Turn the Beat Around Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pink Floyd

"The Wall" was a double album released in the fall of 1979. Before the vocals in the song "Empty Spaces", you can make out a faint mumbling in the background. Enhanced and reversed, the listener can clearly hear, "Congratulations, you have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm".

Pink Floyd was well known for their use of any and all sounds during recording sessions. Some of their favorites were telephone conversations and the back and forth between partygoers.

Answer: Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott is quite possibly the most successful female rapper, producer and songwriter of all time. The five-time Grammy winner is best known for her creative and unorthodox music videos. In "Work It", Missy employs a backward track in the chorus which simply states, "I put my thing down, flip and reverse it".

The song also introduced the term "badonkadonk" to the vernacular, which is slang for the gluteus muscles.

Answer: Eminem

This is a case of what may be an unintentional backmasking job, known as phonetic reversal, but it sounds convincing. When the chorus is played backwards, the listener hears "it is slim, it's Eminem, it's Eminem, it's Eminem". Now, if that's not a reasonable response to "hi, my name is...", then I don't know what is.

Answer: Judas Priest

"Better By You, Better Than Me", a 1978 remake by Judas Priest, is the song in question. The offending track was alleged to contain the message of "do it", prompting the band's fans to commit suicide. While killing off your own fanbase may seem like a bold strategy for obtaining music industry success, no evidence has ever been found of any such message.

The 1990 court case was dismissed.

Answer: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

Bone Thugs' early recordings are known for their use of backmasking and mysticism. Many of their tracks involved the battle for the soul (heaven vs. hell), the battle within (good vs. evil), communicating with the dead through the Ouija Board, et cetera. In fact, the intro from their major label debut invited listeners to "walk through the door backwards and play with the Ouija Board".

Answer: Queen

"Another One Bites the Dust" reached the pinnacle of Billboard's Hot 100 singles in spite, or perhaps because, of the alleged controversy. While this is considered to be another case of phonetic reversal, it does sound like "It's fun to smoke marijuana" when you turn the beat around.

Answer: The Beatles

The rumors of Paul McCartney's death were thrust into the national consciousness by a caller to a Detroit radio station in 1969. The caller alleged that Paul was killed in an automobile accident on November 9, 1966 and the Beatles, along with the British government, found a look-a-like to replace him. With the world now giving credence to the rumor, dozens of clues began popping up about the accident and the impostor. Everything from hidden messages in songs to album covers and liner notes.

Needless to say, the internet is ripe with the "Paul is Dead" theory websites and articles and it makes for a fun diversion if you have several hours, or days, to kill.

Answer: Britney Spears

Britney's debut single, "...Baby One More Time", is one of the highest selling singles ever released. However, that level of success always comes with a price. For the young Ms. Spears, there was plenty of controversy about the suggestive nature of not only the music video, but the recording as well.

Some people maintain that when played backwards, the single implores listeners to "sleep with me, I'm not too young". Fortunately, for Britney Spears, there's no such thing as bad press and sex sells.

Answer: Yoko Ono

The chilling part of Yoko Ono's alleged backwards masked lyric is the message itself. The original Japanese phrase is "anata daiteyo" which translates as "Darling, hug me". However, when played backwards, "anata daiteyo" sounds a lot like "I shot John Lennon". While certainly creepy, the song was recorded before Lennon was shot, therefore this is another case of phonetic reversal.

Answer: Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time. However, in 1982, a television program accused Page and Plant of employing backward masking in the song's production. The band has steadfastly denied these accusations, but when played backward, one verse eerily sounds like it was recorded with intent.

Whether or not the message in "Stairway to Heaven" was intentional is debatable. What is not debatable is the fact that it became the most requested song on American rock radio stations in the 1970s, despite never being released as a single in the United States.