Brain break: Can you match these ’60s songs to their artists?
The 1960s produced so many songs from so many directions that keeping track of who recorded what was a genuine challenge even at the time. Ten songs, ten artists.
A hint comes with each song. Name the artist before scrolling to the answer.
See how many you get without any help.
Song 1
Two voices harmonize about longing for warmth out west while standing on a cold winter street. The title names the state.
Answer
California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & the Papas (1966). Billboard named it the number one single of 1966.
Song 2
A band with a poet frontman. The title is both an invitation and a command.
Answer
Light My Fire by The Doors (1967). Guitarist Robbie Krieger wrote it, not Jim Morrison. The album version runs nearly seven minutes.
Song 3
A folk duo, a film about an older woman and a younger man. The title addresses her by her married name.
Answer
Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel (1968). Simon wrote it as a fragment and finished it after director Mike Nichols asked for it by name.
Song 4
Recorded during a Memphis comeback. The narrator loves someone he cannot trust.
Answer
Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley (1969). His last number-one single was recorded in Memphis during his comeback.
Song 5
A jazz legend, a song about beauty in ordinary things. His label refused to promote it. Britain heard it differently.
Answer
What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong (1967). His label refused to promote it. Its American reputation came decades later.
Song 6
A blue-eyed soul duo and a Wall of Sound production. A pottery scene brought it back to number one.
Answer
Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers (1965). Phil Spector’s production made every earlier version sound like a rehearsal. It returned to number one in 1990 via Ghost.
Song 7
A British group, a girl who keeps standing someone up. Most people know every word and cannot name the band.
Answer
Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations (1968). The band has largely faded from memory despite the song’s enduring fame.
Song 8
A British singer in Memphis, after a more famous American artist passed. That artist later cut her own version.
Answer
Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield (1968). Originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who passed. Franklin recorded her own version after hearing this one.
Song 9
Written for a Hollywood daughter. Number one on both sides of the Atlantic.
Answer
These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ by Nancy Sinatra (1966). Lee Hazlewood wrote it for her, demoing it first in a lower key. Number one in both the US and the UK.
Song 10
A British songwriter was inspired by his first visit to Times Square. A British woman recorded it and took it to number one in the US.
Answer
Downtown by Petula Clark (1964). Tony Hatch wrote it after his first visit to New York. It won the Grammy for Best Rock and Roll Recording.
How did you do?
Eight or more, and the decade is still very much alive in your memory. Fewer than five, and there is a lot more great music still waiting.
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Related:
- Quiz: Can you guess the 1971 song from just one lyric?
- Can you guess the 1975 song from just one lyric?
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