I'll Play For You Trivia Quiz

Answer: Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong's career as an entertainer spanned more than fifty years. He was recognized and appreciated for his charismatic style and stage presence, as well as his musical ability as a singer, composer and trumpeter. He made friends easily and was accepted in areas of entertainment that were, for the most part, unavailable to black entertainers during the early to mid-twentieth century. Odd fact: According to the website, mentalfloss, Louis Armstrong often gave laxatives as gifts.

The reason (according to the story), does make it a bit less peculiar than it sounds without qualification. During the mid-1950s Armstrong lost a lot of weight and credited much of his success in doing so to his regular use of an herbal laxative.

After his weight loss he shared sample packets of the product as gifts whenever he could.

Answer: Tommy Dorsey

Born (in 1905) the son of a music teacher and bandleader, Tommy Dorsey was surrounded by music throughout his life. At a young age, Dorsey played both the trumpet and the trombone - and, played each very well. He settled on the trombone and developed a style for that instrument that earned him the moniker: "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing". Tommy Dorsey died at the age of 51 but not before becoming a well-known feature of many movies, television shows and live performances. Fun fact: One singer/entertainer who credited Dorsey with giving him a much needed endorsement (early in his own career) was Frank Sinatra. Dorsey recognized the importance of a "singer" as a member of his show; he hired and - according to Sinatra - groomed him, when he was an unknown "crooner" trying to get a gig.

Answer: Bill Monroe

By the mid-1920s Bill Monroe was performing with two of his older brothers. He often explained that he played the mandolin because his older brothers did not want to play it and being the youngest, he acquiesced. It worked out very well for him. It has been said of Bill Monroe that he is most likely the only individual for whom an entire music genre/style has been named in honor of the name of his band. Bill Monroe is called "The Father of Bluegrass" and "created" that distinctive musical sound from among other styles of early American music - particularly country, western and folk music. Bill Monroe was born in rural Kentucky (aka the Bluegrass State) and initially wanted to call his band The Kentuckians (they lived in Arkansas at the time) but changes in the line-up and a move to Atlanta, Georgia prompted the name change to Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys. Bill Monroe was also changing the style of music that he and his band were performing - enough so that many began to call his style "bluegrass music".

It stuck.

Answer: Tiny Tim

What do we remember most about the entertainer Tiny Tim? His outlandish appearance? His falsetto version of "Tip Toe Through The Tulips"? His wedding with "Miss Vicki" on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson"? Or, that he played the ukulele? By the way, his ukulele was strung to be played right-handed but Tiny Tim held it "left-handed".

He was born in New York in 1932 with the birth name Herbert Butros Khaury, although some sources cite his birth name as Herbert Buckingham Khaury. Believe it or not fact: Tiny Tim maintained he had been plagued with headaches early in his life; that was until he taught himself to write left-handed, after which he was "cured" of all of his headaches. Guess that is why he played the ukulele as he did, right?

Answer: Jerry Lee Lewis

It may be difficult to imagine but it is true: In spite of his wild and crazy reputation as an entertainer, his "train wreck" of a personal life and his nickname, "The Killer", Jerry Lee Lewis studied at the Southwest Bible Institute (in Waxahachie, Texas) aspiring to become a minister. Obviously, his life took a much different path.

His talent at the piano could not be denied. In spite of himself Lewis has often been recognized and labeled as one of the most influential pianists of the twentieth century.

Other descriptions include: masterful, virtuoso, colorful, passionate and guaranteed to have his place among rock music's royalty. In regard to the last description, Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Family fun fact: Jerry Lee Lewis is a cousin of both country music super-star, