Poldo's Music Trivia II

OK, girls and boys, back to the 60s: Brits Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley co-wrote this popular introspective ballad for their 1961/62 musical "Stop the World: I Want to Get Off" as its closing number. Newley starred in the production and first recorded it. By the time it made it from the London to the New York stages, Tony Bennett had already cut it for one of his albums. It won the 1963 Grammy for Song of the Year. Sammy Davis, Jr. took it to #17 on Billboard's Hot 100 and to #6 on Easy Listening in '62. Memorable covers by Andy Williams, Shirley Bassey, Lesley Gore, Perry Como, Robert Goulet and, of course, my main man Bobby Darin. Song? Answer: "What Kind of Fool Am I?". I was 10 when it came out and my Dad loved it - he used to sing it and play on guitar as well as on the ol' hi-fi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BGL-a_FrHk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcHyCdvBnIU

OK, boys and girls, back to the 1920s (a toughie!): This classic "Italian"-American joke song was written in '26 by Harry Warren (Salvatore Anthony Guaragna), "Hollywood's Unknown Composer", with lyrics by M. Weinberg/C. Marks/E. Krickett/E. Stamper. Minor hit in '58 for Lou Monte. Featured in Betty Boop's "Mask-A-Raid" in '31 and in John Wayne's "Fighting Seabees". Song? Alternate title? Answer: "Where Do you Work A-John?" aka "The Delaware-Lackawan Song". This was a staple at the "notorious" Phi Chi Medical Fraternity Wednesday night parties in Philly in the early 70s along with "Roller Derby Queen", "Born to Run", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and, of course, the one about the Fugawi Tribe. How the heck did we do that and make it to lecture the following morning? YOUTH! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLgqKm8NC2o

OK, boys and girls, back to the 2000s: In 2004, lead singer Ken Casey was invited by Woody Gurhrie's family to go through his archives. Even though most of Guthrie's songs were deeply political, rebellious and heartfelt, he ran into a scrap of paper containing a five-line poem that mentioned Casey's home town. A seaman had lost his prosthetic lower extremity climbing the topsail and embarks on a voyage along the coast to try to find it. He set the short poem to music and recorded it with his Massachusetts-based Celtic-punk band. Only 2:20 minutes long, it went double-platinum and was extensively featured in Martin Scorsese's 2006 "The Departed". It has become an anthem for local sport teams and has been played in Super Bowls and NBA Finals. Song? Group? Answer: "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys. I'm half-Irish by marriage but I think I enjoy Celtic music more than Judy does. Every time I played in the O.R., man, did ...

OK, girls and boys, back to the 50s: This Baker Knight ballad was a #7 hit for Ricky Nelson in '58. Best known as the background song during the famous $5.00 milk shake scene between John Travolta and Uma Thurman at Jack Rabbit Slim's in "Pulp Fiction"('94). During his outstanding career Nelson had 53 tunes on Billboard's Hot 100, 36 Top 40 hits and 19 Top 10 hits. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in '87. Song? Answer: "Lonesome Town" by Ricky Nelson. I always wonder how much further Ricky Nelson's career would have gone had Elvis not been on the scene. Man, he was a good-looking son of a gun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fctiF_-RYMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8X2SM0ioJ4

OK, boys and girls, back to the 60s: This Hollywood, CA-based surf-rock garage/studio instrumental band had 3 Top 40 hits during their brief career. The first one was "Surfer Stomp" in '62, peaking at #31. Their cover of the "Batman Theme" (which, by the way, they did NOT compose) came in at #17 in '66. Their biggest hit (#3 in '64), a Michael Z. Gordon composition, was based upon a popular TV mystery show which ran between '63 and '65. Part of the "Pulp Fiction" ('94) soundtrack. Masterfully covered by The Ventures. Group? Biggest hit? Answer: "Out of Limits" by The Marketts. It was originally titled "Outer Limits" but they got into a little copyright dispute with the TV show's producers, so they renamed the song. Fond memories of our dear friend Gilberto "Tito" Mercado playing it on the ol' Kent electric guitar at Yeo's house in Los Caobos! “There is nothing wrong with your television ...

OK, girls and boys, back to the 70s: A young struggling Jim Croce had to take odd jobs to pay the bills while trying to launch his singer/songwriter career. One night, at a country and western bar he was playing at, he met a plus-sized woman with a penchant for hair spray who told him about her previous occupation and this inspired him to write this 1973 classic. Her husband was a State Trooper and he was thus afraid to perform the tune locally, fearing for his well-being. Croce's repertoire included many elaborate stories about eccentric people that he had met throughout the years. Unfortunately, he left us shortly after at the age of 30 in a plane crash. Song? Answer: "Roller Derby Queen" by Jim Croce. When I arrived in Philly in 1973 for med school, Jim Croce was a local celebrity. He was born and raised in Upper Darby, PA, a Philadelphia suburb. I bought all of his albums and quickly learned many of his tunes on guitar. Every Wednesday night at Phi Chi Me...

OK, girls and boys, The King returns: This '26 Handman/Turk classic was 1st recorded by Lou & Edith Handman in '27. It first charted by Blue Barron and Al Jolson in '50. Elvis 1st heard J. P. Morgan's '59 version while in Europe in the Army and recorded it in '60. The spoken part is based on Act II, Scene VII of "Äs You Like It" - "...all the world's a stage...". 6 wks. at #1 in '60. #81 on Billboard's Greatest Songs Of All Time. Song? Answer: "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley. It was so sad to see him during his last concerts - he would pretty regularly forget the spoken lines to "Are You Lonesome Tonight?". The singing voice, however, was perfect until the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XVdtX7uSnk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2BsS2BVXN8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuKnuzYYdA0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrdOoMobEdA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10dibDK-HBE