Songwriting

Do you know? Did you ever?

Posted on by brucehhackett

Time to sharpen your pencils and test your memory banks about classic rock music!

Some of you who struggle to recall the words to even your most favorite songs may be relieved to hear this is NOT a lyrics quiz. It’s a rock trivia quiz, where I ask you 10 multiple-choice questions about bands, solo artists, singles, albums and other information from the classic rock of a half-century ago. Even if you weren’t around back then, or weren’t all that into the details of the music you listened to, the music has lived on, and I find it entertaining to see what we know about those days.

Study the choices for each question, mark your best guess on a piece of paper, then scroll down to find out the right answer and learn more about the subject under consideration.

Good luck!

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1 Which of these four rock groups does NOT have a Canadian member?

The Band

Buffalo Springfield

The Mamas and the Papas

The Doobie Brothers

2 Which of these four Beatles hits was not written by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, or Starr?

Who was the first of these female artists to have a #1 single in the U.S.?

“I Feel Fine”

“Twist and Shout”

“Love Me Do”

“Yellow Submarine”

3 These four artists all had big hit singles in the 1970s. Three of them also scored a second Top 40 hit, but one artist failed to make a return appearance and therefore became a “One-Hit Wonder.” Which one?

Norman Greenbaum

Redbone

Five Man Electrical Band

Maria Muldaur

4 Which of these is Meat Loaf’s real name?

Vincent Furnier

Marvin Aday

Reginald Dwight

Melvin Houser

5 Which of these early Elton John singles failed to reach the Top 40 upon initial release?

“Daniel”

“Tiny Dancer”

“Honky Cat”

“Levon”

6 Which hit single was written by the composer when he was only 12 years old?

“My Generation” by Pete Townshend of The Who

“Lucky Man” by Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer

“Proud Mary” by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival

“You Really Got Me” by Ray Davies of The Kinks

7 Of these four hugely popular double albums, which is the only one to reach #1 on the U.S. charts?

“Tommy,” The Who (1969)

“Tusk,” Fleetwood Mac (1979)

“Exile on Main Street,” The Rolling Stones (1972)

“Eat a Peach,” The Allman Brothers Band (1972)

8 Only one of these lead singers was an original member of the band that made them famous. Which one?

Steve Perry of Journey

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues

Jon Anderson of Yes

Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane

9 Which artist did NOT die of a gunshot wound?

Marvin Gaye

Terry Kath

Sam Cooke

Keith Moon

10 Which band’s album cover includes a reference to a different rock band?

“Axis Bold as Love,” Jimi Hendrix Experience

“Physical Graffiti,” Led Zeppelin

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” The Beatles

“Stand Up,” Jethro Tull

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1 The Doobie Brothers

The Doobies were a bar band formed in San Jose, California. Their two guitarists (Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons) and bassist Tiran Porter were from the West Coast, and their two drummers (John Hartman and Michael Hossack) were from Virginia and New Jersey. Even the later members to join the group (Jeff Baxter, Keith Knudsen, Michael McDonald, John McFee) were all from the U.S.

The Mamas and Papas came to symbolize the California sound, and while Michele Phillips came from Long Beach, Cass Elliot was actually from Maryland and John Phillips from South Carolina. Denny Doherty, however, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and sang in bands there until moving to Hollywood at age 23.

Buffalo Springfield had three Canadians on their roster: Neil Young from Toronto, Bruce Palmer from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, and Dewey Martin from Chesterville, Ontario. (Stephen Stills and Richie Furay were from Texas and Ohio, respectively.)

The Band was 80% Canadian: Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko all hailed from various cities in Ontario, while drummer Levon Helm was the lone American, born in Arkansas.

2 “Twist and Shout”

This iconic rocker was co-written in 1961 by Phil Medley and Bert Berns, who also wrote other hits like “Hang On Sloopy,” “Piece of My Heart” and “A Million to One.” It was first recorded that year by a vocal group called The Top Notes as “a Latin-tinged raveup,” as one critic put it, but it failed to chart. The Isley Brothers’ recording in 1962 offered a better R&B groove and added the ascending vocal parts that made it so memorable, helping it reach #17 on the U.S. pop charts (and #2 on the R&B charts). The Beatles used almost the same arrangement as The Isley Brothers’ version when they recorded “Twist and Shout” in 1963 for their debut LP, “Please Please Me.” It was not released as a single in the UK, but in the US, the single reached #2 in early 1964, held from the top spot by another Beatles song, “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

“I Feel Fine” was written mostly by Lennon with help from McCartney.

“Love Me Do” was one of the earliest Lennon-McCartney songs, and the first ever to chart in the UK.

“Yellow Submarine” was another Lennon-McCartney collaboration, written as a children’s song for Ringo Starr to sing on the “Revolver” album.

3 Norman Greenbaum

Upon hearing country artist Porter Wagoner sing a gospel song on TV, Greenbaum thought to himself, “I can do that,” and within 15 minutes, he’d written the lyrics and basic chords to “Spirit in the Sky.” Greenbaum had been in an unsuccessful psychedelic jug band in the late ’60s but somehow won a solo contract, and when he recorded songs in a San Francisco studio, he employed friends who were in other bands. When the record became an unexpected international #1 hit, Greenbaum had no band available to go on tour, and subsequent attempts at follow-up singles fell short. So he reverted to his previous calling as a pig farmer.

Redbone was a California-based band comprised of musicians of Native-American and Mexican heritage. I always loved their #5 hit from 1974, “Come and Get Your Love,” but I hadn’t realized they were the group that already had a minor hit with “The Witch Queen of New Orleans,” which peaked at #21 in early 1972.

Five Man Electrical Band was a Canadian pop rock group that scored eight hit singles in the Top 20 on the Canadian charts between 1965 and 1975. In the US, they had their breakthrough with “Signs,” which not only reached #3 here in the summer of 1971, it was also #1 in Australia for nearly two months. Later in 1971, the group did modestly well here with the spirited rocker “Absolutely Right,” which peaked at #28.

Maria Muldaur had a big hit with the sexually suggestive “Midnight at the Oasis,” which reached #6 in the spring of 1974. I wasn’t aware until recently that she had a second hit less than a year later when “I’m a Woman,” a gritty blues tune that sounds like something Bonnie Raitt might record, reached #12.

4 Marvin Aday

A Texas woman named Wilma Oday gave birth in 1947 to “nine pounds of ground chuck,” as Wilma’s husband Orvis described the infant’s reddish appearance. For most of his childhood, Marvin went by “M.L.” which stood for “Meat Loaf,” and the name stuck as he became a bruising football player, then an actor and singer of international fame, thanks to his delivery of the dramatic rock songs of Jim Steinman on the multi-platinum “Bat Out of Hell” in 1977 and its much-delayed follow-up, “Bat Out of Hell II” in 1993. Oday died in January 2022.

Vincent Furnier is the real name of shock rocker Alice Cooper.

Reginald Dwight is the real name of Elton John.

Melvin Houser, well, that’s just a name I made up. Apologies to any real Melvin Housers out there.

5 “Tiny Dancer”

Originally released as the leadoff track on Elton’s fourth studio LP, “Madman Across the Water,” this gorgeous song ran over six minutes, which hurt its chances as a Top 40 single. In fact, it stalled in the U.S. at #41 and wasn’t even released as a single in the UK, although it reached #19 in Canada and #13 in Australia. Over the years, the song slowly became one of John’s most popular songs on American rock radio stations, and got a big boost of popularity after having been prominently featured in the 2000 film “Almost Famous.”

“Daniel,” released in 1973 as the second single from “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player,” reached #2 that spring.

“Honky Cat,” the second single released from his 1972 LP “Honky Chateau,” peaked at #8.

“Levon,” the first single from “Madman Across the Water,” did modestly well, topping out at #24.

6 “Lucky Man” by Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer

Lake’s mother, a pianist, influenced his early musical leanings, and bought him a modest guitar when he turned 12. Once he’d mastered his first four chords (Am, Em, G and D), he wrote his first song, which he called “Lucky Man,” which he described as “sort of a medieval folk song” when played on acoustic guitar. The lyrics describe a privileged man who went off to battle and died, but for Lake, it referred to himself. “My mother bought me the guitar when she couldn’t really afford it, and I felt that I was a lucky boy, a lucky man indeed,” he recalled. It became ELP’s breakthrough hit in 1970.

“My Generation” sounds like it could have been written by a defiant 12-year-old Pete Townshend, but he was actually 19 or 20.

“Proud Mary” was written by John Fogerty shortly after he was discharged from the Army Reserve in 1968 when he was 23.

“You Really Got Me” was the fourth or fifth song Ray Davies ever wrote, in the spring of 1964 at age 20.

7 “Exile on Main Street,” The Rolling Stones

Although the Stones were more of a singles band during their first eight years, every one of their albums released in the 1960s reached the Top Five on U.S. album charts. Beginning with “Sticky Fingers” in 1971, they put together a string of nine consecutive #1 LPs, some of which, in my opinion, didn’t deserve it, and 1972’s “Exile on Main Street” is one of them. It’s a double album with a lot of filler, the production is muddy and the performances substandard, but The Stones were on a roll throughout the ’70s as far as the U.S. record buyers were concerned.

“Tommy” was certainly consistently strong enough to be a #1 album for The Who, but it peaked at #4.

“Tusk” was a strange collection of songs, and a step down from the appeal of “Rumours,” but it still managed to reach #4 for Fleetwood Mac.

“Eat a Peach,” which is half studio and half live, was the first released following the death of Duane Allman. It, too, topped out at #4.

8 Jon Anderson of Yes

Anderson and his school chum Chris Squire were the founding members of Yes in 1968. They recruited guitarist Peter Banks, drummer Bill Bruford and keyboardist Tony Kaye, and were off and running in the progressive rock sweepstakes fashionable in the UK at the time. Yes had a virtual revolving door of members come in and out over the years, but Anderson’s ethereal vocals are perhaps the defining element of the group’s sound.

Steve Perry didn’t join Journey as their lead vocalist until 1978, five years and three albums after they were founded by keyboardist Gregg Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon, formerly with Santana.

Justin Hayward joined The Moody Blues in 1967 when they recorded the landmark “Days of Future Passed,” but the band had been around since 1964.

Grace Slick brought Jefferson Airplane their biggest success with two 1967 singles, “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit,” but she was preceded as lead vocalist by Signe Anderson in 1965-1966.

9 Keith Moon

Moon was notorious for excessive and destructive behavior, which made him a phenomenal drummer but eventually a danger to himself. He drank and drugged too much, and when he tried to quit, he was prescribed a powerful sedative, on which he overdosed and died in 1978.

Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father in 1984.

Terry Kath died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot in 1978.

Sam Cooke was shot and killed in an altercation with a motel manager in 1964.

10 “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles

This 1967 album cover has been scrutinized and interpreted more than probably any other rock album in history. In addition to the 50-odd likenesses pictured behind the Fab Four, several props appear in front of and next to them, one of which is a doll propped up on a chair. The doll, a gift to Mick Jagger from the winner of a contest on Memphis radio station WMPS-AM in 1964, was brought to the photo session by photographer Robert Fraser, a friend of Jagger. If you look closely, the sweater the doll is wearing says, “THE WMPS GOOD GUYS WELCOME THE ROLLING STONES.”

Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” featured a tenement building with various faces peeking out, including those of Hollywood icons and the Zeppelin band members themselves, but no one from different rock bands. Jimi’s “Axis: Bold as Love” and Tull’s “Stand Up” included all sorts of nooks and crannies within the designs for them to hide words or images of other bands, and you can search all you want, but you won’t find any.

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You make me laugh, you make me smile

Posted on by brucehhackett

Some people love to quote lines from classic movies. Others cite the best lines from their favorite poems. Me? I’m all about classic rock lyrics! But my readers already know this, seeing as how this will be my 12th Lyrics Quiz on Hack’s Back Pages.

In the past, I’ve selected lyrics from Beatles songs, Paul Simon tunes, soul records, songs from movies, hit singles, deep tracks and more. This time around, I’ve chosen 20 classic rock songs with lyrics that make us smile, chuckle or laugh out loud.

Take a look at the 20 lines listed below, ruminate on them, and write down your answers on a piece of paper. Then scroll down to see how many you identified correctly, and read a little bit of background about each one. There’s a Spotify playlist at the end so you can listen to where the lyric appears in each track.

Music’s here for us to love each day. Let’s have a little fun!

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1 “My Maserati does one-eighty-five, /I lost my license, now I don’t drive…”

2 “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all…”

3 “Don’t touch my bags if you please, Mister Customs Man…”

4 “There’s a light in your eye, and then a guy says, ‘Out of the car, longhair!’…”

5 “I told you once, you son of a bitch, I’m the best that’s ever been…”

6 “Is there nothing I can take to relieve this bellyache?…”

7 “Now I’m playing it real straight, and yes, I cut my hair, /You might think I’m crazy, but I don’t even care…”

8 “Well, there’s nothing to do, and there’s always room for more, /Fill it, light it, shut up and close that door…”

9 “What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?..”

10 “I wanna squeeze her, but I’m way too low, I would be runnin’ but my feets too slow…”

11 “When I began the game, hear me singin’ ’bout fire and rain, /Let me just say it again, ‘I’ve seen fives and I’ve seen tens’…”

12 “That cigarette you’re smokin’ ’bout scare me half to death, /Open up the window, sucker, let me catch my breath…”

13 “Putting drumsticks on either side of his nose, snorting the best licks in town…”

14 “I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes…”

15 “I whipped off her bloomers and stiffened my thumb, and applied rotation on her sugar plum…”

16 “I was so pleased to be informed of this, that I ran twenty red lights in His honor, /Thank you, Jesus…”

17 “The owner is a mental midget with the I.Q. of a fence post…”

18 “So put down your books and pick up a gun, we’re gonna have a whole lotta fun…”

19 “Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best, and he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest…”

20 “I’m blowing the day to take a walk in the sun, /And fall on my face on somebody’s new-mown lawn…”

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1 “Life’s Been Good,” Joe Walsh, 1978

Walsh, one of rock’s best guitarists, has always been one of rock’s more colorful characters as well, joking about life and keeping things light. In his biggest hit from his aptly named “But Seriously Folks” album, he makes fun of himself and his excessive rock star tendencies in multiple verses. I love the irony in someone owning an expensive car but unable to drive it because his license was taken away!

2 “Kodachrome,” Paul Simon, 1973

Most of us have memories of suffering through required high school classes full of useless information we’d never need later in life. Simon found a way to nail this nearly universal sentiment in one of pop music’s most cynical opening lines. The rest of “Kodachrome” is a breezy yet thoughtful appreciation of the things that color our world, but that first line cracks me up every time I hear it, and I always sing along at top volume.

3 “Comin’ Into Los Angeles,” Arlo Guthrie, 1969

Guthrie had made his name as a wry songwriter with the epic “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” in 1967, and then cemented his street cred at Woodstock, where he opened his set with this jocular song about a stoned hippie trying to sneak some marijuana into the country.  He’d recorded “Comin’ In to Los Angeles” earlier that year, but its appearance on the “Woodstock” soundtrack album was what made it famous.

4 “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” Loggins & Messina, 1972

Jim Messina’s song tracks the life of a typical teenager stuck with square parents who try to limit his fun times with his girlfriend. On one occasion, they’re gettin’ busy in the back seat when they’re interrupted by a cop, who overreacts with “Out of the car, longhair!” I saw Messina perform here in L.A. a couple years ago, and this song, played near show’s end, is still a big crowd pleaser.

5 “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” Charlie Daniels Band, 1979

The tale of a fiddle competition between Satan and a good ol’ Southern boy was Charlie Daniels’ ticket to the Top 5 of the pop charts in 1979.  Making a deal with the Devil is serious business, but Daniels found a way to make it clever, with the Devil coming out on the short end and the young man Johnny defiantly declaring victory as the better fiddler.

6 “Coconut,” Nilsson, 1972

Harry Nilsson was a very creative songwriter who was once singled out by Lennon and McCartney as one of their favorites, which was no small achievement. He penned some serious, thought provoking songs as well as some whimsical ones, the best known of which was probably “Coconut,” which builds and builds as it repeats the prescription for the protagonist’s bellyache and other ills.

7 “Hip To Be Square,” Huey Lewis and The News, 1986

Huey Lewis and The News were pegged as a frat boy party band, with a relatively clean look and stage persona. So it wasn’t too much of a stretch when Lewis and the band wrote this fun tune that claimed it was OK to follow the rules and conform to society’s expectations. Hipsters of the ’80s loved the irony of the lyrics and took to cutting their hair short and wearing “square” clothing styles. What a hoot.

8 “Shanty,” Jonathan Edwards, 1971

Edwards, best known for his 1971 hit “Sunshine,” also wrote this wonderfully cheeky song about staying home and putting a good buzz on. There was plenty of that going on in the early ’70s, but at that time, songwriters had to be relatively discreet in talking about it, and Edwards did a fine job of using humor to do just that.  I love singing along to this one, usually with a knowing wink and a smile.

9 “With a Little Help From My Friends,” The Beatles, 1967

As sessions for the landmark “Sgt. Pepper” album were drawing to a close, they still hadn’t come up with a song that featured Ringo on vocals, as each previous album had done. So John and Paul collaborated on this self-deprecating singalong, with lyrics that poked fun at their drummer’s sometimes shaky vocal abilities. Pretty gutsy, and amusing, to begin a song by apologizing if the singer sounds off-key.

10 “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie-Woogie Flu,” Johnny Rivers, 1972

In 1957, the US was hit with outbreaks of both the “walking” pneumonia and the “asian flu.” Huey “Piano” Smith, an R&B artist who helped influence the direction rock and roll music would take, turned those illnesses into musical maladies in this lighthearted rocker. His version stalled at #56 on the pop charts, but in 1972, singer Johnny Rivers revived the tune and made it a #6 hit in early 1973.

11 “Money Machine,” James Taylor, 1976

Taylor writes and sings a lot of “feel good” music with lyrics that evoke warm thoughts and emotions, but he’s not exactly a jokester as a rule. Still, the occasional deep track offers a playful line or two that makes me smile. Consider this lyric from “Money Machine,” an exuberant song from his 1976 LP “In the Pocket” that satirizes his breakthrough hit “Fire and Rain” while skewering the endless pursuit of fame and fortune.

12 “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” Three Dog Night, 1970

Newman is most recently known for his delightful tunes in the “Toy Story” trilogy and other animated films, but he’s been writing sardonic, wry lyrics since his late ’60s career debut. He’s the guy who wrote “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” the humorous #1 hit for Three Dog Night in which the naive narrator shares his anxiety and discomfort attending a party where drinking and drug use are rampant.

13 “Lather,” Jefferson Airplane, 1968

Grace Slick was the most striking, visible member of the band with a fabulous rock voice, but she didn’t write very many songs. But when she did, she made them count: “White Rabbit” is hers, as is the captivating leadoff track from the “Crown of Creation” album, “Lather,” which she wrote about Spencer Dryden, the band’s drummer. Her description of his cocaine use always struck me as funny.

14 “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” Jimmy Buffett, 1978

Buffett has made a successful career writing and performing songs that make us smile and laugh: “The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful,” “It’s Midnight and I’m Not Famous Yet,” “Off to See the Lizard,” “Last Mango in Paris.” He somehow found a way to turn one of his funniest songs — an ode to the almighty cheeseburger — into a lucrative restaurant chain. How do you like your cheeseburger?

15 “Dinah-Moe Humm,” Frank Zappa, 1973

From the early Mothers of Invention LPs to his many solo albums, Zappa had his tongue firmly in cheek when he wrote his lyrics. Sometimes clean, often dirty, his songs went where other songwriters dared not tread: “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” “Valley Girl,” “Your Dirty Love,” “Stick It Out.” Top of the list is the outrageously hilarious “Dinah-Moe Humm,” which focuses on a wager about an orgasm(!).

16 “Far Away Eyes,” The Rolling Stones, 1978

Thanks to the influence of the late Gram Parsons, the Jagger-Richard songwriting axis often leaned toward country rock, most notably on “Wild Horses” in 1971. On their ferocious 1978 comeback LP “Some Girls,” The Stones wrote their most country-ish song of all, “Far Away Eyes,” in which the narrator recalls listening to gospel radio and preposterously concluding God will let him get away with ignoring traffic laws.

17 “The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me),” Tom Waits, 1976

Jazz/blues/rock singer Waits writes wryly perceptive songs about the underbelly of society, delivered in a gravelly voice that gives them realism. On his 1976 album “Small Change,” Waits offers this marvelous example of wordplay in a droll, stream-of-consciousness manner that’s as amusing as it is profound. You decide — is it Waits or the piano that’s been doing the drinking?

18 “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag,” Country Joe and The Fish, 1967

There were plenty of creatively strange musicians in the Bay Area in the ’60s, and “Country” Joe McDonald was certainly one of them. Of the many anti-war songs written during the Vietnam era, McDonald’s “we’re all gonna die” folk tune was the morbidly funniest. In the “Woodstock” film, his performance of it was accompanied by a trailer at the bottom of the movie screen with lyrics and a bouncing ball!

19 “Excitable Boy,” Warren Zevon, 1978

There are probably a dozen or more songs in Zevon’s impressive catalog of original material that qualify as humorous, topped by his 1978 surprise hit “Werewolves of London.” I’ve always been partial to the title song from that same album, “Excitable Boy,” which has background vocals by Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes. The crazy young man does several gruesome things, but the incident in this lyric is just bizarre.

20 “Daydream,” The Lovin’ Spoonful, 1966

John Sebastian, the happy-go-lucky singer and songwriter behind The Lovin’ Spoonful, wrote some of the best “good time jug music” of the ’60s, hitting the charts a dozen times during their four-year run. One of the silliest and most popular was “Daydream,” which encouraged everyone to chill and enjoy watching the days go by. This lyric image always made me chuckle when it came along on the radio.

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