Country Quizzin’ – March ‘09, Week 2
March 11, 2009
UPDATED
I don’t know about y’all, but I thought this week was wonderful! No one getting a perfect score = deep satisfaction for me as a quiz-maker! Plus it gives me an excuse to recommend (again) that y’all go back and read Kevin’s feature on debut singles, which really is terrific.
Now, here are this week’s top three scores:
11/12 -- tpartridge
10/12 -- pselby
9/12 -- Jordan Stacey, Andrew
And here are the top three cumulative scores so far for the month of March:
28/32 -- Jordan Stacey
27/32 -- Andrew
26.5/32 -- pselby
The competition is heating up! Thanks so much for your participation. And of course, see below the cut to find out the answers and hear clips of each. Have a good week! -- Dan
Howdy, friends. This week, you’ll be testing your knowledge of 12 famous debut singles, the idea for which I don’t mind admitting I ripped directly from Kevin’s excellent countdown on the subject from not too far back.
But don’t click on that link before you take the quiz, because our no-cheating policy remains! And just in case that’s not persuasion enough, this week’s warning comes courtesy of Ol’ Hank:
As always, your answers must be submitted by 10 EST, and will be revealed (along with the actual answers) at 10:30. Remember, you’ve got to play every week to have a shot at winning our monthly Amazon freebie!
Let’s go:
For each blurb, please name both the song described and the artist who performed it. You must name both to receive full credit, but you can always just name one or the other to get partial credit. You may also earn partial credit for amusing non-answers because I admire chutzpah. Note that the terms “artist” and “act” can refer to either a solo singer or a group.
1. Among the most manically positive singles ever released in any genre. The narrator is elated by the love in his/her life, crowns him/herself with a hyperbolic title, and celebrates with a bunch of “skippidy do da”s.
Donna Fargo, “Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.”
2. A reasonably traditional song from an act who would later become known for pushing country music’s boundaries. The story is of a rodeo man who seems to be losing everything and is acutely aware of it. Hint: the artist cites another artist who inspired him/her/them, which actually helped the cited artist gain more attention when this became a hit.
Garth Brooks, “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)”
3. The debut offering from an artist who brought a certain ethnic flavor to his/her/their take on country music. The song finds the singer waiting around for his/her dream partner’s current beau to screw up so the singer can swoop in and woo him/her.
Freddy Fender, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”
4. A burst of fun from an artist who has since become known for them. The single finds a couple planning to “mix things up” by driving someplace spontaneously.
Jo Dee Messina, “Heads Carolina, Tails California”
5. This single finds its artist lamenting the departure of his/her/their love, which has led the artist to drown his/her/their sorrows in excessive partying. The hook goes, “nooooooow, I’m a _____ ____ ____”
Loretta Lynn, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl”
6. This single’s throwback style and performance netted the artist a number of comparisons to a country icon, which were especially fueled by reports that the song was originally going to be recorded by that icon. The artist was quite young at the time.
LeAnn Rimes, “Blue”
7. A presumptuous little ditty that finds a man/woman promising a prospective date the privilege of his/her company on the condition that the date drives and pays for everything. Ha!
Lefty Frizzell, “If You’ve Got the Money (I’ve Got the Time)”
8. Interestingly, this debut single was a cover of another artist’s breakthrough hit. No problem, though; this artist had such a distinctive neo-traditional sound from the outset that he/she/they had no problem making it a hit all over again.
Dwight Yoakam, “Honky Tonk Man”
9. This single actually made a much bigger impact on the pop chart (#2 peak) than the country chart (#50 peak), which makes sense, since this artist wouldn’t become known as a country artist until a few years down the line. However, the song’s glorification of rural settings has since made it an “adopted” favorite of country fans and artists, so much so that CMT even named it the 18th greatest song in country music history.
John Denver, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
10. Even in today’s sluggish radio climate (and despite a negative review from yours truly), this rising artist somehow managed to score a #1 hit the first time out. The song is an upbeat celebration of life “underneath the shade of a Georgia pine” and is elevated by the prominent fiddle fills throughout.
Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried”
11. A famously cheesy debut, it was named the #2 most Awesomely Bad song ever by VH1, inspired a lot of bad dancing, and is known today for the video, which features a very unfortunate mullet.
