1950s
In what decade did Rock 'N' Roll begin?
A) 1940s
B) 1950s
C) 1960s
1950s
Who was known as the "King of Rock and Roll"?
A) Elvis Presley
B) Frank Sinatra
C) Michael Jackson
Elvis Presley
What hit Frank Sinatra tune, caused him to reinvent himself and the type of music wanted to sing?
A) Doggie in the Window
B) I've Got the World on a String
C) New York, New York
Doggie in the Window
What style of music was performed by bands such as the Platters, and the Coasters?
A) Crooner
B) Doo Wop
C) R&B
Doo Wop
Beginning in the late 1950s, every weekday afternoon kids could watch teenagers doing the new dance crazes on what TV show?
A) American Bandstand
B) The Ed Sullivan Show
C) Soul Train
American Bandstand
In August of 1953, an 18-year-old truck driver named Elvis Presley walked into a small recording studio to record 2 songs as a birthday present for his mother. What Tennessee city did he do this in?
A) Graceland
B) Memphis
C) Nashville
Memphis
Rock music didn't just spring up one day out of nowhere, it sound owes a lot to the rhythm and blues (R&B) music of the 1940s and '50s. Who was a famous performer from that era? [Hint: he created the Rat Pack]
A) Bing Crosby
B) Frank Sinatra
C) Nat King Cole
Frank Sinatra
What was Elvis Presley's first hit song?
A) Blue Suede Shoes
B) Jailhouse Rock
C) That's All Right
That's All Right
Rock music was also influenced by country music. Country music began as far back as when, the time when colonists were coming to America from England and Scotland?
A) the late 1700s
B) the early 1900s
C) 1950s
The Late 1700s
What African American owned recording studio were responsible for the Supremes, the Temptations, and Stevie Wonder?
A) Atlantic Records
B) Motown Records
C) Sun Records
Motown Records
White performers began covering popular black songs. "Covering" means doing a new version of an older song; and Elvis covered and had a huge hit with "Hound Dog." What recording studio both covered songs, but also was one of the first to promote their black performers?
A) Atlantic Records
B) Motown Records
C) Sun Records
Sun Records
The sound of an electric guitar is at the heart of rock and roll. Who was one of the first famous rock and roll guitarists?
A) Chuck Berry
B) Eric Clapton
C) Prince
Chuck Berry
What Ray Charles song was so successful and different that it practically invented the style of music called soul music?
A) Georgia on My Mind
B) Hit the Road Jack
C) What'd I Say
What'd I Say
What music style is a mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music?
A) Bluegrass Music
B) Country Music
C) Rockabilly Music
Rockabilly Music
What TV show helped to bring singers and bands into people homes; and was the first stop of Beatlemania in America?
A) American Bandstand
B) The Ed Sullivan Show
C) The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Day the Music Died Day commemorates the untimely death of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. What type of celebrities were these three?
A) Athletes
B) Movie Stars
C) Rock Stars
Rock Stars
These three Rock singers died in an airplane crash on February 3, 1959, at the height of their popularity.
Of the 3 untimely deaths of 'The Day the Music Died' plane crash, who was the singer that wore glasses and sang songs such as 'Peggy Sue'?
A) The Big Bopper
B) Buddy Holly
C) Ritchie Valens
Buddy Holly
What was the first number 1 hit for the Supremes?
A) Baby Love
B) Stop! In the Name of Love
C) Where Did Our Love Go
Where Did Our Love Go
Half the fun of early rock-and-roll music was dancing to it, and soon songs began coming out that started brand-new dances. Probably the most famous--and also the first--was "The Twist," performed by who?
A) Chubby Checker
B) Frank Sinatra
C) Smokey Robinson
Chubby Checker
After the Beatles, almost any band from England became overnight sensations in the United States. What name did "the press" call this change?
A) The British Empire
B) The British Invasion
C) The Empire Strikes Back
The British Invasion
What record company was founded in 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, that went on to become the most famous record studio of the 1960s?
A) Atlantic Records
B) Motown Records
C) Sun Records
Motown Records
Of the 3 untimely deaths of 'The Day the Music Died' plane crash, who was the young singer who performed songs such as 'La Bamba'?
A) The Big Bopper
B) Buddy Holly
C) Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
True or False: The FBI launched an investigation into the 'hidden' meanings behind the lyrics of the song "Louie, Louie"?
A) True
B) False
True
The Beach Boys are credited with creating what type of music style and culture?
A) British Invasion
B) Southern Rock
C) Surf Culture
Surf Culture
Psychedelic or acid rock reflected the youth culture of the late 1960s who rejected war and violence and greed. What did this brand of youth culture call themselves?
