1930s-1940s
Which iconic American singer, known as “The Voice,” got his big break in the 1930s with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey orchestras?
A) Bing Crosby
B) Louis Armstrong
C) Frank Sinatra
D) Dean Martin
Frank Sinatra
Which singer was known as "The King of Rock and Roll" and rose to fame in the mid-1950s with hits like “Heartbreak Hotel”?
A) Chuck Berry
B) Buddy Holly
C) Elvis Presley
D) Jerry Lee Lewis
Elvis Presley
Which Swedish pop group became internationally famous after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with “Waterloo”?
A) ABBA
B) Bee Gees
C) Fleetwood Mac
D) Boney M
ABBA
Which Seattle-based band helped bring grunge music into the mainstream with their 1991 album Nevermind?
A) Soundgarden
B) Nirvana
C) Pearl Jam
D) Alice in Chains
Nirvana
Which song by Olivia Rodrigo, released in 2021, broke multiple streaming records and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
A) “good 4 u”
B) “drivers license”
C) “traitor”
D) “deja vu”
“drivers license”
What was the title of Bing Crosby’s 1942 hit that became the best-selling single of all time for decades?
A) “Silent Night”
B) “White Christmas”
C) “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
D) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
“White Christmas”
What 1967 song by Aretha Franklin became an anthem for the civil rights and feminist movements?
A) “Natural Woman”
B) “Chain of Fools”
C) “Think”
D) “Respect”
“Respect”
Which artist released the groundbreaking album Thriller in 1982, which became the best-selling album of all time?
A) Prince
B) Lionel Richie
C) Michael Jackson
D) George Michael
Michael Jackson
Which teen pop star released the 1999 hit “…Baby One More Time”?
A) Christina Aguilera
B) Britney Spears
C) Jessica Simpson
D) Mandy Moore
Britney Spears
Which artist won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2016 for their album 1989?
A) Taylor Swift
B) Adele
C) Kendrick Lamar
D) Beyoncé
Taylor Swift
What famous 1930s song, first performed by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939), went on to become one of the most enduring standards in American music?
A) “Moon River”
B) “As Time Goes By”
C) “Over the Rainbow”
D) “My Funny Valentine”
“Over the Rainbow”
Which female singer had a major hit in 1957 with “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)”?
A) Doris Day
B) Connie Francis
C) Patti Page
D) Peggy Lee
Doris Day
Which song by Queen, released in 1975, became one of the most iconic rock anthems of all time?
A) “Don’t Stop Me Now”
B) “Bohemian Rhapsody”
C) “We Will Rock You”
D) “Somebody to Love”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
What 1996 hit by the Spice Girls became a global pop phenomenon with the famous lyric “If you wanna be my lover…”?
A) “Say You’ll Be There”
B) “Stop”
C) “Wannabe”
D) “Spice Up Your Life”
“Wannabe”
What 2023 song by Miley Cyrus broke Spotify’s record for the most-streamed song in a single week at the time of its release?
A) “Prisoner”
B) “Midnight Sky”
C) “Jaded”
D) “Flowers”
“Flowers”
Which jazz musician is credited with pioneering bebop in the 1940s alongside Charlie Parker?
A) Louis Armstrong
B) Benny Goodman
C) Dizzy Gillespie
D) Glenn Miller
Dizzy Gillespie
What was the name of the 1969 music festival that became a symbol of 1960s counterculture and featured artists like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin?
A) Monterey Pop Festival
B) Isle of Wight Festival
C) Woodstock
D) Altamont
Woodstock
Which 1984 song by Prince was featured in the movie Purple Rain and became one of his signature tracks?
A) “Let’s Go Crazy”
B) “Kiss”
C) “When Doves Cry”
D) “1999”
“When Doves Cry”
What 2004 song by Usher (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris) became one of the decade’s biggest club anthems?
A) “Confessions Part II”
B) “Yeah!”
C) “My Boo”
D) “U Got It Bad”
“Yeah!”
What was Billie Eilish’s breakthrough single released in 2015?
A) "Ocean Eyes"
B) "Bad Guy"
C) "Bury a Friend"
D) "When the Party’s Over"
"Ocean Eyes"
Which 1935 song by George Gershwin became a staple of American opera and introduced elements of jazz into classical music?
A) “Rhapsody in Blue”
B) “It Ain’t Necessarily So”
C) “Embraceable You”
D) “Summertime”
“Summertime”
Which doo-wop group had a 1954 hit with “Earth Angel”?
A) The Platters
B) The Penguins
C) The Drifters
D) The Coasters
The Penguins
What 1971 song by John Lennon expresses a vision of world peace and became an enduring anthem for peace movements?
A) “Give Peace a Chance”
B) “Imagine”
C) “Instant Karma!”
D) “Working Class Hero”
“Imagine”
Which pop-punk band found massive success with the 2000 hit “All the Small Things”?
A) Sum 41
B) Good Charlotte
C) Green Day
D) Blink-182
Blink-182
Which K-pop group became the first Asian act to be nominated for Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards in 2021?
A) BLACKPINK
B) EXO
C) BTS
D) SEVENTEEN
BTS