Of course, it’s the performances of all the rock legends through the years that keep us booking again and again on the Rock and Romance Cruise. Peter Frampton, America, Boz Skaggs, Little River Band, Todd Rundgren, War, Leo Sayer, Cheap Trick, Christopher Cross, Foreigner, Randy Bachman, and the list goes on and on.
Yet, there’s something else we surprisingly look forward to nearly as much as the concerts. It’s the trivia. There’s nothing quite like being slightly rummy from a late night of listening to music and stumbling into the lounge to grab a mini pencil and a lined piece of paper to test your musical knowledge. In fact, I love the trivia so much, that I’ve barely missed a session in five years of sailing.
The hosts know their stuff. They go out of their way to make the questions challenging for the music afficionados on board, and I love that! And the participants take this stuff seriously. The competition is stiff! Where else, other than the Rock and Romance Cruise, would we be surrounded by others who love music as much as we do?
That fuzzy 30-second video clip of Andy Kim singing “Rock Me Gently” sure looks and sounds a lot like Neil Diamond and can easily trip up a novice player. Wait, is that The Stylistics, the Manhattans, The Tavares, or The O’Jays? Hold on, who sang “Sweet City Woman?” That one’s easy, it’s The Stampeders!
We’ve had such fun playing trivia and have made friendships that have spanned years now. A big shout out to Rick and Patty and Steve and Jane who have all identified the most amazingly obscure bands and songs!
My favorite cruise trivia story happened on the first sailing. I was in a tiebreaker to win the whole shebang. And the question was “Name the Native American character in the Village People?” ….The wheels starting turning. Tick, tick, tick. Then, I remembered that Village People poster I had on my wall as a little girl, and I shouted out forcefully “Felipe Rose!!!” My opponent looked at me in irritated disbelief. The host’s mouth dropped a bit and he smiled, “We have a winner!” While I won a CD compilation of 70s hits, the real prize was a ridiculously funny memory that will last a lifetime.
With that all said, I thought I'd share with you a few Rock and Romance performer bits of trivia to impress your friends and family.
Every Pure Prairie League LP featured a Norman Rockwell painted cowboy named “Luke.”
Don Felder acquired his first guitar from a friend with whom he traded a handful of cherry bombs.
Before Leo Sayer became a recording artist, he co-wrote songs, including “Giving It All Away” which was Roger Daltrey’s first solo hit. Other artists who have performed Leo Sayer’s songs include Three Dog Night, Lee Ritenour, and Cliff Richard.
Foghat’s debut album was produced by Dave Edmunds who went on to collaborate with many artists, including Paul McCartney, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Stray Cats, and Jeff Lynne.
The Bay City Rollers have sold over 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time.
Rick Wakeman played piano on Cat Stevens’ recording of “Morning Has Broken”.
On the Hollies’ 1969 recording of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, 22-year-old Elton John plays piano.
Bass Player magazine named John Lodge one of the top ten bass players of all time.
Jefferson Starship’s David Frieberg was classically trained in violin and viola and was a coffee house folk singer before co-founding Quicksilver Messenger Service in 1965.
The Grass Roots hit “Let’s Live for Today” was first recorded with Italian lyrics, under the title of “Piangi con Me” (translation: “Cry with Me”).
Well, that’s it for now. Hope to see you at trivia!
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