‘‘End of the spring and here she comes back. Hi, hi, hi, hi there. Them summer days.’’
— ‘‘Hot Fun in the Summertime,’’ Sly & The Family Stone
‘‘Summer breeze makes me feel fine. Blowin’ through the jasmine in my mind.’’
— ‘‘Summer Breeze,’’ Seals & Croft
‘‘In the summertime when the weather is hot. You can stretch right up and touch the sky.’’ — ‘‘In the Summertime,’’ Mungo Jerry
‘‘A-summertime. And the livin’ is easy.’’ — ‘‘Summertime,’’ Billy Stewart
‘‘Saturday in the park. I think it was the Fourth of July.’’ — ‘‘Saturday in the Park,’’ Chicago
You got it, folks. It’s time for a summertime music quiz. So have fun and sing a lot.
1. ‘‘Summertime, Summertime’’ was a bouncy doo-wop novelty song by the Jamies. The single became a nationwide hit in 1958 after being released by Epic Records and would again become a hit in 1962 upon re-release. If you heard it, you would recognize it immediately, then wish you could forget it. Which of these Jamies played for a Chicago team?
a. Jamie Moyer
b. Jamie Quirk
c. Jaime Navarro
d. Jamie Burke
e. They all did
f. None did
2. While we are thinking about gimmicky summer songs, ‘‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’’ by Brian Hyland was a No. 1 hit in the summer of 1960. Believe it or not, this song about a shy girl who was afraid to come out of the water is credited as being one of the earliest contributors to the acceptance of the bikini in society. The 1960 White Sox were a good team, but the 1960 Cubs were not so good. The No. 1 team in baseball was the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the World Series on a walk-off home run by . . .
a. Roberto Clemente
b. Bill Mazeroski
c. Hal Smith
d. Dick Groat
3. To this day, if someone says to me, ‘‘I couldn’t sleep at all last night,’’ I immediately think of the opening lyrics of ‘‘Tossin’ And Turnin’ ’’ by Bobby Lewis, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 10, 1961. It was truly one of the great songs of any summer. The next day was the All-Star Game. Which of these stars was not on either the American League or National League team?
a. Ron Santo
b. Billy Williams
c. Luis Aparicio
d. Minnie Minoso
e. All of them
f. None of them
4. In 1964, one of the hits of the summer was ‘‘House of the Rising Sun’’ by the Animals. Eric Burden brilliantly sang the song, which is either about a New Orleans brothel or a women’s prison in New Orleans. Which one of these players was born in New Orleans?
a. Joey Amalfitano
b. Rusty Staub
c. Ron Perranoski
d. Bill Skowron
5. On an episode of ‘‘Seinfeld,’’ Elaine told her publisher/boss and a Russian author/client: ‘‘Although one wonders if ‘War and Peace’ would have been as highly acclaimed as it was if it was published under its original name, ‘War: What Is It Good For?’ ’’ That hilarious scene can be attributed to the 1970 summer hit ‘‘War’’ by Edwin Starr. Which of these players with ‘‘Edwin’’ as part of their name hit the most homers?
a. Edwin Elpidio Encarnacion
b. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr.
c. Edwin Lee Mathews
d. Edwin Donald Snider
6. You know who was really good? Donna Summer (she’s part of the theme). She had great songs, such as ‘‘She Works Hard for the Money,’’ ‘‘Bad Girls,’’ ‘‘On the Radio’’ and ‘‘MacArthur Park.’’ She was dubbed ‘‘The Queen of Disco,’’ but she was much more than that. All I need is one word to prompt a question: Who was the person held most responsible for ‘‘Disco Demolition Night,’’ held July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park?
a. Bill Veeck Sr.
b. Bill Veeck Jr.
c. Mike Veeck
d. Night Train Veeck
7. I never was a fan of the song ‘‘Love Will Keep Us Together’’ by The Captain & Tennille, a 1975 summer hit written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It became the signature song for Daryl Dragon (The Captain) and Toni Tennille and relaunched Sedaka’s career. Which one of the following was a Cubs captain?
a. Ernie Banks
b. Fergie Jenkins
c. Billy Williams
d. Ron Santo
8. ‘‘Easy’’ by the Commodores was another summer hit I didn’t like. The summer of 1997 was the year of this soft-rock hit, which was written by lead singer Lionel Richie. Richie wrote about it being ‘‘easy like Sunday morning.’’ The sappiness of this ditty made me queasy, like many mornings. Last season (2022), which Chicago team had its best day of the week on Sunday? I’m looking for the best winning percentage.
a. The Cubs
b. The White Sox
c. They both did
9. A summer hit was performed at the 1999 All-Star Game. The game was held in Boston, where Smash Mouth played its hit from that summer. The game honored nominees for the All-Century Team and saluted the great Ted Williams. Pedro Martinez struck out five of the six batters he faced, earning him MVP honors. This is my weekly walk-off question: Who hit walk-off homers against Martinez? (All the choices were All-Stars.)
a. Mark Grace
b. Mike Piazza
c. Derek Jeter
d. Frank Thomas
e. All of them
f. None of them
I hope you had fun, and I wish you a nice summer. Lather yourself with sunblock. See you in July.
ANSWERS
1. They all did. Jamie Moyer pitched for the Cubs from 1986 to 1989. Jamie Quirk had three at-bats for the 1984 White Sox. Jaime Navarro pitched for the Cubs in 1995 and 1996 and for the Sox in 1997-1999. Jamie Burke was with the Sox for parts of 2003-05.
2. While Bill Mazeroski was one of the great defensive second basemen in baseball history, he wouldn’t have achieved the fame necessary to be inducted into the Hall of Fame without his momentous homer in the ninth inning of Game 7 in 1960.
3. I love this question. Not because the answer is that none of these Chicago players made the teams, but because the players were so great back then that even these four were not All-Stars.
4. OK I will admit this is a random question and answer, but if you were lucky enough to dine in one of Rusty Staub’s great restaurants, you would have to know he came from a N’awlins background. Daniel Joseph ‘‘Rusty’’ Staub was born on April 1, 1944, in New Orleans. In 1964, Rusty was 20 years old and in his second season with the Houston Colt .45s.
5. Edwin Encarnacion finished with 424 homers. Cal Ripken Jr. hit 431 homers. Duke Snider hit 407 homers. Eddie Mathews is the star of this question with 512 homers.
6. Every Veeck in baseball made baseball more fun, including Mike Veeck. He was the director of promotions for the White Sox in 1979 and was responsible for the demolition.
7. They all played together, but Ron Santo was a longtime Cubs captain.
8. The Sox were a team-best 16-10 (.615) on Sundays. The Cubs made you queasy with a record of 9-17 (.346) on Sundays, their worst day of the week.
9. Hey, you’re an All-Star if you know that they all homered against Pedro Martinez. But Martinez never gave up a walk-off homer in his career.
