Music Trivia Thread

[Attyla]

I have been putting this in other threads, but am afraid I am just cluttering up those threads, so I will stop doing that and just do stuff in this one. Care to join in? I am all about learning more about music. So here we go.

Here are five artists from the UK who are really well known, and they had hits on both sides of the Atlantic, but had a lot more success in the US than in their home countries. There may be more and if you know one, feel free to join in.

First, we start with Ringo Starr of the Beatles. He had a lot of success as a solo artist in the US with a number of top 40 singles, far more in the US than in the UK. Songs like Photograph did quite well in the US, but not so much over seas

Second, Sheena Easton, she did well on both sides, but had a lot more success in the US with songs like Sugar Walls

Third, the Alan Parson's Project. They did OK in the UK but had a lot of success in the US, with songs like Games People Play

Next we have Steve Winwood who was quite successful as a solo artist, but much more so in the US

And finally, we have George Harrison, another Beatle. Had a lot of success as a solo artist in the US and was also a part of the Traveling Wilbury's.

[Attyla]

What do you do when you are in a bad record deal where the label has no intention of releasing your music in a timely manner? You thank a one time Motown artist of course. Here is the story.

Her name was Mary Brockert and she was a fairly successful artist under Berry Gordy under his Motown label. But the label and Brockert were having a bit of a falling out, you see, Motown was not working well with their star and were slow to get her music out there or back it with promotions. This prompted Brockert to sue the label and in a heated series of court battles she came out victorious. She was able to break her contract with Motown in what is now known as the Brockert Initiative and sign with rival Epic Records. That case has been used since then to get other artists out of bad record deals and it is all thanks to Mary Christine Brockert. And yes, it is likely you have heard of her even if her name is not familiar to you. Sadly, Brockert would die at an early age after fighting seizures that resulted from an injury she sustained six years prior. A large picture frame fell from the wall of her hotel and struck her head resulting in a concussion and seizures the rest of her life. She died in her home at the age of 54 in 2010.

Still cannot quite place her name? That is because she used a stage name. Teena Marie was memorialized and among those who attended her service was the likes of Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the former owner of Motown, Berry Gordy himself. I guess time heals all wounds after all.

[RickRyb]

A bit of a tangent, but I am tired of all these movies coming out supposedly about the musician(s). Movies like these always have a slant that the writer brings.

[Attyla]

Jimi Hendrix died on Friday, September 18th 1970. He made the evening news that day even though I doubt the anchors reporting this even knew who he was or what he did. Amazingly, Hendrix never had a number one hit on Billboard's Hot 100 charts. But what were the songs on the radio the day he died? Here are Billboard's top 10 from the week of September 12th 1970

10. Spill the Wine. Eric Burdon and War. Inspired by Keyboardist, Lonnie Jordan's accident of spilling wine on a mixing board. Peaking at number three, it was War's first charting song.
9. Make It With You, Bread. Written and almost entirely recorded by David Gates, the only track he did not lay down was the drums. and yes, it is about sex. Ironically, his mom heard the lyrics wrong and thought the song was "Naked With You."
8. Close To You, The Carpenters. Their big break after some not so great albums. The Layers and overdubbing on this track are simply amazing. Drums performed by Hal Blaine even though Karen was an exceptional drummer, she just did not know how to perform in a studio. And the vocals, the duo recorded the backing tracks 12 times to get the sound just right. That is a lot of layering.
7. Julie Do You Love me, Bobby Sherman. Bobby was well on his way to pin up magazine fame at this point. Bobby gave up his acting and singing career and became an EMT and even trained paramedics in the LA area.
6. Patches, Clarence Carter. Carter was a blues artist and was reluctant to do the song due to the content. It is a song about a boy born into poverty in Alabama. But he recorded it and it eventually went to number 4.
5. Looking Out My Back Door, CCR. A raw recording and written by John Fogerty. Years later, having sold his catalogue of music, Fogerty would get unsuccessfully sued by the label for plagiary because he sounded too much like himself.
4. 25 or 6 To 4, Chicago. A song about trying to write a song, you simply cannot make that stuff up.
3. In The Summer Time, Mungo Jerry. Now, let's put this to rest, there is no Mungo Jerry. That is the name of a band, not a guy
2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Diana Ross. Featuring The Funk Brothers, this song was not one that Berry Gordy liked due to the spoken word parts and the lack of punch at the beginning of the song
1. War, Edwin Starr. First recorded by the Temptations, Starr's version would be the first number one of his career. And no, the song writers were not referencing the Vietnam War.

So that was what was on the radio the day Jimi died. The last recorded words he spoke were "I need help bad, man" in an answering machine message to his manager, Chas Chandler the night before he died. By his side was a poem he was writing with his final message. The poem ends with this line, "The story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again."

[raider_kin]

Jimi Hendrix died on Friday, September 18th 1970. He made the evening news that day even though I doubt the anchors reporting this even knew who he was or what he did. Amazingly, Hendrix never had a number one hit on Billboard's Hot 100 charts. But what were the songs on the radio the day he died? Here are Billboard's top 10 from the week of September 12th 1970

10. Spill the Wine. Eric Burdon and War. Inspired by Keyboardist, Lonnie Jordan's accident of spilling wine on a mixing board. Peaking at number three, it was War's first charting song.
9. Make It With You, Bread. Written and almost entirely recorded by David Gates, the only track he did not lay down was the drums. and yes, it is about sex. Ironically, his mom heard the lyrics wrong and thought the song was "Naked With You."
8. Close To You, The Carpenters. Their big break after some not so great albums. The Layers and overdubbing on this track are simply amazing. Drums performed by Hal Blaine even though Karen was an exceptional drummer, she just did not know how to perform in a studio. And the vocals, the duo recorded the backing tracks 12 times to get the sound just right. That is a lot of layering.
7. Julie Do You Love me, Bobby Sherman. Bobby was well on his way to pin up magazine fame at this point. Bobby gave up his acting and singing career and became an EMT and even trained paramedics in the LA area.
6. Patches, Clarence Carter. Carter was a blues artist and was reluctant to do the song due to the content. It is a song about a boy born into poverty in Alabama. But he recorded it and it eventually went to number 4.
5. Looking Out My Back Door, CCR. A raw recording and written by John Fogerty. Years later, having sold his catalogue of music, Fogerty would get unsuccessfully sued by the label for plagiary because he sounded too much like himself.
4. 25 or 6 To 4, Chicago. A song about trying to write a song, you simply cannot make that stuff up.
3. In The Summer Time, Mungo Jerry. Now, let's put this to rest, there is no Mungo Jerry. That is the name of a band, not a guy
2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Diana Ross. Featuring The Funk Brothers, this song was not one that Berry Gordy liked due to the spoken word parts and the lack of punch at the beginning of the song
1. War, Edwin Starr. First recorded by the Temptations, Starr's version would be the first number one of his career. And no, the song writers were not referencing the Vietnam War.

So that was what was on the radio the day Jimi died. The last recorded words he spoke were "I need help bad, man" in an answering machine message to his manager, Chas Chandler the night before he died. By his side was a poem he was writing with his final message. The poem ends with this line, "The story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again."

Either it was just LA or just the radio station KHJ in the So Cal but I was under the impression Spill the Wine was Number One that year. Great song too.

Another confusing lyric too, as it goes: and she said spill the wine, dig that girl. She said "spill the wine." He then says "dig that girl."

Excuse me, while I kiss this guy (IYKYK)

[raider_kin]

Diana Ross went on to have the years number one in 73 with "Touch Me in the Morning."

Great, GREAT song.

[raider_kin]

Jeff Lynne (The Move, ELO) went on to form the Traveling Wilburys with several Hall of Fame musicians.

Who were they?

[Attyla]

Either it was just LA or just the radio station KHJ in the So Cal but I was under the impression Spill the Wine was Number One that year. Great song too.

Another confusing lyric too, as it goes: and she said spill the wine, dig that girl. She said "spill the wine." He then says "dig that girl."

Excuse me, while I kiss this guy (IYKYK)

That was the top 10 the week he died, not the year he died

[raider_kin]

That was the top 10 the week he died, not the year he died

Gotcha

[Attyla]

Here is a fun one. What does a valet have to do with rock royalty? Well, in Hollywood, it turns out it can be quite a bit. Here is the story.

He was a teenage valet at a hotel. One day a real rock star pulled up in his car and tossed his keys to the kid. To the rock star, this was not a big deal but the kid was excited to meet the rocker and park his car. Flash forward about 15 years and now that kid is an actual movie star playing a part in what would become a cult classic. He was playing a musician as part of a fictional band. Problem was, he did not play an instrument and was growing frustrated over his inability to look the part. Billy Crudup was also breaking guitar strings nonstop due to his unfamiliarity with how to play the instrument. Yes, we are talking about the movie "Almost Famous" which is a personal favorite of mine. And that is when the story goes full circle. You see, the production included a guitar legend in the cast and Peter Frampton was there helping replace guitar strings on Crudup's guitar. I think it is fitting somehow that Peter was just down to earth enough to just be part of the cast.

Bonus track: The part of Russell Hammond was originally written for Brad Pitt but he dropped out early on after agreeing with director Cameron Crowe that the part was not a fit. But pieces of the dialogue that were written specifically for Pitt remained. The line Crudup yells during the pool jumping scene, "I am a golden god" and other references to Hammond's good looks were the Pitt lines. And the original music in the movie were written partially by Frampton and Crowe's wife Nancy Wilson, guitarist of the group Heart. And there really was a band named Stillwater and that band agreed to allow their name to be used, with a bit of money changing hands. And finally, Crowe got permission from the living members of Led Zeppelin to use one of their songs in the movie. The last time Zeppelin allowed a song in a movie? You guessed it, the Crowe authored Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

[Attyla]

Jeff Lynne (The Move, ELO) went on to form the Traveling Wilburys with several Hall of Fame musicians.

Who were they?

A Beatle, a Heartbreaker, a folk legend, and a man with a golden voice

[RickRyb]

George Harrison
Tom Petty
Roy Orbison
Bob Dylan

[raider_kin]

Linda Ronstadt toured briefly in 70-71 with a quartet of musicians who would later go on to moderate success (/sarc)...

[RickRyb]

Linda Ronstadt toured briefly in 70-71 with a quartet of musicians who would later go on to moderate success (/sarc)...

Eagles

[Hellbound]

Jeff Lynne (The Move, ELO) went on to form the Traveling Wilburys with several Hall of Fame musicians.

Who were they?

Wilbury's are the greatest super group that no one talks about. The Highway Men are up there too

[Hellbound]

A Beatle, a Heartbreaker, a folk legend, and a man with a golden voice

I'll never get tired of listening to Roy. I never really listened to him much back in the day but Chris Isaak has a tremendous voice too