In this pivotal scene from The Shining, Jack Nicholson is trying to ID the 2x inductees in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
You think you know your music trivia? The point here is actually whether your friends do. In 2022, we published a story, 10 Classic Rock Bar Bet Questions, that including trivia about John Lennon’s short-lived supergroup, plus ones about Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, and many others. Little did we know that it would become one of our most-read stories of the year. (See the link below.) We followed it up in 2023 with Part 2, offering fun facts about Jethro Tull, Olivia Newton-John and ELO. (Links are below.) We’ve thus assembled 10 more questions of chart facts for some of music’s biggest names for Part 3. We’ve again intentionally selected some that may seem to have obvious answers but ultimately aren’t so easy.
Our goal: to help Best Classic Bands’ readers spot the sucker and win a bar bet. Start studying!
Note: All chart numbers that are cited are based on the U.S. Hot 100 and the Billboard Album chart.
What was the only #1 single performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival?
While there were several hitmakers who played the legendary festival, including Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane, to name two, only one act performed a #1 single. That would be Sly and the Family Stone, whose “Everyday People” reached the top for four weeks earlier that year. Interestingly, John Sebastian, who famously played solo. did not perform the Lovin’ Spoonful’s lone #1 smash, 1966’s “Summer in the City,” during his brief set. (And it was several years before his solo smash, “Welcome Back,” went to #1. )
What rock band from the Pacific Northwest, and originally named Seafood Mama, earned a #1 single in 1981?
When two popular Oregon bands merged in 1980, they came up with the very generic ’80s name Quarterflash. Signed to Geffen Records, their self-titled debut LP featured “Harden My Heart,” which had originally been recorded by the Seafood Mama side of the combined band.
As of 2024, Eric Clapton is the only musician inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times (as a member of the Yardbirds, Cream, and as a solo artist). There are 25 others who have been selected two times. Name 10 of them.
Alphabetically, they are: Jeff Beck, Johnny Carter (literally no one will guess him, as he earned induction as a member of the Flamingos and the Dells), David Crosby, Peter Gabriel, Dave Grohl, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Carole King, John Lennon, Curtis Mayfield, Paul McCartney, Clyde McPhatter, Graham Nash, Stevie Nicks, Jimmy Page, Lou Reed, Gregg Rolie, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Stephen Stills, Sammy Strain (like Johnny Carter, above; most have never even heard of him), Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young.
Elvis Presley purchased Graceland in 1957. What was it named for?
Memphis’ Graceland Farms was originally owned by commercial printer Stephen Toof and named for his daughter, Grace. She inherited the property after his death and it wasn’t until she died that her heirs built the famous mansion in 1939. Priscilla Beaulieu lived there for five years before she and Elvis married in 1967. (A bar bet within a bar bet: Those buried there are Elvis, his parents Gladys and Vernon, his grandmother, his daughter Lisa Marie, and her son Benjamin.)
Many well known rock stars use stage names. So how well do you know Alice Cooper, Elton John, Bono and The Edge, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and Madonna? Name the real names of four of these seven.
Cooper is Vince Furnier. Elton John is Reg Dwight. Bono is Paul Hewson. The Edge is Dave Evans. Bowie is David Jones. Mercury is Farrokh Bulsara. And Madonna’s full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone.
What ’70s female pop star sang on multiple tracks of Pink Floyd’s The Wall?
Recording sessions took place in multiple locations between December 1978 and November 1979. It’s hard to believe but in the same decade that she enjoyed chart success with such pop favorites as “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Do That To Me One More Time” as part of a hitmaking duo with her husband, Toni Tennille sang backup on four tracks of the two-LP set. While she didn’t participate in either “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” or “Comfortably Numb,” she did sing on album opener “In the Flesh?,” “The Show Must Go On” and two others.
What legendary singer-songwriter was a founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as a teenager in the mid-’60s?
The NGDB formed in Long Beach, Calif., in 1966 with 17-year-old Jackson Browne as one of its six members. Though he departed before they signed with Liberty Records, several of his compositions are included on their 1967 debut album.
What future keyboard legend was a much sought-after session musician in the U.K., performing on such classics as David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” T. Rex’s “Get It On” [also known as “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”] and Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken”?
Just before and after he joined the Strawbs and then Yes, Rick Wakeman was a very busy session musician on numerous classic rock recordings. He played on many Bowie sessions, including the Mellotron on 1969’s “Space Oddity.” T. Rex’s 1971 single was the second of the band’s four #1s that the glam band earned in the U.K. Wakeman’s piano arrangement and performance on Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken” helps define the 1972 smash.
The Supremes earned an astounding 12 #1 pop singles. Name five.
Chronologically, spanning 1964 to 1969: “Where Did Our Love Go?,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” Stop! In Name of Love,” “Back in My Arms Again,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “Love is Here and Now You’re Gone,” “The Happening,” “Love Child” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.” That last one was also the final #1 single of the ’60s.
Who played on six consecutive Grammy Award winners for Record of the Year from 1966-1971?
Hal Blaine, the legendary drummer for the Los Angeles-based studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, performed on Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’ “A Taste of Honey,” Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night,” the 5th Dimension’s “Up Up and Away,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson,” the 5th Dimension’s “Aquarius”/”Let the Sunshine In” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Listen to the latter, beginning at around the 3:20 mark as the drums, percussion and strings come in.
Want more? Here are the links to Part 1 of 10 Classic Rock Bar Bet Questions, and the follow-up, Part 2.
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