Music History Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 384
Which group's tour was delayed in 1995 because their drummer, Bill Berry, suffered an aneurysm?
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r.e.m.
Which Norwegian composer was inspired by his cousin Nina Hagerup, whom he married in 1867?
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edvard grieg
What two-word title did Lester Young bestow upon Billie Holiday?
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lady day
Who was born Francis Castelluccio and had a million-seller hit in 1967 with the song 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You'?
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frankie valli
Which Paris-born violinist helped popularize the European style of 'Le Jazz Hot'?
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stéphane grappelli
Which musical group featured members Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm?
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band
In 1988, Jason Bonham played drums for his father's band during a reunion performance. What is the name of this band?
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led zeppelin
Who was Richard Rodgers' first great collaborator who wrote the songs 'My Funny Valentine' and 'Isn't it Romantic?'
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lorenz hart
Which trumpeter's band did Frank Sinatra make his first record with in July 1939?
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harry james
Which musical duo had a hit in 1980 with the song 'Do That to Me One More Time'?
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captain & tennille
Who sang in a Baptist church in Philadelphia before becoming the Met's first black soloist?
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marian anderson
Which musician gave up his seat to the Big Bopper on the ill-fated flight that took off on February 3, 1959?
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waylon jennings
Which rock group included members John Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky, Steve Boone, and Joe Butler?
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lovin' spoonful
Which alternative rock group performed on SNL's 1993 Halloween show and has the album 'Siamese Dream'?
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smashing pumpkins
Which big band leader's album, 'Thundering Herd,' won a Grammy in 1975?
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woody herman
Who is the former CBS Symphony Orchestra player who created the 1960s 'Sing Along' TV program?
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mitch miller
Which 'King of Jazz' and his orchestra first performed Grofe's 'Grand Canyon Suite'?
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paul whiteman
How many movements are in Stravinsky's symphony written during WWII, which has one fewer movement than usual?
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3
Which band appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with Anthony Kiedis in 1995?
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red hot chili peppers
Which influential jazz musician first played the cornet in a reform school's 'Waifs' Band' and began playing the trumpet in 1924?
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louis armstrong
Which bandleader had 'One O'Clock Jump' as his theme for over 40 years?
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count basie
Who is the 'Music Man' composer born in Mason City, which hosts the North Iowa Band Festival?
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meredith willson
Which 'noble' jazz musician was featured on a U.S. stamp issued on April 29, 1986?
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duke ellington
What woodwind instrument's English name is derived from a corrupted French term meaning 'high wood'?
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oboe
Which female singer visited U.S. military bases in Italy, Germany, and Bosnia in spring 1996 and performed her hit song 'All I Wanna Do'?
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sheryl crow
In 1954, who retired at the age of 87 as the conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra?
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arturo toscanini
Which newspaper commissioned a popular 1889 Sousa march for an awards ceremony?
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washington post
Which band recorded a live performance in Japan 20 years ago and remains popular there?
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cheap trick
Which composer visited the court of Frederick the Great in 1747, where his son was a harpsichordist?
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johann sebastian bach
Which keyboard instrument were the Ruckers of Antwerp most famous for making in the late 1500s?
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harpsichord
Which composer created the piece 'Fireworks' before composing 'The Firebird'?
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igor stravinsky
Which band's 1976 debut album, featuring the hit song 'More Than a Feeling,' became one of the best-selling albums in rock history?
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boston
Which British rock band had their first Top 40 hit with 'Go Now!' in 1965 and their last with 'I Know You're Out There Somewhere' in 1988?
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moody blues
Who recorded 'The Ballad of Jed Clampett' along with Flatt, instead of Flatt & Sharp?
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earl scruggs
What 'grubby' band, known for hits like 'Mr. Bojangles,' once included Jackson Browne as a member?
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nitty gritty dirt band
Who wrote his first opera, 'The Death of Pierrot', at age 11 and later composed an opera about Amahl?
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gian carlo menotti
What was the mode of transportation referred to in the Fifth Dimension's first Top 10 hit?
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balloon
What siblings made 'Cathy's Clown' a No. 1 hit in 1960, a feat duplicated by Reba McEntire in 1989?
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everly brothers
Which brothers recorded the song 'Cathy's Clown' that became a No. 1 hit in 1960, later covered by Reba McEntire in 1989?
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everly brothers
Which Austrian musician and child prodigy started composing minuets at the age of 5?
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wolfgang amadeus mozart
In 1855, which composer known for 'Orpheus in the Underworld' opened his own theater, the Bouffes Parisiens?
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jacques offenbach
Which 1966 No. 1 hit by The Beach Boys prominently featured the unusual musical instrument known as a theremin?
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good vibrations
Who co-founded the Honeydrippers with Jimmy Page after Led Zeppelin disbanded?
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robert plant
Which composer won a Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for 'Appalachian Spring'?
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aaron copland
Who is the Peruvian singer famous for her incredible vocal range and claims of Inca royal ancestry?
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yma sumac
What musical instrument, colloquially known as a "sweet potato", originated in its modern form in 19th century Italy?
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ocarina
Who released their debut solo album 'Tigerlily' in 1995 after being the lead singer for 10,000 Maniacs?
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natalie merchant
In which South American country did Heitor Villa-Lobos establish an academy of music in 1945?
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brazil
Who was the inventor of the Stratocaster electric guitar who passed away at the age of 81?
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leo fender
Who was the trumpeter and co-founder of the 'Bebop' movement who titled his 1979 autobiography 'To Be or Not to Bop'?
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dizzy gillespie
Which composer had both his Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah) and the musical 'On the Town' debut in New York in the same year?
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leonard bernstein
Which artist released the No. 1 album 'Bella Donna'?
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stevie nicks
What name did the Alan Price Combo adopt after Eric Burdon joined the group?
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animals
Which famous composer, born in Prague in 1879, was a published composer by the age of 10?
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rudolf friml
Which record label was founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962 and was originally called Carnival Records?
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a&m records
Which Russian composer's 'Prince Igor' opera was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov after his death?
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alexander borodin
Which British group released the 1979 album 'The Wall' that featured the hit single 'Another Brick in the Wall'?
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pink floyd
Which Viennese emigre created a new method of atonal composition and later taught at UCLA and USC?
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arnold schoenberg
Which classical and jazz trumpeter received his first horn from Al Hirt at the age of 6?
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wynton marsalis
Which composers family adopted the name Bartholdy after inheriting property from a relative?
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felix mendelssohn