Time once more for the SMS Trivia Quiz for Tuesday, May 11th. Always brought to us by “All the Groovey People” at Omnivore Recordings! Your “Must see” destination for all the music you didn’t know, you didn’t know! Ah, but before we get to this weeks question, we want to recognize the trivial geniuses who weighed in on last weeks question! Which was: All about the pop superstars many critics referred to as “The Pre Fab Four” But we know them of course simply as The Monkees! Coming in first with all the right answers and more for the umpteenth week was the brilliantly Trivial Mr. Jefferey Conroy! Whoa Mr. “C” You don’t Monkey around! Or…….Maybe you do? Great work my old friend! Next in, another regular “Super Genius” who showed up with all the right stuff was the ever brilliant Mr. Simon Craddock! There’s nuthin simple about this Simon! Following Simon was an original “Charter Member” SMS Super Genius, Mr. Jim Gorman! Who generously provided us with a link to a classic mid sixties moment featuring the very cool Lloyd Thaxton with Michael Nesmith! If you missed it, it’s worth your time to go back and check it out! Thanx James! Lastly, but in no way leastly we welcome back our old friend and Brand New SMS Super Genius! Ms. Doranney Croon! Great to see you in our 60’s mix of music, cool people and all things trivial! Please don’t be a stranger!
But now! It’s time for this weeks new Trivia Quiz: On Dec. 3, 1965, in the U. K. The Beatles released what many fans and critics call “Their Greatest Work! ( Not necessarily “Sgt. Pepper”) “Rubber Soul” In an audacious move with possibly very dangerous consequences, another popular British Invasion band who, a couple weeks earlier, acquired a “pre release copy of this Beatle classic, and with reckless intrepidation, this alternate British Invader rushed into the studio and boldly arranged and recorded their own version of one of the 14 great songs from the L.P. They persuaded their record label to release their version of a soon to be Beatle classic on Dec. 3, 1965! ( Yes the very same day The Beatles released Rubber Soul! The record immediately shot into the Top 20 in the U.K. Effectively stealing and beating The Beatles at their own game! To be clear, there was nothing nefarious, illegal or any copyright infringement going on here, just a confident, aggressive band seeing an opportunity and seizing it! The only downside was they were “Messing” with the biggest band in the world! Tensions flared between these two Super Groups and the whole event played out in the British press, but existing members on both sides claim it was an overblown event, the dust has settled and all is well. Do you buy that ?
But! We seriously digress! Here’s your question: Which U.K. Band “Nicked” a track from “Rubber Soul” and had a minor hit before “Afternoon Tea” in early Dec. 1965 and which song from Rubber Soul was involved ?
In summary, here’s what we need:
1) Which popular British Invasion band recorded a previously un- released Beatle song and released it on the same day The Beatles released their version, beating the Fab Four to the Top 20 in the U.K. ?
2) What is the title of this great song from The Beatles 6th album “Rubber Soul”
3) Lastly and to achieve SMS Super Genius Status give us the name of the lead singer in the band that “Purloined” the Beatle song ?
Ther’s your quiz for this week and as we always recommend, while you’re browsing your collector copies of Creme, Crawdaddy and Melody Maker, why not click on the link below and browse Omnivore Recordings home page and pick up some of the greatest music in the known world and beyond!
And remember, you can answer the weekly Trivia Quiz as often as you like, but! You can only win a Groovey Omnivore CD every 30 days!
~ SMS
Gorgeous song. Once again SMS makes my day by bringing If I Needed Someone to the forefront. Must have listened to Rubber Soul hundreds of times on our old “console” record player we had back then. I didn’t remember that George Harrison wrote it or that the Hollies did it, so thank you! Also, I didn’t know about Art Roberts or WLS, and I’ve now discovered their legendary 60s presence thanks to Clark Besch’s comment. Mr. Rick Shoemaker, you are too kind to me. But hey, you will never get rid of me now – I am hooked on SMS! 🙂
1. Hollies
2. If I needed Someone
3 Allan Clarke
BTW, there was controversy over whether the song was GIVEN to the band as they thought or whether it was NOT. I know I recorded it off WLS in 1965 when Art Roberts touted it as the followup to “Look Thru Any Window” (my alltime fave 60’s song) as it WAS in the UK. However, since the song was NOT on the US LP, there were no publishing rights here yet and the Cryan Shames’ plans to release it in spring 1966 as THEIR first single were nixed because of this. That’s the story as I know it, anyway. The US Hollies’ followup ended up being “I Can’t Let Go” instead.