Here are some music trivia questions. Maybe you’ll know the answers, maybe not. Jump over the fold for the questions and the answers.
- Between 1969 and 1971, what rock band had ten songs that made it to the Billboard top-five, but they never ever had a #1 song on the charts? Seven of their songs got to #2. One song reached #3 on the charts. Two other songs peaked at #4. (I took my chart reports from allmusic.com and their Billboard stats.)
- In the movie "Gremlins," Hoyt Axton played the father who made the really bad mistake of buying a gremlin for his kid, while ignoring the warnings about feeding them after midnight and getting them wet. Axton was a musician and songwriter and drug user. He wrote the songs "The Pusher" (Steppenwolf), "Joy To the World" (Three Dog Night), "No-no song" (Ringo Starr), and "Boney Fingers" (Hoyt Axton). Here’s the trivia question: Hoyt Axton’s mother was a songwriter who wrote one of Elvis Presley’s first hit songs. Name that song.
- When Paul McCartney was 15 years old, he impressed a 16-year-old John Lennon by playing what Eddie Cochran song? McCartney said, "I think what impressed him most was that I knew all the words."
- Michael Jackson had two #1 Billboard hits with three letters called "Ben" (1972) and "Bad" (1987). What two other Michael Jackson #1 hits started with the letter B? What one other #1 MJ song had three letters?
- Madonna had two #1 songs (in the 1980s) with three words and the first two words were exactly the same but the third word was different. Name those two songs.
- What two famous bands began their careers in Athens, Georgia?
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Answers:
- Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a #1 song. Here’s their version of "Proud Mary," which is one of their songs that got to #2, but not #1 on the Billboard charts:
John Fogerty was later sued for copyright infringement for a song that he wrote. Some company bought the copyrights to Creedence songs. John Fogerty wrote a song. The new song sounded like one of his old songs (for which he no longer owned the copyright). He won the lawsuit, but the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Details here: Fogerty vs. Fantasy.
- Mae Boren Axton, Hoyt Axton’s mother, wrote "Heartbreak Hotel." Here’s the video:
- Paul McCartney impressed John Lennon because he knew the words for "Twenty Flight Rock." Here’s a video:
Cochran died at the age of 21 in a car crash.
Here’s another Eddie Cochran song, "Summertime Blues"...
- Michael Jackson’s other B songs were "Beat It" and "Billie Jean." His other three letter song was "Jam."
- Madonna’s songs with the first two words being the same: "Like A Virgin" and "Like A Prayer."
- I’d have to say the two most famous bands from Athens, GA, are the B-52s and R.E.M.