Music quiz questions
Who wrote "Don't Be Cruel"?
Otis Blackwell
New York's Studio 54 was most associated with which musical style?
Disco
Which West Coast hip hop group was one of the first associated with "gansta rap"?
N.W.A
In what city was Motown Records originally based?
Detroit
Who was the New York based producer who helped move Run-D.M.C and The Beastie Boys into the mainstream?
Rick Rubin
Which record company did Elvis first record for in Memphis?
Sun Records
Which term is used by historians to refer to the movement of many African Americans from the rural South to the urban North throughout the twentieth century?
The Great Migration
Which band shifted their style from country music to rock n' roll to take advantage of its rising popularity?
Bill Haley and the Comets
Who was the primary singer and songwriter for Nirvana?
Kurt Cobain
According to the lecture, "Respect" may have been influence by which of the following?
Second-Wave Feminism
Dolly Parton got her start on which television program?
The Porter Wagoner Show
Rappers in early hip hop were called what?
MCs
Which movie helped popularize disco with mainstream audiences in the late 1970s?
Saturday Night Fever
Who composed the music for "St. Louis Blues"?
W.C. Handy
What formal structure is "Taking a Chance on Love" based on?
aaba
What term best describes "Hotel California" and The Eagles later music in general?
album-oriented rock
What is the name of a song that tells a story?
ballad
"Formation" draws heavily on which subgenre of hip hop music?
bounce
According to the lecture, James Brown's music was unique for its:
focus on rhythm and groove over harmony
How was "Stagolee" originally distributed?
oral tradition
Who played the trumpet solo on "East St. Louis Toodle-oo"?
Bubber Miley
Early 1990s West Coast hip hop was often called what?
G-funk
Who composed the music for "I Got Rhythm"?
George Gershwin
Rock n' roll lyrics typically:
Included topics that appealed to teenagers
Who was the arranger of our version of "Taking a Chance on Love"?
Fletcher Henderson
What is Chuck Berry's primary instrument?
Electric guitar
Who is the singer that recorded our version of "I Got Rhythm"?
Ethel Merman
Which term best describes "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"?
soul
Which element of music describes the distinct quality of a sound?
timbre
What is the name of the formal structure shared by "St. Louis Blues" and "Cross Road Blues"?
12-bar blues
Beyoncé got her start in which vocal group in the 1990s?
Destiny's Child
What was the name of the style of alternative rock associated with Nirvana and bands from the Pacific North West in the early 1990s?
grunge
Which musical texture describes melody plus accompaniment?
homophonic
What period of music history is broadly referred to as "The Swing Era"?
mid-1930s to mid-1940s
"Don't be Cruel" is based mostly on which formal structure?
strophic
What is the formal structure of "Stagolee"?
strophic
Who wrote "Respect"?
Otis Redding
What term best describes Helen Forrest's vocal style on "Taking a Chance on Love"?
crooning
Early "hillbilly music" star Jimmie Rodgers helped popularize what musical technique?
yodeling
Who founded Motown Records?
Berry Gordy
How was "After the Ball" originally distributed?
sheet music
Which best describes the lyrics of "Hound Dog"?
they feature sexual innuendo
"The Great Speckled Bird" shares which of the following with "Cross Road Blues"?
use of slide guitar
Who produced "Willow"?
Aaron Dessner
What term refers to a song that becomes popular outside its original audience?
Crossover song
Which artist discussed in class was representative of mainstream Nashville country music in the 1970s?
Dolly Parton
Which producer helped to create and popularize West Coast hip hop in the early 90s?
Dr. Dre
DJs in early hip hop most often used these kinds of records to build their music:
Funk and disco
Who wrote "You Can't Hurry Love"?
Holland-Dozier-Holland
What unusual (for the time) musical trait was shared by "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Hotel California"?
Their length
What is the name of the music publishing industry that arose in New York City in the late nineteenth century?
Tin Pan Alley
What 2015 album brought Kendrick Lamar widespread critical acclaim?
To Pimp A Butterfly
Taylor Swift began her career in which musical style?
pop country
Robert Johnson used which of following techniques in "Cross Road Blues"?
slide guitar
The lyrics of "Hotel California" can be interpreted as representing what?
A disillusionment with the ideals of the 1960s
"Walk This Way" was originally written and performed in the 1970s by whom?
