Lone Star State Musicians Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eagles

Don Henley plays drums for the Eagles. Don attended both Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and North Texas State University. His college efforts were cut short when his father became ill. In the early seventies he relocated to Los Angeles and formed a band called Shiloh.

While with Amos Records he connected with Glen Frey and eventually the Eagles were formed. In addition to composing many of the Eagles' songs with Frey, Don sang many other their classics including "Hotel California" "Desperado" and "The Best of My Love".

After parting company in the early eighties for over a decade, the band reunited and has been on tour occasionally since 1994. As a solo artist he released the number five "The Boys of Summer", "Sunset Grill" and "The End of the Innocence".

In 2007 the Eagles released their "Long Road Out of Eden" album.

Answer: Janis Joplin

Janis was born, reared and educated in Port Arthur, Texas. She was attracted to the Bohemian lifestyle, particularly to the blues and folk music. She sang in coffeehouses throughout Texas for a short time before enlisting in college and trying to live a mainstream lifestyle.

She was a good student, but music became the focal point in her life and she gravitated to the San Francisco area, eventually becoming a singer with Big Brother and the Holding Company. After their first album was released, the band got a slot at the Monterrey Music Festival.

Her talent was showcased at the concert and it wasn't long before she was enjoying a solo career. The band originally did not sign the release for their Monterrey performance to be filmed, but after their set they were convinced to do another set during the event and have it filmed. Blues songstress Etta James was born in LA. Melanie is a Queens native and Grace Slick comes from Chicago.

Answer: Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce started young in show business. By the age of seven she was winning talent contests and was taking dance lessons. After attending high school she became involved with a troupe called Girl's Tyme. The large ensemble was pared to six members. After losing an appearance on "Star Search" the group was reduced to four and they underwent a regimen of training imposed by Beyonce's father.

After a brief effort with Elektra Records, the group signed with Capital Records. Before recording their first album Capital had them record "Killing Time" for the soundtrack to the 1997 movie release "Men in Black".

Their first album was well-received, but by the time their third album was released they were getting solid airplay. Beyonce eventually embarked on a solo career and was in five films before "Dreamgirls" (2006). Jennifer Hudson is from Chicago, Aaliyah and Kimberly Denise Jones were born in Brooklyn.

Answer: Roy Orbison

1987 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Roy Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas. His family relocated to Wink, Texas, when Roy was young and as a teen he formed The Wink Westerners. They began appearing weekly on a local radio station and soon had a weekly local television spot.

When Sun Records artist Johnny Cash appeared on the same TV show he advised the band to try to get a deal with label owner Sam Phillips. Eventually Roy was signed and had a hit with "Ooby Dooby". He met with fellow songwriter Joe Melson and together they would write such classics as "Crying" and "Only the Lonely". Roy signed with Monument Records, where he enjoyed a string of hits through the early sixties including "Oh! Pretty Woman".

He later became a member of The Traveling Wilburys. Roy Head is a fellow Texan known for the hit song "Treat Her Right".

Although known as a Western singer and actor, Roy Rogers is from Cincinnati. Guitarist and "Hee-Haw" star Roy Clark is from Virginia.

Answer: Z Z Top

Z Z Top's roots can be traced to the late sixties in Houston. The band was formed when three members of various other local bands connected. The origin of the band's name is still the subject of speculation, but Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard have been together for over 40 years.

They started gaining national attention in the seventies when "La Grange" was released as a single from their "Tres Hombres" LP. In the eighties their "Eliminator" album was released spawning three major hit songs for the trio.

Some classic automobiles from Billy's collection were featured in their MTV videos. They followed "Eliminator" with "Afterburner". The band continues to maintain a touring schedule and in 2004 they became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

They were inducted by Keith Richards. Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs, Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble and The Fabulous Thunderbirds were formed in Texas.

Answer: Vanilla Ice

While attending high school in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, Robert Matthew Van Winkle became attracted to break dancing. It was during this time that he was dubbed "Vanilla Ice" and started performing with notable rap artists. In 1989 he recorded an album titled "Hooked" for an independent label.

