Musical Allusion Quiz | Something in Common

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In Derek and the Dominos "Layla," Eric Clapton sings: I tried to give you consolation When your old man had let you down. Like a fool, I fell in love with you, Turned my whole world upside down. Who is her "old man"?

Answer: George Harrison

Clapton was secretly in love with Pattie Boyd who at the time was married to his friend George Harrison of the Beatles. So he wrote "Layla" for her. In 1977 Boyd divorced Harrison and in 1979 she married Clapton--with Harrison in attendance!

However, the hunt was better than the kill, so to speak, and the Clapton/Boyd marriage ended in divorce in 1988.

2. In the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Sweet Home Alabama," the group sings: Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her. I heard Ol' Neil put her down. In what song did Neil Young badmouth the South?

Answer: Southern Man

"Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around, anyhow."

"Sweet Home Alabama" was written in 1974 in response to Young's songs "Southern Man" and "Alabama." In truth, the two acts actually liked each other, but Skynyrd, being the good southern boys they were, had to defend the south.

3. John Mellenkamp sings: Radio playing softly some singer's sad sad song. He's singing about standing in the shadows of love; I guess he feels awfully alone. What group sang "Standing in the Shadows of Love"?

Answer: The Four Tops

"Standing in the Shadows of Love" was a #6 hit for the Four Tops in 1967. Its B-side was "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," a #1 hit for the group.

4. Both The Who's "You Better, You Bet" and Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" mention an influential band. Who was it?

Answer: T. Rex

The Who:

I got your body right now on my mind,
And I drunk myself blind to the sound of old T-Rex.

Mott the Hoople:

The television man is crazy,
Saying we're juvenile delinquent wrecks.
Oh, man, I need a TV when I've got T. Rex.

T. Rex was a glam band led by Marc Bolan until his death in a car crash in 1977. Their biggest hit was "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," But they influenced acts like David Bowie (who wrote "Dudes").

5. Poor Old Johnnie Ray Sounded sad upon the radio Broke a million hearts in mono. Who sang this homage to Ray, the white blues singer who had a big hit with "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"?

Answer: Dexys Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners had a huge smash in 1982 with "Come On, Eileen." Kevin Rowland was the leader of this group that never hit the charts again.

Johnnie Ray's music was so unlike anything else at the time and led directly to what we now call rock and roll.

6. He was killing me softly with his song, Telling my whole life with his words, Killing me softly with his song. So sings Roberta Flack in her 1973 hit. But who wrote the song that was killing her?

Answer: Don McLean

Lori Lieberman wrote a poem about hearing McLean sing "Empty Chairs." Charles Fox and Norman Gimbrel translated the poem into a song, and Lieberman recorded it. But it took Flack's haunting delivery to make it a #1 hit on the Billboard chart.

7. The Mamas and the Papas' crazy song "Creeque Alley" is filled with references to other singers, including the leader of which band?

Answer: The Byrds

McGuinn and McGuire, just a-gettin' higher
In LA, you know where that's at
And no one's getting fat except Mama Cass.

Jim "Roger" McGuinn was the lead singer of the Byrds, who were a hot commodity in 1967 when this song was released.

"Creeque Alley" is a song about the formation of the Mamas and the Papas. Other singers mentioned include Barry McGuire ("Eve of Destruction") and John Sebastion (later of the Lovin' Spoonful).

8. So far we haven't had a tribute song. It's time for the first. In his song "Of Missing Persons," Jackson Browne sings to the daughter of a rocker who has died. To whose daughter does he make this tribute?

Answer: Lowell George

Lowell George was the lead singer of the great band Little Feat. Famous for his slide guitar, George penned the classic "Dixie Chicken" (from which the country trio the Dixie Chicks take their name).

Little Feat's 1978 live album "Waiting for Columbus" is a fantastic piece of work with all the band's biggest hits. But in 1979, while touring in support of the album, Lowell George had a heart attack in his hotel room and died.

9. Hey, Hey, Johnny Can you come out to play In your empty garden? To which Johnny does Elton John pay tribute?

Answer: John Lennon

Of course, it's the ex-Beatle. This song appeared on John's "Jump Up" album in 1982 after the murder of Lennon by Mark David Chapman. It didn't get much air play, but I always found it to be an especially powerful song.

Johnny Horton had huge country hits with "Battle of New Orleans" and "North to Alaska." John Denver and Long John Baldry both died long after Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote this song.

10. In "Radar Love," a big hit for Golden Earring, "the radio plays some forgotten song." Who sang that forgotten song?

Answer: Brenda Lee

The radio's playing some forgotten song,
Brenda Lee's "Comin' On Strong."

Ms. Lee, nicknamed "Little Miss Dynamite" for her small frame (4'9") and big voice, made this song a hit in 1966. Some of the lyrics:

"Comin' on strong, Comin' on strong.
I can feel the heartaches
Comin' on strong."

Source: Author umpire63

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Dalgleish before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Musical Allusion Trivia Quiz

Many songs mention or allude to other songs or singers. Do you know your musical allusions?

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