Elements of Rock Trivia Quiz

Answer: Silver Bullet Band

The 1979 song "Old Time Rock and Roll" hit number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was famously featured in the 1983 film "Risky Business." The 1980 song "Against the Wind" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and was featured in the 1994 film "Forrest Gump." Formed in 1974, the lineup Silver Bullet Band, besides Seger, consisted of Drew Abbot on guitar, Alto Reed on saxophone, Chris Campbell on bass, and David Teegarden on drums for both of these recordings.

Answer: Lithium

The song "Lithium" starts out, "I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends, they're in my head. I'm so ugly. But that's OK, 'cause so are you; we broke our mirrors." The song reached 16 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. But most importantly, the album "Nevermind" popularized the mainstream grunge movement, and moved popular rock music far away from the hair metal of the '80s.

Answer: Freddie Mercury

Born Farrokh Bulsara, Freddie Mercury was born into a unique background, as an ethnically Persian British citizen born in the British Protectorate of Zanzibar. He started to call himself Freddie while young, and adopted the name Mercury while forming the band Queen. Tragically, he died young in 1991 at age 45 from complications due to AIDS. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Mercury in 1975 and recorded on their album "A Night at the Opera." The song topped the charts in the UK when released, and then once again when it was featured in the 1992 film "Wayne's World."

Answer: Led Zeppelin

Formed in 1968, the band started out as the New Yardbirds after guitarist Jimmy Page left the original Yardbirds. The legend has it that at one point Keith Moon and John Entwistle of The Who said that the band was going to go down like a lead balloon.

The band's name was changed, and "Lead" changed to "Led" in order to avoid any ambiguity as to how to pronounce the band's name. One of the band's signature songs, 1971's "Stairway to Heaven," was not originally released as a single, but is considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

It finally first reached the charts in 2007 after being offered as a digital download.

Answer: Tin

The character Major Tom, from the 1969 David Bowie song "Space Oddity," was also featured in the Bowie songs "Ashes to Ashes" and "Hallo Spaceboy." In 2013, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded a cover version music video while floating onboard the International Space Station, which quickly became an Internet sensation.

The song was originally off the 1969 album simply titled "David Bowie," but the album was reissued in 1975 and renamed "Space Oddity."

Answer: Nickelback

Nickelback was formed in 1995 by founding members Chad Kroeger on lead vocals and lead guitar, his brothers Mike Kroeger on bass and Brandon Kroeger on drums, and Ryan Peake on rhythm guitar. The band's name originates from Mike Kroeger, who as a Starbuck's employee, often handed back change with "Here's your nickel back." The 2001 song "How You Remind Me," off the album "Silver Side Up," reached number one on the charts, and was rated by Nielsen as the most frequently played song on the radio in the 2000s.

Answer: Throwing Copper

The band Live was formed in Pennsylvania in 1988 for a middle school talent show, by lead singer Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor on guitar, Patrick Dahlheimer on bass, and Chad Gracey on drums. Off their second album, 1994's "Throwing Copper," songs "Selling the Drama" and "Lightning Crashes" both reached the top spot on the US Modern Rock charts. "Throwing Copper" first charted as an album in 1994, but did not achieve the number one spot on the Billboard 200 until 52 weeks later, May of 1995.

At the time, it was the third longest gap between first entering and topping the charts.

Answer: Iron

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," by the San Diego band Iron Butterfly, is off the record of the same name, and due to its length is the only song on the second side. It was written in 1968 by the band's lead singer, Doug Ingle. Iron Maiden is a popular heavy metal band formed in Leyton, England, in 1975. "Run to the Hills" was a popular release off of their 1982 album "The Number of the Beast," and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles chart.

It was written by the band's bassist Steve Harris. After numerous lineup changes, Steve Harris is the longest serving member of Iron Maiden, having been around since the band's inception.

Answer: Heart of Gold

"Heart of Gold," off the 1972 record "Harvest," was one of Neil Young's most popular hits. In searching for love unfound, the song starts out "I want to live, I want to give. I've been a miner for a heart of gold. It's these expressions I never give that keep me searching for a heart of gold." James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt happened to be in Nashville filming a television program while the song was being recorded, and were convinced to sing backing vocals.

The song has been covered by numerous artists, and was featured in the 2013 film, "Eat Pray Love."

Answer: Neon

This song might not be as hard rocking as the other songs and bands in this quiz, but it is an amazing and chilling song nonetheless. Shortly after the Kennedy assassination in 1963, Paul Simon began writing this song of hopelessness and despair. It was finally recorded with his singing partner Art Garfunkel in March of 1964, and released as a single in 1965 where it reached the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In 2013, the song was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, which aims to collect and preserve musical and other recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important and/or reflect life in the United States."