The LP sold slightly less than 40,000 copies over the next few years until a disc jockey played a cut titled "Ice Ice Baby". It became an overnight hit. In 1990 the album "To the Extreme" was released.

It was essentially a remake of "Hooked" with the songs reproduced. It became the first album by any rap artist to reach number one. After various controversies regarding samples used on his albums, Van Winkle faded from the music scene. In his biography titled "Ice by Ice: The Vanilla Ice Story in His Own Words" he chronicles his rise to stardom and ensuing problems.

He has recently made appearances on various reality programs. Slim Thug was born Stayve Jerome Thomas in Houston. Rapper Big Mello was born Curtis Donnell Davis in Houston, Texas, as was rapper Mike Jones.

Answer: Chris Cross

Chris Cross played and sang in a cover band locally until he released his eponymous first album in 1979. For his efforts he took home five Grammy Awards. "Ride Like The Wind" reached number two and "Sailing" topped the charts. His "Another Page" album was released in 1983.

It contained the hit "Think of Laura", but his third album didn't produce any notable chart hits when it was released in 1985. That year he sang backup for David Lee Roth on Roth's cover version of "California Girls". Chris recently recorded a Christmas album which is scheduled for release in time for the 2008 Christmas season. Country singer Jim Collins was born in Nacogdoches, Texas. Dallas-born John Ford Coley is known for his partnership with England Dan. Grammy Award winning Country singer Rodney Crowell was born in Houston.

Answer: Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf was lured from Texas to the California music scene and ended up in Los Angeles. He fronted a band that opened for many of the top draws in the sixties. He also got a part in the musical "Hair". In the early seventies he did a duo album with Stoney Murphy for the Motown label.

He soon left Motown and returned to "Hair". He was soon asked to appear in the 1975 film version of "Rocky Horror Picture Show". After meeting songwriter Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf made a decision to pursue music. After several years of shopping the project around and recording tracks, the "Bat Out of Hell" album was released in 1977. Meat Loaf and his band went on tour as an opening act to promote the album. Before long they were selling out venues on their own. Meat loaf has done follow-up projects to "Bat Out of Hell" and has continued to take film roles. Steinman was born in New York. Lubbock, Texas, son Richie McDonald sang for Lonestar. William Royce "Boz" Scaggs was born in Ohio but raised in Plano, Texas.

Answer: Michael Nesmith

After a stint in the Air Force, Michael was invited to join a band doing cover tunes. He was honing his craft as a songwriter and penned "Different Drum" for Linda Ronstadt. He managed to release an unsuccessful solo record before becoming a member of the Monkees.

He was one of numerous people to audition and won over the producers because of his indifferent and mellow demeanor. He bought out his contract and left the band in 1970. He then worked with a variety of folk genre artists and had chart success with the First National Band when they recorded "Joanne". Michael gradually focused on producing but has also been involved in solo recording efforts as well.

He and fellow Monkee Davy Jones share a December 30th birthday, although in different years. Dolenz is from Los Angeles, Tork was born in Washington, D.C. and Jones was born in Manchester, England.

Answer: Tanya Tucker

Bette Midler performed "Delta Dawn" before Tanya Denise Tucker recorded it while still a teenager. She was originally slated to sing "The Happiest Girl In the Whole USA", but opted to do a version of "Delta Dawn" instead. While Tanya's 1972 version made it to number six, Helen Reddy recorded a version that made it to number one the following year. Tanya finally topped the charts the next year with "What's Your Mama's Name?".

In 1978 she made the transition to singing rock music and her first album in the genre went gold.

By the mid-eighties Tanya wasn't placing any songs in the Top Forty. After weathering some personal problems in the eighties she made a return to her Country Music roots. In 1997 her autobiography titled "Nickel Dreams: My Life" was released. Tammy Wynette is from Mississippi. Lee Ann Womack is from Jacksonville, Texas, and Jeannie C Riley was born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson in Anson, Texas.