Music · 2

Which singer had his only major hit with 'Teen Angel,' a 1960 chart-topper inspired by a real teenage couple's fatal car accident?

Answer

Mark Dinning

Mark Dinning recorded 'Teen Angel,' which became his only number-one hit and one of the era's defining 'teenage tragedy' songs.

💡 Did you know?

Mark Dinning's 'Teen Angel' (1960) was inspired by a real teenage couple who died in a car accident, yet became a wildly popular prom song for decades.

Other options people guess

  • Ray Peterson
  • Jody Reynolds
  • Dickey Lee

Topics

  • one-hit-wonders
  • 1960s
  • teen-tragedy-songs

Know your music trivia?

Play a free Music quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.

More Music facts

Music

Which musician wrote 'Spirit in the Sky' as a secular novelty song, despite its Jesus-referencing lyrics later making it a funeral staple?

Norman Greenbaum wrote 'Spirit in the Sky' as a secular novelty song, never expecting it to become a funeral staple. He later struggled financially despite its ubiquity.

Music

Which singer had performed 'Somebody That I Used to Know' live with Gotye for years before it became a breakout hit in 2011?

Gotye performed "Somebody That I Used to Know" with Kimbra for years before its 2011 release, then spent years unable to escape it.

Music

A 1995 remix turned 'Macarena' into a worldwide number-one hit, but which Spanish duo had originally written and recorded the song two years earlier?

Los Del Rio wrote "Macarena" in 1993, but it topped charts worldwide only after a remix in 1995—the original barely charted.

Music

Butch Vig produced Nirvana's 'Nevermind' in 1991, but which role did he later become best known for as a founding member of an alternative rock band formed in 1993?

The album's mastering engineer nearly destroyed the master tapes during final processing; a tape machine malfunction nearly erased Nevermind permanently.

Music

Which British synth-pop duo performed the halftime show at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, cementing their status as the defining MTV-era band of that year?

Duran Duran's 'Rio' video was filmed on a yacht in Antigua — the band spent so much time shooting exotic videos abroad that MTV fans nicknamed them the 'fab five' of the video age.

Music

Which British synth-pop duo, known for sharp suits and electronic beats, had one of the most-played videos in early MTV history with their 1981 debut single 'Tainted Love'?

Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' was originally a 1964 Northern Soul track by Gloria Jones — the same Gloria Jones who was Marc Bolan's partner at the time of his death.