Feature: Monthly Birthday Tribute: Take the Quiz!
It's all about stars of music who were born in January. See how much you know.
By: Rob Lester Jan. 01, 2025
OK, here's the first Monthly Birthday Tribute for 2025. It's a tribute, it's trivia, it's ten questions, and it's time for the quiz. But why is it strangely a lot about Frank Sinatra? He was born in December. Well, Sinatra tributes and songs he introduced or popularized have continued to remain frequent elements in cabaret shows and concerts more than a quarter century after his death. And I’m sure this new year of 2025 will be no different. And there are dozens of musical celebrities – who WERE born in January – who had a connection to Sinatra. You’ll find many named among the possible answers to the multiple-choice style questions. See how much you know (or how lucky a guesser you are!) and give the quiz a try. Of course, you’re at an advantage if you remember a lot about Frank. The answers are on the bottom.
1—What Broadway legend with a January birthday repeated one of her major roles when she co-starred with Frank Sinatra in a TV version of the show?
E— Minnie Mouse
2—Which of these people born in January recorded a duet with Frank Sinatra for Duets or Duets II?
C—Frank Sinatra, Junior
D—All of the above
E— Joan of Arc
3—Who else, born in January, recorded a duet with Sinatra?
C—Susannah McCorkle
E—Jeff Bezos
4—Sinatra recorded (and performed live) songs by all of these songwriters born in January except one. Who is the exception?
D—Jim Croce
5—What major music star born in January was a guest on a 1960 Sinatra TV special, with one of the rocker’s biggest hits featured?
The number was sung at first by Sinatra (turning into a duet for both at the end). Sinatra sang it as a solo 17 years later in his concert the day the younger man died and recorded it three years after that on his Trilogy album. Was it…
B— Russ Columbo
C— Sam Cooke
E—J. Edgar Hoover
6—This next person I’m thinking of is someone who was born in January and who passed away on a January day many years later, and was a veteran of the musical stage and nightclubs. This performer’s first two Broadway credits were in shows that were later turned into movie musicals starring Frank Sinatra. Who was it?
D--Eddie Cantor
E—Bugs Bunny
7—In a classic film musical of the 1950s, Sinatra was supposed to play the lead role, but he quit on the first day of filming. What man born in January had created that part on Broadway in the previous decade?
B—José Ferrer
D—André DeShields
E—Atilla The Hun
8—All of the following statements are true, except one. Which of these is false?
A—Songwriters Mitch Leigh & Joe Darion, who wrote “The Impossible Dream,” recorded by Sinatra, share a birthday on January 30th.
B—Singer Johnnie Ray was called “the missing link between Sinatra and Elvis Presley
C—In the movie The Joker Is Wild, Sinatra starred as real-life comedian/singer Joe E. Lewis (who was born in January) and the part of real-life vaudeville legend Sophie Tucker (who was born in January) was played by Sophie Tucker herself.
D—Lin-Manuel Miranda, who will celebrate his birthday on January 16, was commissioned to write a full original score for the biographical musical about Sinatra; it premiered in 2023 in England, after which the producers dumped his work, in favor of using 25 famous Sinatra hits.
E—Frank Sinatra, along with singer Richie Havens and boxing champion Muhammad Ali (both born in January) all appeared on a Grammy-nominated children’s album aimed at raising awareness of dental health. It was called The Adventures of Ali and His Gang Versus Mr. Tooth Decay.
9—As you may know, Frank Sinatra starred in the 1960 movie version of the musical Can-Can. It also featured Juliet Prowse as Claudine. What performer born in January played Claudine in the Broadway version seven years earlier?
E—W. C. Fields
10—What singer born in January of 1938 did Frank Sinatra call “the next major star of show business” early in his career, went to high school with Sinatra’s daughter Nancy, and released a tribute album to Frank Sinatra on the 100th anniversary of the latter’s birth?
C— Jack Jones
D — Willie Nelson
E— Bob Dylan
K—Ray Stevens
M—The Four Freshman
N—Frank Sinatra, Junior
Cabaret shows typically have an encore, so we will follow suit in this cabaret column quiz and give you a bonus question.
BONUS QUESTION–Frank Sinatra sang “Buy a Piece of the Peace,” special material by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. What former White House resident, born in January (of course) was associated with the song?
A—President William McKinley
B—President Franklin D. Roosevelt
C—President Millard Fillmore
D—President Richard Nixon
E—Socks, the Clintons' pet cat
OK, that was the last question. It's time for the answers....
Drum roll, please....
AND NOW THE ANSWERS……
1—The answer is: (C) For a TV production of the hit musical Anything Goes Ethel Merman, born on January 16 in 1908, reprised her starring role of Reno Sweeney (which was also the name of a NYC cabaret), opposite Sinatra. All the other ladies were born in January, too. (Minnie Mouse debuted 20 years after Ethel, in November, but her “90th anniversary” was celebrated on January 22, 2018 –declared “Minnie Mouse Day” when she got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.)
2—The answer is: (D) All of the above. The albums’ producer, Phil Ramone, was born in January, too. (Joan of Arc was not available to sing on these albums recorded in the 1990s, having died in the year 1431.)
3—They were all born in January, but the answer is: (B) King of the bossa nova, songwriter/performer Jobim and Sinatra collaborated on albums released in 1969 and 1971.
4—All these tunesmiths were born in January, but Sinatra died when Justin Timberlake was a teenager, so he didn’t get his chance. So the answer is (E). Sinatra recorded many songs with melodies by Van Heusen and many by Kern, as well as a few by DeSylva (if I were in the mood for a pun, I’d mention the Kern/DeSylva collaboration and write it as pronounced by someone with a Brooklyn accent: “Look for DeSylva Lining.”) The Croce choice was “Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown.”
5—The answer is: (A) The Elvis song in question was “Love Me Tender.” The melody was taken from the Civil War-era folk song “Aura Lee” which had a lyric by W. W. Fosdick, also born in January. This year is the 200th anniversary of his birth.
6—The answer is: (B) Chita Rivera, whose first jobs on Broadway were in the original productions of Guys & Dolls and Can-Can. As mentioned, Sinatra starred in the movie versions (but not in the same roles Chita had).
7—The answer is: (A) John Raitt. The musical was Carousel.
8—The answer is: (D) Lin-Manuel Miranda did not write a score for the long-in-development stage musical about Ol’ Blue Eyes. And, yes, I am telling the whole “tooth” about the album described in the last choice and inci-dental-ly, I know it’s real because I have a copy.
9—All those folks were born in January, but the answer is: (A)--Gwen Verdon.
10—While only some of those artists have January birthdays, all of them except Kermit released albums that were Sinatra tributes, filled with his songs. The answer is: (C). It’s Jack Jones, the terrific singer who just died in October.
BONUS QUESTION —The answer is: (B). The song’s goal was to encourage Americans to buy war bonds during World War II when FDR was Prez.
And if YOU were born in January, happy birthday to you, too. And to everyone reading this, happy cabaret new year!
Comments
Videos