Music History & Records

22 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1. 1.Which record label did Berry Gordy found in Detroit in 1959?

   • A. Motown
   • B. Atlantic
   • C. Stax
   • D. Chess
   Show answer

   Motown

   Did you know? Motown's studio was nicknamed Hitsville U.S.A.

2. 2.How many strings does a standard violin have?

   • A. Five
   • B. Four
   • C. Six
   • D. Seven
   Show answer

   Four

   Did you know? The violin's strings are tuned in perfect fifths.

3. 3.In which year did the Woodstock festival take place?

   • A. 1965
   • B. 1971
   • C. 1969
   • D. 1967
   Show answer

   1969

   Did you know? Woodstock drew an audience of hundreds of thousands in upstate New York.

4. 4.In which US state is the Grand Ole Opry based?

   • A. Kentucky
   • B. Tennessee
   • C. Georgia
   • D. Alabama
   Show answer

   Tennessee

   Did you know? The Grand Ole Opry is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history.

5. 5.In which New York borough did hip-hop culture begin?

   • A. Queens
   • B. The Bronx
   • C. Harlem
   • D. Brooklyn
   Show answer

   The Bronx

   Did you know? DJ Kool Herc's Bronx block parties are credited with the genre's birth.

6. 6.In which city is the famous Abbey Road crossing?

   • A. Manchester
   • B. London
   • C. Liverpool
   • D. Dublin
   Show answer

   London

   Did you know? The crossing remains a protected listed site today.

7. 7.Which festival took place in 1969 on a New York dairy farm?

   • A. Monterey Pop
   • B. Altamont
   • C. Woodstock
   • D. Isle of Wight
   Show answer

   Woodstock

   Did you know? The Woodstock site was a dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur.

8. 8.How many keys does a standard full-size piano have?

   • A. 100
   • B. 92
   • C. 76
   • D. 88
   Show answer

   88

   Did you know? The piano's 88 keys span more than seven octaves.

9. 9.Which US city is nicknamed Music City?

   • A. New Orleans
   • B. Nashville
   • C. Austin
   • D. Memphis
   Show answer

   Nashville

   Did you know? Nashville's nickname spread from its gospel and country publishing scene.

10. 10.Which stadium hosted Live Aid's London concert in 1985?

    • A. Hampden Park
    • B. Windsor Park
    • C. Wembley Stadium
    • D. Madison Square Garden
    Show answer

    Wembley Stadium

    Did you know? Live Aid ran simultaneously in London and Philadelphia.

11. 11.In which US city were Motown's records recorded?

    • A. Chicago
    • B. Detroit
    • C. Memphis
    • D. New Orleans
    Show answer

    Detroit

    Did you know? Motown's studio at 2648 West Grand Boulevard was called Hitsville U.S.A.

12. 12.Which Austrian city hosts a world-famous summer music festival?

    • A. Vienna
    • B. Innsbruck
    • C. Salzburg
    • D. Graz
    Show answer

    Salzburg

    Did you know? The Salzburg Festival began in 1920 with Hugo von Hofmannsthal's play.

13. 13.In what year did the MTV music channel begin broadcasting?

    • A. 1981
    • B. 1979
    • C. 1985
    • D. 1983
    Show answer

    1981

    Did you know? MTV's first aired video was The Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star.

14. 14.Despite its brass body, which instrument family does the saxophone belong to?

    • A. The string family
    • B. The woodwind family
    • C. The brass family
    • D. The percussion family
    Show answer

    The woodwind family

    Did you know? The saxophone's mouthpiece uses a single reed like a clarinet's.

15. 15.Which New York club is credited as the birthplace of punk?

    • A. Studio 54
    • B. The Troubadour
    • C. CBGB
    • D. The Whisky a Go Go
    Show answer

    CBGB

    Did you know? CBGB stood on the Bowery until it closed in 2006.

16. 16.Which Memphis label released Elvis Presley's first singles?

    • A. Stax
    • B. Hi Records
    • C. American Sound
    • D. Sun Records
    Show answer

    Sun Records

    Did you know? Sun Records founder Sam Phillips also launched Howlin' Wolf's career.

17. 17.Which annual awards show hands out golden gramophone trophies?

    • A. The Academy Awards
    • B. The Billboard Music Awards
    • C. The Grammy Awards
    • D. The BRIT Awards
    Show answer

    The Grammy Awards

    Did you know? The Grammy trophy is a gilded gramophone designed in the 1950s.

18. 18.Which annual British prize honors the year's best album with a Roman god's name?

    • A. The Turner Prize
    • B. The Mercury Prize
    • C. The Q Awards
    • D. The Ivor Novello Awards
    Show answer

    The Mercury Prize

    Did you know? The Mercury Prize is open to UK and Irish artists.

19. 19.In which year did the Beatles make their landmark US television debut?

    • A. 1964
    • B. 1962
    • C. 1968
    • D. 1966
    Show answer

    1964

    Did you know? The Ed Sullivan Show drew a then-record US television audience.

20. 20.In which country did ABBA win the Eurovision contest?

    • A. Sweden
    • B. Ireland
    • C. The United Kingdom
    • D. France
    Show answer

    The United Kingdom

    Did you know? The 1974 Eurovision final was held in Brighton.

21. 21.Which Liverpool airport is named after a Beatles member?

    • A. Mersey Harrison Airport
    • B. Cavern Airport
    • C. Liverpool McCartney Airport
    • D. Liverpool John Lennon Airport
    Show answer

    Liverpool John Lennon Airport

    Did you know? The airport's motto borrows a line from the song Imagine.

22. 22.In which modern Tanzanian archipelago was Freddie Mercury born?

    • A. Seychelles
    • B. Mombasa
    • C. Madagascar
    • D. Zanzibar
    Show answer

    Zanzibar

    Did you know? Mercury moved to England with his family as a teenager.

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