Dark Stars Of Rock And Roll Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jimmy Swaggart

Fallen TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart is Jerry Lee Lewis' cousin, as is country performer, Mickey Gilley. Another cousin, Myra, became Lewis' wife at the age of thirteen, a move that almost destroyed the career of the performer known to fifties rock and roll fans as "The Killer."

Answer: Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings had been invited by Holly to join the ill-fated 1959 tour through the Midwest, and he was supposed to have taken a seat with Holly on the plane that night. But when The Big Bopper came down with the flu, Jennings gave up his seat so that the performer could reach the next town and see a doctor more quickly.

Answer: August 16

The legends surrounding Robert Johnson's rise to fame as a phenomenal blues musician are legion. Among them is Johnson's alleged visit to the mystical "crossroads" where he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for unearthly guitar playing ability. Although Elvis Presley was a deeply religious man, he also had a fascination with the occult and was said to be convinced that he would die before he reached the age of fifty.

Answer: Keith Richards

Keith Richards had left his choirboy days well behind by the time he and the other Stones released their first psychedelic-themed album, "Their Satanic Majesties Request" in the late sixties. More darkness followed with the tragedy at Altamont in 1969 during which the band happened to be performing "Sympathy For The Devil" at the same time concert-goer Meredith Hunter was being stabbed to death by the Hell's Angels.

Answer: Have a drink "on Pearl"

The details of Janis Joplin's will were actually completed on the very day she died. In her will, she left money earmarked specifically for her friends to use in organizing a posthumous party in honor of "Pearl."

Answer: Duane Allman

Duane Allman died at the age of twenty-four when he crashed his motorcycle on the way to a friend's birthday party in October of 1971. But so many other rock greats have died at the age of twenty-seven that many people believe that particular age to be a cursed one. Bluesman Robert Johnson is thought by some to have originated the curse when he was allegedly murdered at that age by a scorned lover.

The precise method of his murder remains a topic of discussion among blues scholars.

Answer: Paul McCartney

It was September 6, 1978 and "The Buddy Holly Story" starring Gary Busey had just been released in England. Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda attended the premier with Moon, who died the next day from an accidental overdose of the medication he was taking to help curtail his drinking.

Answer: True

According to R. Gary Patterson, author of "Take A Walk On The Dark Side", a collection of rock legends, myths, and curses, the album can be keyed to play as a soundtrack for the classic film. The coincidence of just the right music cues and phrases occurring at appropriate moments in the film was first mentioned over the radio airwaves by a Boston deejay in 1997, prompting a sudden run on "Wizard of Oz" videos.

However, in order to achieve the proper effect, one must take care to begin playing the album at the exact moment in which the MGM lion roars for the third time.

Answer: The Grim Reapers

Otis Redding was only twenty-six when he died, having just recorded "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" a mere three days earlier. The song became his greatest hit and is considered a classic today. Redding also wrote the soul anthem, "Respect," which Aretha Franklin made famous as her first release on Columbia Records in 1967.

Answer: Johnny Rotten

Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon) appeared on "Judge Judy" in the late 90s as the defendant in a lawsuit brought against him by a fired drummer. Although Rotten won the lawsuit, he lost his bad boy credibility forever and was forced to apologize to Judge Judy for repeatedly interrupting the plaintiff. "I'm sorry, Judge Judy," he said contritely after several sharp reprimands, "I'll wait my turn."