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Tom Paxton Trivia

Tom Paxton Trivia Quizzes

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6 Tom Paxton quizzes and 95 Tom Paxton trivia questions.
1.
  Tom Paxton Sings Funtrivia   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
The folkie Tom Paxton had one of the most varied songbooks around. Let's see how he managed on funtrivia.com quiz categories. Note: Even if you are not an expert on Paxton's songs, a good general knowledge should see you through.
Easier, 20 Qns, darksplash, Jun 08 10
Easier
darksplash
264 plays
2.
  A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
This 'coda' to the first Tom Paxton Gallimaufry continues the story of a songwriter whose music has entered the musical consciousness of America and is loved far and wide.
Average, 15 Qns, darksplash, Mar 20 08
Average
darksplash
202 plays
3.
  A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
To call Tom Paxton a 'folksinger' seems barely adequate in view of his widely varied back catalogue. His most famous song was 'The Last Thing On My Mind', but over the past 40 years his songs have been loved by many.
Average, 15 Qns, darksplash, Mar 20 08
Average
darksplash
251 plays
4.
  Paxton's People   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
It's been a while since I've written a Tom Paxton quiz; this one is for the fans. See if you can identify the characters the American folkie created in song, or the people other songs were about.
Average, 15 Qns, darksplash, Mar 29 15
Average
darksplash
109 plays
5.
  Tom Paxton   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
One of my favourite American artists, Tom Paxton - so I thought I'd write one! I hope you enjoy the quiz as much as I enjoy his music!
Average, 20 Qns, Quiz_Beagle, Mar 20 08
Average
Quiz_Beagle gold member
243 plays
6.
  Tom Paxton and John Denver    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Tom Paxton and John Denver are two of contemporary folk music's important figures, and they were very good friends. Let's see how much you know about the relationship between the two.
Very Difficult, 10 Qns, bootleghaima, Apr 01 21
Very Difficult
bootleghaima
Apr 01 21
129 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What was the name of the singing trio Tom Paxton was part of at the University of Oklahoma in the late 1950s?

From Quiz "A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2"





Tom Paxton Trivia Questions
1. Tom Paxton auditioned for a folk group back in the early 60s, but he didn't get the position. Several years later John Denver became a member of the group. What was the name of this folk group?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: The Chad Mitchell Trio

The Chad Mitchell Trio was originally formed by Chad Mitchell, Mike Kobluk and Mike Pugh. After Mike Pugh left the group in 1960, Tom Paxton auditioned for the trio, but the trio chose Joe Frazier as Pugh's replacement. In 1965, Chad Mitchell left the trio and John Denver filled in. The rest is history!

2. Which singer/songwriter once said: "We are all born knowing Tom Paxton songs"?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2

Answer: Nanci Griffith

All have sung on Paxton recordings. Paxton also released a joint album with Anne Hills, "Under American Skies" and they toured with the late Bob Gibson for several years as the trio Best of Friends, producing an album of the same name. Nanci Griffith was a Grammy award winner. Linda Williams sang and recorded with her husband Robin (no, not that Robin Williams). Mary (Hopkin) Visconti was a Welsh-born singer whose early career was championed by Paul McCartney.

3. Which word is missing from these lines from Tom Paxton's 'The Last Thing On My Mind'?: "It's a lesson too late for the learning, Made of _____, made of _____"

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: Sand

'The Last Thing On My Mind' was probably Paxton's most widely-known song. He described it as his "comfort zone". In his songbook 'The Honor Of Your Company' he wrote that the melody came about as he tried to learn new ways to play the G chord.

4. "It's a lesson too late for the learning, made of sand". First line of which song?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: The Last Thing On My Mind

From the sleeve notes to "Ramblin' Boy" - "Sometimes something important slips right through our fingers. We stand and watch it happening but don't have the wrords to stop it and there it goes and that's it".

5. Tom Paxton wrote some marvellous children's songs. What colour was "Jennifer's Rabbit"?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: Brown and white

Unlike "Marvellous Toy" or "Goin' To The Zoo", I didn't come across this song until I was an adult. I still love it, though!

6. One of Tom Paxton's songs became the title of John Denver's third commercial solo LP. What was the name of the song?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: Whose Garden Was This?

"Whose Garden Was This", John Denver's third solo album, was released in October 1970. The song was originally on Tom's 1970 album, "6".

7. On one of his early albums, the folksinger Tom Paxton lampooned the grandiose burial services offered at a US cemetery. Which cemetery?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2

Answer: Forest Lawn

"Oh lay me down in Forest Lawn, they understand there They have a heavenly choir and a military band there Just put me in their care, I'll find my comfort there With sixteen planes in a last salute Dropping a cross on a parachute Chorus: "I want to go simply when I go They'll give me a simple funeral there, I know With a hundred strolling strings And topless dancers in golden wings Oh, take me when I'm gone to Forest Lawn" Few songwriters could match Paxton for dressing biting social comment in a humorous song. John Denver had wanted to sing this song on the 'Tonight Show' but the broadcasters would not let him. Finally, though, when he was guest host one night Denver said he would sing what he liked - and, as Paxton later noted, "let it rip" with 'Forest Lawn'.

8. The American singer/songwriter Tom Paxton composed a song for each of his two daughters. What were their names?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: Jennifer and Katy

Paxton wrote 'Jennifer's Rabbit' for his elder daughter and 'Katy' for the younger.

9. In "Jennifer's Rabbit", how many monkeys from the city zoo joined them?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: 17

"...along with a turtle and a kangaroo...and Jennifer too"!

10. Children from the UK will have heard "The Marvellous Toy" sung by Val Doonican, but it was written by Tom Paxton. Who gave the toy to the singer?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: My father

This song used to be played constantly on children's radio when I was growing up, so I grew to hate it! It was, however, the first song that Tom had published, so deserves its place in this quiz...

11. What was the last Tom Paxton song recorded by John Denver?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: The Last Hobo

"The Last Hobo" was originally from Tom's 1986 album, "And Loving You". John Denver recorded the song on his last album "All Aboard!" in 1997. The album won a posthumous Grammy for Best Musical Album For Children. However, the song was incorrectly credited to "George Allen" on the album. "The Ballad of Gary Hart" was performed frequently in concerts by John Denver from 1988 to 1994. "Bet on the Blues" was recorded on John's 1995 album, "The Wildlife Concert".

12. The American singer/songwriter Tom Paxton wrote many songs about Vietnam. Which one of them was also the title of a movie?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: Born On The Fourth Of July

Paxton wrote the song after reading the biography of Ron Kovic, a US Marine who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, and, as Paxton put it, "ran flat lot of luck" on the second. The chorus of the song goes: "I was born on the Fourth of July No one more loyal than I And when my country said so, I was ready to go And I wish I'd been left there to die"

13. Where did Tom Paxton write "The Marvellous Toy"?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: Fort Dix, New Jersey

Tom Paxton gives lots of biographical information on stage. I think it's fair to say that his time at Fort Dix was not the most enjoyable in his life!

14. Tom Paxton often dedicated one of his songs to John Denver in concerts after 2008. Which song is it?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: What a Friend You Are

"What a Friend You Are" was originally written for Tom's wife Midge, but Tom often dedicated it to John Denver after 2008, because John had plans to record the song shortly before his tragic death. "Crazy John" was written for John Lennon, and "Outward Bound" was often dedicated to Robert F. Kennedy.

15. The American folksinger Tom Paxton once wrote a song with just 11 words in it. That, however, was not his shortest. How many words were there in 'Lament For A Lost Election'?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: 1

Paxton was an avowed Democrat. After George W. Bush's first victory he wrote - if that isn't too loose a word for the act - 'LFALE'. That one word was @$*!

16. We're "Goin' To The Zoo" tomorrow - how long can we stay?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: All day

I bet you could all sing this one right through, couldn't you?

17. In 2005, a British radio station presented a 'lifetime achievement' award for songwriting to the American folkie Tom Paxton. Which radio station was it?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2

Answer: BBC Radio 2

On the same night, Ramblin' Jack Elliott also received a lifetime award. Three years earlier, Paxton received an ASCAP 'Lifetime Achievement Award' in Folk Music. Paxton lived in London for an extended period in the 1970s and enjoyed as much success there as in his native USA.

18. Which word is missing from these lines from Tom Paxton's 'The Last Thing On My Mind'? "You've got reasons aplenty for going This I know, this I know For the ______ have been steadily growing Please don't go, please don't go"

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: Weeds

The song is, inevitably, one of Paxton's encores at concerts. It has been recorded about 200 times (Source: All Music Guide).

19. Tom has written some amazing songs about Vietnam. This is a very blackly comic one called "Talking Vietnam Pot-Luck Blues". When the singer first got to Vietnam what did he hardly get to see?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: Saigon

I loved this song and can still remember all the words. Don't get stuck next to me at a party!

20. Which John Denver song did Tom Paxton sing at the 2008 Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: Leaving on a Jet Plane

John Denver had sung at least 15 Tom Paxton songs throughout his career, but as far as we know, "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is the only John Denver song that Tom Paxton sang in public. In 2008, Milt Okun was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame with a performance by the first artist he signed - Tom Paxton, and his most recent artist - Madi Diaz, who sang a duet of "Leaving on a Jet Plane", a song by another artist he signed - John Denver.

21. Which 1960s icon was the subject of a song called 'Crazy John' by the American folkie Tom Paxton?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2

Answer: John Lennon

"Crazy John, where you gonna run to today? Crazy John, so early to be up and away They're never gonna here you John, so how can you teach them? They never come near you John, so how you gonna reach them?" Paxton later noted: "When John Lennon had the temerity to come out for peace he was vilified in the press and the right-wing sections of Congress and became the subject of an FBI investigation His sojourn in bed in Canada with his wife, Yoko, and the release of the single 'Give Peace A Chance' only intensified the rage of the hawks. I loved him for exposing himself to that hatred when he could have just stayed a Beatle."

22. Which band had a hit with a a Tom Paxton song entitled 'Wasn't that A Party'?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: The Irish Rovers

"Could have been the whiskey, might have been the gin Could have been the three four six packs, I don't know But won't you look at the mess I'm in A head like a football, I think I'm gonna die But tell me oh, me oh me, oh my Wasn't that a party?" Despite their name, the band was, in fact, Canadian.

23. Where does the "Pot" in "Talking Vietnam Pot-Luck Blues" come from?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: Straight from Uncle Ho's victory garden

There are some wonderful lines in this song - I particularly like the "Little chap in black PJs - BF Goodrich sandals".

24. In 1985, Tom Paxton lampooned former Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm in one of his songs. The song also mentioned one of John Denver's compositions in its lyrics. Which John Denver song was it?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: Rocky Mountain High

Tom's song was called "Come and Grow Old With Me in Colorado". The last verse of the song goes: "We'll stick our heads in the oven in Colorado, little darlin'; We'll go out together, you and I. We will each strike a match in Colorado, little darlin'; We'll blow ourselves 'Rocky Mountain High'." It was released on his 1985 album, "One Million Lawyers and Other Disasters". Rumor has it that John was not very happy about the song...

25. "I opened the paper, there was your picture, Gone, gone, gone by your own hand. I couldn't believe it, the paper was shakin', Gone, gone, gone by your own hand." Of which of his folk music contemporaries did Tom Paxton write this requiem?

From Quiz Paxton's People

Answer: Phil Ochs

"I know I'm gonna spend the rest of my lifetime wondering why, You found yourself so badly hurt you had to die." Paxton and Ochs were fellow travellers musically, and at times literally; taking their songs to the striking miners of Hazard County and the pro Civil Rights campaigners of just about anywhere in the South. The Vietnam War gave both a vein of subject matter. When the war ended, though, Ochs found it difficult to move away from his 'protest singer' acclaim. He was also bipolar, and died by suicide on April 9th 1976 at the age of just 35.

26. The US folkie Tom Paxton once wrote a song deriding the right-wing views of a New York newspaper. Which one?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2

Answer: The Daily News

"Civil Rights leaders are a pain in the neck Can't hold a candle to Chiang Kai Shek How do I know I read it in the Daily News Ban the bombers are afraid of a fight Peace hurts business and that ain't right How do I know I read it in the Daily News Chorus: Daily News, daily blues, Pick up a copy any time you choose. Seven little pennies in the newsboy's hand, And you ride right along to never, never land." Newspapers gave Paxton ideas for many of his topical songs.

27. Which song did Tom Paxton sing on 'Where Have All The Flowers Gone?', the album of Pete Seeger songs covered by a variety of artistes?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 1

Answer: Get Up And Go

"How do I know my youth is all spent My get up and go has got up and went But in spite of it all I'm able to grin "When I think of the places my get up has been" 'Kisses Sweeter Than Wine' was sung by Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt; 'One Grain Of Sand' was sung by Odetta and 'Quiet Early Morning' was sung by Holly Near. Billy Bragg, Donovan, Bruce Springsteen, Tim Robbins, Nanci Griffith and Judy Collins were among others who sang on the album.

28. Another moving song about Vietnam concerns a man trying to wake up his room-mate. What's it called?

From Quiz Tom Paxton

Answer: Jimmy Newman

This song is about a guy forlornly pleading his (presumably dead) room mate to wake up and get on the planes going home. It's very moving.

29. Tom Paxton and Bill Danoff started a folk festival in memory of John Denver in 2002. What was the name of the festival?

From Quiz Tom Paxton and John Denver

Answer: Country Roads Folk Festival

Started in 2002, the Country Roads Folk Festival was held in Kearneysville, WV. Bill Danoff is another important folk veteran who co-wrote "Take Me Home, Country Roads" with John Denver.

30. The US Congress bail-out of a giant US company in the late 1970s gave singer/songwriter Tom Paxton fuel for a topical song that mixed humour with irony. Which company was it?

From Quiz A Tom Paxton Gallimaufry Vol. 2

Answer: Chrysler

"Oh the price of gold is rising out of sight And the dollar is in sorry state tonight What a dollar used to get us now won't buy a head of lettuce no the economic forecast isn't right But amidst the cloud I spot a shining ray I begin to glimpse a new and better way I've devised a plan of action, worked it down to the last fraction and I'm going into action here today. I am changing my name to Chrysler I am going down to Washington DC I will tell some power-broker 'What you did for Iacocca would be perfectly acceptable to me' I am changing my name to Chrysler I am leaving for that great receiving line And when they hand a million grand out I'll be standing with my hand out Yes sir, I'll get mine." Arlo Guthrie, who covered the song, reckoned it was worth singing for another line alone: "Since the first amphibian climbed out of the slime..." Of course no modern government would ever bail out a big loss-making business like that any more...would it?

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