Rock and Roll's Godparents Trivia Quiz

Answer: Neil Young

Nirvana and Pearl Jam are amongst the bands Neil Young influenced. Dramatically, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain quoted Young's famous lyric "It's better to burn out than fade away", in his suicide note. Young was shaken by this and reacted with the title track of "Sleeps With Angels".

Paul Young is an English soul singer mostly active in the 1980s. David Crosby played with Young in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. David Tennant is a British actor famous for playing Doctor Who.

Answer: Paul Weller

"Quadrophenia" is set in London and Brighton in 1964. Two rival youth cults emerge and clash - mods and rockers - to a soundtrack by The Who. Paul Weller was the principal figure of the 70s and 80s movement with his bands The Jam and The Style Council.

English teacher, musician and actor, Sting, starred in the film. Actor, Phil Daniels, starred as Jimmy, the mod in the film who says "I don't wanna be like everybody else, that's why I'm a mod, see". Pete Townshend, iconic guitar-smashing member of Mod band, The Who, was one of the music directors of the film.

Answer: Goth

All four subculture options are arguably as distinctive for their fashion as for their music.

Shortlived English band, Bauhaus gained cult status with their androgynous appearance and theatrics. Their debut single, "Bella Lugosi's Dead" sealed their Goth credentials both with its eerie ambience and reference to the actor famous for portraying Dracula.

Answer: Lou Reed and Iggy Pop

Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" name-checked key members of Andy Warhol's Factory crowd.
Iggy Pop's on-stage antics included slicing open his chest with a razor, breaking his teeth by ramming the microphone through them and removing his clothes.

David Bowie's intervention and creative involvement to some extent brought Iggy back from the brink. He also produced Lou's "Transformer" album. Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious, born John Ritchie, was given the moniker "Vicious" by Johnny Rotten sarcastically on account of his shyness.

Answer: Patti Smith

Patti Smith's first concert in 1971 was basically more about her poetry than the somewhat crazy and amateurish guitar-playing from a local rock-journalist. Her focus on words continued.

Joan Jett was co-founder of all-girl, glitter-punk band, The Runaways, in the late 70s. Her new 80s band, The Blackhearts, had a more rock'n'roll focus. Debbie Harry, like Patti, fronted a NYC band (Blondie) but unlike Patti, her image was more playful and feminine and less political. Dolly Parton had nothing to do with Punk but is a seminal Country singer.

Answer: Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne was the singer of Black Sabbath until he was fired by Tony Iommi in 1979. Their definitive early 70s album, "Paranoid" contained crowd favourite "War Pigs". Reality TV show, "The Osbournes", ran for three years from 2002.

James Hetfield is the singer with Metallica (formed 1981) - a band synonymous with Heavy Metal. They supported Ozzy Osbourne for six months on his Ultimate Sin tour. Axl Rose was the singer with mid-80s band, Guns n' Roses. Robert Plant fronted Led Zeppelin who were actually more Blues-based, rather than straight Heavy Metal. This is possibly why Ozzy landed the Godfather title.

Answer: Afrika Bambaataa

The musical and youth culture that would later be termed "Hip Hop" by Afrika Bambaataa originated in the South Bronx area of NYC amongst African-American and Latino groups.

Grandmaster Flash has been called the Grandfather of Hip Hop. He was notable for establishing the DJ as a musician with the turntable as his instrument. Adam Horovitz was a member of the Beastie Boys whose debut album was "Licence to Ill" which brought Rap to suburbia from the streets. James Brown is known for his influence on soul/funk music. In 1981 he recorded "Rap Payback" in response to the success of Hip Hop.

Answer: Ray Davies

Ray Davies was the singer and songwriter for The Kinks. A string of Top Ten hits established the band as a distinctly English pop group. "Waterloo Sunset" shows the band at its peak.

Damon Albarn, the singer of Brit-pop band, Blur, cited Ray Davies as a major influence. Jarvis Cocker is the eccentric and eloquent frontman of Pulp who recorded the working class anthem, "Common People". Brett Anderson, singer of Suede, had an early rivalry with Damon Albarn over girls and record sales.

Answer: Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie (born 1912 in rural Oklahoma) is widely acknowledged as a working class American hero. He left behind a vast collection of songs and other writings and his influence stretched over generations.

Arlo Guthrie is Woody's son. Perhaps he is best known for the anti-war song (and film), "Alice's Restaurant". Pete Seeger was instrumental in reactivating the Newport Folk Festival in 1960. The following year is when Bob Dylan went electric there. Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) was highly influential too and played on the same circuit as Woody Guthrie in the 1940s.

Answer: Brian Molko

Brian Molko, singer of Placebo, has described them as "for outsiders, by outsiders". Emo (stemming from the label, "emotional") is like Punk in that it describes its audience rather than just its music. Stylistically, Placebo are actually Glam, but have inspired the Emo bands that have followed them.

(Steven Patrick) Morrissey was the singer of The Smiths and has made his musical profession out of being miserable, both with and without The Smiths. Billy Corgan is the singer of the on-again-off-again Smashing Pumpkins. "Melon Collie and the Infinte Sadness" album gives him his Emo credentials. Pete Wentz is the bassist, lyricist and frontman of Fallout Boy. He has also created an entire empire, including a record label, clothing line, hairdressers and clubs, making him famous (or infamous) as the kingpin at the centre of a whole Emo subculture of young fans.
Notably all the contenders are primarily lyricists.