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Quiz about Rockabilly Rock
Quiz about Rockabilly Rock

Rockabilly Rock Trivia Quiz


Rock-a-billy: A 1950s phenomenon that spilled over into the 60s just a bit. A touch of country, a little bit rock-and-roll, and with a dash of folk and gospel sounds, this music was just plain fun!

A multiple-choice quiz by logcrawler. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
logcrawler
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
350,288
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
598
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 74 (8/10), Guest 80 (9/10), Guest 49 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. "Rockabilly".
Yeah, that was the name of the song all right. Who was the singer of this classic tune, as well as others like, "Heartaches By The Numbers" and "Singing The Blues"? (It was rumored for a long time that he was from Yugoslavia, but he confirmed in 1988 that although his parents were from there, he had been born in Detroit, Michigan.)
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This artist, who had an instrumental hit with "Rockabilly Walk", had another song in the same genre. Who was this Happy, Texas native that also sang "Party Doll"? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. No quiz about rockabilly music would be worth its salt if Elvis Presley wasn't mentioned. Which of his songs was a remake that hit the charts on July 2, 1956? It was originally sung by Willie Mae, (Big Mama) Thornton in 1952.

(Hint: It was the first time that The Jordanaires were featured as back-up singers on one of his songs.)
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. 'Rockabilly' was an almost derogatory term, used to link what was later to become known as rock and roll music with a Southern country music style, or "hillbilly" music. It was this mix of the two genres that produced the new sound of rockabilly. When the style crossed the Atlantic, however, the young folks of Britain adopted a different name to define their newfound musical taste. What did they decide to call themselves instead of fans of Rockabilly? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What early rockabilly artist wrote the song "Blue Suede Shoes", after seeing a man get upset when his date scuffed up his shoes while they were dancing together? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What were the first and middle names of the young fellow surnamed Nelson, who sang with a trademark sneer on his face and had such rockabilly successes as "Poor Little Fool" and "It's Late"?
(These are the names he was given at birth.)
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. J.P. Richardson, (The Big Bopper), had a huge hit with a rockablly song called "Chantilly Lace". It was presented on the "B" side of the record, however. Which of the following songs that he wrote and/or sang appeared on the "A" side of the record? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The year? 1958.
The hit song? "Bird Dog".
The artists? Phil and Don, The Everly Brothers.

The question? Who wrote this catchy little tune?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. "Great Balls Of Fire", there's a "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that's leavin' me "Breathless"!

Of course, nearly everyone knows that Jerry Lee Lewis pounded these tunes out in his flamboyant style on the piano, but what I want to know is this:
What recording company in Memphis, Tennessee released both of these two mega hits in 1957?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This man once went fishing with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. He supported mental health facilities, provided assistance to homes for autistic children, and was active in seeking reforms for prisons. As the youngest member ever selected for the Country Music Hall of Fame, he was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992, for his contributions to the Rockabilly sound. Who was this singer in black who walked the line to bring us "Rockabilly Blues"? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. "Rockabilly". Yeah, that was the name of the song all right. Who was the singer of this classic tune, as well as others like, "Heartaches By The Numbers" and "Singing The Blues"? (It was rumored for a long time that he was from Yugoslavia, but he confirmed in 1988 that although his parents were from there, he had been born in Detroit, Michigan.)

Answer: Guy Mitchell

Guy Mitchell's real name was Albert Cernik. He got his stage name from his mentor, Mitch Miller. (You may remember following the bouncing ball on "Sing Along With Mitch", a once-popular television show). Mitch simply gave Guy his own first name "Mitchell" for Guy/Albert to use as his surname.
Guy was very popular in the U.S., but achieved even greater success in the U.K., well on into the 1990s and beyond. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1997 and passed away on July 1, 1999.
2. This artist, who had an instrumental hit with "Rockabilly Walk", had another song in the same genre. Who was this Happy, Texas native that also sang "Party Doll"?

Answer: Buddy Knox

This number one hit by Buddy Knox made it onto the charts in 1957. Roy Orbison had suggested to Buddy that he go see a record producer named Norman Petty in New Mexico, and following that lead was a very productive one for him and his career.
3. No quiz about rockabilly music would be worth its salt if Elvis Presley wasn't mentioned. Which of his songs was a remake that hit the charts on July 2, 1956? It was originally sung by Willie Mae, (Big Mama) Thornton in 1952. (Hint: It was the first time that The Jordanaires were featured as back-up singers on one of his songs.)

Answer: Hound Dog

Elvis first performed the song "Hound Dog" on an early T.V. show called "The Milton Berle Show", without his guitar, following the advice of "Uncle Miltie". Milton had suggested that he allow the audience to see him without any musical instrument in front of him.

The original song by Big Mama Thornton had a somewhat different set of lyrics from Elvis' version, most notably that she had ad-libbed the lyrics in a number of places in the song. A key change that was made was at the end of the song, when the band backing her made barking and howling noises as she finished up the tune.
4. 'Rockabilly' was an almost derogatory term, used to link what was later to become known as rock and roll music with a Southern country music style, or "hillbilly" music. It was this mix of the two genres that produced the new sound of rockabilly. When the style crossed the Atlantic, however, the young folks of Britain adopted a different name to define their newfound musical taste. What did they decide to call themselves instead of fans of Rockabilly?

