h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We'll have a more interactive quiz this week

In clearing out my late mother-in-law's house I turned up her collection of vinyl albums. Some have to be seen to be believed - Aled Jones and the King's Singers feature heavily - but one caught my eye for its quiz value.

I have in front of me an album of the '50 top songs from the musicals' - these are from stage musicals rather than film (although many will have also appeared on film adaptations). Most of these songs were published in the 1960s, although there are a couple from the early 1970s too.

So you have to guess the 50 top songs from the shows.

One strict rule - I'll allow you each up to 5 guesses per day. Use them wisely.

Smiley prizes will be awarded


Icy

I'm not well versed in musicals, but this is a great idea for a quiz, so I'll make some random guesses based on what little knowledge I have and see if any are there:

Whistle a happy tune
Tomorrow
Wash that man right out of my hair
Edelweiss
Oklahoma

You're in the right ballpark, but oddly, none of those are on the record.

1960s and 70s, eh? I would have expected musicals to be from the 50s instead…

'Singin' In the Rain' (1952)
'Shall We Dance' from 'The King and I' (1956)
'Well Did You Ever?' from 'High Society' (1956)
'The Sound of Music' (1965)
'Consider Yourself' from 'Oliver!' (1968)

<BB<

You score for:

36, Shall We Dance (The King & I)

(To help you, I'll declare the answers in alphabetical order.)

And I was reading those publication dates from the record. Clearly the musicals may have been around for a while before.

Yay – I get a point! Save some for me for Monday.
As I'm not going to be online tomorrow or Sunday, do I get 15 guesses on Monday?

<BB<

No

'The Impossible Dream' from 'Man from La Mancha'
'On the Street Where You Live' from 'My Fair Lady'
'On a Clear Day You Can See Forever' from the musical of the same name
'If Ever I Would Leave You' from 'Camelot'
'Who Will Buy This Wonderful Morning?' from 'Oliver!'

If I ruled the world. Oliver?
Hair. er... Hair
Half a sixpence
Hey big spender. Sweet charidee
If I were a rich man. Fiddler on the roof

Deek

"76 trombones" from "Music Man"
"Do re mi" from "Sound of Music"
"Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess" (which had a Broadway revival in the 1950s)
"Mack the knife" from "Die Dreigroschenoper" (another '50s revival)
"Hello, Dolly" from the eponymous musical (Louis Armstrong played it often)

Come Hear the Cabaret - Cabaret
I Could Have Danced All Night - My Fair Lady
Wouldn't it be loverly - "
The Street Where You Live - "
Oklahoma

Correct guesses from those are:

6. Big Spender (Sweet Charity)
17. Half A Sixpence (Half A Sixpence)
24. If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot)
25. If I Were A Rich Man (Fiddler On The Roof)
36. Shall We Dance (The King & I)
48. Wouldn´t It Be Loverly (My Fair Lady)

Sorry paulh - yours were all close, but didn't match this particular set.

Icy

Some information which may help:

A total of 22 shows are featured in the list, with between 1 and 4 songs from each.

There are no songs from the following shows which you have guessed:

Annie
Cabaret
Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera)
Hello Dolly!
High Society
Man Of La Mancha
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Porgy And Bess
Singin In The Rain
The Music Man

That would probably be a rights thing, then. How can "High Society" possibly not feature otherwise - or "Singing in the Rain"?

Could you divulge the name of the record label? (Which probably won't help much, but )

OK I'll have a stab at it. My Fair Lady seems to be in there (but not the best songs?!?)

Show me - My Fair Lady
A Spoonful of Sugar - Mary Poppins
There's no business like show business
Boiled beef and carrots - Oliver?
The Lonely Goatherd - Sound of Music

Bad luck! None of those songs feature, TC, but you've not added to the list of unrepresented shows I gave earlier, if that helps

And one further clue - it is possible for one of you to score 6 points from 5 guesses (I'll leave you to ponder that one)

Am I allowed to say that I question the taste of the compiler?

One more comment: "South Pacific" was the first (or perhaps the only) Broadway show ever for which all the songs were on the hit parade. At least that is what I have heard.

Am I ineligible to post any more guesses, having used up my five, or am I allowed five per post?

If the former, what will happen if all of us who try to guess the answers fall far short of the total of right answers? Many of the great composers for this genre were prolific. Irving Berlin wrote over 1,000 songs. Richard Rodgers wrote over 600. Truly this is needle-in-haystack territory.

(I should have said one comment and two questions )