , arranger, and piano player on the record? And , can you name his huge hit, which peaked at #1 in 1979 , and holds the unique distinction of being the only pop song in history to ascend to #1 on Billboard in two different decades(same chart run) ? It was the last #1 song of the 70's.

[Dom Heffner]

184. This is the story of one of the most bizarre songs in the history of Billboard charted music. We have to go back more than 55 years for this one. The song in question here was recorded in 1970 by a five-member American pop band that formed in the Wilkes Barre /Scranton PA area back in 1965. They released eight singles during their active run between 1969 and 1975, but it the biggest of those singles that is the subject of this question. In fact, it is the only major hit this band ever had.

The band had signed a single record deal with Scepter Records (same record label as BJ Thomas). But when the label refused to provide the financial assistance to promote the record, the band called on a young 20 year-old singer/songwriter for help. The writer's plan was to let controversy promote the record. He would write a song with an implied subject matter so controversial that the song would be banned, thus generating interest and boosting record sales. We all know that controversy creates interest.

The writer's inspiration came from the country song " Sixteen Tons" and the Tennessee Williams play Suddenly, Last Summer, combining a tragic miner's tale with the taboo topic of cannibalism.

The writer wanted the song to get played on the radio but , at the same time, he wanted the dark, macabre subject matter to get the song banned by radio stations to create buzz. To get past radio censors and drum up buzz, and make the song appealing to listeners, he disguised the borderline-gruesome lyrics to a degree by juxtaposing them against a light, bouncy melody with a heavy emphasis on brass and string orchestrated and conducted by Howard Reeves. Whenever I think of this song , I am reminded of Warren Zevon's "Exciteable Boy," a song with a very dark subject matter of rape and murder of a prom date , but with a light, bouncy, pop melody.


The writer's plan worked to perfection. Radio stations caught on to the dark theme and immediately started banning the track. However, the controversy made teens highly curious, leading to massive record-buying and relentless song requests that forced other stations to play it to keep up with demand . Another thing of note, once Scepter Records realized the song was climbing the charts, they panicked and tried to quiet the outrage by telling DJs that the subject of the song was actually a mule, rather than a human. The writer pushed back , however, confirming the song was indeed about cannibalism.

The young writer and arranger of this song also played piano on the track, just as he did on "Tracy, " the hit song by the Cufflinks in 1969. He also played the signature piano riff on the '76 hit "A Glass of Champagne," by the British rock band , Sailor, and then went on to have his own #1 hit in 1979 and another top 10 hit in 1980.

Do you know the title of this controversial song , which peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1971(it was #87 for all of 1971) ? Also, do you know the name of the writer , arranger, and piano player on the record? And , can you name his huge hit, which peaked at #1 in 1979 , and holds the unique distinction of being the only pop song in history to ascend to #1 on Billboard in two different decades(same chart run) ? It was the last #1 song of the 70's.

I know this because it is one of the worst songs of all time, and I want to say Dave Barry did a book and mentioned it. There is cannibalism in the lyrics!

Timothy by the Buoys. Rupert Holmes wrote it, played piano.

Terrible!

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Good job, Dom.


#17 in May , 1971:





Trapped in a mine what had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Was Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Was Joe and me
Timothy, Timothy
Where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy
God, why don't I know?
Hungry as hell, no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
One enough to swing for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll take a swing
And then there's some for you"
Timothy, Timothy
Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy
God, what did we do?
I must have blacked out just 'round then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around to finding Timothy
Timothy, Timothy
Where on earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy
God, why don't I know?
Timothy, yeah, oh Timothy
Timothy, yeah, Timothy


--- Rupert Holmes





#1 in 1979 :

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I know this because it is one of the worst songs of all time, and I want to say Dave Barry did a book and mentioned it. There is cannibalism in the lyrics!

Timothy by the Buoys. Rupert Holmes wrote it, played piano.

Terrible!

Yeah, I knew Barry called it the worse song ever written. I disagree. There are many that are far worse. I'd listen to "Timothy" all day long before I'd listen to Debby Boone or Bobby McFerrin.

[texasdave]

I could get on board if you were saying 'Escape' was one of the worst songs of all time. Every time it comes on the oldies station here, I feel like gnawing on the DJ's leg. Come to think of it, Timothy probably was thinking about 'Escape' the whole time they were gnawing on his leg.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I could get on board if you were saying 'Escape' was one of the worst songs of all time. Every time it comes on the oldies station here, I feel like gnawing on the DJ's leg. Come to think of it, Timothy probably was thinking about 'Escape' the whole time they were gnawing on his leg.

