A Trip to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Quiz

Answer: Cleveland, OH

You can find the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at 1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, not far from the banks of Lake Erie. When talks about establishing a special place for the stars of the R&R era were first initiated, many cities expressed interest in being its home. Bids were put forth by Chicago, Memphis, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia and New Orleans. In the end, Cleveland edged out San Francisco.

Canton, OH (about 50 miles south of Cleveland), is the home of The Pro Football Hall of Fame, which opened September 7, 1963.

Answer: I.M. Pei

Ieoh Ming Pei was born in Canton, China on April 26, 1917, and emigrated to America in 1935. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Harvard School of Design. The ground-breaking ceremony for what was to become the 162 feet tall Rock & Roll Hall of Fame took place June 7, 1993. Some of I.M. Pei's other creations are The John F. Kennedy Library, The Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, The Miho Museum in Japan, and the corporate offices of John Deere, CBS and IBM.
He was the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1983. In 2012, he and his wife, Eileen Woo, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed "Fallingwater", in PA, and The Guggenheim Museum in NYC.
Finnish born Eero Saarinen is famous for his design of The Gateway Arch, in St. Louis, MO.
Jorn Utzon designed the magnificent Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Interesting fact: I.M. Pei was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 1993.

Answer: The Wabash Cannonball

"Roy Acuff and his Smokey Mountain Boys" recorded "The Wabash Cannonball" on the Hilltop label in 1936. It was originally titled "The Great Rock Island Route" when Hoff penned it, over 50 years earlier. Many artists have covered it, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Willie Nelson, Lonnie Donegan, The Moody Brothers and that great rock & roll crooner, Bing Crosby. Here's the first verse:
"Listen to the jingle the rumble and the roar
As she glides along the woodland
Ore the hills and by the shore
Hear the rush of the mighty engine hear the lonesome hobos call
He's riding through the jungle on the Wabash cannonball"

"Rock Around the Clock" was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1955. Chuck Willis released "C.C. Rider" in 1957, and Big Momma Thornton dragged out "Ball 'n Chain" in 1968.

Answer: Hank Williams

Alabama born Hiram King, "Hank" Williams didn't have to wait long for his induction...it took place the following year. Williams also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Among his most popular hits were: "Cold, Cold Heart" (1950), "Hey, Good Lookin'" (1951), and "Your Cheatin' Heart" (1953). He was just 29 years old when he passed away.
That first year's group included all three of the other choices listed above. In addition, Elvis, Antoine "Fats" Domino, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles and Don and Phil Everly (The Everly Brothers) were first year inductees.

Interesting fact: Alan Freed, one of the first rock & roll disc jockey's was also inducted that evening.

Answer: Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin has had a storied career. Known as "The Queen of Soul", she has won more than 15 Grammy Awards, recorded over 90 albums, and released north of 90 singles. Her 1967, "Respect", was Number One on the BBH100 chart from June 3-June 30. "Rolling Stone" magazine showed Aretha Franklin the utmost R-E-S-P-E-C-T when they named her the best of the best, on their list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Dinah Washington and Etta James both joined the elite in 1993, and much to my surprise (and I suspect some of yours as well), as of 2012, Connie Francis is still not a member. "Who's Sorry Now"?

Answer: Albert King

Albert King waited a quarter of a century after he was eligible before being inducted at the 28th ceremony on April 18, 2013, in Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre. Known as "The Velvet Bulldozer", due to his imposing size (he is reported to have been between 6'4" and 6'7" tall, and weigh in the area of 250 pounds), he was posthumously inducted by John Mayer. One of the greatest blues singer-songwriters and players of a Gibson Flying V guitar, Albert King had two singles land in the top 15 on the Rhythm & Blues (R&B) charts. In 1961, "Don't Turn Your Love on Me So Strong"/ "This Morning", reached number 14, and in 1974 he landed in the number 15 spot with, "That's What the Blues is All About"/ "I Wanna Get Funky".

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted in 1993, after a seven year wait, Del Shannon got in 13 years after he became eligible, and for some reason, Neil Diamond had to wait 22 years before finally being inducted in 2011.

Answer: The Supremes

The Supremes were the first all girl group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Led by Diana Ross, The Supremes were one of the most popular and successful recording artists of all time. They had 12 Number One singles on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart.

The two of their songs which were on the list of The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll were, "Stop in the Name of Love", and "You Can't Hurry Love". The Supremes also had three songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, "Where Did Our Love Go", "You Keep Me Hanging On", and "Stop! in the Name of Love". Martha and the Vandellas, ("Heat Wave", "Dancing in the Street"), led by Martha Reeves gained admittance in 1995.

The following year The Shirelles ("Will You Still Love me Tomorrow" and "Soldier Boy") were inducted.

It would be another 11 years (2007), before The Ronettes ("Be My Baby") took their rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: The Coasters

The Coasters were inducted in 1987. Led by Carl Gardner they were formed in CA in 1955. Gardner and Bobby Nunn had originally been with The Robins who recorded "Smokey Joe's Café" earlier that year. "The Coasters" became a quintet when they added Billy Guy, Leon Hughes, and guitarist Adolph Jacobs. They were a popular rhythm & blues group and became one of the early "doo-wop" singers of rock & roll. In a three year period, they had five songs hit the top ten on the U.S. Pop Charts, and one of them, "Yakety-Yak" (1958), made it to Number One. Their other big hits from that period were: "Along Came Jones", which peaked at number nine in 1959, "Poison Ivy", which reached the seventh spot in 1959, "Searchin'" (1957) got to number three, and in 1959, "Charlie Brown" made it all the way to number two. "Yakety-Yak", "Poison Ivy" and "Searchin'" all topped the U.S. Rhythm & Blues charts.

The Beatles were inducted in 1988, Smokey Robinson got in along with Bill Haley in 1987, but their back-up groups, The Miracles and The Comets respectively had to wait 25 years until they both were finally admitted in 2012.

Answer: The Clash

C'mon, admit it, you're a little surprised aren't you?
The Clash cashed in on their first ballot in (2003).
The quartet of British punkers had a 10 year run, from 1976-1986, and recorded 15 albums, over 30 singles and made more than a dozen music videos. The only single to top the UK charts was a 1991 re-issue of "Should I Stay or Should I Go?", which got no higher than number 17 when it was originally released in 1982. Their highest charted song in the U.S. was "Rock the Casbah" (1982), which got to number eight, and reached number three in Australia. The Clash had two songs crack the top dozen in the U.K., "London Calling" (1979), reached number 11, and "Bankrobber" (1980), squeezed in at number 12. On "Rolling Stone's" list of The Greatest Artists of All Time (2004), The Clash was ranked eighth. "Rolling Stone" also proclaimed their album, "London Calling", the best album of the decade of the 1980's.

Six time Grammy winner Roy Orbison had 22 songs hit the BBH100 top 40 charts between 1960-1964, including "Only the Lonely" (1960), "Crying" (1961) and, "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964), which spent three weeks in September-October as the Number One song on the BBH100 list. Roy Orbison got in on his second ballot in 1987.
The Supremes, led by Diana Ross, began as The Primettes when they were initially founded in 1959. They became The Supremes in 1961, after they hooked-up with Motown Records. Ms. Ross left to go solo in 1970, and ultimately the Supremes released over 60 albums, and 60 singles. Twelve of their singles reached Number One on the BBH100 charts. The Supremes were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998, and on their third ballot, in 1988 they entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
If those were surprising, how about MJ having to wait until his fourth ballot in 2001 to enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? GEEZ! All he did was earn 13 Grammy Awards, release over 90 albums, 59 solo singles and 46 music videos. Thirteen of his singles reached Number One, and one of his albums, "Thriller", was the best selling album ever through the end of the 21st century. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, with sales of over 400 million records around the world, Michael Jackson, "The King of Pop", is the most successful entertainer of all time. Four ballots...really?

Answer: Billy Joel

Singer-songwriter Billy Joel is one of the greatest artists in history. As of 2103, he had won six Grammy Awards, and the Recording Industry Association of America has named him the third best selling solo artist ever, crediting him with sales of over 150 million records around the world. Billy Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Long Island Hall of Fame in 2008.

In 08 "Billboard" magazine ranked "The Piano Man" number 23 on their list of the BBH100 All Time Top Artists.

In a career that has lasted over five decades, Billy Joel has recorded more than 30 albums and over 60 singles, three of which made it to Number One on the BBH100 chart: "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" (1980), "Tell Her About It" (1983), and "We Didn't Start the Fire" (1989).

A few others made it to number three, including "Just the Way You Are" (1977), "My Life" (1978) and "Uptown Girl" 1983). Billy Joel was famously married to super-model Christie Brinkley for nine years (1985-1994). Billy, Cleveland also likes you, just the way you are.