Musical Family Ties: Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Daughter: Roseanne Cash

In 2024, 'Rolling Stone" magazine put Johnny Cash at number three in their list of "Top 10 Country Artists Of All Time". In a long career he had 13 Number One hits on the Billboard Country Single charts. He was also noted for a number of movie and television roles.
Cash had a bit of trouble in his younger years, but he never served time in prison, as some sources erroneously have said. He did his 'prison time' on stage with televised concerts.

In 1955 his daughter Roseanne was born. (Her mother was Cash's first wife, Vivien.) She worked offstage on his tours until she joined him on the album "The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me" in 1974.
After that time she recorded 14 studio albums and released 39 singles. In 1981,"Seven Year Ache" topped the U.S. country singles chart.

Answer: Daughter: Nancy Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was hailed as one of the greatest crooners of his era - a member of the famed 'rat pack' of singers.
Described in some quarters as "the greatest singer of the 20th century", Sinatra also turned his hand to movie roles.
Sinatra had three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 He sold an estimated 150 million records.

Nancy Sinatra had four number one songs in the UK and two on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In 1967 a duet by father and daughter of "Something Stupid" reached the top of the Billboard charts.

Answer: Father: Albert Hammond

Albert Hammond Jr was born in Los Angeles in 1980. In 1999 he joined The Strokes, which was led by his ex-schoolfriend Julian Casablancas. The band had five albums reach the top ten of the Billboard 200.
Later, Albert Hammond Jr released several solo albums.

Albert Hammond senior was born in London during WW2 but largely raised in Gibraltar. That gave him English and Spanish as languages and he wrote and recorded in both. Primarily a composer, he wrote with lyricists such as Mike Hazelwood, Carole Bayer Sager and Hal David. Among those to have hits with Hammond songs were Whitney Houston, Starship, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.

It has been estimated that he was writer or co-writer of songs that sold over 350 million copies. (As Hammond observed ruefully in a BBC Radio 2 interview "Where's the money?"). He also had a successful performing career.

Answer: Daughter: Natalie Cole

The son of a Baptist minister and a choir leader, Nathaniel Adams Cole was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1919. A gifted pianist by the age of 12, he immersed himself in the black jazz music he heard while growing up in Chicago, Illinois. By the age of 15 he was pianist in a travelling show and was given the nickname "King" by an LA club owner.
Beginning in 1942, he had a string of top ten hits on the US R&B charts, including five that made number one. In 1950, "Mona Lisa" also topped the US pop charts (pre-Hot 100).

In February 2025, the 'University of Dayton Magazine' opined "One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Cole was not only a groundbreaking musician but also a quiet, yet resolute, advocate for social justice." Cole was a behind-the-scenes supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.

Natalie Cole had an interesting life before entering the music business. In 1972 she gained a degree in child psychology from the University of Massachusetts. In her hometown of Los Angeles, she joined the Black Panthers and joined protests against the Vietnam War.
In 1975 her first album "Inseparable" was a big hit. She had six number one songs on the Billboard R&B charts. In a recording career that lasted almost 40 years she sold an estimated 30 million records.

Answer: Son: Dhanni Harrison

Sometimes described as the quiet Beatle, George Harrison initially had trouble getting the songs he wrote accepted by the Fab Four.
In their list of the "100 Greatest Beatles Songs" in 2020, 'Rolling Stone' magazine placed Harrison's "Something" at number four and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at number ten.
As a solo artist, Harrison had two number one albums and one chart-topping single.

With his band thenewno2, and as a solo artist, Dhanni Harrison released several albums. He had just one US top ten, a cover of his father's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in collaboration with Prince, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Steve Winwood.

Answer: Daughter: Kim Wilde

Marty Wilde - born Reginald Leonard Smith in 1939 - was in the first wave of British rockers, often picking up songs from American counterparts. With his band the Wildcats he had number four UK hit in 1958 with a cover of "Endless Sleep". It had been a US number five for Jody Reynolds.
In 1959 he had his best chart performance, reaching number two in the UK with a cover of "A Teenager In Love", which had been a US number five for Dion and the Belmonts.

His daughter Kim was born in 1960 at the height of her father's success and had a hit in 1981 with "Kids in America". It was written by her father and reached number two in the UK charts. Her eponymous debut album reached number three in the UK.

Answer: Son: Justin Townes Earle

Steve Earle dropped out of school in ninth grade to follow a music career. His debut album, "Guitar Town" earned a Grammy nomination in 1986.
Earle struggled with substance addiction but got straight and his comeback album, "Train A Comin",was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1996. He had to wait another nine years for his first Grammy win: Best Contemporary Folk Album for "The Revolution Starts...Now".
He turned to acting and was probably a little typecast when he played a recovering addict in the hit television series "The Wire".

Born in 1980 Justin Townes Earle was named in honour of his father's great friend, Townes Van Zandt. Steve was practically a stranger to his son, returning to the family only after he worked through his addictions in 1994.
From 2007, Justin Townes Earle released 12 albums. He died at the age of 38 from an accidental drugs overdose.

Answer: Daughter: Sarah Lee Guthrie

Arlo Guthrie built a career on the story of the fine he received at the age of 18 for dropping litter in Stockbridge Massachusetts. The song "Alice's Restaurant" was as much an anti-Draft song.
Guthrie was one of the acts to feature at the original Woodstock festival in 1969. In 1971 he achieved his best showing on the Billboard Hot 100 when "City Of New Orleans" peaked at number 18.
In 2020 Guthrie retired from the music business following a series of mini-strokes that affected his ability to perform in the way he wanted to.

Born in 1979, Sarah Lee Guthrie was the youngest of Arlo's four children: Abe, Cathy, and Annie also had music careers. All four at times performed with Arlo in concert.

Sarah Lee interspaced songs she had written with those of her father and her grandfather, Woody Guthrie. She delved into the Smithsonian archives to retrieve lyrics by Woody and set them to music.
For a time she toured and recorded with her then husband Johnny Irion.

Answer: Daughter: Miley Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus was a native of Kentucky and initially went to college on a baseball scholarship.
In 1992 his debut album "Some Gave All" went number one with a bullet on the Billboard 200. It went on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide and the single "Achy Breaky Heart" was a global best-seller. Fun fact, it was a cover of "Don't Tell My Heart" by the Macy Brothers.
Cyrus went on to have a busy music and acting career.

Miley Cyrus was born in 1992. Initially she concentrated on acting, appearing with her father on the set of "Doc".

Fame came after she was cast in the lead for the 2005 television series, "Hannah Montana". The "Hannah Montana" soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 in November 2006, ensuring that 13-year-old Miley became the youngest solo female singer to have a number one album on the chart.
In 2023, 'South China Post' placed Miley Cyrus's net worth at $160m - eight times that of her dad. (Six other family members were not doing too shabbily either, all listed at $1m plus.)
Fun fact: Dolly Parton was godmother to Miley Cyrus.

Answer: Son: Wolfgang Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen was the driving force behind the band that bore his family name It was founded with his brother Alex in 1972. Eddie Van Halen played keyboards, guitar and was the chief songwriter.
Van Halen scored successes in the albums charts, including four number ones.

Wolfgang Van Halen joined his father and uncle in the band in 2007. The band broke up when Eddie Van Halen died in 2020. Wolfgang worked steadily as a bassist in other bands thereafter.