Country Music Classics Song Titles Quiz

Answer: Man

"Stand By Your Man" was recorded by Tammy Wynette in 1968 and it became a huge hit for her. It reached number one on the country charts in early 1969. In 1992 the song became the center of a major political news story. During his campaign before being elected U.S. president in 1992, Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary appeared on the U.S. television news show "60 Minutes." When Bill was put on the defensive over an alleged affair with Gennifer Flowers, Hillary came to his rescue, but added that she "wasn't some little woman 'standing by my man' like Tammy Wynette." Wynette demanded and received an apology.

Answer: Heart

"Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded by Hank Williams in 1952, but was not released until after his death in 1953. Many people believe the lyrics were inspired by his contentious marriage to his wife Audrey.

Answer: Kentucky

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" was originally written in 3/4 tempo (it was originally described as a waltz) in 1946 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and was recorded by his band. It has been covered many times, with some artists changing the tempo to a faster 4/4 time.

In 1989 "Blue Moon of Kentucky" was designated by the Kentucky General Assembly as the official bluegrass song of the U.S. state of Kentucky.

Answer: Go

Perhaps the best-known version of "He'll Have to Go" is the one recorded in 1959 by Jim Reeves, but he was covering the version released earlier in 1959 by Billy Brown. It inspired the 1960 answer song "He'll Have to Stay" by Jeanne Black (which then was covered in 1961 by Skeeter Davis).

Answer: Believe

"It's Only Make Believe" was released by Conway Twitty in July 1958 as the B side of "I'll Try" (which went nowhere in terms of sales and radio play). It became his first number one hit (eventual total was 55), and reached the top chart position in 21 countries, including on the U.S. and British national charts. Twitty's real name was Harold Lloyd Jenkins, and one story about how he chose his stage name was that he had lovers in both Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas.

Answer: Sue

"A Boy Named Sue" became a huge hit for country singer Johnny Cash in 1969-70 due to a happy combination of circumstances. The song was written by multi-talented Shel Silverstein, who was inspired by his good friend, humorist Jean Shepherd. He had been teased when he was young because of his feminine-sounding name. Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, encouraged her husband to perform it. Cash was at the height of his popularity when he recorded this song live at San Quentin State Prison, California (which might explain why he took a chance on such an unusual song), and was surprised at how well it was received. "A Boy Named Sue" became one of Cash's biggest hits.

Answer: Pieces

"I Fall to Pieces" was released by Patsy Cline in 1961, and it became her first number one hit on the U.S. country charts. She would tragically die prematurely in 1963 at the age of 30 in an airplane crash. Her life is shown in the 1985 biopic movie "Sweet Dreams" (I've seen this several times and can recommend it-great music).

Answer: Walls

"Hello Walls" was recorded by Faron Young (his actual birth name) in 1961, and it became a massive hit for him. It reached number one on the country charts and number 12 on the pop charts. This was one of several big hits that Willie Nelson wrote (arguably, the most famous was "Crazy").

Answer: World

"The End of the World" became an international hit for Skeeter Davis in the early 1960s (originally released 1962). She was born with the name Mary Frances Penick, and got the name "Skeeter" as a young child when her grandfather likened her to a mosquito because of all her energy.

This song has been covered many times, including by British singing sensation Susan Boyle on her debut album, "I Dreamed a Dream."

Answer: Midnight

"Walkin' After Midnight" became Patsy Cline's first big hit. She sang it on an "Arthur Godfrey Talent Search" TV program in 1957 and won, which started her on the way to becoming a big star. She would eventually have other major hits like "Sweet Dreams," "I Fall to Pieces," "Leavin' on Your Mind" and (my favorite) "Crazy."

Answer: Home

"Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" was originally released in 1902, and has been covered by many different artists over the years. For some reason the title was switched to "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" or just "Bill Bailey" in later years.

Answer: Line

"I Walk the Line" was written and recorded in 1956 by Johnny Cash. According to Cash, "I was newly married at the time, and I suppose I was laying out my pledge of devotion." The 2005 biopic movie "Walk the Line" shows all the personal problems Cash had at the time of his marriage to June Carter.

