Cotton Fields And Steel Mills Trivia Quiz

Answer: railroad construction

The second stanza of the "Ballad Of John Henry" pretty well sums up the legend:

"John Henry said to his captain:
'You are nothing but a common man;
Before that steam drill shall beat me down,
I'll die with my hammer in my hand."

While there are many different versions of John Henry's story, in almost all of them he was said to be a large black man of great strength. During his employment with the railroad gangs who were pushing to build a network of railroads across the U.S. in the 19th century, his employer bought a steam-powered hammer to replace the work of the men.

In a bid to save his job (and the jobs of others), John Henry made a proposal to his boss; to beat the steam-powered hammer and thus save the workmen's salaries. His boss agreed to the proposition, and John Henry won the battle, only to die as he finished the job.

One story claims that he raced the steam hammer during construction of the Big Bend tunnel near Talcott, West Virginia, while another places him at the Lewis Tunnel, which lies between Talcott and Millboro, Virginia.
Yet another tale claims that he won the famous race near Leeds, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham).

Talcott holds an annual summer festival named "John Henry Days", along with a statue and a memorial plaque that have been placed south of Talcott near the Big Bend tunnel.

Leeds has also honors his legend in an annual autumn festival called the "Leeds Downtown Folk Festival & John Henry Celebration" since 2007.

Past accounts of the surviving railroad workers seemed to indicate that John Henry was indeed a real person, but various aspects of the legend simply cannot be proven, nor disproven.

Answer: Cotton Fields

"...In them old cotton fields back home
It was down in Louisiana
Just about a mile from Texarkana;
In them old cotton fields back home."

This verse of the song is, of course, a geographic impossibility, due to the fact that Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas is roughly 30 miles or so from the Louisiana border. Call it "poetic license".

There is also some debate as to whether Huddie's name was actually Huddie (pronounced Hew-die) or Hudie. Another point of contention seems to involve the year in which he was born; either in 1888 or 1889. At any rate, he was the second child of Sallie Brown and Wesley Ledbetter. His older sister's name was Australia.

Born in Louisiana's extreme northwest corner in Mooringsport, (a suburb of Shreveport), "Lead Belly" became a blues musician who had several scrapes with Louisiana and later, Texas law authorities. In fact, he served at least two terms in prison, and yet still managed to travel around the country, singing the blues, children's songs and folk style music.

In 1949, Huddie Ledbetter had begun his first European tour in France, but fell ill and was never able to complete it; a few months later he succumbed to A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig's disease).

Answer: City Of New Orleans

"City Of New Orleans", a folk song written by Steve Goodman, was popularized by Arlo Guthrie, the son of American singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie.

The opening lyrics to the song:

"Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central - Monday morning rail;
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out of Kankakee
And rolls along past houses, farms and fields;
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men,
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles."

This song is a tribute to the by-gone era of passenger trains, as it laments the passing of an iconic mode of travel around the nation. While there remains passenger service on the rails, it is not nearly so common as it once was, and the song reflects the author's regret at seeing it go by the wayside.

The song has also been covered by Willie Nelson, John Denver, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Hank Snow, as well as other music artists.

It was after Steve Goodman's death that he won a Grammy Award for "Best Country Song" in 1985. It was Willie Nelson's version that featured in that award.

Answer: Big Bad John

"Ev'ry mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed two forty five;
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew, ya didn't give no lip to Big John
(Big John, Big John)Big Bad John(Big John)"

Jimmy Dean was born in Olton, Texas in 1928. He dropped out of high school; served in the U.S. Air Force for a time; then went into the entertainment industry, serving as host of several different radio and television programs. Both Roy Clark and Patsy Cline began their careers in the music industry on his shows.

"Big Bad John" was his signature song, and it went to number one on the Billboard record charts, selling well over a million copies and earning Jimmy a gold record status.

ABC-TV featured a program in 1963-66 called "The Jimmy Dean Show". It showcased such country music folks as Roger Miller, George Jones, Charlie Rich and Buck Owens. It also featured comedy routines and once he even featured one of Jim Henson's Muppets, "Rowlf the Dog".

In 1969, he and his brother, Don, founded the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company.

Jimmy Dean died of natural causes at the age of 81, on June 13, 2010.

Answer: Billy Joel

Allentown, Pennsylvania has long been a 'blue-collar' city, with a history of manufacturing as its economic base. As of 2013, it was Pennsylvania's third largest city, with a population of over 118,000.

Billy Joel immortalized the city in his song, "Allentown", as he lamented the loss of steel manufacturing that had been a staple economic engine for many years in the area.

Allentown, however, is alive and well - thank you very much!

As of the 2010 census, it was the fastest growing city in Pennsylvania, and boasts an 8,500-seat sports arena, a soon-to-be completed 180-room hotel, replete with a restaurant and banquet center, and various cultural amenities as well.

Answer: Levee Song

"Levee Song" was the original title of this American classic. It was first published in 1894 in a collection of songs for Princeton University. The first recorded version was produced in 1927.

As they say on some television commercials - "But wait, there's more!"

The "someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" portion of the tune actually belongs to an even OLDER song that has been more or less integrated into "I've Been Working on the Railroad". THAT song was published in London in the mid-1800s as "Old Joe", or "Somebody in the House with Dinah".

One of the "continued" verses of the song, added much later, goes like this:

"I've been living in the boxcars.
I'm a hobo now.
I've been living in the boxcars,
Which the yard bulls won't allow.
Brother, can you spare a quarter?
Buy me something good to eat?
Brother, can you spare a nickel,
Till I'm on my feet?"

(I will spare you from the dialetical language of the original song, as it could be construed as quite offensive to many people.)

Answer: 1966

In the early 1960s Allen Toussaint wrote a large number of hits for R&B artists Ernie K-Doe; ("Mother-In-Law"), Irma Thomas; ("Ruler of my Heart", which was later redone by Otis Redding as "Pain In My Heart"), as well as Lee Dorsey's 1966 hit, "Working In A Coal Mine".


Art and Aaron Neville, The Showmen, and a host of others were all greatly influenced, helped by, or covered songs that had been written by Allen Toussaint, including the O'Jays, Ringo Starr, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Robert Palmer, B.J. Thomas and well, you get the idea; the list just goes on and on and on...

Answer: the car wash

The poor guy! Here he was; stuck wiping down cars at a car wash, when all he really could fantasize about was propping his feet up, smoking a big cigar and gabbing with the friendly secretary. Instead, since he had just been released from the county prison for failing to pay child support, here he was, rubbing on other people's nice cars. What a bummer!

Jim Croce's music usually focused on the "common man" and the struggles faced by blue-collar workers, often with a touch of humor attached, in all probability due to the fact the he often had to engage in manual labor while producing his songs in order to to make a living.

Tragically, on September 20, 1973, on the very day that his single, "I Got a Name" was released, he and five other people were killed in an airplane crash near Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Answer: engine power vs. mule power

This song is also known as "Low Bridge, Everybody Down"; "The Erie Canal Song" and by the name, "Mule Named Sal".

"I've got a mule, her name is Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
We've hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
And we know every inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo

Chorus:
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge cause we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal."


The low bridges required people to duck their heads as they passed underneath at risk of getting themselves hurt or knocked off the barges into the canals.

The engines speeded up the progress of travelers considerably, but apparently Mr. Allen was just plain-out gonna miss the long-time fixtures of the mules, as they pulled the barges along the canal!

Answer: truck driving

"Roll On" (Eighteen Wheeler) became an instant hit as a classic tribute to the American truck driver.

At the beginning of the song, the man in the song leaves for a long road trip through the Midwest. His wife comforts the children, reminding them that he will return soon. In the second verse, she receives a phone call that alerts her to the fact that a tractor-trailer has been found in a snowbank in Illinois. In spite of the fact that the search for her husband has been called off due to the blizzard conditions, his wife maintains faith that he will be found alive. Through a worrisome night, the wife and her children keep vigil, praying for the man's safety. As the song concludes, another phone call is received, this time from the man himself, letting his family know that he is safe and soon to return home.

Dave Loggins, the second cousin of singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins, is probably best remembered for his 1974 song "Please Come to Boston", but is also responsible for a 1973 hit by Three Dog Night; "Pieces of April".

He has also written music for artists like the group "Restless Heart", and for individuals singers Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, Gary Morris, Toby Keith, Kenny Rogers and Don Williams. In 1984, he and Anne Murray recorded the number-one country hit "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do".