Country Singers and Their Real Names Quiz

Answer: Faith Hill

Faith Hill was adopted as a child and given the name Audrey Faith Perry. In 1988 she married Daniel Hill and used this surname, with her middle name, to perform as Faith Hill. Having established herself as a country singer with a successful first album, 'Take Me as I Am', in 1993 she continued using the name even after divorcing Daniel in 1994 and marrying fellow country singer Tim McGraw in 1996. Faith has remained one of the most successful artistes with her 1999 single 'Breathe' reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 charts - termed a 'crossover' hit when a primarily country singer achieves success on the mainstream charts.

Answer: Crystal Gayle

Unlike her older sister, Loretta Webb, who married a man named Lynn and performed under her real married name, Brenda Webb did not use her original name for her stage career. Her middle name was Gail, so that provided her new surname and the change from Brenda was insisted upon by her record label to avoid any potential confusion with Brenda Lee. Gayle's biggest hit came in 1977 with 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue', which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the UK Singles Chart.

It is far from being her only success on the Country charts, though, where Crystal has had nearly twenty number ones.

Answer: Shania Twain

Eileen Regina Edwards, her full name, is unusual for a country artist as she was born in Canada - in Windsor, Ontario, to be exact. Having had three daughters, including Eileen, Shania's mother divorced their father and married Jerry Twain. He legally adopted his step-daughters who all took his surname.

The name of Shania came several years later, in the 1990s when she began her music career in earnest. Her first album, the self titled 'Shania Twain', made little impact but the second, 'The Woman in Me', in 1995, was much more successful, reaching the top of the Country Music charts in both Canada and the USA.

In 1997, 'the album 'Come on Over' was even more successful, hitting number one around the world and spawning hits such as 'You're Still the One', 'That Don't Impress Me Much' and 'Don't Be Stupid'. During this time, Shania was dubbed the crossover leader and 'The Queen of Country Pop'.

Answer: Wynonna Judd

Wynonna began her country career performing in a duo called The Judds with her mother, whose original name was Diana Judd, but performed using the name Naomi Judd. As a baby, Wynonna was given the surname of her stepfather, but the family reverted to Judd after her mother divorced. According to most sources, the name of Wynonna came from a song by Roy Benson when she was in her teens.

As The Judds, Wynonna and her mother achieved great success, but had to stop performing when Naomi became ill. Wynonna then embarked on a solo career, starting in 1991, and has gone from strength to strength, performing under just her adopted first name.

Answer: Bobbie Gentry

Roberta Streeter was born in 1942 and was raised primarily by her father's parents on a Mississippi farm. She learned to play piano with them and was later taught the guitar and banjo by her father. Streeter adopted the surname of Gentry from a film she had seen, which had a heroine named Ruby Gentry.

Her initial plan was to be a songwriter, but her demo version of her song 'Ode to Billie Joe' was issued as a single in 1967. The song, with its rather enigmatic lyrics, became a huge worldwide hit and set Gentry on her path as a singer/songwriter.

Answer: Kitty Wells

Kitty Wells was born in 1919 in Nashville, and began her career singing with her sisters and later with her husband, Johnnie Wright. It was he who chose her stage name of Kitty Wells, taking it from a folk song. Kitty and Johnnie remained married from 1937 until 2011, when he died at the age of 97. Kitty Wells really paved the way for female country singers, who had been treated rather dismissively before her success.

Her recording of 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels' in 1952 changed all that as the song became a huge hit for her despite some controversy over the lyrics.

The hits continued for Kitty inspiring a new generation of female country singers.

Answer: Donna Fargo

Born in North Carolina in 1945, Yvonne Vaughan was a qualified teacher who sang as a sideline until she decided to take her music career more seriously, performing in California in the late 1960s. The change of name to Donna Fargo took place in 1966. Donna was unusual for the time as she wrote her own songs, making a breakthrough with 'The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA' in 1972, a song which became a crossover hit.

The follow up was 'Funny Face', which performed even better reaching number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Country Music charts.

As well as recording her own songs, Donna has written successful songs for many other country artists.

Answer: Patsy Cline

Patsy was born in Virginia, in 1932, and moved several times with her family during her childhood. An illness which put her in hospital in her teens brought her close to death but also made a big difference to her voice, setting her on the road to becoming a singer.

In 1953, she married Gerald Cline, which gave her a new surname and adapted her middle name to create her stage name of Patsy Cline. Although her marriage lasted only four years, she retained the surname. The hit song for which she'll always be remembered is 'Crazy', written by Willie Nelson, which became a crossover hit for her. Sadly, her career came to a shattering end when a plane crash took her life in March 1963 when she was only 30 years of age.

Answer: Patsy Montana

Rubye Rose Blevins was born in 1908, making her the oldest singer in this quiz. She changed her name to Patsy Montana, adopting the surname from a silent film actor named Monte Montana with whom she had worked. In 1935 Montana released the song which became her signature tune - 'I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart'.

It sold over a million copies, the first time a female country singer had reached this landmark. In her later years she worked with Waylon Jennings, and is cited as influencing later country singers such as Patsy Cline. Montana died in 1996.

Answer: Tammy Wynette

Giving you her full original name of Virginia Wynette Pugh would have been a giveaway, of course. As with others in this quiz, the young Virginia had a difficult early life, with her father dying while she was a baby and being brought up by her grandparents.

She married young, although the marriage lasted only six years, then worked as a hairdresser to support her children. Having moved to Nashville, Wynette landed a record deal with Epic Records, and it was a producer there who came up with the name of Tammy, since he felt she looked like Debbie Reynolds. Reynolds had played a character with that name and recorded a 1957 hit called 'Tammy'.

The new name of Tammy Wynette was a lucky one leading to hits for her, with 'Stand by Your Man' in 1968 possibly the best known. Tammy suffered with health issues throughout her life and died in 1998 aged only fifty-five.