A) Draft Dodgers
B) Hippies
C) Woke
Hippies
In those early days of rock, the only way to hear music if you were outdoors was to listen to it how?
A) All in your head
B) On a Boombox
C) On a Car Radio
On a Car Radio
Who is known as the "Godfather of Soul"?
A) Don Cornelius
B) James Brown
C) Stevie Wonder
James Brown
What was the first number 1 hit song for the Beach Boys?
A) California Girls
B) Surfer Girl
C) Surfin' U.S.A.
Surfin' U.S.A.
What style of music used some instruments like the pedal-steel guitar, mandolin, and fiddle? [Hint: they also wore very bad suits, and had big hair]
A) Country Rock
B) Mersey Beat
B) Folk Rock
Country Rock
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine put together a list of the "500 Greatest Rock Albums." Pet Sounds came in at number 2, what Beatles album was voted number 1?
A) A Hard Day's Night
B) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
C) The White Album
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Who founded Motown Records?
A) Barry Gordy
B) Jackie Wilson
C) Smokey Robinson
Barry Gordy
What group's music came out of Southern California, with its beaches and sunny skies?
A) The Beach Boys
B) The Four Seasons
C) The Mamas and the Papas
The Beach Boys
"Beatlemania" struck England on January 11, 1963, when what Beatles song was released as a single and became an instant hit?
A) Help
B) Please Please Me
C) She Loves You
Please Please Me
The members of the Beatles did not conform to the button-down style of American teenagers, what was the most shocking for the parents of the 1960s?
A) The Beatle Haircut
B) The Beatle Outfit
C) The Mersey Beat
The Beatle Haircut
In the United States, the center of acid rock was Haight-Ashbury, a run-down neighborhood in what part of California?
A) Los Angeles, California
B) Oakland, California
C) San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
What was another recording studio that competed with Motown Records? [Hint: it called itself "Soulsville USA," and its biggest star was Otis Redding]
A) Apple Records
B) Capitol Records
C) Stax Records
Stax Records
What British group is considered the band that launched the British Invasion?
A) The Beatles
B) The Rolling Stones
C) The Who
The Beatles
After Jailhouse Rock, what hit Elvis song became the name of successful Elvis movie? [Hint: He took a gamble]
A) Blue Hawaii
B) Kissing Cousin
C) Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
What was the name of the Beach Boys record that was considered the first 'concept' album?
A) Good Vibrations
B) Pet Sounds
C) Surfin' U.S.A.
Pet Sounds
The first major hippie music festival was held in 1967 in Monterey, California, where 30,000 fans filled the fairgrounds. What was this concert called?
A) American Bandstand
B) Monterey Pop
C) Woodstock
Monterey Pop
"LP" and "45" refers to what item important to the music companies?
A) Cassettes
B) Radios
C) Records
Records
Who was known as the "Queen of Soul"?
A) Aretha Franklin
B) Diana Ross
C) Dolly Parton
Aretha Franklin
After hiring a new lead singer David Ruffin, what became the Temptations first hit song?
A) Ain't Too Proud to Beg
B) Get Ready
C) My Girl
My Girl
At pretty much the same time that acid rock flourished, softer, sweeter music also became popular. What style of music used some tambourines, and harmonicas to make this new sound?
A) Country Rock
B) Folk Rock
C) Psychedelic Rock
Folk Rock
What rock festival, that took place in August 1969 in upstate New York, was advertised as "Three Days of Peace and Music"?
A) American Bandstand
B) Monterrey Pop
C) Woodstock
Woodstock. It drew 400,000 young people from all around the United States to see 32 music acts.
For many years, all music was recorded in "mono." What did they call it when the music was divided into two separate channels?
A) Dual
B) Fuller
C) Stereo
Stereo
Who took old folk songs, then added an electric guitar, some tambourines, and a harmonica to make a new sound?
A) Bob Dylan
B) The Byrds
C) The Mamas and the Papas
Bob Dylan
The commercial success of the Byrds' cover version of a Bob Dylan song, encouraged other folk acts, such as Simon & Garfunkel, to use electric backing on their records. What song created all of this influence?
A) For What It's Worth
B) Like a Rolling Stone
C) Mr. Tambourine Man
Mr. Tambourine Man
After the Beatles, what was the next huge band from the British Invasion?
A) Herman's Hermits
B) The Kinks
C) The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
Which famous guitar player was the last act at the Woodstock concert, who played a rock and roll version of The Star-Spangled Banner?
A) Eric Clapton
B) Jefferson Airplane
C) Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix