Joyful Joe: Great Musicians Called Joe Quiz

Answer: Joe Walsh

There's not much Joe Walsh hasn't done, and always with a wry smile too. He's played with just about every big name in rock music, but also joined lesser known acts just for the hell of it, and it seems if an idea strikes him as fun, he'll want in.

He joined the James Gang in 1968, recorded three stonking albums with them, and then left to form Barnstorm in 1971. The weird thing about Barnstorm is that most people don't even realize they were a band, not Joe Walsh solo with a backing band (although that's how they were sold due to Walsh's reputation). Barnstorm made two cracking albums, the second one boasting their biggest hit, "Rocky Mountain Way". Then Joe Walsh made a real solo album, "So What" (1974), although Barnstorm members Joe Vitale and Kenny Passarelli were on it too! Confused? You will be...

His next solo outing was "But Seriously, Folks... " in 1978, by which time he'd been in and out of the Eagles, but all the other Eagles were on the album, as was our old mate Joe Vitale.

Joe Walsh went on to join bands in Australia and New Zealand, perform with Ringo Starr, Keith Emerson, and John Entwhistle, become Ringo Starr's brother in law, run for President of the USA, appear in films, and still have time to abuse drugs and alcohol.

Answer: The Clash

The Clash recorded six albums between 1977 and 1985, but their reputation amongst punks is really based on the first two, "The Clash" (1977) and "Give 'Em Enough Rope" (1978). After that came "London's Calling" in 1979 by which time they'd become just another rock band, a darn good one, but no longer a punk band. I mean, a punk double album? Get lost! Then they released "Sandinista!" that went on for days, "Combat Rock" that was punk for radio, and the universally slated "Cut The Crap", which only had half the original band on.

The Clash tend to divide punks. There are those who worship the band, and followed Strummer's every move after The Clash, however dire it was. Then there are others who begrudgingly have to admit that at their best, The Clash were a class act, and that their influence on punk rock bands-to-be was huge. What riles some people is that The Clash seemed somewhat fake, playing at revolution whilst living the rock star lifestyle. Furthermore, Strummer's public school education and privileged background were a little incongruous with his image and mockney accent.

Answer: Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker is a bogus Joe, his real name being John, but he certainly isn't a bogus performer. In fact, his eccentric stage presence and gravelly voice have won him fans across the globe, also thanks to the heaps of personality that comes through.

Oddly, he has only ever really done cover versions, right from his early days playing the working men's clubs in his native Yorkshire through to whirlwind international tours. During said tours, our Joe has played events like Woodstock (and other similar dos), taken an enormous, sprawling entourage (including three drummers!) right across America, been arrested and kicked out of Australia, and ended up using drink and drugs as a crutch due to the devastating work schedule such a life involves.

Answer: Manowar

According to heavy metal legend, Joey DeMaio met Ross The Boss backstage at a Black Sabbath gig in Newcastle, England, whilst he was working for the heavy metal legends and Ross was playing guitar in support band Shakin' Street. Back in New York they roped in Eric Adams to sing (or rather, wail) and The Rods' drummer Carl Canedy (soon replaced by Donnie Hamzik, in turn replaced by Scott Columbus) and set out to conquer the world.

The band are mocked by some for their Conan the Barbarian-esque look, the signing of record contracts in blood, the harping on about Vikings, and fighting the world. However, taken in the right spirit they are highly entertaining, and moreover, Manowar's musical prowess in undeniable, their work-ethic admirable and stamina incredible. Indeed, despite being hampered by record companies constantly letting them down and having to seek out new deals, the band have trudged on. They've held the record for being the loudest band ever, and also for the longest heavy metal performance ever when they played for over 5 hours in Bulgaria in 2001.

Answer: The Tornados

Joe Meek wasn't a real Joe at all, but was born Robert Meek in 1929 in Gloucestershire. By 1960 he was up in London and had already done bits of radio engineering, and experimented with compressing sounds and twiddling knobs nobody else knew what to do with, when he set up Triumph Records. He had a couple of reasonably successful records, but the label went bust. Next he set up his own studio in his flat in Holloway Road (London), and it's from there that the Joe Meek sound and legacy emerged.

However, things were less than rosy as Meek battled with drug use, had a dark interest in occultism, a morbid fascination with death (especially Buddy Holly's), and suffered from paranoia. The fact that he had to hide his homosexuality in a society with antediluvian laws didn't help. Despite his success (not just with "Telstar"), Meek lost it in early 1967, shot his landlady and then himself.

