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Quiz #7

Quiz #7
Answers, Results & Commentary

Congratulations to Gabriella Ziegler the winner of this edition of NMLQOTM with a near-perfect scores of 498 points. Bunny Zukowski ran a close second, just 3 points back with 495 points and Wendy Feikert followed a very close 3rd with 494 points.

The songs that provided the most trouble this time around were #7 "Mrs. Brown", #11 "Tower of Strength" and #23 "Don't Let Me Be Lonely..". Don't forget to make note of the span that I provide for the release dates on each quiz - I mentioned that the songs in this quiz ranged from 1953 to 1998. Elvis Presley's version of "Crying In The Chapel" fit comfortably into position 14, between Napoleon XIV and The Pretenders, but if you selected his 1965 recording of that song (actually recorded in 1960), the earliest song in your answers would have been Gene McDaniels' "Tower Of Strength" in 1961. The version I was looking for was the 1953 recording by The Orioles.

Here are the correct titles and artists with year of release and highest charting position on the Billboard Hot 100:

01> Clash, The - Should I Stay Or Should I Go (1982) <45> (re-released 1983 <50>)
02> Cooke, Sam - A Change Is Gonna Come (1965) <31>
03> Cummings, Burton - Stand Tall (1976) <10>
04> Derek And The Dominos - Layla (1971) <51> (re-released 1972 <10>)
05> Gabriel, Peter - Shock The Monkey (1982) <29>
06> Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - Don't Pull Your Love (1971) <4>
07> Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter (1965) <1>
08> Jewel - Foolish Games (1998) <?>
09> Kinks, The - Lola (1970) <9>
10> Mamas & The Papas, The - California Dreamin' (1966) <4>
11> McDaniels, Gene - Tower Of Strength (1961) <5>
12> McLachlan, Sarah - Sweet Surrender (1998)
13> Napoleon XIV - They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! (1966) <3> (re-released 1973 <87>)
14> Orioles, The - Crying In The Chapel (1953) <11>
15> Pretenders, The - Back On The Chain Gang (1982) <5>
16> Queen - Somebody To Love (1976) <13>
17> Redding, Otis - I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) (1965) <21>
18> R.E.M. - Losing My Religion (1991) <4>
19> Righteous Brothers, The - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (1964) <1>
20> Searchers, The - Needles And Pins (1964) <13>
21> Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia (1970) <4>
22> Steely Dan - Do It Again (1972) <6>
23> Taylor, James - Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (1972) <14>
24> Vera, Billy & The Beaters - At This Moment (1986) <1> (previously released as Billy & The Beaters (1981) <79>)
25> Who, The - Who Are You (1978) <14>

THEME:

Identifying the theme this time around required some attention to the lyrics. The artists of these songs spend a lot of time begging, or watching or imagining other people begging. Every song contains a reference to "down on my knees", or "down on your knees". The references weren't very hidden - I chose lyrics either immediately before or immediately after the "knees" reference in all 25 of the songs.

TRIVIA:

Let's take a look at a few rock 'n roll tragedies this time around. This quiz featured a Mamas & The Papas song, and even the most casual of music fans (of the proper age) know the story of "Mama" Cass Elliot's July 29, 1974 death. Elliot, whose real name was Ellen Naomi Cohen, died in a London apartment at age 32. What you may not know is that the famous "ham sandwich" was probably an urban legend. The coroner who investigated the death reported that Elliot's death was caused by a heart attack, brought on by her extreme lifetime obesity - she was 5'5 and 238 pounds at the time of her death.

If you'd care to pay your respects, Cass Elliot's grave can be found at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, where you can also visit the final resting places of film producer Irwin Allen, actor Herschel Bernardi, Virgina Field (better known as "Mrs. Olson" in the Folger's commercials), Lee J. Cobb, Norman Fell, Totie Fields, Ross Martin, Phil Silvers, Brandon Tartikoff, Bobby Van, Jesse "The Maytag Repairman" White, and former Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist Hillel Slovak.

The Hamilton of Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds also passed away at an early age - he died on December 23rd, 1994 ("after a long illness") at the age of 48. The group's story is a bit strange - when the group hit the top 10 for the first time in 1971 with "Don't Pull Your Love", Tommy Reynolds was a founding member, but by the time they topped the charts four years later ("Fallin' In Love"), Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds was really Hamilton, Joe Frank & Dennison - Reynolds had left the band to become a minister and had long since been replaced by Alan Dennison.

The strangest, and probably least known story, surrounds the recording of the Derek And The Dominos' album "Layla - And Other Assorted Love Songs". Derek And The Dominos consisted of Eric Clapton (fresh from Blind Faith), keyboard/guitarist Bobby Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon, and bassist Carl Radle. The band was joined in the studio by guest Duane Allman, whose guitar work is featured on the title song.

On October 29, 1971, Duane Allman died of injuries suffered in a Macon, Georgia motorcycle accident. He was 24.

On May 30, 1980, Carl Radle died of kidney failure, allegedly brought on by many years of chronic drug abuse. He was 34.

Jim Gordon co-wrote "Layla" with Eric Clapton, and he's the man responsible for the memorable piano solo that concludes the recording. In 1985, Gordon hacked his mother to pieces after hearing voices. Originally sentenced to 16 years to life, Gordon was diagnosed as an acute paranoid schizophrenic, and was placed in an institution, where he will apparently spend the remaining years of his life.

Clapton, of course, spent several years battling a heroin addiction, then later struggled with alcohol. In 1990, friend Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Clapton road crew members Colin Smythe and Nigel Browne perished in a helicopter crash, and a few months later, Clapton's son Conor lost his life after falling 49 stories to his death from a New York City high-rise.

If it's any encouragement, Bobby Whitlock is alive and well, and is about to release a brand new album.

Listed below are the points for each player: