Trivia Tuesday: 11/30/10

Question: What was the name of the program that aired on the Disney Channel in the late 80s/early 90s that featured musical performances as an integral part of the plot and show. The show featured pre-Party of Five Scott Wolf and Jennifer Love Hewitt as well as Martika.

Last Question: Who was the lead singer of Genesis before Phil Collins stepped into the role?

Answer: Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel founded Genesis in 1967 along with Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and drummer Chris Stewart. In 1970, Phil Collins answered a Melody Maker classified ad for “…a drummer sensitive to acoustic music, and acoustic twelve-string guitarist” Genesis placed the ad after having already lost three drummers over two albums.

While Gabriel was the lead singer, Genesis became a flamboyant progressive rock band. Gabriel’s stage persona, led to tensions within the band. The breaking point came with the difficult pregnancy of Gabriel’s wife, Jill, and the subsequent birth of their first child, Anna. When he opted to stay with his sick daughter and wife, rather than record and tour, the resentment from the rest of the band led Gabriel to conclude that he had to leave the group. “Solsbury Hill”, Gabriel’s début single as a solo artist, was written specifically about his departure from Genesis. The song also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978, reaching the Top 70, though it was recorded in 1976, and appeared on the ‘Car’ album in 1977.

Gabriel went on to further solo success with his groundbreaking music video for “Sledgehammer”, as well as the song “Big Time”, and my favorite Peter Gabriel song – “In Your Eyes”, which was featured in the movie Say Anything…

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