QUIZ KEY:

1. George Jones and Tammy Wynette scored a #1 song with 'We're Gonna Hold On' in 1973. George and Tammy were
-- A) husband and wife; B) brother and sister; C) father and daughter; D) not related
• Correct Answer: husband and wife
•Hint: they did have a relationship
•Feedback: Tammy filed for divorce in 1973, but they reconciled. They did get divorced in 1976.

2. Before becoming a country music singer, Charley Pride was
-- A) a professional basketball player; B) working as a chicken plucker; C) a Negro league baseball player; D) a high school teacher
• Correct Answer: a Negro league baseball player
•Hint: Chubby Checker was a pop star who worked at a Produce Market
•Feedback: Charly Pride is one of three African-American members of The Grand Ole Opry.

3. 'Tulsa Time' was a #1 record for Don Williams in 1978. Which of these was a previous Country #1 for Williams?
-- A) I Love a Rainy Night; B) Til The Rivers All Run Dry; C) Ring of Fire; D) Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
• Correct Answer: Til The Rivers All Run Dry
•Hint: Surely you recognize that 'Ring of Fire' was a Johnny Cash hit.
•Feedback: The Academy of Country Music recognized 'Tulsa Time' as 'single record of the year' in 1979.

4. 'Hello Darlin'' was a #1 Country hit for Conway Twitty in 1970. Before turning to country music, Twitty had some success as a rockabilly performer. Which of these was a #1 pop hit for Twitty in 1958?
-- A) Summertime Blues; B) Be-Bop Baby; C) Don't Be Cruel; D) It's Only Make Believe
• Correct Answer: It's Only Make Believe
•Hint: No -- he did not do a remake of an Elvis hit, but he did sound a lot like Elvis.
•Feedback: The Jordanaires did do the background vocals, contributing to the Elvis sound alike.

5. Tanya Tucker's 'Delta Dawn' was a #6 Country song in 1972, but it was a #1 Hot 100 song for
-- A) Helen Reddy; B) Dolly Parton; C) Bonnie Raitt; D) Linda Ronstadt
• Correct Answer: Helen Reddy
•Hint: She also had a hit with 'I Am Woman.'
•Feedback: Bette Midler also released a version of the song.

6. Sonny James' version of 'Bright Lights, Big City' reached #1 in 1970. In 1983 it was included on an album, 'Everybody's Rockin'' by
-- A) Neil Young; B) Billy Joel; C) Bruce Springsteen; D) Frank Sinatra
• Correct Answer: Neil Young
•Hint: While I can see you thinking the title would be appropriate for Frank Sinatra, if you listen to the song, it probably isn't his style.
•Feedback: 'Bright Lights, Big City' was originally a blues recording by Jimmy Reed in 1961.

7. Anne Murray's 'Danny's Song' went to #10 on the US Country chart in 1972. It was a cover of a 1971 release by Loggins & Messina. Who wrote the song?
-- A) Anne Murray; B) Kenny Loggins; C) Willie Nelson; D) George Strait
• Correct Answer: Kenny Loggins
•Hint: She covered the song, she didn't write it.
•Feedback: Loggins wrote the song when he was in high school -- it appeared on an album, 'Sittin' In' and never charted as a single.

8. A #1 Country hit and #3 on the Hot 100, 'Rose Garden' was Lynn Anderson's biggest hit. Joe South wrote it and Billy Joe Royal first recorded it. They had been successful in 1965 with Royal's top ten recording of
-- A) Down in the Boondocks; B) Wooly Bully; C) Last Train to Clarksville; D) Downtown
• Correct Answer: Down in the Boondocks
•Hint: the only one of the four that has a title like a country song
•Feedback: Columbia records was reluctant to record 'Rose Garden' because the original was written from the perpective of a male singer.

9. Freddy Fender originally recorded 'Wasted Days and Wasted Nights' in 1959, and then re-recorded in in 1975 as a follow-up to his #1 (Hot 100) record,
-- A) Thank God I'm a Country Boy; B) Rhinestone Cowboy; C) Before the Next Teardrop Falls; D) Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain
• Correct Answer: Before the Next Teardrop Falls
•Hint: It's about crying.
•Feedback: 'Wasted Days and Wasted Nights' was a #1 Country song and crossed over to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

10. 'If You Love Me (Let Me Know)' was a #2 Country song for Olivia Newton John in 1974 -- at the end of the decade she would also have film success in her role as
-- A) Baby Jane; B) Sandy; C) Gidget; D) Frog
• Correct Answer: Sandy
•Hint: 'Frog' and 'Gidget' were roles played by Sally Fields.
•Feedback: 'Sandy' of course was John Travolta's (Danny) girl in 'Grease.'

11. 'Behind Closed Doors' was a #1 Country hit for Charlie Rich in 1973 that crossed over to make #15 on the pop chart. His follow-up did even better, making #1 on both charts. What was it?
-- A) The Most Beautiful Girl; B) Amanda; C) Convoy; D) Take This Job and Shove It
• Correct Answer: The Most Beautiful Girl
•Hint: It's a beautiful song.
•Feedback: Charlie Rich had five #1 hits in the 1970's.

12. The scene for 'Lucile' was in a bar in
-- A) Amarillo; B) Tuscon; C) Brooklyn; D) Toledo
• Correct Answer: Toledo
•Hint: Brooklyn for a bar in a country song? -- probably not
•Feedback: 'Lucille' crossed over to be a #5 pop hit.

13. 'Coal Miners Daughter' was #2 for Loretta Lynn in 1970 and would inspire the hit movie of the same name in 1980. Who played Loretta Lynn in the movie?
-- A) Sally Fields; B) Julia Roberts; C) Sissy Spacek; D) Dolly Parton
• Correct Answer: Sissy Spacek
•Hint: Dolly has done some successful acting, but not in this one.
•Feedback: Sissy Spacek actually did her own singing for the film.

14. A #1 Country hit for Eddie Rabbitt, 'Every Which Way But Loose' was a 1978 movie starring
-- A) Clyde; B) Clint Eastwood; C) James Garner; D) Burt Reynolds
• Correct Answer: Clint Eastwood
•Hint: Clyde was the Orangutang sidekick.
•Feedback: Eastwood's role of Philo was a new direction -- comedic rather than the action drama of the 'Dirty Harry' movies.

15. In 1975, 'Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain' was Willie Nelson's first #1 Country hit. But he wrote a #1 song for Patsy Cline in 1961 -- what was it?
-- A) Sweet Dreams; B) Crazy; C) The End of the World; D) Stand By Your Man
• Correct Answer: Crazy
•Hint: 'Sweet Dreams' was a Patsy Cline single, but it didn't reach #1 (#9).
•Feedback: When Patsy Cline first heard 'Crazy' she didn't want to record it.

16. Waylon & Willie's 'Mommas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys' was a #1 Country song in 1978. It was featured in the movie, 'The Electric Horseman' which starred Jane Fonda and
-- A) Robert Redford; B) Peter Fonda; C) Jack Nicholson; D) James Caan
• Correct Answer: Robert Redford
•Hint: She did not star with her brother.
•Feedback: Willie Nelson also had a part in the movie.

17. In her #1 song in 1977, Crystal Gayle implores, 'Give me no reasons, give me ____.'
-- A) tears to cry; B) the time of day; C) alibies; D) dry eyes
• Correct Answer: alibies
•Hint: Nothing to do with eyes.
•Feedback: 'Dont It Make My Brown Eyes Blue' was #1 on the Country chart for four weeks.

18. Sammi Smith made 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' a #1 song in 1970. What 'Outlaw' wrote the song?
-- A) Kris Kristofferson; B) Waylon Jennings; C) Glen Campbell; D) John Denver
• Correct Answer: Kris Kristofferson
•Hint: Waylon Jennings was one of the 'Outlaws' but he didn't write it.
•Feedback: Kristoferson said the inspiration for the song came from a Frank Sinatra quote -- 'Booze, broads, or a bible ... whatever helps me make it through the night.'

19. Waylon Jennings got his inspiration for 'Good Hearted Woman' from a newspaper clip describing someone as a 'good hearted woman loving a two-timing man.' Who was that someone?
-- A) Tammy Wynette; B) Loretta Lynn; C) Tina Turner; D) Tanya Tucker
• Correct Answer: Tina Turner
•Hint: She isn't a country singer.
•Feedback: A #1 Country song that crossed over to the pop chart (#25), 'Good Hearted Woman' launched the outlaw image of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

20. Johnny Cashj's 1970 #1 Country song, 'Sunday Morning Coming Down', was written by a fellow 'outlaw.' Who wrote it?
-- A) Kris Kristoferson; B) George Jones; C) Ray Conniff; D) Ray Stevens
• Correct Answer: Kris Kristoferson
•Hint: I hope you're not considering Ray Coniff. Ray Stevens was the producer, not the writer.
•Feedback: The song was recorded at the Ryman Auditorium for a segment of 'The Johnny Cash Show.'

21. John Denver's 1971 'Take Me Home Country Roads,' was his first entry to the national music charts and it reached #2 on the Hot 100, but only reached #50 on the Country chart. Denver wasn't considered a country artist in the beginning and didn't get a top ten country ranking until 1j974 with
-- A) Mr. Bojangles; B) Annie's Song; C) Daytime Friends; D) If I Were a Carpenter
• Correct Answer: Annie's Song
•Hint: It was written as a love song to his wife.
•Feedback: 'Thank God I'm a Country Boy' and 'I'm Sorry' were also #1 country songs for John Denver.

22. On September 13, 1975, 'Rhinestone Cowboy' was #1 on the country and Hot 100 charts simultaneously, the first time since 1961 when Jimmy Dean accomplished the feat with
-- A) Hello Walls; B) Big, Bad John; C) You're The Reason; D) Ring of Fire
• Correct Answer: Big, Bad John
•Hint: I'm sure you're not considering Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire' and you wouldn't have any reason to do so.
•Feedback: 'Rhinestone Cowboy' was Billboard's #2 record for 1975.

23. In Kenny Rogers' 1978 #1 Country hit, 'The Gambler,' the 'Gambler' takes notice of his traveling companion and offers his advice in exchange for
-- A) a cigarette; B) a train ticket; C) a white carnation; D) a taste of his whiskey
• Correct Answer: a taste of his whiskey
•Hint: In this setting, I'd think you'd rule out a white carnation, and although he does 'bum a cigarette,' that's not the trade.
•Feedback: Kenny Rogers played Brady Hawkes, the gambler, in the 1980 TV movie.

24. 'Luckenbach Texas' was a #1 Country song for Waylon Jennings in 1977. What Willie Nelson song is referred to in the refrain?
-- A) Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain; B) On the Road Again; C) The Gambler; D) Fly Me To the Moon
• Correct Answer: Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain
•Hint: After the previous question, you surely aren't considering 'The Gambler,' and 'On the Road Again' wasn't recorded until 1980.
•Feedback: Willie Nelson contributes a vocal on the final refrain of the record.

25. 'For the Good Times' was a #1 Country song for Ray Price and is the third song on my top 25 of the 1970's written by
-- A) Bobby Darin; B) George Jones; C) Kris Kristoferson; D) Don Williams
• Correct Answer: Kris Kristoferson
•Hint: He wrote 'Sunday Morning Coming Down.'
•Feedback: The other two were 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' and 'Help Me Make It Through the Night.'