Musicians From Louisiana Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dr. John

Dr. John started his musical career in the fifties performing in local bands as a guitar player. His guitar playing days ended when he sustained a gunshot wound to the hand, so he took up the piano. He derived his name from a legendary practitioner of voodoo.

In the seventies he started charting hits nationally but always stayed true to his New Orleans roots and has become symbolic of entertainers from the Big Easy. He was featured performing in "Blues Brothers 2000" and "The Last Waltz". His music has been covered by several artists and he continues to perform in solo venues as well as on recordings and as a backup musician for other artists in shows. Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne is a guitarist born in Shreveport. Papa John Joseph was a bass player from Louisiana and Professor Longhair is a legendary piano player from Bogalusa, Louisiana, who influenced Dr. John and many other artists from the area.

Answer: Mother in Law

Ernest Kador, Jr., was a singer and drummer from New Orleans. Allen Toussaint is a New Orleans musician and producer who wrote "Mother in Law" and has worked with numerous New Orleans musicians. In 1961 the song topped the Billboard charts. During his career Ernie never had another smash hit, but he continued to perform under a variety of colorful monikers in flashy, stylish outfits.

He opened a club in New Orleans aptly called Ernie K-Doe's Mother-in-Law Lounge. Since his death in 2001 his wife has continued to run the lounge.

It had to be refurbished after Hurricane Katrina damaged it, forcing it to close temporarily. His wife Antionette also ran Ernie posthumously in the 2006 mayoral race in New Orleans. He is buried in a tomb in New Orleans close to his second mother in law. "Little Bitty Pretty One" was written and sung by Bobby Day. Dee Clark did "Raindrops" and "Tossin' and Turnin" was recorded by Bobby Lewis.

Answer: Fats Domino

Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino first achieved national success with "The Fat Man" in the late forties. In 1955 he released "Ain't That a Shame", which started a streak of over 60 songs in the Billboard 100 during his career. After touring for over a decade, Fats decided to stay put in New Orleans and primarily perform locally with rare exception.

He even declined an appearance at The White House and was a no-show for his inauguration into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He refused to evacuate for Hurricane Katrina, and although he was rescued he lost everything in the flood waters. President Bush personally gave him a National Medal of the Arts medallion to replace the one given to him by Bill Clinton that was lost in the flood. Chubby Checker is known for "The Twist". New Orleans native Clarence "Frogman" Henry had success with "Ain't Got No Home" and fellow New Orleans singer King Floyd recorded "Groove Me" in 1970.

Answer: Piano

Jerry Lee Lewis is also known as "The Killer". He began his rock and roll career innocently enough, playing piano with his cousins Jimmy Swaggart and Mickey Gilley. When he performed a boogie rendition of a hymn the Southwestern Assemblies of God University promptly expelled him.

In the mid-fifties he performed around Nashville and eventually arrived at the legendary Sun Records studio in Memphis. In addition to being groomed as a solo artist at Sun records he played on sessions for many of the Sun artists. Before long "Great Balls of Fire" hit the national charts, establishing Lewis as a rock and roll piano pioneer.

After some personal issues put his career on hold in the late fifties he began recording Country material and has continued to record and perform live into the new millennium.

In 1986 he joined the ranks of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong's grandparents were slaves. He dropped out of school at the elementary level and wound up in detention centers for delinquent boys. It was at one of the homes that he developed his love and talent on the trumpet. After being released he performed at any opportunity in marching bands and dance halls which led to steady work in a steamboat band. With his wife providing support he gradually rose in the entertainment world to doing plays and eventually becoming a headliner with his unique voice.

When he began recording he earned the respect of his peers and was sought after on many of their recordings. His career continued to flourish until his death in 1971. Al Hirt is another New Orleans native and had an instrumental hit with "Java". Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown calls Vinton, Louisiana his birthplace.

He was a legendary guitar player. Harahan, Louisiana, is the birthplace of guitar player King "Louie" Bankston.

Answer: The Dixie Cups

The three girls who went on to become The Dixie Cups were friends at the same housing projects in New Orleans. Early in their career they sang under the names Little Miss and the Muffets and the Meltones. Their manager brought them to New York and they were signed to the newly formed Red Bird label.

Their first release was "Going to the Chapel". It would prove to be their biggest, although they released several other hits before their final chart entry with Red Bird called "Iko Iko". "Iko Iko" is a traditional New Orleans song one of the members heard her grandmother sing as a young girl. Original members sisters Barbara Ann Hawkins and Rosa Lee Hawkins continue to make appearances with Aaron Neville's sister Athelgra replacing original member Joan Johnson who eventually left to become more involved with her church. Singer Dale Mickle briefly replaced Johnson before Athelgra came on board.

Answer: Lloyd Price

Lloyd Price was beginning to have minor hits on the Specialty label when he was drafted and served in Korea. Upon his discharge he found that the music scene had changed and Little Richard was the reigning star at Specialty. He formed an independent label and released "Just Because". ABC Records picked up the song and distributed it, giving Price a national audience.

His first big hit for ABC was his version of "Stagger Lee", a traditional balled. Dick Clark invited him to sing the song on his "American Bandstand" show.

After his tenure with ABC Lloyd formed some independent labels and signed a young newcomer named Wilson Pickett to one of them. Price later toured with other legendary performers including Jerry Butler and Gene Chandler. Frankie Ford is known for the hit "Sea Cruise".

He was born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana. Billy Bland was born in North Carolina and sang "Let the Little Girl Dance" and Yuma, Arizona, native Curtis Lee sang "Pretty Little Angel Eyes".

Answer: Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson began her career singing in church and is known for her many milestones in Gospel singing. In the forties her Apollo Gospel recordings became very popular and in some cases sold over 3,000,000 copies. An incredible accomplishment at the time.

She became the first Gospel singer to sing at Carnegie Hall and was a frequent star performer at "The Newport Jazz Festival". She continued to tour in Europe and America and appeared on several television shows. Her final concert was in Germany and her last TV appearance was on "The Flip Wilson Show" in 1971. Between 1961 and 1976 she was awarded five Grammy Awards and is in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 1998 a 32-cent stamp was issued with her picture on it. Oleta Adams was born in Seattle. Dorothy Love Coates is from Birmingham and Sister Rosetta Tharpe is from Cotton Plant, Arkansas.

Answer: Pete Fountain

Pete Fountain played with a number of New Orleans based bands and musicians, even performing with trumpet player Al Hirt in one band. In the early fifties he formed his own band called The Basin Street Six. He was invited to perform on "The Lawrence Welk Show" and became a frequent guest known for his clarinet solos.

He also made over 50 appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson". He joined The Dukes of Dixieland and later fronted bands under his own name in the sixties and seventies. The Riverside Hilton was the home of Pete's jazz club until he closed it in 2003. Guitarist Earl King was born Earl Silas Johnson IV in New Orleans. Wooden Joe Nicholas was a trumpet player from The Big Easy. Blues singer and harmonica player Little Walter was born Marion Walter Jacobs in New Orleans.

Answer: Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)

John Fred and his band had been performing for over ten years when "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" was released. The band had a minor hit with a song called "Shirley" in the late fifties. Dick Clark invited them on his show but John Fred was committed to a basketball game and declined.

They did appear on Alan Freed's show. He wrote a song with band mate Andrew Bernard with a reference to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". In a twist of irony his parody song bumped the Beatles tune "Hello, Goodbye" from the number one position.

Although the band was comprised of excellent musicians they were considered a novelty act and could never repeat the success of "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)". Napoleon XIV did "They're Coming to Take Me Away". Comedian Allen Sherman did "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" and Louden Wainwright III recorded "Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road)" in 1972.