YES! It’s Trivia Tuesday for June 15th! Brought to us every Tuesday morning by all the Groovey people at Omnivore Recordings! Your only choice for all the music you didn’t know, you didn’t know! However, before we get into this week’s all new Trivia Quiz, we’d like to take a minute to recognize the brilliant readers who weighed in on last week’s question, which was: A brief Quiz about “Twins in the music industry! Only two readers showed up with the correct answer, with Owen being first, great job Owen! Coming in second was our old friend Mr. Jeff Conroy! Way to go Mr. “C.”
But now! It’s time for this week’s new Trivia Quiz for the week! This weeks quiz is a lyrical question and here’s your lyric: “Ahh princess on a steeple and all the pretty people they’re all drinking, thinking, that they, got it made” There’s your lyric, now tell us what classic 60’s mega – hit includes the lyric? Additionally, which legendary singer/songwriter wrote and recorded this classic?
Furthermore and to achieve “SMS “Super Genius” status, What is the singer/songwriter’s real name and and what was his first “Stage name” in the very early days of his long and incredible career ? Lastly What is the title of the album, originally released in 1965, that features this great tune ?
In summary, here’s what we need:
1) What 60’s mega-hit features the lyric we quoted just above ?
2) Which 60’s Superstar wrote and recorded this awesome song ?
3) What is the artist’s real name and what “Stage name / Nom de Plum did he use in the very early days of his career ?
4) What is the title of the 1965 album that features this awesome song ?
Clearly this weeks trivia quiz will require a certain amount of expertise with regard to this particular Artist, but we know you’re out there! So! While you’re honing you’re skills, why not take a minute and click on the link below and peruse Omnivore Recordings unique catalog of the greatest music in the known world and beyond!
Remember, you can answer the weekly quiz as often as you like, but can only win a Groovey Omnivore Recordings CD every 30 days!
~SMS
Here is the Elston Gunnn story. Since the previous comments had the name spelled wrong, I think I win LOL!
Ken Harvey
May 20, 2015
“The Outlaw That Came To My Hometown”
The winds of change were blowing ‘cross the prairie in 1960 Fargo,
North Dakota…..My hometown. — Lawrence Welk from 80 SW of
Fargo in Strasburg had long since made his mark,…as had Miss
Peggy Lee of Jamestown,…100 mi. west.
Bobby Vee and his band ‘the Shadows’ were flying high with Bobby’s
self written regional hit “Suzie Baby” which had been picked up by
‘Liberty Records’ and promoted nationally into the national charts, which
led to follow up hits…and the ball was rolling…(bouncing) !
We,…(my early bandmates & coffee junkies) knew that ‘someone’ weird
had hit town,…from the Minneapolis area and had gotten a job as a dish-
washer / bus-boy at the ‘Red Apple Cafe’ in Fargo,….not one of our usual
haunts as high schoolers, but he was calling himself ‘Elston Gunnn’ and
had befriended Bobby Vee’s brother,…lead guitarist ‘Bill Velline’ at a record
store….which led to a couple of night ‘audition’ with the band as piano- player,
which they really weren’t interested in anyway….Elston could only play in ‘C’.
My friend ‘Ron Joelson’ befriended him and Elston stayed at his home until
Mama decided it was time for Elston to find ‘other’ quarters. This kid was
around 19 and scruffy,…also writing strange & bizarre stuff down on napkins
and scraps of paper,….just weird shit.
Anyway,….Bobby Vee & Shadows ‘passed’ on Elston,..and the other great
local band ‘Terry Lee & the ‘Poorboys’ tried him for a couple of nights with
the same result…..Just a little too strange for the Fargo / Moorhead scene.
Elston Gunnn departed back to Minnesota, and was soon sort of forgotten.
In less than a year, I happened to run into my afore mentioned friend ‘Ron
and he told me that Elston had relocated to Greenwich Village, NY and gotten
himself signed to Columbia Records….and changed his ‘name’…!
