Musical Family Ties: Part 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Son: Julian Lennon

John Lennon was probably the first Beatle. He formed a band called the Blackjacks, changed the name to the Quarrymen and invited Paul McCartney to join. Lennon gave the band the name that made them famous recalling: "I was looking for a name like The Crickets that meant two things, and from crickets I got to beetles. And I changed the BEA, because 'beetles' didn't mean two things on its own." Stuart Sutcliffe, meanwhile, is cited in some sources as joint creator of the name.
Lennon was credited as being a top class rhythm guitarist. It has been said his playing drove The Beatles along. His songwriting ability may also have had songwriting to do with the band's rise to power...

Julian Lennon was the elder son of John Lennon. His mother was John's first wife, Cynthia. Julian had a tough upbringing. John was not a good father, a fact that he admitted close to the end of his life.

Julian got into the music business in 1984 with his first album "Valotte". It reached number 20 in the UK album charts and number 17 in the USA. Julian interspaced his music with photography interests and raising money for good causes.

Answer: Daughters: Carnie and Wendy Wilson

Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips were the trio Wilson Phillips. Chynna Phillips was the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips, who sang together in the original Mamas and Papas.

Brian Wilson was the driving force behind the Beach Boys and was regarded as one of the most influential songwriters of his time. Among more than two dozen US top 40 hits were four number ones.

In an obituary in June 2025, BBC Culture noted; "His vision, incorporating complex melodies, intricate harmonies and avant-garde themes, was a watershed in popular music, moving it away from the boy-meets-girl narrative that had dominated the genre."
Sir Paul McCartney expressed his admiration for Wilson, saying "he had a mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special."

With three US number one singles, Wilson Phillips enjoyed a good career in three bouts from 1989. Albums also sold well and they had two reach the top tens in the USA, UK , Australia and Canada.

Answer: Son: Tommy Prine

Mailman-turned-songwriter, John Prine was discovered at an open mic night at a club in his native Chicago. There followed a career of well-crafted songs that delved into the ordinariness of American life and brought its people to life. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2018 "The Tree of Forgiveness: album reached number five on the Billboard 200 charts.

After his father's death from Covid complications in 2020, his son Tommy Prine entered the music business and had several well-regarded albums.

Answer: Daughter: Alexandra Lexi Jones

David Bowie came to be known as one of he most influential singers of his time, keeping relevant to the changing musical scene with changing personas.
He got into the business in the 1960s as plain old David Jones - his first musical instrument was a saxophone and he played it in his first band. The Konrads.

In 1966 came the change to David Bowie but his first hit did not come until 1969 when "Space Oddity" was a UK number five. In 1972 came another persona change to Ziggy Stardust.
Throughout all, he had five UK number one songs and 11 UK number one albums

Born in 200l, Alexandra Lexi Jones released her first album in 2025.

Answer: Daughter: Nora Jones

Ravi Shankar became the world's best known sitar payer not only through his own music but his connection with The Beatles: he taught George Harrison to play sitar.
As a composer and producer he brought Indian classical music to Western ears. He used his music to support his political views, while he provided the musical scores for the 1982 movie "Gandhi" and many more. He was a four-times Grammy winner.

Nora Jones (Born Geethali Shankar, in 1979) was largely brought up by her mother Sue Jones in Texas. They later lived in Alaska, before Nora returned to Texas for college.

In 2002 her debut album "Come Away with Me" was an acoustic fusion of jazz, pop, and country music. Two years later, her second album "Feels like Home" entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number one.

"Billboard" magazine named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s. She won ten Grammys in her first 20 years in the business.

Answer: Son: Dean Paul Martin

Dean Martin was born in Ohio in 1917 and worked in a number of jobs outside the music industry in his early years.
In the 1940s, after appearing in local night clubs as a pop singer, he was hired by bandleader Sammy Watkins. In 1946 during a gig a Atlantic City, he began to joke with a member of another act, a certain Jerry Lewis, and so their double act was born. They went on to make 16 movies together.

As a singer he had a number of hits, including "Memories Are Made Of This", "Everybody Loves Somebody" and "That's Amore". He had two long-running television shows from 1963 to 1974.
By the way, that reputation as a singer who always had a drink in his hand: that was pure theatre. The "whiskey" was apple juice.

Dean Paul Martin was a member of the singing group Dino, Desi & Billy, and had several US top 30 hits including "I'm a Fool" and "Not the Lovin' Kind".
Martin was also a pretty good tennis player and actor. Flying was a particular love and he joined the California Air National Guard.

Tragically, at the age of 35 Martin and his weapons system operator Captain Ramon Ortiz were killed when their F-4 jet crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm.

Answer: Son: Hank Williams Jr

In 2017, 'Rolling Stone' magazine placed Hank Williams I at number two in their list of the '100 Greatest Country Artists Of All Time".
Williams had a brief recording career, just seven years, but his influence was to be found in the decades that followed his death in 1953 at the age of 29.

Hank Williams Jnr began his career on music in 1963, appearing on the 'Ed Sullivan Show' at the age of 14.
After that he had 39 albums in the Billboard 200, with the highest place being 12 with "Old School New Rule" in 2012. Worldwide sales of his records topped 70 million. He had eight singles top the Billboard Country charts.

His son, Hank Williams III, also became a singer.

Answer: Son: Ziggy Marley

"I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot the deputy" Bob Marley famously wrote and sang, although most people nowadays associate the song with Eric Clapton.

Born in Jamaica in February 1945, Marley had various low-paid jobs before getting into the music business. He formed The Willing Wailers in 1963 and they played and recorded in Jamaica. Then a record executive at Island Records in England heard their music and signed the band.

One fruit of this was Eric Clapton's cover of "I Shot The Sheriff", which made number one in the USA. The Wailers broke up, by Marley continued as Bob Marley And The Wailers.
While success on the singes charts was limited, several albums, including 'Exodus' and "Legend', sold well, with several topping the US Reggae charts.

Ziggy Markey was born in Jamaica in 1968 and was playing in his father's band at the age of ten. His albums performed well on the charts and he was a Grammy winner.
In addition, Ziggy made numerous television appearances and was in demand as a voice-over performer.

Answer: Son: Jason Bonham

Talk to anyone interested in music about 'the best drummers ever', and the name John Bonham will feature prominently. Indeed, 'Rolling Stone' magazine put them top of their list of "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time". (How they missed Bingo from The Banana Splits is a total mystery to this quiz author.)

'Bonzo', as he was nicknamed, was a key part of Led Zeppelin. 'Rolling Stone' opined that on the first Led Zeppelin album Bonham "changed rock drumming forever."

After John Bonham died in 1980, Led Zeppelin disbanded, although got together on numerous occasion afterwards - with Jason Bonham on drums. He also payed with several other bands.

Answer: Daughter: Chynna Phillips

John and Michelle Phillips were half of the lineup of the group The Mamas & the Papas (which, for some inexplicable reason, was often billed as The Mama's & The Papa's in the USA). Denny Doherty and Cass Elliott were the others in the best-known 1960s lineup. (No bonus points but kudos for knowing that Jill Gibson briefly replaced Michelle Phillips during a break-up with John Phillips.)

The band had six singles hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Internal tensions and relationships led to their breakup in 1968. There was to be a newly formed band from 1980.

Chynna Philips was born when her parents were in the original M&P. Initially an actress, she joined up with Carnie and Wendy Wilson, daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson, to form Wilson Phillips. They had four singles in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten, including three at number one.