NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Answers to "What Do You Know?"
(NASHVILLE SKYLINE is a column by CMT/CMT.com Editorial Director Chet Flippo.)
Thanks to the many readers who embraced my modest suggestion for subjecting wannabe country singers and budding superstars to a rigorous grilling about country music's history and legacy.
Also thanks to those who upbraided me for including several more recent artists, instead of just concentrating on the older stars and musical antiques. Anything that has happened in country music is now country music history. To me, it doesn't matter if it happened three hours ago or 30 years or 70 years ago.
By the way, I hope everyone saw the latest excited article lauding Nashville as the current it city in The New York Times. How interesting it is these days to live and work in the middle of a virtual amusement park.
Here are the quiz questions and answers:
1. Who is the acknowledged Father of Country Music?
2. Why is there no acknowledged Mother of Country Music?
Because the Father was out tomcattin' around too much. Mainly because solo female artists were not encouraged by society.
3. Who is the acknowledged King of Country Music?
4.Who is the acknowledged Queen of Country Music?
5. Who is the First Family of Country Music?
6. Who is the King of Bluegrass?
7. Who is the Father of Bluegrass?
8. What are the Pistol Annies?
A trio comprised of Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angeleena Presley
9. What is Patsy Cline's real name?
Virginia Patterson Hensley
10. In what car did Hank Williams die?
A 1953 powder blue Cadillac convertible
11. What is the "Mother Church of Country Music"?
Nashville's Ryman Auditorium
12. What did Little Jimmy Dickens advise to do with an "old cold tater"?
"Take an old cold tater and wait."
13. On what TV show did Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert meet?
CMT's 100 Greatest Duets
14. What is Little Jimmie Dickens' advice about green bananas?
"At my age, I don't buy green bananas."
15. What does the name "Rascal Flatts" signify?
Nothing. It was supposedly the name of an early garage band, and the three members liked the name.
16. What is Gary LeVox's real name?
Gerald Wayne Vernon Jr.
17. Whatever happened to the Dixie Chicks?
They pretty much self-immolated after Natalie Maines' infamous statement about George W. Bush, although they still remain a group and are playing two Canadian gigs this year.
18. What did Roger Miller say that you cannot do in a buffalo herd?
Roller skate
19. What was Faith Hill's first hit song?
"Wild One"
20. Who was Stringbean?
David Akeman, a famously funny comedian and banjo player on the Grand Ole Opry
21. What happened to him?
He and his wife were murdered at home by robbers.
22. What country star claimed to be country "when country wasn't cool"?
23. Did Johnny Cash ever serve any time in prison, apart from recording live albums in Folsom Prison and San Quentin Prison?
No. He was once jailed in El Paso, Texas, for possession of amphetamines. He was also arrested in Starkville, Miss., for trespassing and picking flowers. He was arrested or detained five other times and released.
24. In which prison was Merle Haggard an inmate when he saw Johnny Cash perform?
San Quentin
25. What was Tammy Wynette's first occupation?
Beautician
26. What was Tammy Wynette's real name?
Virginia Wynette Pugh
27. Why was George Jones nicknamed "No-Show Jones"?
For infamously missing so many shows
28. Who was George Jones famously married to?
Tammy Wynette
29. On what vehicle was George Jones once riding when he was pulled over by police?
A riding lawn mower
30. Complete this song title: "Stand by Your ..."
Man
31. What is the story behind Dolly Parton's song "Coat of Many Colors"?
Her mother sewed her a patchwork coat and told her the Bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors.
32. Who is Dolly Parton married to?
Nashville businessman Carl Dean
33. What is Taylor Swift's tie to Tim McGraw?
That was the title of her first hit single. And they both record for Big Machine Records.
34. To which institution did Taylor Swift donate $4 million?
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
35. Who is Tim McGraw married to?
Faith Hill
36. What do Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney have to do with an infamous horse theft in New York State?
Chesney rode off on the horse backstage, and McGraw scuffled with deputies who were trying to catch him.
37. What was Kenny Chesney's first record label?
Capricorn Records
38. Why are the Ernest Tubb Record Shops named after Ernest Tubb?
He opened his first store on Nashville's Lower Broadway in Nashville in 1947.
39. Who sang "Strawberry Wine"?
Deana Carter. Gary Harrison wrote it with Matraca Berg.
40. Why is Nashville's Ryman Auditorium called the Ryman?
It was built by steamboat captain Thomas Ryman in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle and was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974.
41. Why is Nashville called Nashville?
It was named for Francis Nash, a Revolutionary War hero.
42. Why should Atlanta or Chicago have been the real Nashville?
Actually, several cities were prominent early on, primarily because of their barn dances. Chicago had the National Barn Dance, Shreveport had the Louisiana Hayride and Dallas had its Big D Jamboree. Cincinnati was an early recording center, as was Atlanta. Nashville won out mainly because it became a music publishing center after Acuff-Rose Music was founded in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose.
43. Who was Fred Rose?
Hank Williams' mentor, producer and co-writer
44. Who was Luke the Drifter?
Hank Williams alter ego for gospel songs
45. Who was Simon Crum?
Ferlin Husky's alter ego. He also recorded under the name Terry Preston.
46. Who was Chris Gaines?
Garth Brooks' alter ego
47. What rock 'n' roll pioneer was the opening act for Hank Snow?
48. Who is Connie Britton?
Star of the TV show Nashville
49. Who portrayed Loretta Lynn in the movie Coal Miner's Daughter?
Sissy Spacek
50. True or false: Rosanne Cash and Dierks Bentley both graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
True