Popular Music Anthems Trivia Quiz

Answer: You'll Never Walk Alone

"You'll Never Walk Alone" was written as part of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel". In the musical Nettie Fowler sings it to her cousin when she despaired after losing her husband in an accident, and the song was reprised in the show's finale.

Many renditions of the song occurred in subsequent years; but it gained renewed, widespread popularity when the Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers released a new version in 1963.

Liverpool fans now sing the song at the start of each game. The most poignant rendition occurred at a memorial service for the Liverpool fans who had died at the Hillsborough Disaster.

Answer: Horse race

"My Old Kentucky Home" is played at Churchill Downs during the parade to the post for the Kentucky Derby. The song was composed in 1852 by Stephen Foster and is actually an anti-slavery song that was likely inspired by "Uncle Tom's Cabin". In 1928 the song was made the state song of Kentucky, and a change was made to the lyrics to replace the objectionable word "darkies" with "people".

"My Old Kentucky Home" started being played at the Kentucky Derby in 1921.

Answer: Gays and Lesbians (LGBTQ)

"I Will Survive" was originally a song about resilience after a devastating break-up. It was included as the B side of a record by Gloria Gaynor, but soon rocketed up the pop music charts and reached number one in March of 1979. It was very popular in discos, which were widely attended by many gay men before disco was popular in mainsteam communities.

The song resonated with the gay community especially during the AIDS pandemic and has remained "their song". Other marginalized groups have also identified with the song.

Answer: God Bless America

In a classic case of correlation versus causation Kate Smith became a lucky charm for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. In December 1969 she sang "God Bless America" rather than the traditional "Star Spangled Banner" before one of the Flyers' games.

After a win in that game the team decided to reserve appearances by Smith for special games. At one time the team's record when she sang was 36 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie; and they had won two Stanley Cup championships.

Answer: Automobile race

"Back Home Again in Indiana" was written in 1917 by James Hanley and Ballard MacDonald. Although it is probably the most famous song about Indiana, it is not the state song. Since 1946 it has been sung during ceremonies before the start of the Indianapolis 500 auto race. For over 40 years actor Jim Nabors of Gomer Pyle fame from the "Andy Griffith Show" performed it, before retiring.

Answer: Arlo Guthrie

Arlo Guthrie was the son of Woody Guthrie. "Alice's Restaurant" is loosely based on his experiences as a young man, when he and a friend decided to help Alice, the owner of a local restaurant, by taking her accumulated garbage to the town garbage dump. Finding the dump closed for Thanksgiving, they added their contribution to another pile of garbage by the roadside. The town sheriff found a letter addressed to Guthrie under tons of garbage and proceeded to arrest them for littering.

Later the singer appeared before a draft board and had to declare his previous criminal conviction for littering. He then sat with what he called scary people and pondered whether this crime made him moral enough to be drafted and trained to kill.

Answer: Iranian Hostage Crisis

"Tie a Yellow Ribbon round the Ole Oak Tree" was a popular hit for Tony Orlando and Dawn in 1973. It told the story about a man returning home who has asked his sweetheart to tie a ribbon if she wants him in her life. If the ribbon is not there, he would continue on his journey and stay out of her life. To his amazement there were 100 yellow ribbons on the tree.

The use of yellow ribbons, mainly in sweetheart's hair, has a long history in the US, used in both the Civil War and later in the 1970s as a remembrance of absence of a loved one in the military or jail. It was also a feature of the John Wayne movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon".

In 1981 during the Iranian Hostage Crisis the song gained renewed popularity and airplay as a symbol that the US citizens had not forgotten the hostages.

Answer: Franklin D Roosevelt

"Happy Days Are Here Again" was written in 1929 by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen, and it was featured in the 1930 film "Chasing Rainbows". FDR's advisors decided to play it at the 1932 Democratic National Convention, and it soon became his campaign song, signifying renewed optimism during the Great Depression.

Answer: World War II

"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song made famous by Vera Lynn and written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The opening lyrics ("We'll meet again, Don't know where, Don't Know when") are a poignant reminder of the uncertainty and fear that those left behind have when their loved ones leave for war.

It was a morale booster for people during World War II and other times of uncertainty and crisis.

Answer: Sweet Caroline

American baseball has a tradition of using popular music, most notably the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the middle of the seventh inning. At many parks team organists will play excerpts of songs when new batters or pitchers are used, oftentimes clever plays on the player's name or traits. A rather new tradition is the Boston Red Sox having the crowd sing "Sweet Caroline" in the middle of the eighth inning - somewhat ironical in that the singer Neil Diamond is from the rival city of New York.

A standard feature of Neil Diamond concerts is having the audience join in the singing of "Sweet Caroline". It is a relatively easy song to sing and doesn't require a professional singing voice; and generally the audience joins in enthusiastically.

Answer: The Carpenters

"We've Only Just Begun" is a song written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, which was first used in a wedding-themed commercial for a local bank. Richard Carpenter asked if a longer version existed, and he and his sister Karen had a breakthrough hit with the song.

For many years afterwards it was a staple at many wedding receptions (including ours), especially for the first dance of the bride and groom.

Answer: William Tell Overture

For many of us, our first acquaintanceship with classical music was listening at the start of "The Lone Ranger" television show to "The March of the Swiss Soldiers" from Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture"

The opera "William Tell" was written and first produced in 1829. It retells the legend of William Tell and the struggle of the Swiss to free themselves from their Austrian overlords. The length of the opera and casting restrictions have contributed to difficulties producing it. The famous overture is quite often played independently from the rest of the opera.

John Reid, the Lone Ranger, shares many of Tell's admirable traits. Rescued by Tonto after a patrol of Texas Rangers were ambushed, the Lone Ranger embarked on a career of fighting injustice. Like Tell, he was an extraordinarily accurate shooter, always managing to disable opponents without killing them. At the end of the show, he would ride into the sunset while one of those helped would ask "Who was that masked man?".

Answer: Sweet Georgia Brown

"Sweet Georgia Brown" was written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard. A later 1949 a version whistled by Brother Bones and His Shadows was adopted in 1952 by the Harlem Globetrotters for use in their warmup routine and has become their signature song.

The Globetrotters themselves were formed in 1926 in South Chicago. The inclusion of "Harlem" in their name was a tribute to Harlem being the center of African American culture at that time, and the Globetrotters actually did not play there until four decades after their founding.

Answer: England

"Land of Hope and Glory" was composed in 1901 by Edward Elgar with words by A.C. Benson for possible use in the coronation ceremony for King Edward VII. A survey conducted by BBC in 2006 showed the 55% of the respondents preferred it to "God Save the Queen" as the English national anthem.

"Land of Hope and Glory" is one of three staple songs for the Last Night of the Proms, along with "Jerusalem" and "Rule Britannia". It has been used at times as an anthem for the English rugby team and the English victory theme in the Commonwealth Games.

Answer: Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Fortunate Son" was released in 1969 and reached a peak rating of number three in December of that year. The song was not an explicit criticism of the war itself; but more the unfairness of rich men making wars and the poor men having to fight them. John Fogerty, the lead singer of CCR, had already served in the military before the song was written. His song became a scathing indictment of the military draft that allowed wealthier youths to avoid military service through various deferments.

The song became another of the Vietnam War protests, more popular in later years than its initial release.