Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Trivia

1. In which city is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

From Quiz Rock'em Baby

Answer: Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio is the home of the RRHOF, with Cleveland being chosen in 1986 and in 1993 was the ground breaking ceremony with the building opening in 1995. Cooperstown, New York, is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame which was established in 1936 and dedicated in 1939. Springfield, Massachusetts, is the home of The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was established in 1959. Canton, Ohio,is the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame which was opened in 1963.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Answer: George Harrison & Ringo Starr

Paul McCartney did not attend due to personal & business conflicts between him & the surviving members. Yoko Ono accepted on behalf of her late husband John Lennon.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductors

Answer: Jann S. Wenner, publisher of "Rolling Stone" magazine

Jann Wenner inducted The Sex Pistols into the hall in 2006. Phil Spector was inducted in 1989 by Tina Turner. Gamble and Huff were inducted by Jerry Butler in 2008.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jackie Wilson

Answer: Mr. Entertainment

Wilson was affectionately dubbed Mr. Entertainment or sometimes Mr. Excitement by his peers. He shares the nickname Mr. Entertainment with another legendary artist, Sammy Davis Jr. The Godfather of Soul was one of many nicknames given to James Brown. The Chairman of the Board was none other than Frank Sinatra. The King of Pop is the oft troubled Michael Jackson.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Big Joe Turner

Answer: Kansas City, Missouri

Like many performers of the era, Turner began singing in his church in Kansas City, Missouri. Once he started singing while working as a bartender, he was so popular that when the police would raid clubs he was working in, the bar owners would have him bailed out before he was even booked into jail.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Smokey Robinson

Answer: Bob Dylan

Probably one of the most famous examples of one artist dishing out praise for another in music history. The quote was taken after the song "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" was making its way up the charts.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Carl Perkins

Answer: Movie Magg

Once Perkins realized the popularity Elvis Presley had with his debut releases for Sun Records, as produced by Sam Phillips, he rushed directly to the source of the sound. Perkins didn't have far to travel, he was living in Tiptonville, TN (a suburb of Memphis) and performing with his brothers Jay and Clayton. The flip side to the single was titled "Turn Around".

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Clyde McPhatter

Answer: North Carolina

McPhatter was born in Durham, NC on November 15, 1932, but spent his formative years in New Jersey, learning to sing in his father's church. Singing in the church choir gave McPhatter the skills necessary to branch out and make singing his career.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: The Coasters

Answer: Los Angeles

The band began as a doo-wop singing group originally named The Robins in Los Angeles, CA in 1949. The Robins were signed to Spark Records and released the song "Smokey Joe's Cafe". The Coasters were born when several members of The Robins left the group and relocated to New York, thus leading to the band name, leaving one coast and heading towards another.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Fats Domino

Answer: Louisiana

Fats Domino was born in New Orleans, LA on February 26, 1928. He was one of nine children.

From Quiz Rock'em Baby

Answer: Sidemen

This category "Sidemen" is for those muscians who have spent most of their careers out of the spotlight but have been involved as backup musicians for major artists at concerts or recording sessions. In 2010 the category "Sidemen" was replaced with the category "Award for Musical Excellence". The "Non-Performers" category has since been renamed in 2008 as the " Ahmet Ertegun Award". Ahmet Ertegun (1923-2006) was a Turkish-American businessman and songwriter who was a co-founder of Atlantic Records and the RRHOF.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Otis Redding

Answer: Johnny Jenkins

Otis Redding was a member of Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers. When Mr. Jenkins was given the chance to cut some tracks at Stax Records, Otis was allowed some time at the end of the recording session to mess around with one of his original songs titled "These Arms of Mine". It was the success of this single, and the impression he left on Stax Records management, which led the label to offer him a position as a session artist.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Answer: Sex Pistols

Once a punk, always a punk! Lead singer Johnny Rotten wrote an infamous letter to the Hall of Fame criticizing, amongst other things, how artists are voted in & the costly price to attend.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jackie Wilson

Answer: Clyde McPhatter

Jackie replaced Clyde in 1953 after Johnny Otis took notice of Wilson at a local Detroit talent show. McPhatter had been with Bill Ward but left to form The Drifters, a highly successful act that Ahmet Ertegun signed to his Atlantic Records.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Muddy Waters

Answer: Son House

Although all of these artists could be considered influences, it was Son House and his emotional style of playing and singing that hooked Muddy Waters. Son House is considered one of the main pioneers in the Mississippi Delta style of blues.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Big Joe Turner

