Country Folk Trivia Quiz

Answer: United Kingdom

Among the pioneers of folk rock, marrying traditional folk music to electric guitars, Steeleye Span formed in 1969. Early members were Ashley Hutchings, who had left Fairport Convention, and singer Maddy Prior, who was well established on the folk music scene. The band has had many other changes of personnel over the years, with Martin Carthy being another well known member at times, and is still touring during the first quarter of the twenty-first century.

Chart success came from an unlikely source with 'Gaudete', a Christmas carol sung in Latin and a capella, reaching number fourteen on the UK Singles Chart in 1973. 'All Around My Hat' did even better with the band's recording of this traditional folk song reaching number five on the same chart in 1975.

Answer: United Kingdom

Donovan Leitch was born in Scotland and broke through as a performer in the mid 1960s. His family inspired his first love of folk music and his first appearances were in that genre. He wrote his own songs, which led to comparisons with the American Bob Dylan, and the two of them met with Donovan even appearing in a documentary made about Dylan's tour of the UK.

Donovan's hits, which included success in the USA, have among their number 'Catch the Wind' (1965) 'Mellow Yellow' (1966) and 'Jennifer Juniper' (1968).

Answer: United Kingdom

Although they never had much in the way of success in the singles chart, Fairport Convention are the band which epitomise the British folk rock scene. They formed in 1967, initially performing songs by famous American folk rock musicians, including Bob Dylan. They were joined by iconic vocalist Sandy Denny in 1968 and she encouraged them to perform more traditional English folk songs.

The band released many albums over the years and remain well respected despite the numerous changes of personnel. Sandy Denny, who died at the young age of thirty-one, is acknowledged as one of the leading lights of the folk rock genre, not least for writing 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes?' in 1968.

Answer: United Kingdom

Ralph McTell, whose real surname was May, established himself as one of the leaders of the UK's folk scene in the 1960s, and has remained popular ever since. He began his career by travelling around Europe with his guitar, busking along the way. McTell's commercial breakthrough came with his self-penned hit 'Streets of London' which was included on his second album, released in 1969.

The song, with lyrics reminding listeners to open their eyes and look at the homeless people who are struggling to survive, became a huge hit when it was released as a single in 1974. It has been covered by many other performers and, sadly, still has relevance half a century later.

Answer: Canada

One of the most successful Canadian artistes from the folk music scene, Joni Mitchell was born in Alberta, Canada. She began by performing in her home country, before moving south to the USA in 1965. Initial success came as a songwriter, with the likes of Judy Collins recording 'Both Sides Now' in 1968 and Fairport Convention, who included 'Chelsea Morning' on their first album.

Joni sang both songs for her second solo album, called 'Clouds', in 1969 and established herself as one of the leading singer/songwriters of the era. Possibly her best known song, 'Big Yellow Taxi', was released in 1970 and was an early reminder of the dangers of not preserving nature. She has also inspired songs by other singer/songwriters including Graham Nash, Led Zeppelin and Prince.

Answer: Canada

Canadian born Neil Young has had a long lasting career which he began as a singer-songwriter before moving to Los Angeles where he joined the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield. A fellow member was Stephen Stills with whom Young has worked on numerous occasions over the years, notably in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young which also included David Crosby of The Byrds and Graham Nash, who began his career with The Hollies, an English band.

Young had a huge hit with his 1972 album 'Harvest', which featured all the singers already mentioned plus James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt - not a bad set of backup singers. It also gave him the hit single 'Heart of Gold', a number one on the Billboard Hot 100, again in 1972.

Answer: Canada

Formed in the province of Ontario, Tanglefoot began life in the early part of the 1980, initially playing traditional folk music before branching out into original music. As with many bands, they underwent several changes of personnel during their career. The band called time on their existence in 2009 although they have left the door ajar for potential reunion concerts.

Many of their songs used historical events as inspiration, with 'Laura Secord' and 'Vimy' (based on the World War I battle), among them. They released a dozen albums during their career and toured regularly in North America as well as visiting the UK.

Answer: Canada

Lightfoot was one of Canada's most prolific song-writers and continued touring until shortly before his death in 2023 at the age of eighty-four. He began his career in Canada while still at school before moving to Los Angeles in 1958 to further his musical education. Canada remained too big a pull, and he returned in 1960 to make it his permanent home.

Among his best known songs are 'Ribbon of Darkness', recorded by Marty Robbins in 1965, and 'For Lovin' Me', which was covered by Peter Paul and Mary. Lightfoot had hits of his own with 'If You Could Read My Mind' being particularly successful in 1970. In 1974, he had more chart success with 'Sundown' and 'Carefree Highway' and is well known for his songs about Canada's railway history and other historical events.

Answer: USA

The four men who formed The Brothers Four were not real brothers, but adopted the name as they had been in the same fraternity at the University of Washington. Their first public performance came about as a result of a prank - they turned up at a club which wasn't expecting them but allowed them to play anyway.

They moved themselves to San Francisco in 1959 and secured a recording contract. Their biggest hit came the following year when 'Greenfields' reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as charting in the UK and Canada. Although this was the high spot of their career, the band kept performing and is still listed as current in the twenty-first century.

Answer: USA

Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers had a very successful time in the 1960s and covered many traditional folk songs, songs written by others in the same genre and some penned by the two men in the trio. The trio was actually created by their manager, who auditioned several folk singers who were active in New York before choosing the three members.

Among their many hits are 'Lemon Tree' (1962), Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' and the traditional 'Stewball', both from 1963. They also recorded songs by Gordon Lightfoot with their last big hit coming in 1969 with a cover of John Denver's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'.

Answer: USA

Born in Chicago, Tom Paxton is one of America's most prolific writers of songs in the folk music genre. To list all the famous artists who have recorded his songs would need a page of its own. I'll name just a couple, though, in Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel, prolific songwriters themselves.

Among the songs he has written are 'The Last Thing on My Mind', 'The Marvelous Toy' and 'Ramblin Boiy'. Unlike some of the others covered in the quiz, Paxton has avoided the folk rock genre, but hasn't shied away from political comment in his compositions. These include 'Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation' about the Vietnam draft and 'The Death of Stephen Biko' during the apartheid years in South Africa.

Although classing himself as 'semi-retired' in the 2020s, Paxton is still writing and recording and occasionally undertakes short tours.

Answer: USA

Pete Seeger could well be described as the man who began the folk rock genre. His early musical career was as a member of The Weavers, a folk group prominent during the 1940s and 1950s. Pete Seeger was well known for his protest songs and also wrote many songs which you will probably recognise. They include 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone?', 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' and 'If I Had a Hammer'.

Seeger's only charting single came with a song which he didn't write himself, when 'Little Boxes' became popular in 1964. His influence and willingness to stand up for his beliefs have left an indelible mark on history, not just in the musical world.