I asked what he’d changed his name to, and he said ‘BOB DYLAN’…- I told
Ron,..”I hope he does good…”! – Not long after,..the music-world changed…
In late 1960, Bobby Vee was doing so much ‘career promotion’ with Liberty
that the ‘Shadows’ needed to keep working while he was gone, and brought
me in as ‘alternate singer’ and rhythm guitarist at 17 yrs old. – It was my ‘leg
up’ in the music world, and the bigtime tours, etc. began….And I got the gig
that Elston Gunnn was refused…..Just incredible, but ‘true’…!
hey Mark,
Wow! I love this story! And I can’t really argue your statement about winning because your the only one to include Elston’s third “N” in his last name “Gunnn” but you also take the prize for sharing thee best story I’ve read here at SMS!
But “Rules are rules!
Meanwhile a couple years back,I wrote a piece about the whole Elston, Dylan, Bobby Vee storiy I think you’ll enjoy! Here’s a link to the piece.
https://www.sixtiesmusicsecrets.com/bobby-vee-hits-back/
Thanks, Rick. Its Ken Harvey’s story, ge’s got a ton of them. Needs to write a book. We were in The Doolittle Band. If you remember our “hit” “Who Were You Thinkin’Of (When We Were Makin’ Love)”, on Columbia from 1980 you need to get out more often:) So, do I win or what? I will send Ken the prize, he earned it.He played with Buddy Knox (Bobby Keys was in the band), Brian Hyland, Jeannie Pruette, Dottie West, Kenny Rogers, Bob Luman, Merilee Rush to name just a few. Buds with Mickey Newbury, Sonny Curtis, Don Schlitz, and many more HOF writers. He seriously should do a book/memoir, let’s get him an agent and kick his ass!
Dylan spelled it “Gunnn” by the way. My friend Ken Harvey is from Fargo, and was in Bobby Vee’s band. He met Dylan when he came to Fargo, trying to get a gig with Vee. But Zimmie could only play in one key, so it didn’t work out too well.
Like a Rolling Stone…Bob Dylan…Robert Zimmerman..Highway 61 Revisited ..Blindd Boy Grunt
If you’re not satisfied with “Elston Gunn”, here’s some other names Mr Zimmerman has used according to: @AmericanRoutes
Barely out of high school, Bob Dylan took the name Elston Gunn to play piano behind the early rock-and-roller, Bobby Vee. He played harmonica for Ramblin’ Jack Elliot’s 1964 album, Ramblin’ Jack, under the handle of Tedham Porterhouse. Around the same time he recorded an album of old folk songs as Blind Boy Grunt. When, in 1972, Dylan appeared on Steve Goodman’s Somebody Else’s Troubles, he was known as Robert Milkwood Thomas. Years later, as a member of the Traveling Wilburies, Dylan transformed into Boo Wilbury. Finally, as co-writer for the screenplay of Masked and Anonymous in 2003, he morphed himself into Sergei Petrov.
Hey Owen!
First,let me say Thank You! The truth is I knew Dylan nad used a large number of Stage names, however I also knew I didn’t have a clue beyond Elston Gunnn (with three “N”s) and “Boo Wilbury!”
Thanx Owen for filling in soooo many blanks!
Cheers,
Rick
Like A Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan aka Robert Zimmerman…Album is highway 61 Revisited. Great album, great song.
Elston Gunn..
Hey Curtis
At the risk of sounding like a “Nit Picking” Whiney old lady but!… There are three “N’s” in Gunnn!
Go ahead, fire away!
Love,
Shoe
like a rolling stone
bob Dylan
Robert Zimmerman
i was on a roll then along came fred…
Ed!
Fred’s like that!
R.
Fred is the Super Genius! Way to go Bro!
What Fred says!
“Like a Rolling Stone”
Bob Dylan
Robert Zimmerman
Elston Gunn
Highway 61 Revisited
Hey Fred!
In a word…”WOW”!
Cheers,
Rick