Classic Country Music Place Names Quiz

Answer: Reno

1956 Johnny Cash recorded "Folsom Prison Blues" which became a big country chart hit. In the first verse he sings "But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, and when I hear that whistle blowing I just hang my head and cry".

Answer: Texas

Sung by Dave Dudley, amongst others, "Truck Driving Man" is a classic for people who love "Trucker Songs" The first verse contains the lyrics " stopped at a roadhouse in Texas, a little place called Hamburger's Dan's".

Answer: Nashville

Kris Kristofferson "Beat The Devil" in Nashville. A mixture of song and narrative, in my opinion it is one of the best tracks he has recorded, although it was not a massive hit. As I stated in another quiz this song was dedicated to Johnny Cash and June Carter, who helped Kris when he was down on his luck. Kris never forgot the kindness shown to him by Johnny.
The place name appears "It was winter time in Nashville, down on Music City Row".

Answer: Pittsburgh

Dave Dudley, famous for his trucking songs, had another massive hit with "Six Days on the Road"
The beginning of the first verse goes "Well I pulled out of Pittsburgh, rolling down the Eastern Seaboard, got my diesel wound up and she's running like never before".

Answer: Detroit

A hit for numerous Country stars, "Detroit City" also crossed over to pop when it was recorded by Tom Jones.
The first verse goes "Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City, dreaming about them cotton fields and home".

Answer: Laredo

Johnny Cash is one of many stars that have recorded "The Streets of Laredo". Sometimes known as "The Cowboy's Lament" it is a song that is steeped in folk lore. Some believe it originally came from Ireland and became known as "The Bard of Armaugh". Eventually the words were changed to the version that is now commonly sung today.
"As I walked out in the streets of Laredo
As I walked out in Laredo one day
I spied a young cowboy all wrapped in white linen,
wrapped in white linen and cold as the clay".

Answer: Milwaukee

Jerry Lee Lewis, amongst others, recorded the song "What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has made a Loser Out of Me)".
The song relates to the fact that Milwaukee is famous for brewing beer, and for many years was known as "The Beer Capitol of the World".
Part of the song goes
"Then someone buys another round and whenever drinks are free
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me".

Answer: Tennessee

George Strait had a huge hit with "All My Exes Live in Texas" As the song goes
"All my Exes live in Texas, and Texas is the place I'd dearly love to be
But all my Exes live in Texas, that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee".

Answer: Omaha

Written by Billy Joe Shaver, and featured on Waylon's "Honky Tonk Heroes" the song "Omaha" has become a Waylon classic.
The chorus goes "Omaha you've been weighing heavy on my mind, I guess I never really left at all".

Answer: Butcher Holler

Loretta Lynn, one of eight children, was the daughter of a coal miner who worked in Johnson County, Kentucky. Loretta was bought up in Butcher Holler, as part of the local mining community.
"Well I was born a coal miner's daughter
in a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler".

Answer: City of New Orleans

The City of New Orleans is a train that still runs between Chicago and New Orleans. Travelling down the USA it takes approximately 20 hours to complete the journey ,stopping at 17 stations before pulling into New Orleans.
"I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done".

Answer: Gulf of Mexico

The Johnny Horton hit was the "Battle of New Orleans" and the British ran down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Although the British had approximately twice the number of men as the Americans, there were 380 killed and over 1,000 wounded in the British forces as opposed to the American casualties of 13 killed and 60 wounded.
"We fired once more and they began a-running,
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico".

Answer: San Antone

A massive hit for Charley Pride was "Is Anybody Going to San Antone". Without doubt Charley was, and still is, the most successful black Country music star of all times.
"Is anybody going to San Antone, or Phoenix Arizona,
Any place is alright as long as I can forget I ever known her".

Answer: Alaska

A massive country hit for many top stars "My Elusive Dreams" is a favourite with all Classic Country lovers. Sung by male and female artists, including Tom Jones, my favourite has to be the George Jones version.
In the song the husband and wife, with their small child, went to Alaska seeking gold, but the child died and only two of them returned.
"And now we've left Alaska because they was no gold mine,
but this time only two of us moved on".

Answer: Jackson

Johnny Cash and June Carter won a Grammy Award in 1968 for their recording of "Jackson". Previous to this, "Jackson" went to Number 14 in the USA Charts after being recorded by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood. Another recording was done by Johnny Cash, this time with Miss Piggy, when he appeared on "The Muppet Show".
"I'm going to Jackson, I'm going to mess around,
Yeah I'm going to Jackson,
Look out Jackson Town".