It was one of those songs back in the day, like with Abba or Air Supply, that we told our friends what a piece of crap it was but when we were alone in the car and the song came on we sang along to the piece of crap and knew every word of the lyrics.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Back to the "Timothy" song for just a moment. There is a really odd coincidence around the backstory to that song. The band was from the Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania The song's setting deeply resonated in Pennsylvania's coal-mining region. Many listeners connected it to the real-life 1963 Sheppton Mine Disaster in Schuylkill County, which also sparked rumors(apparently unfounded) of cannibalism. However, Holmes stated he had never even heard of the Sheppton disaster until after the song was already released. The band members have also confirmed that Rupert had never heard of the incident prior to the release of the song. I've read interviews where Rupert has said he wouldn't have written the song had he knew of the incident. I've seen interviews of Rupert, who seems like the nicest, most humble, and appreciative guy you'll find anywhere. I believe him when he said the song received no inspiration whatsoever from the horrible '63 Sheppton Mine Disaster. But, man , what an odd concidence !

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Much to the chagrin of my friend, tdave, let's go back just for a moment to "Escape."

Do you know what the line " If you like pina coladas, gettin' caught in the rain" was originally ? It was "If you like Humphrey Bogart, gettin' caught in the rain." Rupert made a split second decision(about ten seconds, in fact) when recording the song to change the words from "Humphrey Bogart" to "pina coladas." Good choice, Sherlock(Holmes)!

Also, many think that "Escape" was the last #1 of the '70's as well as the first #1 of the '80's. However, KC and the Sunshine Band was #1 on Billboard for the first week in 1980, with "Escape" going back to #1 in the second week. There was a rumor that someone from Atlantic Records(KC's label) paid off Billboard to switch Rupert's song and KC's and make "Please Don't Go" the first #1 song in 1980. You see, Rupert's label(Infinity) had just gone out of business and the talk was that some important folks wanted Atlantic to be in the top spot at the beginning of the new decade. There might be something to it. It is kinda odd that "Escape" went right back to #1 in Week 2 of 1980 on Billboard, and remained #1 on Cashbox and Record World.

If you like the song, or even if you don't , here's a really interesting and enjoyable video with Rupert talking about how the song came to be, including his split second decision to change "Humphrey Bogart" to "pina coladas."

[Dom Heffner]

Yeah, I knew Barry called it the worse song ever written. I disagree. There are many that are far worse. I'd listen to "Timothy" all day long before I'd listen to Debby Boone or Bobby McFerrin.

I may be too young to appreciate it out of its context.

Songs about cannibalism are tough to relate to haha

[Ky Fried Redleg]

185. This Tongan-American band of eight brothers and sisters from Minneapolis got their name from a big Elton John hit of the 1970's . Their family name of Wolfgramm was a difficult stage name, so they originally called themselves "The Quasars," after a popular brand of television from way back in the day. I'm sure most of your parents or grandparents had a Quasar at one point in time. I know mine did. Anyway, this name was short-lived, as they wanted something that was shorter, punchier, and easier to remember. So, the band's manager suggested the name that borrows from the famous Elton John song. That's the name they adopted.

The band of youngsters had five top 10 hits in the latter part of the 1980's . One of their songs was famously featured on the Beverly Hill Cop II soundtrack. But it's their biggest hit that I want to feature here. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1987 and was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. It was written by a well-known singer/ writer/arranger/composer for his young daughter. The singer/ songwriter wanted to pen a song that his 10 year-old daughter, Wendy, would enjoy listening to, especially knowing it came from her father.

Sadly, and tragically, Wendy died suddenly from an undiagnosed brain tumor before the song was ever released. The little girl never got to hear the song her father wrote for her. That singer/ songwriter was... Rupert Holmes.

Do you remember this group of young Mormon siblings(no, not that one) who hit it big in the mid and , especially, the late eighties and had five top 10 hits, including the Rupert Holmes' penned ballad that he wrote for his daughter, Wendy?


Who was the group and what was the hit song ?

[Revering4Blue]

185. This Tongan-American band of eight brothers and sisters from Minneapolis got their name from a big Elton John hit of the 1970's . Their family name of Wolfgramm was a difficult stage name, so they originally called themselves "The Quasars," after a popular brand of television from way back in the day. I'm sure most of your parents or grandparents had a Quasar at one point in time. I know mine did. Anyway, this name was short-lived, as they wanted something that was shorter, punchier, and easier to remember. So, the band's manager suggested the name that borrows from the famous Elton John song. That's the name they adopted.

The band of youngsters had five top 10 hits in the latter part of the 1980's . One of their songs was famously featured on the Beverly Hill Cop II soundtrack. But it's their biggest hit that I want to feature here. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1987 and was #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. It was written by a well-known singer/ writer/arranger/composer for his young daughter. The singer/ songwriter wanted to pen a song that his 10 year-old daughter, Wendy, would enjoy listening to, especially knowing it came from her father.

Sadly, and tragically, Wendy died suddenly from an undiagnosed brain tumor before the song was ever released. The little girl never got to hear the song her father wrote for her. That singer/ songwriter was... Rupert Holmes.

Do you remember this group of young Mormon siblings(no, not that one) who hit it big in the mid and , especially, the late eighties and had five top 10 hits, including the Rupert Holmes' penned ballad that he wrote for his daughter, Wendy?


Who was the group and what was the hit song ?

You Got It All - The Jets


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk