From: Rich Ardini <golq448@golq.org>
Subject: RESULTS and ANSWER KEY for Golden Oldies Lyrics Quiz 448 (GOLQ448)
Sender: GOLQ Mailing List <list@golq.org>
Date: Wed, 5 Jun 2024 04:29:33 -0400 (EDT)
RESULTS & ANSWER KEY for Golden Oldies Lyrics Quiz #448 (GOLQ448)
There was a four-way tie for first place. Congratulations to Randy Price (first
to submit an entry), The EJs & Co., Tri-State Trivia and the Village Idiots, all
with perfect scores. Mike Weaver and the Delphi Trivia Club were close behind.
The tie-breakers are by two well-known GOLQ artists. Each song had a more
successful version in later years.
Some entries included their memories of listening to AM radio back in the day.
The average score was 451. Eleven songs were identified by all teams.
Teams that submitted Puzzler answers are Randy Price and Team Teitelbaum. The
complete Puzzler solution is below.
And thanks to Bob Bluestein for continuing to provide these puzzlers.
Thanks to everyone who entered. GOLQ #449 will soon be posted, if it hasn't
already.
- Rich Ardini
______________________________________________________________________
After each score below are two characters representing the two tie-breakers:
+ indicates a tie-breaker answered correctly.
- indicates partial credit.
x indicates a totally incorrect guess.
. indicates no guess.
(For anti-spamming purposes, all occurrences of "@" in e-mail addresses have
been replaced with "&".)
Place ID # on
Score Name <E-mail address> team Age(s)
---+-----+--+--------------------------------------------------+---+-----------
T01 500++ RP Randy Price <randypny&aol.com> 1 72
T01 500++ EJ The EJ's & Co. (Ellis, Kyra, Mitch,
Vinnie, Kevin, Everett) <ellisbromberg&gmail.com> 6 37+
T01 500++ TS Tri-State Trivia <lowtekman5&aol.com> 7 -
T01 500++ VI Village Idiots (Doug, Andrew, Andy)
<MrJaded, ARE7, Clete6 all at&aol.com> 3 -
T05 480++ MW Mike Weaver <oldtunes&sbcglobal.net> 1 -
T05 480++ DT Delphi Trivia Club <rcwkid99&me.com> 6 65+
07 460+. VS Vito & The Salutations <baileyl&colorado.edu> 3 or 4 boomers
08 440.. CO The Coasters (Rick & Kathy Schubert, Magic Marc, 5 71, 75, 72,
Bigfoot Mae, Regina Litman) <rns&san.rr.com> -, 71
T09 420.. TT Team Teitelbaum (Howard & Patty) <hat_pat&yahoo.com> 2 61-65
T09 420.. WM Will McCorry <wmccorry&ca.inter.net> 1 66
11 260.. RR Really Rockin' In Boston <rfbluestein&gmail.com> 5 70s
---+-----+--+--------------------------------------------------+---+---
Place ID # on
Score Name <E-mail address> team Age(s)
________________________________________________________________________________
The following table gives the individual scoring breakdown:
#01-#25 #T1-#T2
. no answer .
0 incorrect answer x
1-19 partial credit -
20 full credit +
Song# TT
ID 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 12
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
RP 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 ++
EJ 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 ++
TS 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 ++
VI 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 ++
MW 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 20 20 20 20 ++
DT 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 ++
VS 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 +.
CO 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 20 . 20 20 . 20 20 ..
TT 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 . 20 20 . 20 20 20 . 20 ..
WM 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 . 20 20 20 20 20 20 . 20 20 . 20 20 ..
RR 20 20 . . 20 . . . 20 20 20 20 . . 20 20 . 20 20 . . 20 . . 20 ..
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
ID 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 12
Song# TT
________________________________________________________________________________
GOLDEN OLDIES LYRICS QUIZ #448 ANSWERS:
Answers are in the form:
#number) Artist: "Title" (chart year) [peak Pop] {peak R&B} <xxx>...<yyy>
where:
"peak Pop" = Peak position achieved on the weekly Billboard Pop chart.
"peak R&B" = Peak position on the weekly Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart.
(Billboard didn't publish an R&B chart between 11/30/63 and 1/23/65,
so recordings in that interval show peak R&B of {n/c} ("no chart").)
"xxx",...,"yyy" = prior GOLQ(s) in which the song appeared, if any.
________________________________________________________________________________
Golden Oldies Lyrics Quiz #448
And he keeps his pockets full of spending loot
#01) Ad Libs, The: "The Boy From New York City" (1965) [8] {6}
<2><126><181><245><309>
We'll settle down in a bamboo hut
And he will be my own little cocoanut
Then we'll be beachcombing royalty
On wicky-wicky wacky Waikiki
#02) Annette with The Afterbeats: "Pineapple Princess" (1960) [11] {-}
<60><146><318>
Now my broken heart aches
With every every wave that breaks
#03) Boone, Pat: "Love Letters In The Sand" (1957) [1] {12} <22><186><277>
The birds no longer sing
Some devil told my angel
A lot of lies
And now my tears are falling
#04) Crests, The: "Trouble In Paradise" (1960) [20] {-} <27><198><271>
Now there's only one left down there to save
#05) Dean, Jimmy: "Big Bad John" (1961/62) [1] {-} <34><169><283><344>
A little waitress comes to set you down
She's got the best frog legs in town
There's a welcome sign hanging on the door
So don't you be afraid to ask for more
#06) Dixiebelles, The: "(Down At) Papa Joe's" (1963) [9] {n/c} <19>
And now I'm sorry for the things I didn't say
'Cause I know now I acted in a foolish way
(Oh yeah) uh-huh-huh, (oh-yeah) oh-oh-yeah
#07) Donner, Ral: "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)"
(1961) [4] {-} <37><186>
Are you really wise (really wise)
Do you realize
That those devil eyes (devil eyes)
#08) Echoes, The: "Baby Blue" (1961) [12] {-} <26><119><191><327>
A little trick with Nick
#09) Ellis, Shirley: "The Name Game" (1964/65) [3] {4} <17><149><203><287><339>
Well now looking all around what did I see
Every school kid that could ever be
They come from Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston, too
New Orleans, San Diego and old St. Lou
#10) Facenda, Tommy: "High School U.S.A. (National)" (1959/60) [28] {30}
<80><178>
TT and others: After recording the original VA version for Legrand, the song was
picked up by Atlantic; they had him cut a "national" version (whence these
lyrics derive), plus an additional 27 regional versions.
QM: I always like the Boston version because my hometown was the first city
mentioned.
You've been gone a week
And I tried so hard
Not to be the cryin' kind
Not to be the girl you left behind
#11) 5th Dimension, The: "Go Where You Wanna Go" (1967) [16] {-} <5><162><322>
And when you're old and grey
You will remember what they said
That two girls are too many
Three's a crowd and four you're dead
#12) Herman's Hermits: "Dandy" (1966) [5] {-} <46><154>
You don't know how I fell
You'll never know how I feel
Oh when I needed you to come around
You always tried to bring me down
#13) Jackson, J. J.: "But It's Alright" (1966,1969) [22,45] {4,-} <27><89><296>
Drop a dime before I walk away
#14) Lemon Pipers, The: "Green Tambourine" (1967/68) [1] {-} <11><102><199><372>
I'll stage a ballet on a table-top
Command performance, finger-size
Though I ain't got no tume my show won't flop
'Cause I'll find the music in your eyes
#15) Lulu: "Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)" (1969/70) [22] {-} <146><220>
But this boy keeps coming around
Trying to wear my resistance down
#16) Martha & The Vandellas: "Jimmy Mack" (1967) [10] {1} <8><112><276>
There's a place out Hollywood way
Where the crowd all goes to play
They jump and shout and have a ball
And let me tell you that ain't all
They do the
#17) Pastel Six, The: "The Cinnamon Cinder (It's A Very Nice Dance)"
(1962/63) [25] {-} <61>
QM: A quirky little song, somewhat like Hombres:"Let It All Hang Out" from my
last quiz.
Pull them little strings and I'll sing you a song
#18) Purify, James & Bobby: "I'm Your Puppet" (1966) [6] {5} <8><92><244><329>
In the daytime, Mary Hill was a teaser
Come the night, she was such a pleaser
19) Royal, Billy Joe: "Cherry Hill Park" (1969/70) [15] {-} <16><226><287>
Yesterday I waited for you
At the corner candy store
The way I always do
The hours passed, the gang went home
And I was left there all alone
Waiting just for you
#20) Starr, Randy: "After School" (1957) [32] {-} <130><259>
QM: In the mid-60s, a popular Boston AM station was WMEX 1510, with Arnie
Ginsburg as the nighttime DJ. On my transistor radio, WKBW 1520 in Buffalo
would sometimes fade in. They also had a popular DJ, Joey Reynolds, and a
similar format. And they had a Sunday night 'oldies' show I liked listening to.
It was music only, no DJ giving the titles or artist names. Every few weeks,
they would play this song that I never heard on Boston radio and it became a
favorite of mine. But I never figured out who the artist was until the Goldmine
newspaper and Whitburn entered my life. I guess it was a regional hit in places
and I only know it from listening to a distant AM station.
You never walk alone
And you're forever talking on the phone
I try to call you names
But every time it comes out the same
#21) Tremeloes, The: "Here Comes My Baby" (1967) [13] {-} <30><171><300>
And how is the weather?
#22) Turtles, The: "Happy Together" (1967) [1] {-} <10><139><288><344>
It was so heavenly
You meant the world to me
And anyone could see
That I was so in love
#23) Ward, Robin: "Wonderful Summer" (1963/64) [14] {23} <4><105><178>
TT: In an era when girls in their early teens were recording hits (Kathy Young,
Linda Scott, etc.), 21-year-old Jackie Ward evidently sounded too adult for
what the producers had in mind. The recording was sped up on playback to
make her sound more adolescent; the artist billing of "Robin Ward" was
actually the name of Jackie's infant daughter. I found a pitch-corrected
version (a semitone lower) that illustrates her natural timbre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhgUYGvwHGQ (released version, in C#maj)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D81H041f8Yk (pitch-corrected, in Cmaj)
QM: She was also the female voice in Pat Boone:"Speedy Gonzales".
In later years, her voice was in hundreds of commercials and films.
Sugar will be sweet love, yeah
Baby, just like you
A-yeah-yeah-yeah
Baby just like you
A-yeah-yeah-yeah
Baby just like you
#24) "You Know Who" Group!, The: "Roses Are Red My Love" (1964/65) [43] {n/c}
<157><210>
QM: The comments in the YouTube clip provide the interesting history of this
group.
https://youtu.be/hlswHklj288?feature=shared
I know she's the kind of girl
Who'd throw my love away
#25) Zombies, The: "Tell Her No" (1965) [6] {-} <36><110><201><324>
------------
Tie-Breakers
------------
I know if you'd seen her you'd tell me 'cause you are my friend
Well, I've got to find her and find out the trouble she's in
If you tell me that she's not here
I'll follow the trail of her tears
#T1) Bill Haley And His Comets: "That's How I Got To Memphis" (1969)[-]{-}
QM: As the 60s were ending, Bill Haley recorded this country song written by
then-newcomer Tom T. Hall (he wrote Jeannie C. Riley: "Harper Valley PTA").
Tom T. Hall's career exploded in the 70s and he later achieved Country
Hall-of-Fame status as a performer and songwriter. Bobby Bare reached #3 on
the 1970 Country charts with it.
Bill later re-recorded this song in 1979 on perhaps his final album. He
passed away in 1981.
In a world that was small
I once lived in a time that was peace, with no trouble at all
But then you came my way
And a feeling unknown shook my heart, made me want you to stay
All of my nights and all of my days
#T2) Gene Pitney: "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" (1967) [130] {-}
QM: This song was an international hit seemingly everywhere but the United
States.
In 1989, Pitney sang a duet of this with Marc Almond that reached #1 on the
British charts.
Original: https://youtu.be/-tY0rnDery0?feature=shared
I also like this alternative version that features his voice more so than
the original.
https://youtu.be/XyImVKgSHSY?feature=shared
=======================================================================
The following table ranks the songs from most recognized to least recognized.
The first column indicates the average number of points scored on that song
(total points divided by number of entrants). For comparison purposes, tie-
breakers are scored here on the usual 20-point scale.
Avg. Song
----------------------------------------
20.0 #01) Ad Libs, The: "The Boy From New York City"
20.0 #02) Annette with The Afterbeats: "Pineapple Princess"
20.0 #05) Dean, Jimmy: "Big Bad John"
20.0 #09) Ellis, Shirley: "The Name Game"
20.0 #10) Facenda, Tommy: "High School U.S.A. (National)"
20.0 #12) Herman's Hermits: "Dandy"
20.0 #16) Martha & The Vandellas: "Jimmy Mack"
20.0 #18) Purify, James & Bobby: "I'm Your Puppet"
20.0 #19) Royal, Billy Joe: "Cherry Hill Park"
20.0 #22) Turtles, The: "Happy Together"
20.0 #25) Zombies, The: "Tell Her No"
18.2 #03) Boone, Pat: "Love Letters In The Sand"
18.2 #04) Crests, The: "Trouble In Paradise"
18.2 #07) Donner, Ral: "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)"
18.2 #08) Echoes, The: "Baby Blue"
18.2 #11) 5th Dimension, The: "Go Where You Wanna Go"
18.2 #14) Lemon Pipers, The: "Green Tambourine"
18.2 #15) Lulu: "Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)"
18.2 #21) Tremeloes, The: "Here Comes My Baby"
16.4 #06) Dixiebelles, The: "(Down At) Papa Joe's"
16.4 #13) Jackson, J. J.: "But It's Alright"
14.5 #17) Pastel Six, The: "The Cinnamon Cinder (It's A Very Nice Dance)"
14.5 #23) Ward, Robin: "Wonderful Summer"
12.7 #24) "You Know Who" Group!, The: "Roses Are Red My Love"
12.7 #T1) Bill Haley And His Comets: "That's How I Got To Memphis"
10.9 #20) Starr, Randy: "After School"
10.9 #T2) Gene Pitney: "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart"
PUZZLER SOLUTION
----------------
Congratulations to all those who cracked the code to this Puzzler's secret
message. The encoding is that each "xx-y" represents the letter in the y-th
position of the first word of the alphabetically arranged name of the artist
of recording "#xx". For example, since answer #03 is
#03) Brubeck, Dave, Quartet: "Take Five"
the code "03-7" represents the letter "K".
The secret message:
"Rock and roll is here to stay / It will never die"
The answers:
Hit that ended The Beatles' run of 3 consecutive #1's ("I Want To Hold Your
Hand", "She Loves You", and "Can't Buy Me Love") on Billboard's Hot 100
chart, recorded by the oldest artist to top the Hot 100 in the '60s
#01) Armstrong, Louis, and the All Stars: "Hello, Dolly!"
"Satchmo" was almost 63 years old when this record hit #1 on May 9, 1964.
This Jerry Herman song was the title tune from the Tony Award-winning Best
Musical of 1964. Armstrong actually appeared as the orchestra leader in the
'69 film based on the Broadway production.
'68 funk single backed by the T.S.U. Toronadoes that begins with the speaker
proudly declaring that the band is from Houston, Texas
#02) Bell, Archie, & the Drells: "Tighten Up"
The "Texas" comment was intended as Bell's counter-argument to a statement he
heard after President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas that "nothing good
ever came out of Texas". "Tighten Up" topped both the Billboard pop and R&B
charts.
Recording in '61 that became the first jazz instrumental to sell a million
copies
#03) Brubeck, Dave, Quartet: "Take Five"
This jazz standard, which reached #25 on the pop chart, was written by
quartet saxophonist Paul Desmond in unorthodox 5/4 time (from which Brubeck
derived the song's title). Recording "Take Five" took two sessions and over
twenty failed attempts because one member or another of the quartet kept
losing the beat.
45 reaching #63 in '66 whose lyrics contain the phrase "tuberous vegetable"
#04) Christie, Susan: "I Love Onions"
This novelty song contains the following spoken mid-song commentary: "The
onion is a tuberous vegetable and is a member of the genus stinkus delicioso.
It was highly prized by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs and their friends and
cousins. It causes watering of the eyes and rubefaction of the skin, but it
is very, very tasty."
Recording of a Cole Porter song (sung as a duet by two Academy Award-winning
actors) that reached #3 on the pop chart in '56
#05) Crosby, Bing, and Grace Kelly: "True Love"
This was a tune from "High Society", a musical remake of the 1940 film "The
Philadelphia Story". It was sung in the movie by concertina-playing skipper
C.K. (Crosby) and first mate Tracy (Kelly) as they spend their honeymoon on
their schooner, "True Love".
Single (whose sole spoken words are the song's 3-word title) that reached #60
on the pop chart about a month before The Beach Boys' debut 45, "Surfin",
and is often regarded as the first surf rock instrumental
#06) Dale, Dick, and the Del-Tones: "Let's Go Trippin'"
This '61 composition by "King of the Surf Guitar" Dale is found on the album
"Surfers' Choice", which also contains the cuts "Sloop John B" and "Misirlou
Twist". It was covered within the next two years by The Mar-Kets, The Beach
Boys, The Astronauts, and The Challengers (on their debut album "Surfbeat",
the best-selling surf album of all time).
Cover version reaching #5 in '61 in the U.S. whose title and lyrics were
changed in the U.K. because "Spearmint" was a registered trademark there
#07) Donegan, Lonnie, and His Skiffle Group: "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its
Flavor (On The Bedpost Over Night)"
This version of the novelty song reached #3 two years earlier in the U.K.
The original "Does The Spearmint Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?"
was written by Billy Rose, Ernest Breuer, and Marty Bloom. It was first
released in 1924 by the American vocal duo of Billy Jones and Ernie Hare,
known as The Happiness Boys, who in 1928 were the highest paid singers on
radio.
'57 chart topper whose sung lyrics include the phrase "ooh la la"
#08) Everly Brothers, The: "Wake Up Little Susie"
"Well, what are we gonna tell your mama? / What are we gonna tell your pa? /
What are we gonna tell our friends when they say 'Ooh la la'?"
Single that Billboard gave just one Hot 100 chart listing despite Atlantic
Records' releasing over two dozen versions (all recorded by the same artist),
each specific to a different geographical or metropolitan area by customizing
its lyrics to name many of that area's high schools
#09) Facenda, Tommy: "High School U.S.A."
Facenda was a backup vocalist with Gene Vincent's band, The Blue Caps, in
'57, but left to go solo in '58. "High School U.S.A." was released in '59
and peaked at #28 on the pop chart.
U.S. top 10 hit whose lyrics contain the phrase "the dance of love", by the
spouse of the artist who recorded #12 below
#10) Gorme, Eydie: "Blame It On The Bossa Nova"
This internationally popular recording of a Cynthia Weil-Barry Mann song
reached #7 in the U.S. in '63. It was covered by Annette Funicello in '64
and Cliff Richard in '66. In '63 Jackie Mason released a parody 45 entitled
"Don't Blame The Bossa Nova". The bossa nova (Portuguese for "new trend")
craze had arrived in the U.S. from Rio de Janeiro in '62, in large part
due to musicians Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto and the big hit
"The Girl From Ipanema".
Recording taken to #23 in '62 whose title included an appended "avian"
parenthetical phrase not present in Percy Sledge's '69 version, Elvis
Presley's '69 version (the B-side of "In The Ghetto"), or Ronnie Milsap's
'82 version
#11) Jackson, Chuck: "Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)"
This was the singer's highest charting pop single. It reached #2 on the R&B
chart. The Burt Bacharach-Bob Hilliard song was also covered on '60s albums
by Bill Medley, James Brown, Carla Thomas, and Peter & Gordon (only the last
of whom included the parenthetical phrase in the listed song title).
Chart-topping hit in the '60s that was the first to have a cover version
repeat that feat in the '70s
#12) Lawrence, Steve: "Go Away Little Girl"
Donny Osmond took the '62 song to #1 in '71. The other '60s-'70s repeat
#1's: Grand Funk re-topped the chart in '74 with Little Eva's '62 hit "The
Loco-Motion", and The Carpenters hit #1 in '75 with The Marvelettes' '61 hit
"Please Mr. Postman". Pop vocalists Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were
partners on stage and in life for more than 55 years.
#2 hit in '66 (by a British Invasion group named after a '63 U.K. film
concerning brainwashing) that was covered and taken to #1 in 1988 by Phil
Collins
#13) Mindbenders, The: "A Groovy Kind Of Love"
Shown on some Collins 45s as simply "Groovy Kind Of Love". The Mindbenders'
recording was released a few months after Wayne Fontana left the band.
Single with a title translating to "In the blue that is painted blue (To
fly)" that was the first post-1954 non-English language recording to reach #1
#14) Modugno, Domenico: "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)"
This '58 hit by actor, singer-songwriter, and later member of the Italian
Parliament Modugno won the Grammy award for Record of the Year.
'69 recording that only reached #66 on the pop chart, but was covered and
taken to #5 by guitarist Todd Rundgren in '73
#15) Nazz: "Hello It's Me"
Rundgren left Nazz (whose name was derived from the Yardbirds' song "The
Nazz Are Blue") in '69 to pursue a solo career. The singer/songwriter/
multi-instrumentalist/sound engineer/record producer was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart topper (and pop chart #25 in '65)
backed by The Buckaroos and inspired by the song's writer noticing an Esso
gas station sign containing the company's slogan
#16) Owens, Buck: "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail"
Owens' viewing of the words "Put a tiger in your tank" gave him the idea for
the tune, which became one of the country superstar's signature songs.
'57 recording of a Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song that was #21 on the
American Film Institute's 2004 "Greatest Songs in American Movies" list
#17) Presley, Elvis: "Jailhouse Rock"
This title song from Elvis' third film was #1 for 7 weeks. In the movie,
Presley plays a prisoner who becomes a star singer after his release.
First post-1954 solo artist posthumous #1 single
#18) Redding, Otis: "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay"
Recorded on December 7, 1967, three days before the "King Of Soul"'s death
at age 26 in a plane crash, and released as a single a month later. The next
three recordings to hit #1 posthumously would be Janis Joplin's '71 hit "Me
and Bobby McGee", Jim Croce's '73 hit "Time In A Bottle", and John Lennon's
'80 hit "(Just Like) Starting Over".
Single that was the highest charting TV theme song of the '60s, recorded
for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British series
"Danger Man"
#19) Rivers, Johnny: "Secret Agent Man"
This 45 hit #3 in '66. The American series aired as "Secret Agent" in '64.
It starred Patrick McGoohan, who left the series in '67 to star in the
British TV social science fiction cult classic "The Prisoner". The second
highest charting TV theme song of the '60s was The Ventures' instrumental
"Hawaii Five-O", which peaked at #4 in '69.
'62 Billboard Hot 100 chart topper that provided the background music for a
'67 Noxzema Shaving Cream commercial in which Swedish model Gunilla Knutsson
purred, "Take it off ... take it all off"
#20) Rose, David, and His Orchestra: "The Stripper"
This instrumental was originally intended as the B-side to go along with
A-side "Ebb Tide". Billboard ranked this "striptease accompaniment" record
as the #5 single of 1962.
'63 single containing the words "poison ivy" in the lyrics but not in the
title
#21) Sherman, Allan: "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp)"
Poor Joe Spivey developed poison ivy in this '63 comedy song, which reached
#2 on the pop chart.
'68 recording of a song performed 31 years later in center field at Yankee
Stadium a month after the death of "The Yankee Clipper"
#22) Simon & Garfunkel: "Mrs. Robinson"
Paul Simon played this chart-topping single from the film "The Graduate"
to a packed ballpark on the Yankees' "Joe DiMaggio Day" in April, 1999.
Simon was once asked why the song's lyrics include an homage to "Joltin'
Joe" and not the more contemporary Mickey Mantle. Simon's response was,
"It's about syllables".
Single reaching #6 in '68 whose sung lyrics include the phrase "et cetera"
#23) Turtles, The: "Elenore"
"Elenore, gee, I think you're swell / And you really do me well / You're my
pride and joy, et cetera"
'63 chart topper that was a cover of a '51 hit for Tony Bennett and was part
of the soundtrack of a 1986 psychological film noir thriller named for the
song
#24) Vinton, Bobby: "Blue Velvet"
This song was also covered by Arthur Prysock, The Clovers, The Moonglows,
The Statues, and others before Vinton. The cult classic film "Blue Velvet"
(for which David Lynch earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director)
revived interest in the Vinton recording in the '80s. Then in 1990, its use
in Nivea cold cream TV commercials brought about a re-release in the U.K.
which sent the recording to #2 on the UK Singles Chart.
Alphabetically last Billboard top 100 pop single of the alphabetically last
recording artist (solo or group) to have a Billboard top 100 pop single
debuting between '55 and '69 inclusive
#25) Zombies, The: "Time Of The Season"
The Zombies edge out country singer Pat Zill as the last such artist
alphabetically, and their #3 '69 hit "Time Of The Season" edges out their #6
'65 hit "Tell Her No" as their last such song alphabetically. Other near miss
contenders: The R&B artist Zorro's lone single "Somebody Cares" only "bubbled
under" the Billboard Hot 100, as did The Zombies' '65 release "Whenever
You're Ready", which only reached #110. (Other end of the alphabet: R&B
group Abaco Dream's '69 release "Life And Death In G & A".)
Single released in '65 as Capitol Records 5503 (though it did not chart),
performed live by a 6'9" actor on the Halloween '65 edition of TV's "Shindig"
#T1) Cassidy, Ted, as Lurch: "The Lurch"
A Motownesque dance song written by Gary Paxton ("Flip" of Skip & Flip) to
cash in on the popularity of Ted Cassidy's character Lurch on TV's "The
Addams Family". The recording starts with the banging of a gong, followed by
Lurch's catchphrase "You rang?", then Lurch "lurching" about with female
dancers while intoning short phrases ("Follow me", "Now you got it")
interspersed with the females' singing of the lyrics ("We thought you might
give us a chance / And teach us how to do the Lurch dance").
Jingle that advertised Rice Krispies in Great Britain in '64, performed by
a group just about to make its U.S. music chart debut with "Not Fade Away"
#T2) Rolling Stones, The: "Wake Up In The Morning"
Long before "The Who Sell Out" ... This 30-second jingle, written by band
member Brian Jones, provided the music for a U.K. TV commercial entitled
"Juke Box". The advertisement parodied the British TV song-judging show "Juke
Box Jury" while displaying boxes and bowls of Rice Krispies along with the
words "snap", "crackle", and "pop" to match the jingle's lyrics. The band was
paid 400 pounds for their recording. On July 4, 1964, The Rolling Stones
themselves were guest judges on "Juke Box Jury" and proceeded to trash many
of the records played.
I hope you enjoyed this stroll down Oldies Trivia Lane!