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Tim Hulsizer's Music Quiz


Originally created in early 2003 to test prospective
employees at the shop where I work

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1. Who wrote ?The Grand Canyon Suite??

2. What group was electronic artist Tricky in before he went solo?

3. What group?s album is called ?The Long Black Veil??

4. Which jazz duo became famous playing at the Hot Club in Paris in the 1930?s?

5. Who sang ?Diamonds & Rust??

6. What popular new age artist has albums named after each season?

7. Who is known as ?The Father of Bluegrass??

8. What influential 1980?s Boston band sang ?That?s When I Reach For My Revolver? (later covered by Moby)?

9. Which tango genius has an album called ?Rough Dancer & the Cyclical Night??

10. Which composer wrote the scores for the films ?Koyaanisqatsi? and ?Powaqqatsi??

11. Whose popular 2002 debut album entreated listeners to ?Come Away With Me??

12. What female blues artist had a 1998 album called ?Just Won?t Burn? and was nominated for a ?Best New Artist? Grammy award that year?

13. Which British band recorded the classic albums ?Skylarking? and ?English Settlement??

14. ?It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back? is considered by many to be the best rap album of all time. Who recorded it?

15. What contemporary jazz guitarist made albums entitled ?Good Dog, Happy Man? and ?The Willies??

16. Who composed ?Il Trovatore??

17. Which producing wizard and solo artist was associated with the reggae group The Upsetters?

18. Which folk duo recorded ?Shoot Out the Lights? in 1982?

19. The album ?Waiting For the Electrician Or Someone Like Him? was recorded by which groundbreaking comedy troupe?

20. What long-lasting electronic artist released ?Everything Is Wrong? and ?Animal Rights??

21. Who first recorded the famous the song ?Stand By Your Man??

22. Name any two ?surf rock? groups or artists.

23. Which independent rocker claims she?s ?Not a Pretty Girl??

24. Which bold Frenchman recorded songs like ?69 Erotic Year? and ?Je T?aime?Moi Non Plus??

25. What popular singer-songwriter has released Americana albums entitled ?Heartbreaker? and ?Demolition??

26. Which avant-garde string quartet recorded ?Pieces of Africa? and ?Salome Dances For Peace??

27. Writer/rock musician Henry Rollins made his name in what seminal hardcore band?

28. Who recorded ?Brilliant Corners? in 1956 and wrote the classic song ??Round Midnight??

29. Which bluesman recorded a famous rendition of ?Got My Mojo Workin?? on his classic ?Live at Newport? album?

30. Bluegrass star Alison Krauss performs with which group?

31. Vinicius de Moraes wrote the words to the classic song, ?Girl From Ipanema.? What famous bossa nova artist composed the tune?

32. Who composed the Peer Gynt suites?

33. Who released the albums ?Great Big Boy? and ?My Feet Are Smiling?

34. In 1971, which soul singer posed the musical question, ?What?s Going On??

35. Which master of the turntable created the album ?Endtroducing? in 1996?

36. Who collaborated with Jerry Garcia on albums such as ?Shady Grove? and ?The Pizza Tapes??

37. This twice-jailed Americana artist wrote and performed albums like ?Transcendental Blues,? ?El Corazon,? and ?Jerusalem?. Who is he?

38. Speaking of jail, what country artist recorded classic live albums at San Quentin and Folsom prison?

39. Who is known as the King of the Delta Blues Singers?

40. Which avant garde jazz musician played with the ?Arkestra??

41. Who starred in the film ?The Harder They Come? as well as recording half of the songs on the classic soundtrack?

42. Who composed the War Requiem in 1963?

43. What group wrote ?Puff (The Magic Dragon)??

44. ?The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway? and ?Selling England By the Pound? are classic 1970s albums by which English rock band?

45. Which electronic artist started Rephlex Records in 1991 and has recorded under the alias Polygon Window?

46. Whose band recorded the modern bluegrass albums ?Flight of the Cosmic Hippo? and ?Three Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest??

47. In 1973, this jazz artist released a successful, influential album called ?Head Hunters.? Who is it?

48. Who did his share of hard time, wrote and recorded ?Okie From Muskogee,? published an autobiography entitled ?Sing Me Back Home,? and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame?

49. What?s the name of John Mayall?s group?

50. Before going solo in the 1980s, rocker Joe Strummer performed with what band?

51. Which founding member of the Wailers recorded the classic album ?Legalize It??

52. What country is famous for the musical genre known as ?fado??

53. Who composed ?The Rite of Spring??

54. The song ?This Land Is Your Land? was written by what legendary folk singer?

55. ?After the Gold Rush? and ?Harvest Moon? are albums by what rock singer?

