When I was a youth, when AM radio was king in the 1960's, my favorite deejay, and an inspiration for my own radio career, was Kirk Wilde at rockin' 1170 KPUG in Bellingham. Wilde had a nightly contest he called twin-pick. Listeners would call in and pick their favorite songs out of the new releases from that week. I always liked the name twin-pick so, forty years later, I have borrowed the name for my new and exciting music trivia contest. It is not exactly what Kirk Wilde did, but I figure it is a great name for this contest anyway and it brings back memories of the good old days.
I hope to "tickle your memory gland" without getting my face slapped. People like trivia and they like oldies, so this exercise should be a good fit. If you are from my generation, it will bring back rock n' roll memories.
Twin-Pick will be a feature, periodically, here at my blog. I plan to devise trivia questions that will be of interest. I think it is only reasonable that we should begin with perhaps the most popular band in all of history. If you are reading this, then you probably remember the early Beatles.
As someone who worked in broadcasting, I always found it amusing that -- with the international stars -- the same songs did not always chart at the same time in the USA and in the UK. Sometimes what was a hit there, was not a hit here.
That anomaly is the topic of this first exercise. This will reach into the darkest crevices of your mind and bring back faded memories. This exercise is interactive. You will know instantly if you are right, or wrong, by clicking on the three choices below.
If you guess incorrectly, you will -- no nice way of putting it -- be given a big raspberry. On the other hand, if you answer correctly, you will be taken back in time to see a stellar performance of a historically important piece of music history. Bottom line -- You see the video, you got it right. You get a raspberry, guess again!
Question One:
The Beatles, hailing from the UK, were popular in their homeland first. Most artists, with a few exceptions, have some chart entries before they have that monster hit -- the one that reaches #1. In the UK, the first song by the Beatles to top the charts arrived at #1 on April 18, 1963. Which of these songs was that first chart-topper in the UK?
C. Love Me Do
Question Two:
Early on, the Beatles were not catching on in the USA. Their first singles were not released on major labels and the songs stalled on the charts. Disappointment was in the air. Their managers and supporters, back in the UK, had confidence in the selling power of the four boys. The record executives in the USA were doubtful. Ends up, of course, that the guys in the UK were right. The Beatles first #1 song in America came on February 1, 1964 -- about ten months after they first topped the charts in the UK. Which song was the Beatles first chart-topper in the United States?
A. Do You Want To Know A Secret
Let us know how you did in the comments.
For more "Stories Behind the Music" click on the guitar 
Steven L. Smith
Bellingham WA Home Inspections
Washington State Licensed Home Inspector #207
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