Answer: Falling

"Please Help Me I'm Falling" was recorded and released in July 1960 by American country music singer Hank Locklin. Over the years it has been covered by many other artists. Locklin's version spent a remarkable 14 weeks at number one on the country chart and 30 weeks in the top ten in 1960. Later that same year, country singer Skeeter Davis had a hit with an answer record titled "I Can't Help You, I'm Falling Too."

Answer: Everything

"There Goes My Everything " was published in 1965, but the 1966 version by Jack Greene is perhaps best known (his version spent seven weeks at the top of the Top 40 country hits chart). Cover artist include Engelbert Humperdinck, Elvis Presley, Roger Whittaker, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.

Answer: Dove

"Wings of a Dove" was written by American songwriter and record producer Bob Ferguson. It has been recorded by many artists, but the 1960 version by Ferlin Husky is perhaps best known. His version reached number one on the American country chart. Nashville, Tennessee became a center of country music thanks in large part to Bob Ferguson's efforts.

Answer: Blues

"Singing the Blues" was written and published in 1956, and several different recorded versions had chart success. The version by Guy Mitchell spent nine weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard chart in late 1956 and early 1957. Mitchell's version was also number one in the U.K. for three weeks in early 1957.

The version by Tommy Steele & The Steelmen made number one on the U.K. singles chart for one week in early 1957. The version by Marty Robbins made it to number one on the U.S. C&W best seller charts in late 1956 and early 1957.

Answer: Dreams

"Sweet Dreams" became a major hit for several artists. It was written by Don Gibson, but his 1956 record version went nowhere. After he became established as a country music superstar, he released a new version as a single. This version made it to the top ten on Billboard's country songs chart. Faron Young, Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire, Tommy McLain and Emmylou Harris also had hits with it.

Answer: Lookin'

"Hey, Good Lookin'" is a 1951 song by Hank Williams that starts out with these wonderful lyrics: "Hey, hey, good lookin', Whatcha got cookin'?, How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?" His 1951 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. It has been covered by many artists, including Jimmy Buffett and a duet by Jo Stafford and Frankie Laine.

Answer: Cry

"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", which was written and released in 1949, is another Hank Williams song whose origin was probably inspired by his contentious marriage to his wife Audrey. Many artists have covered this song, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Nick Cave (duet), Little Richard, Elvis Presley and B. J. Thomas.

Answer: Tonight

"Somewhere Tonight" was released by Highway 101 (with Paulette Carlson singing the lead vocal) in 1987, and their version reached number one on the U.S. hot country singles chart. It also reached number one on the Canadian country singles chart. This was Highway 101's first number one hit.

Answer: Hand

"On the Other Hand" was first recorded in 1985 by Keith Whitley, but the 1986 version by Randy Travis is perhaps better known. Travis first released this song in 1985, and that had moderate success. Then he reissued it in 1986, and that reissue became his first number-one hit in both the United States and Canada.

The band Kansas had a hit with the song "On the Other Side".

Answer: Mind

"Gentle on My Mind" became a huge hit for Glen Campbell in 1967. What is remarkable is that his version was one of over 300 covers of this song, including ones by Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, R.E.M. and Trini Lopez. Versions by Patti Page and Aretha Franklin were also fairly successful.

When Campbell hosted his television variety show, "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" (January 1969 - June 1972), he started each show by having the first few bars of "Gentle on My Mind" played on the banjo by John Hartford, the song's writer.

Answer: Number

"Heartaches by the Number" was a hit song for several different artists, including Guy Mitchell (1959), Ray Price (1959), and Jack Reno (1972). Mitchell's version was the biggest hit, reaching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in late December 1959.

Answer: Heart

The marriage of Hank Williams to Audrey Sheppard in December 1944 was pretty rocky by all accounts, but it may have inspired some of Hank's biggest hits (songs such as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Cold, Cold Heart"). Hank died in 1953 at age 29 in the back seat of a Cadillac automobile on his way to play a concert (he was supposed to fly but the weather was bad).

The Cadillac has been preserved and is on display at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.

Answer: You

"Those Memories of You" was first recorded in 1986 by Pam Tillis (daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis), and her version reached number 55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. But the version most people remember is the one included in the 1987 album "Trio" by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

Their version reached number five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in December 1987, and in Canada it reached number one on the RPM Country Tracks chart.