Flashback: Just to Be Close to You

By Mick Harper

Pop, Rock, and Soul Trivia.

1. Name the group that had a No. 1 R&B hit with "Just to Be Close to You" in 1976.

2. Who released "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"?

3. The title of which song was a phone number that prompted thousands of prank calls across the country?

4. Who released "Every Breath You Take"?

5. Name the song that contains these lyrics: "I love every movement, And there's nothing I would change, She doesn't need improvement, She's much too nice to rearrange."

Answers

1. The Commodores. The song, written by Lionel Richie, topped the R&B charts and stayed there for two weeks.

2. Elton John, in 1976. John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin wrote the song in minutes after John had fiddled briefly with a melody and lyrics.

3. "867-5309/Jenny," by Tommy Tutone in 1981. Callers only needed to add in any area code to the number. Years later many people were still receiving prank calls.

4. The Police, in 1983.

5. "Poetry in Motion," by Johnny Tillotson in 1960. This chart topper has been covered widely around the globe, including releases by artists in Sweden, Germany, Finland, Chile and Czechoslovakia.

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