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Blues Trivia

Blues Trivia Quizzes

16 Blues quizzes and 195 Blues trivia questions.

Blues Anonymous editor best quiz

Fun Fill-It

15 Qns

The following is a conversation from a fictitious "Blues Anonymous" meeting, where blues singers gather to air their problems and to get solace and support from their fellow members.

Average, 15 Qns, pollucci19, Jun 05 24

Average
pollucci19

Jun 05 24
88 plays

"I'll Let You Finish, But..." great trivia quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

We are going to investigate some great songs that people attribute to popular artists and bands, but were originally done by blues musicians.

Average, 10 Qns, BxBarracuda, Aug 16 24

Average
BxBarracuda
Aug 16 24
5343 plays

Stagger Lee: It's the End in the Blues

Photo Quiz

10 Qns

The Blues are often about intimate sorrows, fury or desperation. In these Blues tales someone meets an end. Non-blues fans may not know them, unless by the many modern versions in a wide range of genres. The photo will help you if you know the song.

Average, 10 Qns, Godwit, May 13 18

Average
Godwit

May 13 18
462 plays

I Feel Sad Today popular trivia quiz

Match Quiz

10 Qns

As a musical genre, 'The Blues' include a wide range of styles that have changed over the decades. Can you match this selection of songs from different blues genres to the artist?

Easier, 10 Qns, reedy, Dec 17 20

Easier
reedy

Dec 17 20
525 plays

The Blues - Legends, Songs and Styles best quiz

Multiple Choice

15 Qns

The blues are my guilty pleasure. We will focus on the various blues styles, the singers and their songs from the 1920s to contemporary times. Take your time, consider your answers carefully and feast on the wealth of backround information.

Tough, 15 Qns, maddogrick16, Mar 13 09

Tough
maddogrick16

945 plays

Classic Blue Belles great trivia quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

The 1920s is considered the decade that the blues became commercial but it was the women who dominated this era, not the men. These are some of the women that bought the blues to a wider audience.

Average, 10 Qns, pollucci19, Apr 08 11

Average
pollucci19

614 plays

The Birth of the Blues best quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

If the extent of your history of the blues goes "all the way back" to Stevie Ray Vaughan, this quiz may not be for you. We're exploring the roots of the blues... the '20's and '30's.

Tough, 10 Qns, maddogrick16, Nov 01 15

Tough
maddogrick16

1926 plays

Blues Standards top quiz

Multiple Choice

15 Qns

Herein are 15 standards of blues music according to "The Big Book of Blues" by Robert Santelli. Almost any self-respecting blues band should be able to cover these songs.

Average, 15 Qns, deputygary, Jul 10 07

Average
deputygary
1480 plays

Blues Standards II best quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

After I wrote the "Blues Standards" quiz, a high mucky-muck on Funtrivia requested I do a sequel. Here it is. If you don't like this quiz, blame him.

Average, 10 Qns, deputygary, Nov 10 07

Average
deputygary
822 plays

10.

Blues Standards III best quiz

Multiple Choice

15 Qns

Herein are recognized some blues artists who were not covered in my first two Blues Standards quizzes. Good luck.

Average, 15 Qns, deputygary, Jan 25 09

Average
deputygary
674 plays

Quick Question

For which US institution did musicologist John Lomax capture many original recordings of early Blues musicians?

From Quiz "Everybody Sings the Blues"

11.

Everybody Sings the Blues top quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

The interest in American Blues in England in the 1960s, formed part of the British Invasion that help broaden the audience for the Blues in the US.

Average, 10 Qns, Englizzie, Oct 11 24

Average
Englizzie
Oct 11 24
630 plays

12.

Name That Tune (Blues Version)

Match Quiz

10 Qns

The ten most iconic Blues songs of all-time have been listed. Simply match them with the correct first three lyrics of the song, and you will Name That Tune.

Average, 10 Qns, mj20, Apr 08 22

Average
mj20
Apr 08 22
100 plays

13.

Mississippi Bluesmen best quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

It could very well be easier to come up with a list of legendary Blues artists that aren't from Mississippi then to try to list all the greats that had roots in the Magnolia State.

Tough, 10 Qns, thestaxman, Jan 18 15

Tough
thestaxman
791 plays

14.

The Real Blues popular trivia quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

I always think that blues music is very underappreciated these days, so I thought I'd make a quiz about it.

Tough, 10 Qns, emmacatt, Jan 15 08

Tough
emmacatt
713 plays

15.

Blues Music- The 2002 W.C. Handy Awards

Multiple Choice

20 Qns

W.C. Handy is considered by some to be the father of Blues Music. The Blues Foundation names its annual awards after him. This quiz deals with the 2002 Handy Awards. Good luck.

Average, 20 Qns, ashlybug, Jan 30 14

Average
ashlybug
325 plays

16.

Blues

Multiple Choice

15 Qns

Try this new quiz on the blues - old, new, and blues-rock. Let me know if you want a more PURE blues quiz, or some more blues-influenced questions

Tough, 15 Qns, Slowhand, Aug 07 12

Tough
Slowhand
1383 plays

Blues Trivia Questions

1. Considered to be the first commercial recording of the music that has come to be recognised as the 'blues', "Crazy Blues" was recorded by which songstress?

From Quiz Classic Blue Belles

Answer: Mamie Smith

"Crazy Blues" was a massive hit by 1920's standards. It sold over 75,000 copies in its first month in an age when a large portion of Smith's audience did not own a record player. Within the year it would sell in excess of a million copies. Its historical significance in opening the doors for African-American performers was recognised with its induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Mamie Smith was a vaudeville singer and dancer. It is important to understand this because the early blues recordings sounded a lot more like a mix of vaudeville and jazz than the sound that is aligned with the genre today. With a backing band, known as 'Her Jazz Hounds' she became well known throughout the United States and gained great popularity in Europe where she was billed as 'The Queen of the Blues'. The Depression saw her fortunes change until she passed away, penniless, in New York in 1946.

2. Who was considered the 'Grandfather of Rock and Roll'?

From Quiz Everybody Sings the Blues

Answer: Robert Leroy Johnson

Despite his short and shadowy life (1911-1938), Robert Johnson wrote some of the finest Blues compositions, influencing many of the leading musicians in the 1960s and beyond.

3. Which blues artist was discovered in prison?

From Quiz The Real Blues

Answer: Leadbelly

Leadbelly was imprisoned for murder.

4. What Big Joe Turner song contains these lyrics? "Come in this house, stop all that yackety yack. Come in this house, stop all that yackety yack. Come fix my supper, don't want no talkin' back."

From Quiz Blues Standards III

Answer: Honey Hush

Big Joe Turner was not afraid to change with the times. He started out as a blues shouter. Later he switched to boogie woogie, then sang R&B with Count Basie, Lowell Fulson and Pee Wee Crayton. In the late 1950s he even performed in Alan Freed's rock and roll package.

5. The first song is "Help Me" by Lafayette Leake and Sonny Boy Williamson. What famous song by Booker T and the MG's shares a bass line with "Help Me?"

From Quiz Blues Standards II

Answer: Green Onions

"Help Me" features harmonica and has been recorded by Junior Wells, Magic Slim, Little Mack Simmons, Luther Allison and Fenton Robinson. These are all Booker T and the MG's songs, by the way, except "Pigmy Beans and Rice." They did record a "Red Beans and Rice" and a "Pigmy" but as far as I know never did a medley of the two.

6. What Blues King was born to the Nelson family in Indianola, MS?

From Quiz Mississippi Bluesmen

Answer: Albert King

More powerful and more dynamic than any of his peers, Albert King was born Albert Nelson two years before B.B. in the same small Mississippi town. Though not as well known as B.B., Albert is thought to have actually been the more influential of the two on other musicians, prime examples being Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

7. Widely regarded as the "Father of the Blues", this gentleman wrote the first song ever to use the word "blues" in the title, "Memphis Blues". He was?

From Quiz The Birth of the Blues

Answer: W.C. Handy

Handy was born in 1873 and wrote "Memphis Blues" in 1912. Some of his other notable compositions were "St. Louis Blues", "Beale St. Blues" and "Yellow Dog Blues". He was noted more as a composer rather than as a performer but eye problems more or less forced his retirement in both areas in the late 1930's. He died in 1958. Joplin, of course, was known for his "ragtime" music.

8. Which band won the 2002 Handy Award for "Band of the Year"?

From Quiz Blues Music- The 2002 W.C. Handy Awards

Answer: Rod Piazza and The Mighty Flyers

The Flyers have won the category three out of the last four years (1999, 2000, and 2002). Taj Mahal and The Phantom Blues Band interrupted the streak with a win in 2001.

9. What does 'B.B.' in B.B. King's name actually stand for?

From Quiz Blues

Answer: Blues Boy

Although this was his nickname, his real first name is Riley.

10. Known as the 'Empress of the Blues' which Tennessee born entertainer made it big in 1923 with her rendition of Alberta Hunter's "Downhearted Blues"?