Aerosmith
Which DJ helped introduce rock n' roll to audiences over the radio?
Alan Freed
The lyrics of "Who Am I (What's My Name)" draw heavily on:
Local slang and local refernces
Disco songs often feature:
Repeating instrumental layers
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is mostly features:
Willie Nelson's vocals and acoustic guitar
The lyrics for "Formation" describe which of the following?
Beyoncé's pride in her Southern heritage
Which New Orleans artist is featured on "Formation"?
Big Freedia
What term refers to new songs modeled after older folk styles in the 1960s?
Urban Folk Music
Which of the following is not a musical feature of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?
clear, clean timbres, distorted vocals, a relatively accessible musical style, verse chorus form
Which musical style best describes "Cross Road Blues"?
country blues
The Eagles began their career performing what style of music?
country rock
Which term did record companies use to refer to recordings by rural white Southerners in the 1920s?
hillbilly records
Taylor Swift's 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore draw heavily on which musical style?
indie folk
According to our class discussion, what was likely the primary cause of "Beat It's" unprecedented popularity?
the song appealed to fans of several styles of popular music
"After the Ball" was modeled on which old-fashioned musical style?
waltz
What term was used by the record industry to refer to "hillbilly music" after 1949?
Country and Western
Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys were both signed to which record label?
Def Jam Records
What term was used by the record industry to refer to "race music" after 1949?
Rhythm and Blues
Which element of music describes specific frequencies, or the highness and lowness of a musical sound?
pitch
What studio effect helped give Elvis his signature sound?
reverb (echo)
What were the two most popular styles of pop music in the 1970s?
rock and disco
Which guitarist/producer was the cofounder of the disco group Chic?
Nile Rodgers
The lyrics to "The Great Speckled Bird" are based on what?
a passage from the Bible
What is the name of the section at the end of a song, drawn from Gospel music, in which a singer improvises over a repeated chord progression?
vamp
In the mid-1950s, most popular music was marketed to Americans based on which social category?
Generation (age)
1960s soul music combined elements of popular music with which of the following?
Gospel Music
Who wrote "Hound Dog"?
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Who produced "DNA."?
Mike Will Made It
The 1960s saw the increased use of ____________________ in recordings, including with our two focus songs this week.
Studio musicians
How did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the production of "Willow"?
Swift and her producer collaborated remotely via the internet
The lyrics of "The Message" describes:
The difficulty of life in poor urban areas
What is the name for the style of hip hop music that emerged in New Orleans in the 1990s and became nationally popular?
bounce
Alternative rock in the 1990s continued the traditions of which 1970s musical style?
punk rock
Hip-Hop music first developed as a style of dance music in the late 1970s in which neighborhood?
The Bronx
What was the name of the Harlem nightclub where Duke Ellington's band became established?
The Cotton Club
Kendrick Lamar is associated with which location?
West Coast
"You Can't Hurry Love" and "Good Vibrations" are both unique with regards to their ______________________; the former uses this to delay the gratification of the chorus, while the latter has sections that are seemingly unrelated to each other.
form
Both Aretha Franklin's and James Brown's style were heavily shaped by:
performing Gospel music in their youth
What label was often applied to Willie Nelson's brand of country music?
Outlaw Country
"Good Vibrations" used which unusual instrument?
The electro-theremin
Which term best describes the interaction between Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong in "St. Louis Blues"?
call and response
Who produced "Formation"?
Mike Will Made It
What is the formal Structure of "After the Ball"?
verse-chorus
What is the formal structure of "I Got Rhythm"?
verse-refrain
Producers typically are not usually involved which one of the following?
Performing on recordings
The Beastie Boys first performed what style of music before switching to hip hop?
punk rock
Which term did record companies use to refer to recordings by African American musicians that were marketed towards African American listeners in the 1920s?
race records
Which medium most likely led to the popularity of Benny Goodman and more broadly, swing music?
radio
The music of RUN-D.M.C and the Beastie Boys is often described as:
rap rock
Which element of music describes how music unfolds over time?
rhythm
Which musical style best describes "St. Louis Blues"?
Classic Blues
Gangsta rap went from the fringe of the music industry to the mainstream during this decade:
1990s
What caused many of Bob Dylan's fans to feel alienated after his 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance?
His embrace of rock and electric instruments
"Formation" makes several musical references to the music and culture of which city?
New Orleans