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Before Their Time Trivia Quiz

This quiz is dedicated to the great jazz musicians who died well before their time. You must guess what took their lives. Morbid maybe, but interesting nonetheless... No obscure musicians - all prominent figures in the field of jazz/swing.

A multiple-choice quiz by paulmkarandos. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
paulmkarandos

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
349,305

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
250

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Trumpeter Clifford Brown died well before his time. He was just 25 years old. How did he die? Hint

Overdose

Suicide

Liver failure

Car accident

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Billie Holiday is remembered for her voice and improvisational ability. However, her life was cut short by which cause? Hint

Overdose

Cirrhosis of the liver

Suicide

Fell from a great height

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Jaco Pastorius was an amazing bass player who had played with some of the greatest musicians in the world. He was known for having wild mood swings and manic depression. How did he die? Hint

Overdose

Car accident

Gunshot

A brutal fight

4. John Coltrane is regarded as one of the greatest tenor sax players ever. His sound and style are still emulated today. He was another one who left us way too early. What ailment took his life? Hint

Stroke

Lupus

Liver cancer

Heart attack

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Lee Morgan was an excellent trumpet player who briefly studied under Dizzy Gillespie. He had many great contributions to the bebop and hard bop genres of jazz. How did he die? Hint

Liver failure

Murdered

Tuberculosis

Overdose

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Charlie Parker is one of the most influential musicians to ever live. He pioneered the bebop era, and influenced Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius Monk. However, he died before his time on March 12, 1955. How did he die? Hint

Murdered

Brain aneurysm

Car accident

Pneumonia

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Glenn Miller headed one of the most recognizable swing bands of the 40s. He had countless hits throughout the decade. How did he pass away? Hint

Plane crash

Overdose

Bus crash

Car accident

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Though Chet Baker lived into his late 50s, his life was cut short. He was an accomplished soloist on trumpet and a singer. How did he die? Hint

Car crash

Gunshot wound

Fell from a great height

Respiratory arrest

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Nat King Cole had a golden voice. "Unforgettable" is perhaps his most recognized song. He was 45 years old when he died. What took his life? Hint

Suicide

Heart attack

Brain tumor

Lung cancer

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Cannonball Adderley was a great alto sax player. He crossed over to pop music briefly by writing, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." However, he was best known for his jazz. How did he die? Hint

Overdose

Choked

Stroke

Car crash

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Trumpeter Clifford Brown died well before his time. He was just 25 years old. How did he die?

Answer: Car accident

Despite only living to the age of 25, he contributed greatly to jazz music. On June 26, 1956 he was being driven to a gig when the car spun out of control, due to heavy rain, and wrecked off the side of the road; as a consequence, all three passengers died.

2. Billie Holiday is remembered for her voice and improvisational ability. However, her life was cut short by which cause?

Answer: Cirrhosis of the liver

As well as her singing prowess, she was known to be able to drink with the men. She died on July 17, 1959 at the age of 44 as a result of pulmonary edema and heart failure, brought on by cirrhosis of the liver.

3. Jaco Pastorius was an amazing bass player who had played with some of the greatest musicians in the world. He was known for having wild mood swings and manic depression. How did he die?

Answer: A brutal fight

He was ejected from a Santana concert in 1987 and made his way to a local club. When the club didn't allow him admittance, he kicked in a window. When asked to leave, he picked a fight with a bouncer, they fought, and Jaco sustained multiple facial fractures and damage to his right eye.

He fell into a coma and died not too long after. Eerily enough, this altercation happened on September 11, 1987. He was just 35 years old.

4. John Coltrane is regarded as one of the greatest tenor sax players ever. His sound and style are still emulated today. He was another one who left us way too early. What ailment took his life?

Answer: Liver cancer

It is suspected that the liver issues were brought on by hepatitis, stemming from past drug use. However, the official cause was listed as liver cancer. He died July 17, 1967 at age 40.

5. Lee Morgan was an excellent trumpet player who briefly studied under Dizzy Gillespie. He had many great contributions to the bebop and hard bop genres of jazz. How did he die?

Answer: Murdered

While on a gig, he was re-entering the stage after a break and his common law wife shot him in the chest. He died almost instantly. The date was February 17, 1972, he was only 33 years old.

Answer: Pneumonia

Though he was addicted to heroin and alcohol most of his adult life, the official cause of death was pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer. He also had an advanced case of cirrhosis and had suffered a heart attack. He passed away at 34 years old.

7. Glenn Miller headed one of the most recognizable swing bands of the 40s. He had countless hits throughout the decade. How did he pass away?

Answer: Plane crash

He was on a plane traveling to France to entertain the troops on December 15, 1944, when the plane went down over the English Channel due to bad weather. He was 40 years old.

8. Though Chet Baker lived into his late 50s, his life was cut short. He was an accomplished soloist on trumpet and a singer. How did he die?

Answer: Fell from a great height

There is much debate about his death. While on tour in Amsterdam he was found dead on the street two stories below his hotel room. The autopsy found heroin and cocaine in his system. Since there was no sign of struggle, his death was ruled an accident.

Conspiracy theorists contend he got in an altercation with some drug dealers to whom he owed money and they threw him out the window, possibly after an overdose. Another theory suggests he had overdosed in his room and the hotel staff threw him out the window. Apparently, in Amsterdam's law at the time, the hotel wouldn't be investigated for his death if he had died outside the hotel.

Either way, he suffered massive head trauma, and the fall was said to have caused death. He died on May 13, 1988 at the age of 58.

9. Nat King Cole had a golden voice. "Unforgettable" is perhaps his most recognized song. He was 45 years old when he died. What took his life?

Answer: Lung cancer

He was rarely seen without a cigarette. After a major stomach surgery near the end of his life he was told by doctors he needed to stop smoking. He didn't and lung cancer took his life on February 15, 1965.

10. Cannonball Adderley was a great alto sax player. He crossed over to pop music briefly by writing, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." However, he was best known for his jazz. How did he die?

Answer: Stroke

He died of a stroke on August 8, 1975 - he was 46 years old. Later that year he was inducted into the Downbeat Hall of Fame.

Source: Author paulmkarandos

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