Answer: Teddy Boys and Judies

The Rockabilly sound influenced a variety of English musicians in the late 50s and early 60s, including the Beatles. Teddy Boys and Judies, as the teens of Britain liked to call themselves, were based on their revival of Edwardian (Teddy) clothing that had been in vogue in a previous generation. Dandy and natty as it was, it lent itself handily to the new fashion statement which borrowed its music from a blend of blues, swing, southern U.S. country, gospel, bluegrass and honky-tonk.
5. What early rockabilly artist wrote the song "Blue Suede Shoes", after seeing a man get upset when his date scuffed up his shoes while they were dancing together?

Answer: Carl Perkins

Carl Perkins scored big with this number-one hit after it was released on January 1, 1956. He also composed "Daddy Sang Bass" for Johnny Cash, "I Was So Wrong" for Patsy Cline, and "Let Me Tell You About Love" for the Judds.

(Later, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, T. Rex, Ringo Starr and Wanda Jackson all recorded the song "Blue Suede Shoes" as well.)
6. What were the first and middle names of the young fellow surnamed Nelson, who sang with a trademark sneer on his face and had such rockabilly successes as "Poor Little Fool" and "It's Late"? (These are the names he was given at birth.)

Answer: Eric Hilliard

Ricky, (Rick) Nelson was born with the moniker Eric Hilliard Nelson. Hilliard was his mother's maiden name. His father, Ozzie Nelson, produced the television series in which the entire family starred, including Ricky's older brother David. "The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet" provided the vehicle for launching Ricky's singing career.

(Interestingly, neither Ricky nor Elvis ever made an appearance on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand". To put it simply, neither Ricky's father, Ozzie, nor Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker would allow it.)
7. J.P. Richardson, (The Big Bopper), had a huge hit with a rockablly song called "Chantilly Lace". It was presented on the "B" side of the record, however. Which of the following songs that he wrote and/or sang appeared on the "A" side of the record?

Answer: The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor

Way, way back, when the earth was flat and dinosaurs still roamed...

Well, maybe not quite THAT far back! Anyway, a long time ago when I was younger, CDs and MP3s were called "records", and one side would contain what the artist or the producer hoped would be a hit. This was referred to as the "A" side, while the flip side was called the "B" side. Sometimes they'd get it wrong though, and the "B" side would become a hit song, too.
(And sometimes INSTEAD of its rival.) In this case, "Chantilly Lace" certainly outdid its supposedly "better" twin on the "right" side of the record!

{Jiles Perry Richardson died with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens along with their pilot, Roger Peterson, in an Iowa cornfield in February of 1959 when their plane crashed, immortalized as "the day the music died" in the song by Don McLean, "American Pie".}
8. The year? 1958. The hit song? "Bird Dog". The artists? Phil and Don, The Everly Brothers. The question? Who wrote this catchy little tune?

Answer: Boudleaux Bryant

Oh. But that's not ALL that native Georgian Boudleaux Bryant wrote for the Everly Brothers. He and his wife, Felice, also penned such hits for them as "Bye Bye Love", "All I Have To Do Is Dream", "Problems", "Poor Jenny", "Like Strangers" and "Wake Up Little Susie."
9. "Great Balls Of Fire", there's a "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that's leavin' me "Breathless"! Of course, nearly everyone knows that Jerry Lee Lewis pounded these tunes out in his flamboyant style on the piano, but what I want to know is this: What recording company in Memphis, Tennessee released both of these two mega hits in 1957?

Answer: Sun Studios

Besides being a "recording home" to Jerry Lee Lewis, Sun Studios took care of the needs of many other artists, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Feathers, Ray Harris, Warren Smith, and Charlie Rich.

Jerry, Jimmy Swaggart and Mickey Gilley were all cousins and had their roots based in southern gospel music. Each of them found creative outlets in different ways. Some southern religious groups at the time considered the song, "Great Balls Of Fire" almost, if not completely blasphemous, as they felt it was a sacrilegious put-down of the tongues of fire spoken of in the book of Acts. These were primarily Pentecostal congregations, although others also found many of Jerry Lee Lewis' works offensive too, saying that he was too risque and sexually provocative in both his songs and in his showmanship presentations.

Eventually he may have gone a step too far, and his tour was cancelled in London, England after it was revealed that the 22 year-old had married his second cousin who was only 13 years old. (This was Jerry's third marriage.)

Jerry spent many subsequent years attempting to control the damage to his reputation, but he was never quite able to recapture the stardom that he had once enjoyed.
10. This man once went fishing with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. He supported mental health facilities, provided assistance to homes for autistic children, and was active in seeking reforms for prisons. As the youngest member ever selected for the Country Music Hall of Fame, he was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992, for his contributions to the Rockabilly sound. Who was this singer in black who walked the line to bring us "Rockabilly Blues"?

Answer: Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash, "The Man In Black", left a wide-ranging repertoire of music behind him. His legacy lends itself to the genres of Country, Gospel, Rock, Rockabilly, Folk, Blues, and who-knows-what other kinds of music. This versatile artist was also responsible for making a voice recording of the entire New King James Version of the New Testament.
Source: Author logcrawler

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