The Musicians of the 1960s Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
6 min
The Musicians of the 1960s Quiz
Image: Frank Carroll/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

About This Quiz

The 1960s was a time of peace, love and rock 'n' roll. But it also spawned soul, saw the rise of R&B and witnessed the British Invasion. Take this quiz to test your knowledge of the musicians of that turbulent decade.
The Beatles dominated the '60s, with two songs on Billboard's Top 20 in the decade. What were they?
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Hey Jude"
"Hey Jude" and "Yesterday"
"Twist and Shout" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Hey Jude," released in September 1968, came in at the No. 2 position, and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," from February 1964, was No. 5.

Elvis was just hitting his stride as the decade changed, with two songs from 1960 on Billboard's Top 20. Who was his backup band on "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" and "It's Now or Never," along with many of his other hits?
The Pips
The Jordanaires
The Temptations
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Jordanaires, primarily a gospel group before Elvis got hold of them in 1956, sang back up for The King for most of his career.

Ray Charles received his first Grammy in 1960 for this tune that later became the official song of his home state.
"Stars Fell on Alabama"
"Georgia on My Mind"
"North Carolina Is My Home"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Georgia on My Mind," written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell, became the official state song of Georgia in 1979.

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The Rolling Stones landed on Billboard's Top 20 with this song about wayward women in Memphis, Tennessee.
"Honky Tonk Women"
"Brown Sugar"
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Honky Tonk Women," released in 1969, followed a string of '60s Stones hits, including "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," but it was the only one of their songs to make the Top 20 for the decade.

In mid-1964 this girl group took off when "Where Did Our Love Go" went to No. 1.
The Ronettes
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
The Supremes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was the first of five consecutive No. 1 hits for the group: "Baby Love," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Come See About Me" and "Back in My Arms Again."

This song, which spawned a dance craze, was the No. 1 song of the '60s according to Billboard.
"The Twist"
"Twist and Shout"
"Monster Mash"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Chubby Checker hit solid gold twice with "The Twist," which danced its way to the No. 1 spot on the charts in 1960 and again in 1962.

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Before finding success as a singer in his own right, this performer was a session drummer for Motown legends Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and The Marvelettes.
Otis Redding
Marvin Gaye
Aretha Franklin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Marvin Gaye hit it big with songs like "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Can I Get a Witness" after years as a drummer on other singers' hits.

This group had a Saturday morning TV show and several No. 1 hits, including "Sugar, Sugar," one of the biggest hits of the 1960s. They never toured. Who were they?
The Monkees
The Archies
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Archies were a cartoon group from the show of the same name. The four band members all went on to musical success as humans, following their stint in the animated world.

The Beatles debut album was recorded in 1963 and clearly marked the band as ready for prime time. What album spawned hits including "Twist and Shout" and "I Saw Her Standing There."
"Meet the Beatles"
"Please Please Me"
"With the Beatles"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Please Please Me" featured 14 songs, six covers and eight original tunes. It showed off the band's range and highlighted their influences, from rhythm and blues to girl groups.

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It seems like a lot of singers went down in airplane crashes, including this one whose only No. 1 record, "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," was recorded four days before his death on Dec. 10, 1967.
Jimi Hendrix
Jim Morrison
Otis Redding
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

He didn't live to see his song hit the top of the charts. That happened in 1968, after he and four members of his band were killed when their plane crashed in Wisconsin.

Another Saturday morning group also hit the big time in the 1960s with a song that made Billboard's Top 20 for the decade, "I'm a Believer." What was the group's name?
The Byrds
The Archies
The Monkees
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Neil Diamond wrote that song — along with The Monkees' hit "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" — for this foursome that was put together as a TV show first, band second.

Louis Armstrong made Billboard's Top 20 of the decade with this song that he later sang in the Barbra Streisand movie of the same name.
"Hello, Dolly!"
"A Star Is Born"
"Funny Girl"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In 1964, at age 63, Armstrong became the oldest artist to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. He also sang "Hello, Dolly!" with Barbra Streisand in the 1969 movie.

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This woman found the "Respect" she was looking for with the release of her 1967 album, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You."
Nancy Wilson
Diana Ross
Aretha Franklin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

She also won her first two Grammys for the song "Respect," which went to No. 1 on both the pop and R&B charts. In 1987 the Queen of Soul became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This daughter of singing royalty will forever be associated with go-go boots, thanks to her hit 1966 song, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'."
Nancy Sinatra
Lisa Marie Presley
Rosanne Cash
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra also recorded the theme to the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice."

Robert Allen Zimmerman began his career in the 1960s writing and singing about social issues, including war and civil rights. What's his more famous pseudonym?
Neil Young
Pete Seeger
Bob Dylan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bob Dylan's music from the '60s, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-changin'," are the standard-bearers of folk rock to this day.

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In 1966 this duo had three singles in the Top 30. It was the payoff of a partnership that had been in the works since the two were in sixth grade and discovered they could harmonize together.
Boyce and Hart
Simon & Garfunkel
Ike and Tina Turner
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The songs were "Homeward Bound," "I Am a Rock" and "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel.

Creedence Clearwater Revival released a hit song in 1969 with some of the most misquoted lyrics in rock history. What song is it?
"Fortunate Son"
"Bad Moon Rising"
"Up Around the Bend"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The lyrics of "Bad Moon Rising" are not about trying to find your drunken way to the bathroom — "there's a bathroom on the right." Instead, they were inspired after John Fogerty watched the movie "The Devil and Daniel Webster," in which a hurricane wipes out a town — there's a "bad moon on the rise."

Before either he or The Beatles it big in the U.S., this man opened for the band on its tour of England and performed 14 encores his first night. Who was this unlikeliest of sex symbols?
Johnny Cash
Neil Diamond
Roy Orbison
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Elvis called Orbison "the greatest singer in the world," while George Harrison said of Orbison's wooden stage presence, "he never even twitched." But Orbison captivated the world with songs like "Only the Lonely" and "Oh, Pretty Woman."

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This woman squeezed a lot of life into 27 years, wowing critics and audiences at Woodstock and the Monterrey Pop Festival of 1967 with her raw, gutsy vocals.
Janis Joplin
Dusty Springfield
Brenda Lee
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Joplin died of an accidental heroin overdose in 1970. Her biggest hit, "Me and Bobby McGee," was released in 1971.

The Man in Black famously recorded an album at a prison in California, leading many fans to believe he'd actually been incarcerated there. What was the album?
"Prison Break Blues"
"State Prison Blues"
"At Folsom Prison"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Also confusing, Cash released the song "Folsom Prison Blues" in 1955, although "At Folsom Prison" wasn't recorded until 1967 and released in 1968.

This group, with its charismatic and unpredictable lead singer, defined acid rock with hits like "Light My Fire" and "Break On Through (to the Other Side)."
Herman's Hermits
Grateful Dead
The Doors
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Doors released six studio albums in six years before lead singer Jim Morrison died of a heart attack at age 27.

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This Georgia group scored Motown hits in the '60s, including a cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Friendship Train."
The Supremes
The Temptations
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This group of brothers, sisters and cousins got its biggest hit in the '70s with "Midnight Train to Georgia." True fans know you can get chicken and waffles at Gladys Knight's restaurant in Atlanta.

In 1966 he had his first hit with "Solitary Man." He also wrote the song The Monkees took to No. 1, "I'm a Believer."
Neil Sedaka
Neil Diamond
Paul Anka
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

His 1969 hit "Sweet Caroline" was rumored to be about John F. Kennedy's daughter, but in 2014, Diamond admitted he'd written it about his wife.

James Brown's perfectionism and hard work may have brought him out of poverty, but his ability to write and perform songs like "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" gained him this nickname.
the Godfather of Soul
the Duke of Funk
the King of R&B
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" isn't about the world's first man purse, but it did launch a whole new genre of music — funk, an offshoot of soul — that Brown was already the godfather of.

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This band of brothers and cousins from California was The Beatles most serious competition for most influential pop group of the 1960s.
The Beach Boys
The Rolling Stones
The Monkees
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While their early hits may have seemed like simple odes to a life of fun (e.g., "Surfin' Safari," "Surfin' USA" and "Surfer Girl"), their complex harmonies and arrangements endure to this day.

This one-hit wonder knocked The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" out of Billboard's No. 1 spot in summer 1967 with this Southern gothic tale of love gone wrong.
Janis Joplin and "Me and Bobby McGee"
Dusty Springfield and "The Look of Love"
Bobbie Gentry and "Ode to Billie Joe"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gentry's hit was made into a movie of the same name in 1976.

Ok, it's our last question about rockers who burned out early. This groundbreaking guitar player blew audiences away with his performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969.
Eric Clapton
Neil Young
Jimi Hendrix
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hendrix died in 1970 from drug-related complications, but not before leaving his mark on the music world with songs like "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary" and "All Along the Watchtower."

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Called the "best ever pop singer" by Rolling Stone magazine, this British singer hit the charts in the '60s with "Son of a Preacher Man" and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me."
Neil Diamond
Dusty Springfield
Paul Anka
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Springfield peaked with the 1968 album "Dusty in Memphis," produced by Jerry Wexler.

Yet another '60s sensation with roots in Georgia, this singer's biggest hit was "I'm Sorry" in 1960.
Petula Clark
Sandra Dee
Brenda Lee
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The song earned 15-year-old Lee a Grammy nomination and gold record. She petitioned the court to have access to the money she was making and won, moving her mother and brother out of a trailer park.

This woman's first hit was "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," but her biggest hit, "Stand By Your Man," seemed to advise women to do anything to avoid that fate. Who was she?
Tammy Wynette
Patsy Cline
Loretta Lynn
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Stand By Your Man," released in 1968, became the best-selling country song by a woman, with more than 2 million copies sold. That year also marked the first of three Country Music Association female vocalist of the year awards for Wynette.

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