Murder on Music Row Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vicki Lawrence

Though Reba's version of the song may be more well known, Vicki Lawrence hit number one on Billboard Hot 100 after its release in 1972, 19 years before Reba's cover in 1991. Along with her music career, Vicki Lawrence is famous as a co-star on "The Carol Burnett Show" from 1967-1978, winning an Emmy in 1976 for "Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music" for her part in the variety show.

Answer: blows

"The Thunder Rolls," written by Garth Brooks and Pat Alger, netted Brooks the American Music Award for the Favorite Country Single in 1992, but also spawned an unusual controversy. In the original lyrics, a third verse is included revealing that not only is the husband unfaithful, but abusive to his wife, who kills him upon his return after seeing his mistress.

The verse was cut, but controversy arose when a music video for the song was released that alluded to the original third verse, but was pulled from Country Music Television. That didn't stop the video from being nominated for Best Music Video- Short Form at the 1991 Grammys.

Answer: Bobbie Gentry

"Ode to Billy Joe" generated a lot of speculation as to its meaning. While Billy Joe's death is straightforward, the second-to-last verse contains the lines: "He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge/
And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge," prompting many to wonder what the singer and Billy Joe were disposing of. According to Gentry, the fans' theories contained everything from flowers to an engagement ring to a bottle of LSD pills, but she never revealed exactly what it was.

Answer: Two Black Cadillacs

Though the song never explicitly reveals how the adulterous man meets his maker, it heavily implies that his wife and mistress somehow cause his death. When the man's wife decides to call the unknown number she finds on her husband's phone, she learns it's the phone number of his mistress. Both women are upset, but they overcome it to take revenge on the man who wronged them.

In the end, "they shared a crimson smile and just walked away, and left the secret at the grave."

Answer: Just to watch him die

"Folsom Prison Blues," recorded in 1955, was such a hit that it became one of Johnny Cash's signature songs, and he opened nearly every concert with his signature phrase, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" before launching into the tale of a regretful inmate of Fulsom Prison. In 1968, Cash actually performed the song for inmates at the titular Fulsom Prison.

Answer: Felina

As in many country songs, the narrator of "El Paso" falls under the spell of a beautiful woman. Unlike many country songs, his next course of action is to shoot a man he sees sharing a drink "with wicked Felina, the girl that I loved." He hightails it to escape punishment for the murder, but his love for Felina proves too strong, and he is shot by five cowboys when he eventually returns to the cantina.

But hey, Felina kisses him as he dies, so... he got what he wanted?

Answer: summer rain

Dolly Parton's "Jolene" was released in 1973, but has been sung by many artists over the years, with Parton citing it as the the most recorded song by other artists out of all of her original songs. In it, the singer fears her husband will leave her for the gorgeous Jolene, and she pleads with Jolene to stop seeing her man, as the singer could never love anyone else.

Answer: Sue

According to Sue's father in the song, he realized he wouldn't be around to see his son grow up or teach him to defend himself: "So I give ya that name and I said goodbye, I knew you'd have to get tough or die, and it's the name that helped to make you strong."
After a touching reunion with his father (after they beat the ever-living snot out of each other), Sue seems understand and come to terms with his name. And then yells, "I still hate that name!" as the song ends. Great stuff.

Answer: I'll love her 'til I die

In Brad Paisely and Alison Krauss's stirring song, we hear the story of a man rejected by a woman who then drinks himself to death, vowing that he'll always love her. When she learns of his death, the woman falls into alcoholism herself out of guilt over her part in his death, and she too succumbs to the pull of the whiskey.

When she is found, she is clutching his photograph, perhaps to express regret over the relationship, or lack thereof.

Answer: George Strait and Alan Jackson

The original version of "Murder on Music Row" came from bluegrass band Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time in 1999, but George Strait and Alan Jackson popularized it in 2000. Music Row is an actual place in Nashville, Tennessee, a hub of country music. The song also tips the cap to country artists Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, and George Jones, mentioning their nicknames in the lyrics.