From Quiz Classic Blue Belles

Answer: Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith, who has been an inspiration to the likes of Mahalia Jackson and Janis Joplin, had an amazingly powerful voice but struggled to get work because of the deep darkness of her skin. After being rejected by three recording studios she was signed to Columbia Records with whom she recorded 160 songs and worked alongside legends such as Louis Armstrong. "Downhearted Blues" sold over 750,000 copies and helped propel Smith to being the highest paid black artist of the 1920's. Tragically, she was killed in a car crash in 1937.

11. Which old time Blues man was also a street preacher, combining blues and gospel in his music? He was also famous for his expertise on the bottleneck slide guitar.

From Quiz Everybody Sings the Blues

Answer: Blind Willie Johnson

Born in 1902 in Marlin, Texas, Blind Willie used a penknife to create his special slide guitar sound, which added to the uniqueness of his gospel/blues music.

12. Which blues artist was said to have sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads?

From Quiz The Real Blues

Answer: Robert Johnson

The Robert Johnson Legend is that he sold his soul to the devil for musical ability. Nobody understood why he was so great on the guitar after a short period of time.

13. What song are these lyrics from? "There ain't nothing I can do, or nothing I can say, Some folks will criticize me, So I'm gonna do just what I want to anyway, And don't care if you all despise me."

From Quiz Blues Standards

Answer: Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do

According to the song, it ain't nobody's business if: 1. "I should take a notion to jump into the ocean." 2. "I go to church on Sunday and I shimmy down on Monday." 3. "If my friend ain't got no money and I say, 'All right, take all of mine honey.'" 4. "I lend her my last nickel and it leaves me in a pickle." This song has been recorded by Bessie Smith, Frank Stokes and Jimmy Witherspoon.

14. Who claimed to have sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads?

From Quiz Mississippi Bluesmen

Answer: Tommy Johnson

Tommy Johnson, who was more popular with and influential on local buyers and players than Robert, used to brag that he had met the devil. Locals adapted this story as a sort of explanation for Robert Johnson, an average player, disappearing and returning months later polished, professional, and darned good. Later, when young, white enthusiasts made the trek down to the delta to learn all about Robert Johnson, this "crossroads" story became synonymous with him. Tommy Johnson was portrayed by Blues musician Chris Thomas King in the movie 'O, Brother Where Art Thou?'

15. The first "blues" recording was "Crazy Blues" recorded on August 10, 1920. Who was the performer?

From Quiz The Birth of the Blues

Answer: Mamie Smith

Mamie was more of a jazz singer than a traditional blues artist. It is reported that Tucker was originally slated to record the song, was unable to make the session and Smith filled in, a fortuitous circumstance that made her a wealthy woman. The record sold over a million copies in just six months and because of it's remarkable success, the way was paved for other artists such as Bessie Smith to get into the recording studio.

16. Who was the 2002 winner for "Best New Artist of the Year"?

From Quiz Blues Music- The 2002 W.C. Handy Awards

Answer: Otis Taylor

Otis Taylor beat out The Crudup Brothers, Harry "Big Daddy" Hypolite, Rico McFarland, and Paul Reddick and The Sidemen to win the 2002 Handy.

17. 'Blackie' is the preferred guitar of which modern legend?

From Quiz Blues

Answer: Eric Clapton

'Brownie' is also among his many favourites, many of which were recently auctioned off for charity.

18. Often billed as 'The Original' which 'Classic' blues artist is best remembered for her rendition of "Hoodoo Blues"?

From Quiz Classic Blue Belles

Answer: Bessie Brown

Brown's career was dogged by a domineering husband. In addition she was also presented with some material to record that could be best described as dubious. Titles such as "If You Hit My Dog I'll Kick Your Cat" and "Ain't Much Good in the Best of Men Now Days" were all too prominent in Bessie's catalogue. Her songs were heavily infused with sexual tension that either turned audiences off or took them to a happy place. In the end this may have also served to divide opinions in respect to her talent. Her career ended in 1929.

19. Despite a violent and murderous life in and out of prison, who emerged as a true American Blues giant?

From Quiz Everybody Sings the Blues

Answer: Huddie Ledbetter

Creator of such timeless compositions as 'Good Night Irene', 'Rock Island Line' and 'Alberta', Leadbelly was a prolific song writer, whose influence on later American music is immeasurable.

20. Complete the song title: "Three hundred pounds of..."

From Quiz The Real Blues

Answer: Joy

"Three Hundred Pounds of Joy" was written by Willie Dixon and performed by Howlin' Wolf. It's a great song. One of my favourites.

21. What Louisiana by way of Texas bluesman had a hit with "Okie Dokie Stomp?"

From Quiz Blues Standards III

Answer: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

Gatemouth played a blend of big band, Cajun, swing, country, hard blues and Texas funk and was a skilled musician on the guitar, fiddle, mandolin, drums and harmonica. He got his nickname from playing "Gatemouth Blues" as a kid. In the 1970s Brown performed in the Soviet Union and Africa at the behest of the US State Department.

22. What 1948 Muddy Waters hit inspired the naming of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band?

From Quiz Blues Standards II

Answer: Rolling Stone

"Rolling Stone" was based on Robert Petway's "Catfish Blues." In addition to the Rolling Stones there is also "Rolling Stone" magazine and Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."

23. In "Stormy Monday" what day does the singer say the eagle flies?

From Quiz Blues Standards

Answer: Friday

Friday has traditionally been payday. The "eagle flies" is a euphemism for being paid. Of course, according to the song, after getting paid on Friday "Saturday I go out to play." "Stormy Monday" is a T-Bone Walker song, first recorded in 1947.

24. What Inverness native was signed to three of the most important labels in music history, cutting records for Sun, Chess, and Stax?

From Quiz Mississippi Bluesmen

Answer: Little Milton

The Wolf did of course cut at Sun and record for Chess, and Rufus Thomas (born in Cayce, MS) had the first hits for both Sun and Stax, but Little Milton (Campbell) laid down tracks at all three labels and finished his career with Malaco records, a legend in their own right.

25. Bessie Smith's first big hit was "Down Hearted Blues" which topped the charts for four weeks in 1923. This and her subsequent recordings proved so popular that ___________________.

From Quiz The Birth of the Blues

Answer: she virtually saved Columbia Records from bankruptcy.

Columbia was on the verge of collapse at the time. Victor had been the juggernaut label of the day and Smith's successful recordings gave the moribund Columbia label new life. Regarding the other answers, very few records were million sellers then... even "Down Hearted Blues" only sold 750,000 copies in 1923. Columbia may have owed her a debt of gratitude but business would be business. Her contract was, as usual, renewed on a year to year basis and when her records stopped selling, she was released from the label in 1931.

26. Shemekia Copeland was the 2002 winner for "Contemporary Female Artist". How many times has she won that award?

From Quiz Blues Music- The 2002 W.C. Handy Awards

Answer: two

Copeland became the fourth two time winner in the category in 2002. Susan Tedeschi has also won it twice. Etta James won it three times, and Koko Taylor won the award 13 times, including nine straight from 1980-1988.

27. Called 'Kid Douglas' on the Beale Street blues scene, Lizzie Douglas adopted which moniker when she released her 'Classic' blues hit "Bumble Bee" for Columbia Records in 1929?

From Quiz Classic Blue Belles

Answer: Memphis Minnie

Minnie was a larger than life performer who literally commanded your attention when she was on stage. Female 'Classic' blues singers dominated the 1920's but they fell out of favour during the 1930's. There were many reasons for this; the onset of the Depression, a change in musical trends toward more complicated, up-tempo rhythms and males who were champions of the guitar started to steal their limelight. Minnie's star continued to shine because her talents with the six string guitar were extraordinary. She took on and defeated legendary Chicago guitarists Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red in a guitar competition. She then began to fuse country music with urban blues and became one of the first blues artist to use the electric guitar, influencing, in the process, the likes of Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters.

28. For which US institution did musicologist John Lomax capture many original recordings of early Blues musicians?

From Quiz Everybody Sings the Blues

Answer: The Library of Congress

John Lomax claimed that he first found Lead Belly in Angola Prison, where he was originally recorded. Working on behalf of the Library of Congress in the 1930s, Lomax managed to preserve so much of this early Americana for future generations. His work also sparked renewed interest in the genre.

29. "Hey everybody, let's have some fun, You only live for once, And when you're dead you're done, so __________." So what?

From Quiz Blues Standards

Answer: let the good times roll

"Let the Good Times Roll" was first recorded in 1946 by Louis Jordan. Rolling Stone named Jordan to their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," placing him at 59th. In addition to "Let the Good Times Roll," Jordan also wrote "Caladonia," "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'," "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," and "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens." He was a big influence on Ray Charles.

30. Who was born McKinley Morganfield?

From Quiz Mississippi Bluesmen

Answer: Muddy Waters

That would be Muddy Waters, in probably the smartest and best name change since Marion Morrison became John Wayne.

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Last Updated Dec 14 2024 5:48 AM

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