56. What popular Americana artist recorded the albums ?Sweet Old World? and ?Car Wheels On a Gravel Road??

57. What is bluesman John Hurt?s nickname? (Hint: It?s the ?stately? moniker he performs under.)

58. Who recorded the essential album ?Kind of Blue? in 1959?

59. Which comedian/raconteur has an album entitled ?Wonderfulness??

60. In 2000, this popular country artist released ?Red Dirt Girl.? Can you name her?

61. Ry Cooder recorded which Cuban collective?s very successful (eponymous) 1997 album?

62. Who composed the William Tell Overture?

63. If someone were looking for Mahalia Jackson?s music, what genre would you direct her toward?

64. What group performed with Buddy Holly?

65. Which folk artist released ?Sweet Revenge? in 1973?

66. What legendary French chanteuse made famous the song ?La Vie En Rose??

67. The Davies brothers, Ray and Dave, started what band in the 1960s?

68. Who released the classic electronic album ?Switched On Bach? and the soundtrack to ?A Clockwork Orange??

69. What member of The Mavericks went on to a successful solo career with his 2001 release ?Today??

70. Which jazz vocalist recorded the classic ?song book? series throughout the 1950s?

71. ?Transmissions from the Satellite Heart? and ?The Soft Bulletin? are albums what neo-psychedelic rock band?

72. What musical instrument does Glenn Gould play?

73. Who composed the music for many of the older James Bond films, including ?Goldfinger? and ?Diamonds Are Forever??

74. What contemporary blues musician released the albums ?Big Wide Grin? and ?Just Like You??

75. Trojan Records is famous the world over for their releases in what musical genre?

76. Who released the classic album ?Court and Spark? in 1970?

77. Who composed the opera ?Carmen??

78. Ozzy Osbourne became famous singing lead vocals in what band?

79. What is the last name of jazz players Wynton and Branford?

80. The musicians Ali Farka Toure and Salif Keita hail from which African nation?

81. Who composed ?Water Music? in 1717?

82. What contemporary folk musician recorded the albums ?Further In,? ?Slant 6 Mind,? and ?Milk Of the Moon??

83. David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar were front men for what powerful 1980s / 1990s rock band?

84. "Don't Give Up On Me" is a 2002 album by which soul legend?

85. What artist used the pseudonym Buckshot LeFonque to moonlight on record labels other than his own?

86. What worldbeat/pop group has albums called ?Spleen & Ideal,? ?Toward the Within,? and ?Into the Labyrinth??

87. In what century did Tchaikovsky compose the Nutcracker?

88. Which talented duo recorded the contemporary folk albums ?Drum Hat Buddha? and ?Tanglewood Tree??

89. What legendary rock band did Lou Reed and John Cale form in the mid-1960s?

90. ?Trans-Europe Express? and ?Autobahn? are 1970s albums by what hugely influential German electronic group?

91. In 2000, the successful film soundtrack ?O Brother Where Art Thou?? provided a boost in popularity for what musical genre explored on the album?

92. Who is referred to in jazz circles as The Father of the Saxophone? (hint: he played tenor sax)

93. Ravi Shankar is world-renowned for his mastery of what musical instrument?

94. Who composed the Brandenburg Concertos?

95. What British folk musician released the excellent early 1970s albums ?Bryter Layter? and ?Pink Moon??

96. What band recorded the song ?Blitzkrieg Bop? and positioned it as the first track on their debut album in 1976?

97. What western swing group released albums called ?Pasture Prime? and ?Western Standard Time??

98. In 1992, this groundbreaking indie rock band released the landmark album ?Slanted and Enchanted.? Who are they?

99. Who composed the 20th century opera ?Porgy and Bess??

100. Name three albums you love and discuss why.


The Very Hard Questions (Just For Fun):

101. Popular electronic artist Fatboy Slim started out as bassist for what 1980s British band?

102. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is known for what style of singing?

103. What influential Americana band was the starting point for members of Wilco and Son Volt, and jumpstarted a roots rock movement called ?No Depression??

104. What does the ?B.B.? in B.B. King stand for?

105. Which legendary rock guitarist appears on Ornette Coleman's 1988 album ?Virgin Beauty??

106. What Detroit techno producer has recorded under the aliases ?Paperclip People? and ?Innerzone Orchestra??

107. Which Russian composer, who lived from 1859-1935, composed the ?Caucasian Sketches??

108. The three Chapin brothers are Harry, Tom, and who?

109. This man was born in the riverside town of Podor in the Northern region of Senegal. He is also known as 'The Nightingale' because of his clear high-pitched voice. Who is he?

110. What is the most recorded rock song in music history?


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