Music: Rock 'N' Roll: 1950s and 1960s

1
1950s

2
Performers

3
Songs

4
Styles

5
1960s

100

In what decade did Rock 'N' Roll begin?

A) 1940s

B) 1950s

C) 1960s

1950s

100

Who was known as the "King of Rock and Roll"?

A) Elvis Presley

B) Frank Sinatra

C) Michael Jackson

Elvis Presley

100

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

100

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

100

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

200

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

200

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

200

What was Elvis Presley's first hit song?

A) Blue Suede Shoes

B) Jailhouse Rock

C) That's All Right

That's All Right

200

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

200

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

300

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

300

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

300

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

300

What music style is a mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music?

A) Bluegrass Music

B) Country Music

C) Rockabilly Music

Rockabilly Music

300

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

400

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.

400

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

400

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

400

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

400

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

500

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

500

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

500

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

500

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

500

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

600

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

600

Who is known as the "Godfather of Soul"?

A) Don Cornelius

B) James Brown

C) Stevie Wonder

James Brown

600

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.

600

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

600

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

700

Who founded Motown Records?

A) Barry Gordy

B) Jackie Wilson

C) Smokey Robinson

Barry Gordy

700

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

700

"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

700

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

700

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

800

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

800

What British group is considered the band that launched the British Invasion?

A) The Beatles

B) The Rolling Stones

C) The Who

The Beatles

800

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

800

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

800

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

900

"LP" and "45" refers to what item important to the music companies?

A) Cassettes

B) Radios

C) Records

Records

900

Who was known as the "Queen of Soul"?

A) Aretha Franklin

B) Diana Ross

C) Dolly Parton

Aretha Franklin

900

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

900

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

900

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.

1000

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

1000

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

1000

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