Billy Ray Cyrus, “Achy Breaky Heart”
12. A dark single from an act that never again went very dark, it speaks from the perspective of a man slowly losing his mind after the departure of his lover, resigned to staring aimlessly at inanimate objects, losing sleep, and dwindling away his time on idle, solitary things.
The Statler Brothers, “Flowers on the Wall”
Category: Country Quizzin'
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1. Donna Fargo – Happiest Girl In the USA
2. Garth Brooks – Much Too Young (Too Feel This Damn Old)
3. Freddy Fendler – Before the Next Teardrop Falls
4. Jo Dee Messina – Heads Carolina, Tails California
5. George Strait – Down and Out
6. LeAnn Rimes – Blue
7. Argh! I was doing so good. Oh, well. Too tired to think anymore.
8. Tim McGraw – Indian Outlaw
9. John Denver – Country Roads
10. Taylor Swift – TIm McGraw
11. Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart
12. Statler Brothers – Flowers On the Wall
Thanks again, Dan!
Wow, I just looked up some answers and I am so embarrassed. I would like to withdraw numbers 5, 8 and 10. I do just hate that damn “Chicken Fried” song though. I try not to think of it, although radio makes it difficult to do that.
1 Happiest Girl in the USA, Donna Fargo
2 Rodeo, Garth Brooks
3
4 Down at the Twist and Shout, Mary Chapin Carpenter
5
6 Blue, Leann Rimes
7
8
9 Country Roads, John Denver
10 Chicken Fried, Zac Brown
11 Achy Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus
12
1.
2. Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) — Garth Brooks
3. Before the Next Teardrop Falls — Freddy Fender
4.
5.
6. Blue — LeAnn Rimes
7.
8.
9. Take Me Home, Country Roads — John Denver
10. Chicken Fried — Zac Brown Band
11. Achy Breaky Heart — Billy Ray Cyrus
12. Flowers on the Wall — Statler Brothers
1. Donna Fargo “Happiest Girl in the Whole USA”
2. Garth Brooks “Much too Young to Feel This damned Old”
6. Leann Rimes “Blue”
10. The Zac Brown band “Chicken Fried”
11 Billy Ray Cyrus “Achy Breaky Heart”
I thought this would be a little easier than it turned out to be..and im probably gonna kick myself when i get some of the answers.
Ok, I’ve never done this and I don’t know many at all, but here’s my stab at it:
2. Much Too Young to Feel this Damn Old by Garth Brooks
6. Blue by LeAnn Rimes ??
10. Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band
11. Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus
K I knew this would happen, I really struggled with this one, there’s some I’m not even sure of and others I have no clue at all about but hopefully I’ did okay.
01. Donna Fargo Happiest Girl In The Whole USA (really easy)
02. Garth Brooks Much Too Young (To Feel THis Damn Old) (I’m a litte unsure on this one)
03. Freddie Fender Before THe Next Treardrop Falls (this is the one I’m most unsure about)
04. Jo Dee Messina Heads Carolina, Tails California (had to read this one about 20 times before I got an idea)
05. ????
06. LeAnn Rimes Blue (Easy I think)
07. ????
08. Dwight Yoakam Honky Tonk Man (think it’s done by Johnny Horton, right?)
09. John Denver Take Me Home Country Roads (I was just looking him up a few days ago so this was fairly easy)
10. Zac Brown Band Chicken Fried (I liked that review, I think i quote it whenever I hear someone say it’s the best song in a long time)
11. Billy Ray Cyrus Achy Breaky Heart (easiest one of them all, also known as “Don’t Break My Heart” by The Marcy Brothers)
12. ???? (I feel I should know this one but it’s not coming to me)
[...] This week’s edition of “Country Quizzin’” covers 12 famous debut singles. [...]
1.
2. “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” by Garth Brooks
3.
4. “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band
11. “Achy Breaky Heart” by Miley’s dad aka Billy Ray Cyrus
12.
Haha wow I sucked this week!!
1.
2. Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) – Garth Brooks
3.
4.
5.
6. Blue – LeAnn Rimes
7. If You Got the Money, I Got The Time – Lefty Frizzel
8. Honky Tonk Man – Dwight Yoakam
9. Country Roads – John Denver?
10. Chicken Fried – Zac Brown Band
11. Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
12. Hello Walls – Faron Young?
1. “The Happiest Girl in the U.S.A.” – Donna Fargo
2. “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” – Garth Brooks
3. “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender
4. “Heads Carolina, Tails California” – Jo Dee Messina
5. “Honky Tonk Man” – Dwight Yoakam
6. “Blue” – LeAnn Rimes
7. “If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got the Time” – Lefty Frizzell
8.
9. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” – John Denver
10. I’m probably going to be mad at myself for drawing a blank here.
11. “Achey Breaky Heart” – Billy Ray Cyrus
12. “Flowers on the Wall” – Statler Brothers
1. Song of the South – Earl Scruggs
2. Rodeo Man – Chris LeDoux
3. ?
4. Heads Carolina, Tails California – JoDee Messina
5. Now I’m a Long Gone Daddy – …? Tubb?
6. Blue – LeAnn Rimes
7. Hahaa! There’s actually a song called “Privilege of Your Company” by the christian band ‘Kitten for Christian’
8. Jolene – Mindy Smith
9. Take Me Home, Country Road – John Denver
10. Chicken Fried – Zac Brown Band
11. Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
12. Counting Flowers on the Wall – Statler brothers
1. The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA – Donna Fargo?
2. Much Too Young ) To Feel This Damn Old) – Garth Brooks
3. No idea
4. I think I know this but can’t remember it
5. ???
6. Blue – LeAnn Rimes
7. ???
8. Little Ways – Dwight Yoakam?
9. Take Me Home Country Roads – John Denver?
10. Pass
11. Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
12. Flowers On the Wall – either the Statler Brothers or Eric Heatherly
This one was much trickier than I thought it was going to be.
1. Sounds like something Taylor Swift would’ve written. Were there princesses involved too?
2. Garth – “Much Too Young”
3. ?
4. Jo Dee Messina “Heads Carolina, Tails California”
5. Hank Sr. – “Tear In My Beer”
6. Leann Rimes – “Blue”
7. ?
8. ?
9. John Denver – “Country Roads”?
10. Zac Brown Band – “Chicken Fried”
11. Bill Ray Cyrus – “Achy Breaky Heart”
4. “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina
6. “Blue” by LeAnn Rimes
10. “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band
11. “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus
I bet 12 is not by Rascal Flatts…
1. the happiest girl in the whole u.s.a. – donna fargo
2. much too young to feel this damn old – garth brooks
3. before the next teardrop falls- freddy fender
4. heads carolina tails california – jo dee messina (?)
5. honky tonk girl – loretta lynn
6. blue – leann rimes
7. if you’ve got the money i’ve got the time – lefty frizzell
8. honky tonk man – dwight yoakam
9. take me home country roads – john denver
10. chicken fried – zac brown band
11. achy breaky heart – billy ray cyrus
12. rubber room – porter wagoner
2. Garth Brooks
11. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Achy Breaky Heart”
1. gotta be Happiest Girl in the Whole USA by Donna Fargo
2. Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old – Garth Brooks
3. Before The Next Teardrop Falls – Freddy Fender
4. Either Heads Carolina Tails California by Jo Dee Messina or Drive South by Suzy Bogguss- I don’t think that was Suzy’s debut, so I’ll guess Jo Dee?
5. Shameless attempt at partial credit for humor by saying that it must be the debut single by legendary country artist Chris Gaines
6. Blue by Leanne Rimes
7. little known debut single by Shania Twain on small independent label entitled “I’ll Go On A Date With You If You Will Pay For Everything” (humor attempt #2)
8. I don’t know if Honky Tonk Man was Johnny Horton’s debut, but I’m going to guess Honky Tonk Man by Dwight Yoakam
9. Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver?
10. Chicken Fried – Zac Brown Band
11. Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
12. Better Off In A Pine Box by Doug Stone?
1.
2. Garth Brook, Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
3.
4.
5.
6. LeAnn Rimes, Blue
7.
8.
9.
10. Zac Brown Band, Chicken Fried
11. Billy Ray Cyrus, Achy Breaky Heart
12.
Cruds, I totally missed this! Oh well it’s because real estate is finally picking up.
No shame, then!
Oh good I though it might’ve been Freddy Fender didn’t think it was that one at first. and for #12 I was going to go with Eric Heatherley’s version….
Update: I AM kicking myself..I shouldve probably known about 10 0r 11 of these.