All who attended our 50th reunion remember the exquisite torture that Dr. Howard Steinberg and his accomplice our class president Bob Heiss put us through at our final dinner.
Trivia at its finest, followed by music from the era.
They are back now with a new batch of headscratchers, perfect fare for an evening, take a night off from Netflix/Prime/Hulu and torture yourself all over again, an excellent COVID-19 distraction.
Note: this installment focuses on the 50s, future updates will take us into the 60s and beyond.
Rules: no Googling allowed
Ready?
1. Who said: Be sure you are right, then go ahead?
Buddy Ebsen, Matt Dillon, Wyatt Earp, Paladin (Richard Boone), Fess Parker.
A: Fess Parker as Davy Crockett (1954-55)
2: What other ailments are mentioned in the Coasters 1959 hit “Poison Ivy”?
A: Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox, Whooping Cough and the Common Cold
3: Which musical instruments were the following artists associated with:
Chuck Berry, Dave “Baby” Cortez, King Curtis, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Ricky Nelson, Sandy Nelson, Little Richard
A: PIANO – Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard
GUITAR – Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson; SAXOPHONE – King Curtis DRUMS – Sandy Nelson; ORGAN – Dave “Baby” Cortez
4: Which 1958 hit song helps you with metric system conversions?
Hint: miles to kilometers
A: Twenty-Six Miles by the Four Preps. Two lines from the song are:
“twenty-six miles across the sea”, AND “forty kilometers in a leaky old boat”
5: Which English recording artist hit the top of the U.S. pop charts years before the
Beatles and the British Invasion?
A: Laurie London with “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” in 1958
6: Early R&R had its share of “teen tragedy” songs. What was the mode of death in
the following songs: Teen Angel, Running Bear, Tell Laura I Love Her, Ebony
Eyes, Leader Of The Pack?
A: Train collision (Teen Angel), Drowning (Running Bear), Car Crash (Tell Laura I
Love Her), Plane Crash (Ebony Eyes), Motorcycle Crash (Leader Of The Pack)
7: A number of vocal groups in the ’50-60s took the names of car makes and models.
How many can you name along with their song? We can think of 12.
A: CADILLACS (“Gloria”), EDSELS (“Rama Lama Ding Dong”), Little Anthony &
the IMPERIALS (“Tears On My Pillow”), IMPALAS (“Sorry I Ran All The
Way Home”), RIVIERAS (“California Sun”), FALCONS (“You’re so Fine”),
Bill Haley & the COMETS (“Rock Around The Clock”), EL DORADOS
(“At My Front Door”), SAFARIS (“Image Of A Girl”), CAPRIS (“There’s
A Moon Out Tonight”), FIESTAS (“So Fine”), FLEETWOODS (“Mr. Blue”)
8: For extra credit: Which of these groups had a major hit with a song title that is also the name of a major American sportsware vendor?
A. The Cadillacs: Speedo.
9: The phrase “I’ll be a blue-nosed gopher” was frequently uttered by:
Buddy Ebsen, Annette Funicello, Cubby O’Brian, Spin, Marty, Leonard Geer
A. Leonard Geer as Ollie
10: Which of the two famous adroitly articulate cardsharp brothers was played by Jack Kelly on TV?
A. Bart Maverick