That Musician Comes From Indiana? Quiz

Answer: Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds

Despite being shy growing up in Indianapolis, Kenneth found himself performing with bands as a teen. He was later working with legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins who reportedly nicknamed him "Babyface". Preferring songwriting to performing he had his first chart success in 1983 writing "Slow Jam" for "Midnight Star".

His first number one composition was Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight". He went on to write and produce a huge body of work for artists from Eric Clapton to Diana Ross. In 1999 he co-wrote, produced and sang backup on Madonna's number one "Take a Bow" and the same year a 25 mile length of Interstate 65 in Indianapolis was renamed Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway. Travis "Maestro" Meeks is from Charlestown, Indiana and is the singer and guitarist for acoustic rock band Days of the New. Kanye West is from Atlanta and Marc Nelson was born in Philadelphia.

Answer: Phil Harris

After leaving Indiana, Phil Harris migrated to Nashville and eventually Los Angeles, where he began working as a drummer and singer. He later formed and fronted his own bands. He tried his hand at acting and won an Academy Award in 1933 for a short-subject documentary titled "This is Harris".

In 1941 Phil began his 54-year marriage to Alice Faye. His entire band enlisted into the service in WWII. Upon his discharge he appeared in movies with John Wayne, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. His work in music and films led him to becoming Jack Benny's Music Director.

Into the sixties he made regular appearances on variety shows and is known for his singing of "The Bare Necessities" as Baloo the Bear in Walt Disney's "Jungle Book". Harris' last voice role was as the dog Patou in "Rock-a-Doodle".

He passed away in 1995 ate age 91. Ronald Colman appeared occasionally on Benny's show as his neighbor. Dennis Day was a singer on "The Jack Benny Show" and Don Wilson was Benny's valet.

Answer: Guns N' Roses

Rose was born William Bruce Rose, Jr. and Stradlin was born Jeffrey Dean Isbell in Lafayette, Indiana. Stradlin reportedly enjoyed growing up in Lafayette and listened to Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones records. Realizing that Lafayette presented limited possibilities as a musician he headed for LA, met up with Axl and they formed Hollywood Roses. Until the band formed, Izzy had played bass and drums in other bands.

He took up the guitar when Hollywood Roses was formed. Axl sang in choir and was frequently at odds with the law in Lafayette.

He was in Driver's Education class when he met Izzy and they bonded because of their mutual love of music. After getting kicked out of his home for not cutting his hair he took off for LA when he was 17.

He took various jobs such as a Night Manager at Tower Records and even worked with Izzy paid doing research smoking cigarettes, but eventually his vocal abilities led him to working as a singer, reaching national acclaim with Guns N' Roses.

Answer: Van Halen

David Lee Roth came into the world in Bloomington, Indiana. his uncle, Manny Roth, ran the Cafe Wha and David was influenced by the various famous performed who passed through the legendary club. He moved to California in his teens and found work as a hospital orderly while he pursued a singing career.

In the early seventies he offered his PA system to an up-and-coming band called Mammoth, which later became Van Halen. He failed his first audition to sing with the group, but he stayed with it and eventually was invited into the band.

In 1978 the band's debut album was released and several more followed. David Lee Roth's flamboyant behavior and unusual vocal range gave the band a distinct image. He released "California Girls" and "I Ain't Got Nobody" while still with the band in 1984, but left after the songs proved successful.

He released several solo albums, assembled bands with talented musicians for several years and hosting his own syndicated radio show. There were a few reunions with Van Halen that proved to be false starts.

Answer: John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp recorded unreleased album projects before "American Fool" was released containing the number one "Jack and Diane" and the number two "Hurts so Good". "Hurts So Good" won Mellencamp the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Three years after "American Fool" he released the "Scarecrow" album and shortly after that began his Farm Aid benefits.

His 1991 "Whenever We Wanted" album was the first album released without "Cougar" in his name. Mellencamp has appeared in four films, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Billy Joel in 2008 and has been nominated for several Grammy Awards since "Jack and Diane". David Allan Coe, Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett are among the many performers who have appeared in support of Mellencamp's Farm Aid concerts. None of them hail from Indiana.

Answer: Wes Montgomery

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, into a musical family. After tutelage with family members he hit the road working with Lionel Hampton. He soon tired of the road and returned to Indianapolis where he took a job at a factory.

He played local jazz clubs after work and he might have simply been a local great until jazz musician Cannonball Adderly chanced to hear Wes perform one night and arranged a record deal for him. After released a few albums Wes was solicited by greats such as Miles Davis to join their ensembles, but Wes preferred to front his own trio, working hard at playing venues and recording over 20 albums between 1958 and 1968 featuring his finger-picking octave style.

His musical legacy was cut short in 1968 when he died suddenly of a heart attack at age 43.

A park in Indianapolis is named in his honor. Melvin Rhyne was Wes Montgomery's organist, Percy Heath played bass and Albert "Tootie" Heath was his drummer.

Answer: Mick Mars

After Robert Deal's family moved to California he dropped out of high school to perform with various blues and rock bands. While playing blues riffs he became proficient with the use of a slide. After over ten years of disappointment playing with numerous bands, Robert dyed his hair and changed his name in an effort to reinvent himself.

He placed an ad in a local musician's paper and Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee responded and auditioned him. When Vince Neil joined the band they took the name Motley Crue.

After they had been together 20 years Mars elected to leave the band because of the effects of a painful spine condition he had been suffering with for some time. He underwent surgery and despite his health issues he occasionally joins Motley Crue for various major concert events. Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx was born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna, Jr. in San Jose, California. Wasp guitarist and singer Blackie Lawless was born Steven Edward Duren in New York. Johnny Thunders was born John Anthony Genzale and worked with The New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers.

Answer: Cole Porter

Cole Porter's family had aspirations for him to have a career in law. He was highly educated and attended Yale and Harvard. After only a year studying law at Harvard he transferred to the School of Music. His initial attempts at writing for Broadway were successful, but he was unable to maintain his success and left for Paris for a while.

In the late twenties he returned to Broadway to resume his efforts at composing for shows. He scored many enduring classics while writing for Broadway such as "Begin the Beguine", "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Just One of Those Things".

In 1937 he suffered a crushing leg injury and despite constant pain he undertook doing Hollywood scores. Among his many film songs are "Don't Fence Me In" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy".

His health continued to decline and after several operations, his injured leg was amputated. He wrote his final score for a TV production in 1958 and passed away in 1964 at age 73. Ira Gershwin and Richard Rogers are New York natives and Irving Berlin migrated to New York from Russia as a boy.

Answer: "Hoagy" Carmichael

Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael was the only boy in the Carmichael family and was named after a circus troupe that visited his home while his mother was pregnant. He received a law degree in 1926 from the Indiana University School of Law. After failing the bar exam, the music muse tugged at him and before long he was introduced to Louis Armstrong.

He began writing jazz styled songs which were done by other artists. "Riverboat Shuffle" was Carmichael's first record. "Up A Lazy River" and "Stardust" had lyrics put to them and his songs were being recorded by artists such as Bing Crosby.

In addition to appearing as Cricket in "To Have and Have Not" he appeared in 14 other movies. As his career progressed he saw several of his songs become hits by various artists and lived to the age of 82.

There is a mural of him on the side of the Readmore building in Richmond, Indiana, and a plaque is situated near the studio where he recorded "Stardust". "Fats" Waller hails from New York, "Fats" Domino is associated with New Orleans and Art Tatum is from Toledo, Ohio.

Answer: The Jackson Five

Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson, Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson, Marlon David Jackson and Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson, Jermaine and Michael were members of the Jackson Five at one time. They were part of a large family. Jackie, Tito and Jermaine started performing with some neighbors because they were the eldest boys. Before long Michael and Marlon came on board.

After winning a talent contest and recording for a local label they came to the attention of Motown head Berry Gordy through Gladys Knight. Motown was grooming a young Stevie Wonder and didn't want to take on another act consisting mainly of young boys, but Berry eventually relented.

The Jackson Five began releasing hits such as "I Want You Back", "ABC", "I'll Be There" and "The Love You Save".

The Cowsills were from Newport, Rhode Island. The DeFranco Family was from Ontario, Canada and Sly and the Family Stone formed in California.