Stage Names
This “Candle in the Wind” singer was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight.
Who is Sir Elton John? His stage name is a tribute to members of the band Bluesology.
On August 18, 1971, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site opened in this U.S. state.
What is Illinois? The Springfield home is now open to the public year-round.
On April 12, 1981, this organization launched its first space shuttle mission.
What is NASA? The first Space Transportation System carried astronaut John Young and navy test pilot Robert Crippen.
Recorded the hit tune “Chances Are
Who is Johnny Mathis? Mathis recorded “Chances Are” in 1957. It was included on his album Johnny’s Greatest Hits, his second record to sell more than one million copies.
In February 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared this California landmark one of the Seven Wonders of the United States.
What is the Golden Gate Bridge? Other “Wonders” designated that year were the Hoover Dam and the Kennedy Space Center.
Their free concert in Hyde Park on the night of September 18, 1976, included the hits “Keep Yourself Alive” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
What is Queen? An estimated 200,000 people turned out to enjoy the 80-minute concert.
This Ghost and Sister Act actress was born Caryn Elaine Johnson.
Who is Whoopi Goldberg? She has said her first name is a nod to the whoopee cushion.
In 1978, the Redwood National Park Expansion Act was passed to protect redwood trees in this state.
What is California? Logging and other land use near the park threatened the giant trees, so the act helped protect more of the redwood forests.
Introduced to the tech world in 1982, this would quickly gain popularity and become the preferred alternative to floppy disks.
What is the CD or CD-ROM? CDs had a larger storage capacity (680 megabytes) than floppy disks (1.4 megabytes).
Recorded the hits “Danny’s Song” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”
Who are Loggins and Messina? Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina were a pop duo who had a few hit songs in the 1970s. They separated to start their own careers in 1976. Kenny Loggins went on to have a very successful solo career.
In October 1992, this system was proclaimed to be complete with the opening of I-70 in Colorado.
What is the Interstate Highway System? The longest interstate highway is I-90, which runs 3,000 miles from Seattle to Boston.
In 1972, David Bowie began touring the UK as this alter ego, accompanied by his backup band, the Spiders from Mars.
Who is Ziggy Stardust? The tour and album are considered the musician’s great breakthrough.
This basketballer was born Earvin Johnson Jr.
Who is Magic Johnson? He earned his nickname in high school for his seemingly magical sports prowess.
The Pu`ukoholā Heiau (POO-ko-HO-la HAY-o) National Historic Site was opened here in August 1972.
What is Hawai’i? Heiau is a Hawai’ian word meaning “a temple.”
Handheld communicators from the Star Trek universe are often credited with inspiring this ’80s invention.
What is the mobile phone (or cell phone)? Digital cell phones came into being with early models like the Motorola DynaTAC, which weighed over a kilogram.
Recorded “Sara Smile” and “Rich Girl”
Who are Hall and Oates? Pop artists Daryl Hall and John Oates had the most success from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a 17.6-mile bridge and tunnel complex located in this U.S. state.
What is Virginia? Construction of the bridge-tunnel was completed in 1964 and has been recognized by the ASCE as an “Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement.”
On April 21, 1990, fans in this nation rocked out with Paul McCartney in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, breaking the world attendance record in the process.
What is Brazil? The record-setting show was almost canceled due to rain and flooding, but McCartney reportedly insisted the rains would stop—and he was right!
Born Eric Marlon Bishop, he took his stage name from a comedian and star of Sanford and Son.
Who is Jamie Foxx? Inspired by comic Redd Foxx, he took on an androgynous stage name while doing stand-up comedy.
Opened on October 27, 1972, this California recreation area shares its name with a landmark bridge.
What is the Golden Gate? The recreation area was created from military, private, and public lands in the San Francisco Bay area.
In 1981, the F-117 Nighthawk was introduced by Lockheed; it was this type of radar-resistant craft.
What is an airplane? With its first flight on June 18, the F-117 became the world’s first stealth aircraft and changed military history.
Recorded “Ride My See-Saw” and “Nights in White Satin”
What is the Moody Blues? The band experienced commercial success and critical acclaim during the late 1960s and 1970s. The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
After an older bridge partially collapsed in 1980, this structure was built over Tampa Bay in 1987 and stretches over six kilometers.
What is the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge? The new structure was named after Bob Graham, a former governor and U.S. senator from Florida.
It wasn’t just an album title. For their 1980 tour, this band insisted on creating an actual brick “wall” on stage and playing from behind it.
What is Pink Floyd? The tour to promote their album The Wall included complex logistics of building a wall in front of the band as they played.
The country artist who sings “Wild One,” she was born Audrey Faith Perry.
Who is Faith Hill? The song was her first single and reached No. 1 on the country music charts for four weeks.
Opened on July 4, 1976, this Pennsylvania National Historical Park was the site of George Washington’s winter encampment from 1777 to 1778.
What is Valley Forge? The designation as a historical park came on the bicentennial of the American Revolution.
This Microsoft disk operating system was released in 1981 and was designed to work on IBM computers.
What is MS-DOS? It became the most prevalent operating system for PCs in the ’80s and helped launch Microsoft as a tech giant.
Recorded “Come Monday” and “Son of a Son of a Sailor”
Who is Jimmy Buffett? Buffett, the legendary troubadour of the laid-back lifestyle, created not only a musical empire but an entire “Margaritaville” state of mind, where time seems to slow down and every day feels like a beachside vacation. His death in 2023 saddened his fans, known as “Parrotheads.”
In 1990, Congress passed an act recognizing that this route had “become a symbol of the American people’s heritage of travel and their legacy of seeking a better life.”
What is Route 66? The act called for a study of the route by the National Park Service, including options for preserving the historic roadway.
On September 10, 1970, this blues artist played at Cook County Jail with songs like “Worry, Worry” and “The Thrill Is Gone.”
Who is B. B. King? The performance inspired King to co-found the Foundation for the Advancement of Inmate Rehabilitation and Recreation.
Film director of such works as Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing, he was born Shelton Jackson Lee.
Who is Spike Lee? He began studying film while a student at Morehouse College.
Andersonville National Historic Site opened in 1970 in this state, commemorating the deadliest ground of the American Civil War.
What is Georgia? The park is also home to Andersonville National Cemetery and the National Prisoner of War Museum.
This 1981 invention, abbreviated STM, can be used to view high-resolution images at the atomic scale.
What is the scanning tunneling microscope? Inventors Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer were awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on the microscope.
Recorded “A Teenager in Love” and “In the Still of the Night”
Who are Dion and the Belmonts? They named their group after the street where they all lived in the Bronx, New York.
In 1977, the New River Gorge Bridge was completed in this state; at the time it set records as the world’s longest single-span arch bridge.
What is West Virginia? It is featured on the West Virginia state quarter due to its significance.
Just in time for Halloween, this Ozzy Osbourne-fronted heavy metal band played their first U.S. show on October 30, 1970.
What is Black Sabbath? Although known for heavy metal and rock, the band started out playing blues music and was originally called Earth.