Country Touring Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charley Pride

Although his original intent was to become a professional baseball player, 'Country' Charley Pride had a passion for music his entire life. While he did have a brief career as a ballplayer, he found fame and satisfaction in the country music arena. During his first years in the business, that arena was mainly populated by white performers.

As a caution against racial prejudice, Pride's manager kept listeners from discovering Pride's ethnicity. By 1967, however, his success placed him clearly in the public eye. And, that year saw him become just the second black performer of the Grand Ole Opry. In 2008, Pride and 29 other Negro League players were honored by being drafted into Major League baseball teams.

Answer: George Jones

Born in Texas in 1931, George Jones' musical career began when he was quite young - he became a street performer at the age of nine, playing a guitar and singing for money. After a stint in the military, his music career was a rapid success, with his first number one hit 1959's "White Lightning".

He had a reputation for a volatile personality, and a propensity for overindulging in alcohol. His excesses affected his performances to the point that he earned the nickname "No Show Jones".

Answer: Merle Haggard

As a youngster, Merle Haggard had several troubled years - years of truancy, theft, fighting and larceny. In 1957, at the age of 20, a robbery charge sent him to prison for three years. During that time, he decided to change his life, and his future, and upon his release he left behind his delinquent actions.

While working at manual labor jobs, he took up performing, and his first big success came with 1964's hit "Sing a Sad Song". Since then he has had numerous number one hits, including 1970's "The Fightin' Side of Me", 1975's "Always Wanting You" and 1983's "That's the Way Love Goes".

He has won a number of awards, and his music has been featured in the soundtracks of several movies.

Answer: June Carter Cash

Born Valerie June Carter in 1929, June Carter Cash began her musical career at the age of ten, performing as part of the Carter Family. In addition to being a talented singer and songwriter, she was also an accomplished musician, dancer and actress. She won several Grammy awards, both for her own performances and those with her husband, Johnny Cash.
Homer and Jethro (Henry D. Haynes and Kenneth C. Burns) had a successful career in the country music industry - with more than twenty years of entertaining and recording.

Answer: Loretta Lynn

Nicknamed "The First Lady of Country Music", Loretta Lynn has recorded some of country music's biggest hits, and garnered numerous awards. She was the first female to be named "Entertainer of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1972. In 1988 she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 1999 into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - and in 1977, she was the first female country star to win that honor. A few of her best known songs are 1970's "Coal Miner's Daughter", 1977's "Out of My Head and Back in My Bed" and 1985's "Heart Don't Do This to Me". Due to her somewhat controversial (for the times) views and opinions, she often earned harsh criticism, and more than a few of her songs were banned by country music radio stations.

Answer: Hank Williams

Hank Williams was born Hiram King Williams in 1923, in Alabama. As a child growing up during the Great Depression, he helped out his mother (his father was hospitalized for most of Hank's childhood) by doing various simple jobs. While the family moved around a fair bit, his mother ran a couple different boarding houses, and it was at one of these, in Georgianna, Alabama, where Hank Williams met a man who would influence his future career.

A street performer named Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne gave Hank lessons in exchange for money - or meals. Before his death at the age of 29, Hank Williams recorded a number of hits, including 1947's "Move It On Over", 1948's "Lovesick Blues" and 1951's "Hey Good Lookin'".

Answer: Jimmy Dean

While many might know Jimmy Dean as a sausage manufacturer (a company founded by Jimmy and his brother Don), he was also a talented country singer, television host and actor. He hosted a variety show titled "The Jimmy Dean Show" from 1963 - 1966, which featured a number of country performers, including George Jones, Roger Miller and Buck Owens. And, some non-country music people, including the puppeteer Jim Henson.
Besides "Big Bad John", Jimmy Dean's best known songs include 1962's "PT-109" and 1965's "The First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And the Last Thing Ev'ry Night)".
Jimmy Dean died in 2010, and was interred in a piano-shaped mausoleum.

Answer: Moe Bandy

Moe Bandy was born Marion Franklin Bandy, Jr in 1944. His father was part of a country band, and wanted his son to pursue a music career, but Moe was captivated by the rodeo. At the age of 18, after a few years of bull-riding and bronco-busting, Moe decided his father's suggestion was the less painful idea, and he formed a band called Moe and the Mavericks. In 1973 he left the group, and in 1979 he had his first number one (solo) hit - "I Cheated Me Right Out of You". Also in 1979, Bandy started recording with Joe Stampley, and they had a hit with "Just Good Ol' Boys". They went on to perform and record together, and were often referred to simply as Moe and Joe.
In 2007, Moe and his brother Mike were inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Answer: Tanya Tucker

Tanya Tucker has had a a few ups and downs during her career, but her talent has never come into question. She has won numerous awards, and been nominated for a number of Grammys. Her first hit, 1972's "Delta Dawn" reached number six on the US country charts, and she has had several number one hits, including 1973's "Blood Red and Goin' Down" and 1988's "If It Don't Come Easy".

In addition to her singing, she is a songwriter, actress, television personality and author.

Answer: Jerry Reed

In addition to being a country singer, Jerry Reed plays the guitar, writes songs and has acted in a number of movies. While his childhood was quite unsettled, he was determined to be a musician from a very young age. At 18, he was recognized as a talent, and signed to a contract for his first record. 1970's "Amos Moses". 1973's "Lord, Mr. Ford" and 1977's "East Bound and Down" are just a few of his hits. During his career he worked with several other artists, including Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings and Mel Tillis. And, he is one of a very select few to earn the title Certified Guitar Player, an award created by Chet Atkins.