Music Trivia Questions and Answers - Ray Charles - John Philip Sousa - Mother and Child Reunion - Happy Trails - B.B. King and More!

 

Music trivia questions and answers with Operettas, Steinway Pianos, the Beatles, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, and More.

How many marches did John Philip Sousa write?
A: 136. He also wrote 15 operettas, 15 band suites and 70 songs.

How much does a 9-foot Steinway concert grand piano weigh? How about a 5-foot 1-inch baby grand?
A: Grand, 990 pounds; baby, 540.

To whom did the Beatles dedicate the movie Help!?
A: To "Elias Howe who, in 1846, invented the sewing machine."

What was singer Ray Charles's name at birth?
A: Ray Charles Robinson. He dropped his surname early in his career to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

Who played Madonna's father i the 19856 music video the popular singer made for her recording of "Papa Don't Preach"?
A: Actor Danny Aiello.

What former friend did singer Al Jolson knock out in a grudge prizefight in 1933?
A: Columnist Walter Winchell.

What musical instrument did Meredith Willson, author of The Music Man, play in his hometown band as well as with the John Philip Sousa band and the New York Philharmonic?
A: The flute.

What instrument did Dolly Parton play in her high-school marching band?
A: The snare drum.

What popular recording star owes his name to his resemblance to baseball great Hank Aaron?
A: Hammer, who was named Stanley Kirk Burrell at birth. He was nicknamed Little Hammer while a batboy for the Oakland Athletics because of his resemblance to Hammerin' Hank.

Who composed the pop gospel standard "The Bible Tells Me So"?
A: Dale Evans, cowgirl wife of Roy Rogers. She also wrote their theme song, "Happy Trails."

In music what is a hemidemisemiquaver?
A: A sixty-fourth note.

What was the inspiration for the Paul Simon song "Mother and Child Reunion"?
A: A chicken-and-egg dish of that name on the menu of a restaurant in New York City's Chinatown.

Who composed the coronation anthem first played for England's King George II in 1727 and used at British coronations ever since?
A: George Frederic Handel.

How did singer Riley King get his stage name B.B. King?
A: From the nickname Blues Boy, given to him during a stint as a disc jockey on a Memphis radio station.

Who was the first American invited to conduct at La Scala in Milan?
A: Leonard Bernstein.

Who played solo guitar on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" for the 1968 Beatles "White Album"?
A: Eric Clapton.

What famous composer wrote ballet music for elephants in the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus?
A: Igor Stravinsky in 1942. His "Circus Polka" was choreographed by George Balanchine.

What patriotic American song first appeared as a poem in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862?
A: "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," written by Julia Ward Howe after she saw Union troops marching to "John Brown's Body,." the music to which her poem was set.

What popular singer worked in a pineapple cannery before getting her first taste of show business as an extra in the 1966 film Hawaii?
A: Bette Midler, who was paid $350 for portraying a Christian missionary in the screen adaptation of the James Michener novel.

During a Metropolitan Opera tour of Turandot, soprano Birgit Nilsson held the high C in a duet longer than Franco Corelli. What did the temperamental tenor do to show his disapproval?
A: He bit her on the neck when he was supposed to give her a stage kiss.