Jingle Bell Rock Trivia Quiz

Answer: Do They Know It's Christmas?

One of the best-selling singles in the UK, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sold millions of copies after its release. The group, Band Aid, was notable for having a certain amount of star power. Performers from U2, Genesis, Duran Duran, Bananarama, Kool and the Gang, and The Police (and many others) turned out for the single which raised money to feed hungry Ethiopian children for Christmas.

The song knocked Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" off the chart as Britain's most popular song and it held the title for fourteen years until Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" in 1997. Band Aid has reappeared on other different occasions with new members from contemporary music scenes.

Answer: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, fresh off a number of high-selling albums and Tom Petty's solo work, "Full Moon Fever", brought out their single, "Christmas All Over Again", in 1992 as part of an anthology of Christmas songs. The single itself never actually appeared on a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers CD until their "Playback" album, a collection of B-Sides and Rarities that was released in 1995.

A rather upbeat song for Tom Petty's style of rock, it has become somewhat of a classic, appearing in a couple of movies set during the holidays.

Answer: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Often regarded as one of the most popular songs to emerge from the "Grinch's" official soundtrack, "Green Christmas" also appeared on the charity album "Maybe This Christmas Too?". The Barenaked Ladies, after the success of "Green Christmas", released a holiday album called "Barenaked for the Holidays" in 2004.

This album also included the song in question. The CD was praised for containing both traditional Christmas carols as well as songs pertaining to Hanukkah. Sarah McLachlan and Michael Buble both appeared on separate tracks.

Answer: Chuck Berry

Although all of these artists (and more) have covered the song, Chuck Berry, known for "Johnny B. Goode" and other early rock classics, released "Run Rudolph Run" in 1958. Appearing on the Billboard Top 100, the song has been a popular rock hit showing up in a number of Christmas films over the years.

In 2005, country artist Luke Bryan's rendition of the song became the first cover of the single to pass its predecessor in the charts. The song is often mistakenly referred to as "Run, Run Rudolph" because of its lyrics.

Answer: Paul McCartney

One of McCartney's many single ventures, "Wonderful Christmastime" became one of his most popular singles released. While charting in UK (at number six on their Singles Chart), the US did not take too kindly to the song until it became somewhat of a traditional thing.

The song was released in 1979, though McCartney was not the first Beatle to have music for the holiday season. By the turn of the century, all four Beatles had produced Christmas music solo. Many artists, including the Barenaked Ladies, Hilary Duff, and Jars of Clay, have covered this song.

Answer: Rockin'

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", since its inception into the holiday music canon, has become a hit around Christmas time with Brenda Lee's original version being the most popular. In her later years, Lee was given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award as a result of her music career and by this point, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" had reached its fiftieth year as a timeless piece.

In the US, the song reached number 14 on the Billboard charts and has since spawned numerous renditions, mostly from country musicians.

Answer: The World We Live In

With a tendency to show up with a hit just around the holidays, The Killers made a consecutive set of years in which they have released a Christmas-themed song in December. 2006 saw the release of "A Great Big Sled" which they and Toni Halliday released on iTunes.

The proceeding year, The Killers released "Don't Shoot Me Santa" which charted in three different countries after its late-December release. Finally, in 2008 The Killers released "Joseph, Better You Than Me" with Elton John and Neil Tennant.

Although "The World We Live In" is a Killers song, it is not based on the holidays. In 2009, The Killers released "iHappy Birthday Guadalupe!" with Wild Light and Mariachi El Bronx.

Answer: Better Days

"Better Days", a song off the "Let Love In" album released in April 2006, wasn't actually released around Christmas, but its optimistic lyrics are situated around the holidays. Many television shows have since used the song to depict character optimism in times of hardship (for example, the post-apocalyptic TV show, "Jericho").

The song reached number three on the 'Adult Contemporary' Billboard chart after its released and showed on the 'Top 100', and 'Modern Rock' charts as well.

Answer: Weezer

"Christmas With Weezer" was a six-song album digitally released in late 2008 between the release of the band's self-titled six album (the red album) and the seventh in 2009, "Raditude". Although the album doesn't contain any new, original Christmas songs, "Christmas With Weezer" includes traditional versions of Christmas carols (such as "Silent Night") as performed by the band.

The songs were originally produced for a set of iPod Touch/iPhone games to be released during the 2008 holidays though the songs also appear on the iTunes Music Store.

Answer: A New York Christmas

Although the song was solely-released on the Internet as a digital download, "A New York Christmas" was Rob Thomas' first solo venture separate from Matchbox Twenty, known for their alternative rock. The song never charted (and Thomas wouldn't do this solo until his first album, "...Something to Be") upon its release in 2002 though it did earn money for charity, like many rock-made Christmas titles. Since its release, the single was released as an LP for online purchase.