Answer: Pete Johnson

These were all influential piano players of the early to mid 1900s. Each brought something very unique to their individual styles. Pete Johnson was one of the innovators of the boogie-woogie style of piano playing that would be an integral part of early rock and roll. Johnson was active in music in the decades of the 30s, 40 and 50s. He passed away in 1967.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Clyde McPhatter

Answer: The Dominoes

The Dominoes was founded by Billy Ward in the early 1950's. The group found regional success with songs such as "Do Something For Me" and "The Bells". The song "Have Mercy Baby" reached number one on the American R&B charts and remained there for ten weeks. McPhatter was known as "Clyde Ward" during his time with The Dominoes and was billed as Billy Ward's brother, a gimmick they thought would increase the group's chance at stardom.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Bo Diddley

Answer: Ellas Bates

Although many consider his real name to be Ellas McDaniel, he was born with the name Bates. He did not take the name McDaniel until he was adopted by his mother's cousin, Mrs. Gussie McDaniel. Otha Ellas Bates McDaniel, as his name eventually became, moved to Chicago when he was only 6 or 7 years old. It was at the Willard Elementary School in Chicago that his class mates gave him the name Bo Diddley.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: The Coasters

Answer: King Curtis

King Curtis, born Curtis Ousley, was an extremely talented musician who played with a number of artists including The Coasters and Aretha Franklin's backing band, The Kingpins. Curtis had a solo number one R&B hit titled "Soul Twist"

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Fats Domino

Answer: Antoine Domino Jr.

Born Antoine Domino Jr., he was named Fats as a youngster due to his girth in his belly region. Fats learned much of his musical style from his sister's husband, Harrison Verret.

From Quiz Rock'em Baby

Answer: Julian and Sean Lennon

The following nine inductees in 1986 and the person who inducted them are as follows: Chuck Berry (Keith Richards), James Brown (Steve Winwood), Sam Cooke (Herb Alpert), Fats Domino (Billy Joel), Buddy Holly (John Fogerty), Little Richard (Roberta Flack), Jerry Lee Lewis (Hank Williams Jr.), The Everly Brothers (Neil Young) and Ray Charles (Quincy Jones). The person who is chosen to do the induction of the inductee is usually someone who has been influenced by the inductee's music. Julian and Sean Lennon seemed an unusual choice for The King!

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Answer: 1986

What a class! The first Hall of Fame inductees in 1986 were Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductors

Answer: Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd entered the hall on their 3rd ballot.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Big Joe Turner

Answer: The Boss of the Blues

Big Joe Turner was born Joseph Vernon Turner in 1911. He quickly became known as Big Joe due to his large size, and his booming voice. Big Joe weighed in at well over 250 pounds and stood at 6'2" tall.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Smokey Robinson

Answer: Shop Around

Even though the song "Bad Girls" was the first song to be recorded at Motown (it was released nationally on Chess records), the song "Shop Around" gave the label its first hit, and the capital it needed to secure other artists to the fledgling label.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Clyde McPhatter

Answer: The Drifters

McPhatter was signed to Atlantic Records by Ahmet Ertegun in 1953 and The Drifters were formed. The Drifters, fronted by McPhatter, had hits with the songs "Such a Night", "What'cha Gonna Do" and the remake of the Christmas standard "White Christmas". When McPhatter was drafted into the US Army, he made the decision to leave the group and pursue a solo career. The Drifters went on to great success without McPhatter, using a great number of lead singers, eventually winding up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Bo Diddley

Answer: violin

Although Diddley played the trombone in the church choir, it was his studies of classical violin that really motivated him to pursue a career in music.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: The Coasters

Answer: Charlie Brown

This song featured the classic catch phrase as sung by Will "Dub" Jones. Jones was once a member of The Cadets, and The Jacks, who released "Stranded in the Jungle" in 1956. The Cadets and The Jacks were both the same band, performing under different names depending on which record company was promoting the appearance.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Series: Fats Domino

Answer: The Fat Man

"The Fat Man" was recorded in 1949 on the Imperial record label. The song reached number two on the R&B charts and sold over one million copies.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame II

Answer: The Bee Gees

Barry Gibb, along with twins Maurice and Robin released their first single in 1963 and have since gone on to worldwide stardom. Other inductees this year were: The (Young) Rascals, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Jackson Five, Joni Mitchell, and Parliament-Funkadelic.

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Last Updated Nov 01 2025 5:48 AM

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