Music History Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 384
Which record producer is known for his 'Wall of Sound' technique and made a return with the 1991 compilation 'Back to Mono'?
Easy
Click to reveal answer
phil spector
Which group's 1966 hit 'Barbara Ann' featured Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean on vocals?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
beach boys
What Hawaiian instrument traces its origins to the Portuguese machete?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
ukulele
Which group's 1995 album 'Pulse' includes a live performance of all the songs from 'Dark Side of the Moon'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
pink floyd
In 1996, Wayne Shorter and Dave Brubeck performed at Vienna's festival dedicated to which genre of music?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
jazz
What band's name was inspired by their gym teacher, Leonard Skinner, who disliked their long hair?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
lynyrd skynyrd
Who had their first Top 40 hit in 1963 with the song 'Danke Schoen' and reached No. 13 on the charts?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
wayne newton
Under what name did the singers Rob and Fab used to perform before they had to give it back?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
milli vanilli
Who formed the successful duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgely in 1982?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
george michael
What jazz pianist was the subject of the 1966 biography titled 'Ain't Misbehavin'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
fats waller
Which singer performed a concert titled 'Lady Sings the Blues' at Carnegie Hall on November 10, 1956?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
billie holiday
Who had the No. 1 album in 1971 titled 'Tapestry'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
carole king
Which heavy metal band from the 1970s included members Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
black sabbath
What was the name of the singer who was born Holly Michelle Gilliam and married John Phillips before becoming a member of The Mamas & the Papas?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
michelle phillips
Which bluesman, known for his howling vocals, was born Chester Burnett?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
howlin' wolf
Which late composer's birthday gala in 1991 featured a performance of 'At Long Last Love' by Bobby Short?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
cole porter
What husband and wife singers had their first hit in 1975 with 'Love Will Keep Us Together', a song written by Neil Sedaka?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
captain & tennille
On the cover of their 1969 album, which road are the Beatles shown crossing outside the recording studio?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
abbey road
Which former leader of CCR was acquitted of plagiarizing himself in November 1988?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
john fogerty
Who became the first U.S.-born conductor to head the New York Philharmonic in the late 1950s?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
leonard bernstein
Which 'Island Girl' singer, also a notable white crossover artist, was featured on 'Soul Train' alongside David Bowie?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
elton john
Which group had its last top-20 hit in 1971 with the song 'Riders On the Storm'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
doors
Which group's hit song 'Night Fever' topped the charts for 8 weeks in 1978, the longest of any single that year?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
bee gees
What method of wordless singing, involving a switch from a regular to a falsetto voice, originated in the Alps?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
yodeling
Who is the musical satirist that founded the Mothers of Invention in 1964?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
frank zappa
In the early '60s, which last name did Darlene Wright adopt, which she often sang about?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
love
Which singer became Bruce Springsteen's wife in 1991?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
patti scialfa
Who was named Conductor Laureate for life of the New York Philharmonic in 1969?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
leonard bernstein
What group recorded their first No. 1 hit, 'Cherish', in a garage that had been converted to a studio during the 1960s?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
association
What name did Sarah McLachlan give to a 1997 rock tour, inspired by a woman in Hebrew legend?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
lilith fair
Which 1998 Alanis Morissette album matched Boston's 'Boston' as the best-selling debut album ever?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
jagged little pill
Which singer is said to have written the song 'You're So Vain' about her ex-love Warren Beatty?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
carly simon
Which big band leader is honored with a festival each June in Clarinda, Iowa where the town gets 'In The Mood'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
glenn miller
Which band featuring Eddie Vedder headlined the 1992 Lollapalooza tour?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
pearl jam
Which artist topped the charts in 1991 with a cover of Percy Sledge's 'When A Man Loves A Woman'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
michael bolton
Which punk rocker died before being tried for the 1978 murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
sid vicious
In which city did Jefferson Airplane's songs fill the air during the 1967 'Summer of Love'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
san francisco
Which composer, nicknamed 'Papa,' worked under the patronage of the Esterhazy princes from 1761 to 1802?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
joseph haydn
Which music group, that included Lionel Richie, originally formed at Tuskegee University?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
commodores
What singer, whose last name is the same as that of a U.S. president, is known for the song '16 Tons'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
tennessee ernie ford
In a 1961 record, Johnny Cash referred to which stringed musical instrument as a 'Tennessee flat-top box'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
guitar
In 1907, Hungarian composer Bela Bartok was appointed professor of piano at the academy of music in the capital of which country?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
budapest
Which singer's song 'Maybellene' gave D.J. Alan Freed partial composer credit?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
chuck berry
Which singer, born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1912, originally had the first name Pierino?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
perry como
Which reggae star originally wrote and recorded the song 'I Shot The Sheriff' before it became a hit for Eric Clapton?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
bob marley
Who made his first solo tour of the U.S. in 1988 and became a smash success?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
george michael
Which dance, evolving from the landler, was among the first to have music composed for it by Josef Lanner?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
waltz
Which singer-composer known for the song 'Short People' premiered a musical about Faust in 1995?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
randy newman
Which band released the albums 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' and 'Touch'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
eurythmics
Which composer, who dreamed of Jeanie, is honored by the annual Jeanie festival in White Springs, Florida?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
stephen foster
During the Renaissance, from which country did the guitar-shaped instrument called the vihuela originate?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
spain
Which classical composer faced an audience's hisses at the 1904 La Scala premiere of 'Madama Butterfly'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
giacomo puccini
Who became the lead vocalist of the Beach Boys in 1961?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
mike love
Who performed the biggest 1980s hit 'Love On The Rocks' from 'The Jazz Singer' soundtrack?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
neil diamond
Who was the drummer for The Who that passed away on September 7, 1978?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
keith moon
Which group's 'Vs.' album debuted at No. 1 in October 1993 with sales of 950,000 copies?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
pearl jam
What song did George Harrison say was inspired by 'O Happy Day', but others suggest it was inspired by 'He's So Fine'?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
my sweet lord
Which duo achieved their first hit with the 1957 song 'Bye Bye Love' instead of experiencing loneliness?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
everly brothers
Which Motown trio did Cindy Birdsong join in 1967 after singing with Patti LaBelle's Blue Belles?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
supremes
Which band had their first Top 10 hit with the song 'One' in 1969?
Medium
Click to reveal answer
three dog night