Folk Songs and Songwriters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sandy Denny

The poignant "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" was selected as their favorite folk song by participants in a 2007 BBC poll. Sandy Denny wrote the song and performed it with two groups: Fairport Convention, which included it on their 1969 album "Unhalfbricking", as did the Strawbs, who recorded it in 1967 for an album "All Our Own Work" which wasn't released until 1973.

Although the song would become a signature song for Denny, it was initially made popular by Judy Collins. Collins recorded the song on her 1968 album of the same title and released it as the B-side to her version of "Both Sides Now" which reached number 8 in the U.S. and number 14 in the U.K.

Answer: Steve Goodman

"The City of New Orleans" was the name of a train, on which singer-songwriter Steve Goodman was riding when he wrote the lyrics to the song. He recorded the song for his 1971 self-titled album, but it was a chance meeting with Arlo Guthrie that led to Guthrie recording the song for his 1972 album "Hobo's Lullaby". Guthrie's version was released as a single and reached number 18 in the U.S. and number 11 in Canada. Willie Nelson's version released in 1984 reached number 1 on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts and also won a posthumous Grammy Award for Goodman (who died of leukemia in 1984) for Best Country Song.

Answer: Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson, a Canadian, wrote "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" about the U.S. Civil War. The song was recorded by his group, The Band, on their self-titled second album in 1969 and was released as the B-side to the single "Up on Cripple Creek" which reached number 25 on the U.S. charts and number 10 in Canada. Several artists have covered "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", with Joan Baez scoring her biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the U.S. and Canada and number 6 in the U.K., with her version.

Answer: Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell stated that "Both Sides Now" was inspired by a passage in Saul Bellow's book "Henderson the Rain King" in which the title character was looking at clouds from an airplane window. She wrote the song in 1967 and included it on her 1969 album "Clouds", but it was Judy Collins' 1967 version that first became well-known. Collins included the song on her album "Wildflowers" and released it as a single in 1968 where it hit number 8 in the U.S., number 6 in Canada, and number 14 in the U.K. Collins' version also won a Grammy for Best Folk Performance. Numerous performers have covered the song including Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Ronan Keating, and Hole, and Pete Seeger recorded a version of it with an additional verse he wrote with Mitchell's permission.

Answer: Pete Seeger

Inspired by Mikhail Sholokhov's book "And Quiet Flows the Don", Pete Seeger wrote the first three verses to "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" in 1955 and included it on his 1960 album "The Rainbow Quest" which was from a folk music television show he hosted. Singer-songwriter Joe Hickerson added the final verses to the song in 1960. Both the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary recorded the song shortly thereafter.

The Kingston Trio released the song as a B-side to the single "O Ken Karanga" which reached number 21 on the U.S. charts in 1962. Peter, Paul and Mary included the song on their self-titled debut album the same year, along with another Seeger composition (with Lee Hays), "If I Had a Hammer".

Answer: John Denver

John Denver stated that he wrote "Leaving on a Jet Plane" during an airport layover but that the song wasn't about airports but rather about good-byes in general. Originally called "Babe I Hate to Go", Denver wrote the song in 1966, and it was featured on his album released that year, "John Denver Sings".

He recorded it again the following year as a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio, but it was the 1969 version by Peter, Paul and Mary that became a hit, reaching number one in the U.S. and number two in the U.K.

Answer: Buffy Sainte-Marie

Although written in 1964 and inspired by wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam, the lyrics to "Universal Soldier" aren't specific to the Vietnam conflict, just to war in general. Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie included the song on her 1964 debut album "It's My Way!", but it was Donovan's 1965 cover version that was the hit, reaching number 5 in the U.K. and number 13 in Australia, although it only reached number 53 in the U.S. Glen Campbell actually had better luck with his 1965 version in the U.S., hitting number 45 on the charts.

Answer: Bob Dylan

According to David Crosby, the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was the song that inspired Bob Dylan to go electric. Both Dylan and the Byrds recorded the song in 1965 - Dylan for his album "Bringing it All Back Home" and the Byrds on their album "Mr. Tambourine Man", but it was the Byrds' version that was released as a single, hitting number 1 in the U.S. and U.K.

The Byrds later scored a Top 40 hit with another Dylan song, "My Back Pages" which reached number 30 on the U.S. charts in 1967.

In 1979, a compilation album "The Byrds Play Dylan" was released which featured several other Byrds' covers of Dylan songs.

Answer: Tim Hardin

The melancholy lyrics to "If I Were a Carpenter" were reportedly inspired by Tim Hardin's love for his wife, actress Susan Yardley Morss. Hardin included the song on his second album "Tim Hardin 2" released in 1967, and he performed the song at Woodstock in 1969. Several artists have had hits with the song, with Bobby Darin's 1966 version hitting number 8 in the U.S. and number 9 in the U.K.

The Four Tops also had a popular version in 1967 which reached number 20 in the U.S. and number 7 in the U.K., and Johnny Cash and June Carter's version reached number 2 on the U.S. country music charts in 1970.

Answer: Jerry Jeff Walker

"Mr. Bojangles" wasn't about Bill "Bojangles" Robinson but rather about a street performer in New Orleans who used the same name. Jerry Jeff Walker wrote the song and released it as a single in 1968, where it reached number 77 on the U.S. charts. A few years later, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded the song, and it's their version that became the hit, reaching number 2 in Canada and number 9 in the U.S.

The song has been covered by many artists, from John Denver, Bob Dylan, and Neil Diamond to Sammy Davis, Jr., Elton John, and Robbie Williams.