Mayer was born in Bridgeport. At the time of this quiz, he had released eight albums. All of them have been certified at least gold and the first four albums have been certified multi-platinum. He also won seven Grammy awards. His hit songs include "Your Body is a Wonderland," "Waiting on the World to Change" and a cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'."
2. Idaho
Answer: Doug Martsch
Martsch was born in Boise. He is the lead singer and songwriter of Built to Spill. Their albums "There's Nothing Wrong With Love," "Perfect From Now On," and "Keep it Like a Secret" landed in the top 50 on Pitchfork Magazine's list of top 100 albums of the 1990s. "Keep it Like a Secret" charted at 120 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
3. Illinois
Answer: Miles Davis
Miles Davis is arguably the most famous jazz musician of all time. He helped jazz evolve in many ways. He was one of the pioneers of Bebop and Cool Jazz, movements that made jazz a more complex style of music than it used to be. He was the first musician to fuse jazz with other styles of music such as rock and roll, classical, avant-garde, flamenco, and hip hop.
His album "Kind of Blue" is certified five times platinum in the U.S., becoming the first jazz album to do so. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
4. Indiana
Answer: Michael Jackson
He was born in Gary. He is called "The King of Pop." He sold over 500 million albums worldwide, which is more than everyone else except Elvis Presley and The Beatles. "Thriller" has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album of all time.
The video for the title track, which has dancing zombies, doubled the sales for the album. Other major songs from the "Thriller" album include "Beat it" and "Billie Jean." Other major hits that Michael Jackson had in his career include "Bad," "Man in the Mirror," and "Smooth Criminal." "Man in the Mirror" was the number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 during the week in which I was born.
5. Iowa
Answer: Corey Taylor
Corey Taylor is the lead singer of Slipknot. They have sold over 30 million albums worldwide, making them one of the highest-selling heavy metal bands of the 21st century. Their second album is called "Iowa," named after the state where Taylor was born.
The album was certified gold or platinum in ten countries. The title song is one of the darkest songs ever written. It's over 15 minutes long and is about killing a woman and getting intimate with her corpse. Taylor was nude when he recorded it and he cut himself up with glass while recording, and you can hear that in the song.
6. Kansas
Answer: Kerry Livgren
Livgren was the main songwriter of a band called.... Kansas! I wonder where he could be from.
Kansas have three albums that have been certified at least four times platinum: "Leftoverture," "Point of Know Return," and "The Best of Kansas." They have two singles that have been certified at least three times platinum "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind." They have nine albums that were certified at least gold and 14 singles that charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
7. Kentucky
Answer: Chris Stapleton
When he was with the Steeldrivers, he wrote a song called "East Kentucky Home," which is a big hint as to where he's from. After he left the Steeldrivers, he achieved greater fame than he did with them. His first solo album, "Traveler," was certified seven times platinum.
He has won 11 Grammy Awards and 11 Academy of Country Music Awards. His cover of Dean Dillon's "Tennessee Whiskey" has been certified two times diamond in the U.S.
8. Louisiana
Answer: Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong is widely considered to be the greatest jazz musician of all time. He's famous for his virtuoso trumpet-playing, his deep gravely singing voice, and hits like "What a Wonderful World," "Hello Dolly," and "On the Sunny Side of the Street." He is in the Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. Places that have been named after him include an airport in New Orleans, a tennis court in New York City where the U.S. Open takes place, a park on Congo Square in New Orleans, and the state of Louisiana. Just kidding.
9. Maine
Answer: Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin is a famous folk singer. In 2007, she was named Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association. In 2026, her album "Crown of Roses" was nominated for a Grammy. She has three songs that have charted in the top 17 on the U.S. A.A.A. chart: "One Big Love," "Blue Sky," and "Heavenly Day." She has six albums that have charted on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
10. Maryland
Answer: David Byrne
David Byrne went to high school in Baltimore. When he performed in Washington D.C. in 2025, he got a huge cheer from the crowd when he said he was from Baltimore (probably because D.C. is near Baltimore and a lot of people from there go to D.C. shows). When he performed in Baltimore in 2026, he told the audience that he graduated from Landsowne High School and got a huge cheer. At both shows, he said that Baltimore is the city where he met the girl that he wrote the hit song "And She Was" about. That song charted at number 54 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and it charted in six other countries. Other hit songs that he wrote include "Burning Down the House" and "Once in a Lifetime."
David Byrne is known for his live performances. The Talking Heads concert video "Stop Making Sense" is acclaimed as the best concert video ever made. After Talking Heads, Byrne did solo live shows with bands that hand hand-held instruments so the band members could dance around the stage with him. He also has a screen in the background and a screen on the stage which shows images relating to the songs. It's an amazing thing to see and his voice still sounded great when he was in his 70s. He performed two nights in most cities and usually sold out both nights.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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