QUIZ KEY:

1. Which of the following was NOT a #1 country record for Hank Williams?
-- A) Cold, Cold Heart; B) Jambalaya; C) Oh Lonesome Me; D) Your Cheatin' Heart
• Correct Answer: Oh Lonesome Me
•Hint: 'Your Cheatin' Heart' became a #1 song after Williams death on January 1, 1953.
•Feedback: Williams had a total of nine #1 country records.

2. Who played Hank Williams in the 1964 movie, 'Your Cheatin' Heart'?
-- A) Johnny Cash; B) George Hamilton; C) Elvis Presley; D) Steve McQueen
• Correct Answer: George Hamilton
•Hint: I can't imagine Steve McQueen playing Hank Williams.
•Feedback: Col. Tom Parker refused to let Elvis play the role. Steve McQueen turned it down.

3. What Elvis Presley song occupied the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100, Country and R&B charts simultaneously?
-- A) Hound Dog; B) Jailhouse Rock; C) April Love; D) That's Alright Mama
• Correct Answer: Hound Dog
•Hint: 'April Love' is a Pat Boone song.
•Feedback: 'Hound Dog' was the flip side to 'Don't Be Cruel' -- Billboard listed them together.

4. What 1950's country artist had six #1 country records during that decade, including 'A White Sport Coat' which made #2 on the pop chart?
-- A) Faron Young; B) Johnny Burnette; C) Eddy Arnold; D) Marty Robbins
• Correct Answer: Marty Robbins
•Hint: His 1959 #1, 'El Paso' was also #1 on the pop chart.
•Feedback: Marty Robbins had 17 #1 country songs during his career.

5. What 1960's country star got his start fillling in for the Beach Boys?
-- A) Glen Campbell; B) Roger Miller; C) Eddy Arnold; D) Marty Robbins
• Correct Answer: Glen Campbell
•Hint: Roger Miller would never have fit in with The Beach Boys.
•Feedback: Campbell played guitar on the 'Pet Sounds' album and toured with the band in early 1965.

6. What legendary guitarist spearheaded the development of the 'Nashville Sound' during the early 1960's?
-- A) Sam Phillips; B) Chet Atkins; C) Jim Reeves; D) Kenny Rogers
• Correct Answer: Chet Atkins
•Hint: Sam Phillips was a record producer -- 'discovered' Elvis.
•Feedback: Chet Atkins has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame.

7. A reaction to the softer 'Nashville Sound' of country music in the 1960's was a style that came out of Bakersfield, California which had a harder edge. Which of these country artists was a product of that sound?
-- A) Buck Owens; B) Jim Reeves; C) Jimmy Dean; D) Kenny Rogers
• Correct Answer: Buck Owens
•Hint: Jim Reeves was the epitome of the 'Nashville Sound.'
•Feedback: Buck Owens co-starred in the television show, 'Hee-Haw.'

8. Country music was given a boost in the early 1960's when 'Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music' was released in 1962. Who recorded the album?
-- A) Skeeter Davis; B) Johnny Cash; C) Ray Charles; D) The Everly Brothers
• Correct Answer: Ray Charles
•Hint: The Everly Brothers' records often made the country charts, but they didn't record this album.
•Feedback: Ray Charles' #1, 'I Can't Stop Loving You' was one of the cuts on the album.

9. What country star got her start as a regular guest on Porter Wagoner's syndicated television show?
-- A) Tanya Tucker; B) Connie Francis; C) Loretta Lynn; D) Dolly Parton
• Correct Answer: Dolly Parton
•Hint: Connie Francis was hardly a country star.
•Feedback: Parton's 1974 country #1, 'I Will Always Love You,' was written as a farewell gesture to Wagoner when she left the show.

10. What Willie Nelson song is mentioned in Waylon Jennings' 'Luckenbach Texas?'
-- A) On the Road Again; B) Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain; C) Rhinestone Cowboy; D) Always On My Mind
• Correct Answer: Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
•Hint: 'Always On My Mind' wasn't released until 1982.
•Feedback: 'Between Hank Williams' pain songs and
Newbury's train songs and 'Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain'

11. The television series 'Hee-Haw' was set in what fictional county?
-- A) Kornfield Kounty; B) Huskerville; C) Luckenbach Texas; D) Boondocks County
• Correct Answer: Kornfield Kounty
•Hint: As per the previous question, Lukenbach Texas was the town Waylon Jennings wanted to get back to.
•Feedback: 'Hee-Haw' was hosted by Buck Owens and Roy Clark.

12. Which of the following was NOT a hit duet by George Jones and Tammy Wynette?
-- A) Feelins; B) We're Gonna Hold On; C) Islands in the Stream; D) Golden Ring
• Correct Answer: Islands in the Stream
•Hint: 'We're Gonna Hold On' is one of my top 25 of the 19770's, recorded by the duo in 1973.
•Feedback: 'Islands in the Stream' was a song written by the Bee Gees and recorded by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in 1983

13. What 1980's country band had 15 consecutive country #1 hits?
-- A) Alabama; B) Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; C) The Eagles; D) The Oak Ridge Boys
• Correct Answer: Alabama
•Hint: The Eagles broke up at the start of the decade.
•Feedback: 'Tar Top' peaked at #7 in 1987 to end their streak.

14. 'Urban Cowboy' was a movie released in 1980 that boosted the popularity of country music. Who starred in the movie?
-- A) John Travolta; B) George Strait; C) James Garner; D) Kevin Bacon
• Correct Answer: John Travolta
•Hint: George Strait would eventually star in a movie, 'Pure Country,' but not 'Urban Cowboy.'
•Feedback: Co-starring Debra Winger, 'Urban Cowboy' popularized line dancing and country dance halls like Gilley's in Dallas.

15. A movement called the 'New Traditionalists' emerged in the 1980's and is reflected by the song, 'I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool.' Who sang that song?
-- A) Dolly Parton; B) Barbara Mandrell; C) Sheena Easton; D) The Judds
• Correct Answer: Barbara Mandrell
•Hint: She had a television show starring her and her sisters.
•Feedback: 'I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool' was Mandrell's fourth country #1 song.

16. George Strait was part of the 'New Traditionalist' movement and released his first album in 1981. What was it titled?
-- A) A Country Tradition; B) Strait Country; C) Down Home in Texas; D) Easy Come, Easy Go
• Correct Answer: Strait Country
•Hint: 'Easy Come, Easy Go' was a George Strait album released in 1993.
•Feedback: Strait's first album didn't have that much success, peaking at #26 on the Country Albums Chart. His third album, 'Right or Wrong' would be his first #1 in 1983.

17. George Strait starred in the movie, 'Pure Country,' in 1992. What was the name of the character he played?
-- A) George; B) Bubba; C) Diego; D) Dusty
• Correct Answer: Dusty
•Hint: He didn't use his own name.
•Feedback: The actual name of the character is Wyatt 'Dusty' Chandler. The movie wasn't a great success but the soundtrack album is one of Strait's most successful.

18. What artist had 16 number one country records during the 1990's?
-- A) Garth Brooks; B) Alan Jackson; C) George Strait; D) Both Brooks and Strait
• Correct Answer: Both Brooks and Strait
•Hint: Alan Jackson had 15 #1's.
•Feedback: Brooks had one #1 prior to the 1990's ('If Tomorrow Never Comes' in 1989). Strait had 17 #1's in the 1980's.

19. What song extolled the popularity of country music with the lyric, 'some of that stuff don't sound much different than Dylan?'
-- A) Don't Rock the Jukebox by Alan Jackson; B) Maybe It Was Memphis by Pam Tillis; C) Gone Country by Alan Jackson; D) Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus
• Correct Answer: Gone Country by Alan Jackson
•Hint: It's an Alan Jackson record.
•Feedback: 'Gone Country' was a #1 country song in 1994.

20. What female vocalist had eight #1 country song in the 1990's including 'Fancy?'
-- A) Faith Hill; B) Reba McEntire; C) Patsy Cline; D) Lee Ann Womack
• Correct Answer: Reba McEntire
•Hint: She also had a #1 with 'Is There Life Out There?'
•Feedback: Reba had her first top twenty hit in 1979, a remake of Patsy Cline's 'Sweet Dreams.'