The song "Telstar" was a huge hit on both sides of the pond, quite a feat for an instrumental track. The Tornados were actually Billy Fury's backing band at the time. The brilliant spacey sound was all down to Joe, as he had picked the clavioline out as the beast needed to get just the right atmosphere. Joe later recorded a version with lyrics sung by Kenny Hollywood called "Magic Star", but it didn't work.

Answer: Formed The Joe Perry Project

In 1979 Aerosmith were falling apart at the seams, after years of huge success and equally huge substance abuse, it all went pear-shaped during the recording of "Night In The Ruts" when inflated egos clashed, and Joe Perry left.

He already had a lot of material, so he set up The Joe Perry Project and recorded "Let The Music Do The Talking". It sold reasonably well, but it wasn't Aerosmith and folk lost interest. The band recorded two more albums to ever decreasing fanfare, and Joe went back to Aerosmith.

The first album with the classic line-up back together was the highly underrated "Done With Mirrors" (1985), on which Aerosmith revamped The Joe Perry Project's best tune, "Let The Music Do The Talking". However, it wasn't until Aerosmith recorded the much more radio-friendly "Permanent Vacation" that they really hit the mainstream again, even overtaking their glory days of the 1970s in terms of sales, if not in terms of quality of material.

Answer: Run-D.M.C.

Joseph "Run" Simmons, also known as Reverend Run since becoming a Pentecostal minister, was one third of Run-DMC, the other two members being Darryl "D.M.C." Matthews McDaniels, and the late Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, who all grew up in Queens, New York.

The eponymous debut album came out in 1984 and there were already signs of a rock influence. The track "Rock Box" introduced the new style of hip hop to a new audience via its airing on MTV. Run-DMC's street-wise style appealed to people put off by the ostentatious theatrics of some earlier hip hop acts, and these new fans lapped it up.

"King Of Rock" was the next outing, followed by the album that broke Run DMC and rap into the mainstream, "Raising Hell". This was the album that featured the brilliant version of "Walk This Way", kick-starting Aerosmith's comeback, and launching a match of rap and rock that still bears fruit today.

Answer: Jeffry Hyman

That Jeffry ever became a rock star is something of an anomaly. He suffered from OCD before it was trendy, was last in line when good looks were being handed out, and wasn't endowed with what would traditionally be labeled talent, but luckily none of these things mattered once punk rock came along!

Actually, that's misleading as punk rock didn't come along for the Ramones, they practically invented it, and to the new blank generation fed up with pompous super-model-clad rock stars, Joey's geekiness and maladjusted persona was a breath of fresh air. Having said that, Joey Ramone was a helpless romantic, obsessed with the girl groups produced by Phil Spector, and he constantly hankered after that romance.

Never a well man, Jeffry died of Lymphoma in 2001.

The other choices: Adam Horovitz is Beastie Boy Ad-Rock, John Ritchie is Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, and Richard Starkey is Ringo Starr.

Answer: Rainbow

Joseph Linquito, aka Joe Lynn Turner, was spotted by Rainbow guitarist/leader Ritchie Blackmore when he (Joe) was singing in Fandango, who released four studio albums and clocked up a lot of gigs as a support band to established acts.

His first album with Rainbow was "Difficult To Cure", which produced the band's first hit single, "I Surrender", a continuation of the Graham Bonnet-era Rainbow's shift towards more accessible pop metal. The balance was spot on, and even hardened headbangers would sing along.

Next came "Straight Between The Eyes" which pandered to the lucrative American market too much, the downfall of many a European hard rock outfit who seem to misjudge American tastes and alienate European fans in one fell swoop. Only the single "Stone Cold" was fit to sit next to "I Surrender", or "Since You've Been Gone". After the hideous "Bent Out Of Shape" album, Rainbow split up.

Our Joe joined Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force (who sounded more like Rainbow than Rainbow) for the brilliant album "Odyssey". Then Joe joined Deep Purple for the "Slaves And Masters" album. Since then he's been keeping himself busy playing with everybody, including Ritchie Blackmore's son, as well as pursuing a solo career.

Answer: Louis Armstrong

Louisianan Joe Oliver was born in 1885, and ended up in New Orleans as a youth where he eventually led a hugely popular jazz band with Kid Ory from about 1910. When he went north, he took the upcoming talent Louis Armstrong and his wife-to-be Lily Hardin with him, and reigned the clubs like the king he was. His major contribution to the development of jazz cornet playing was his use of mutes, a technique later employed by Louis Armstrong, who'd learnt it from King Oliver.

Joe's end was less glamorous. Never the astute businessman, he lost the money he had made (he was fleeced throughout his career), and ended up penniless and alone in Georgia, where he died in 1938.

Louis, who called him Papa Joe, always recognized the help he'd been given and frequently said that they'd have been no Satchmo had there never been a Joe "King" Oliver.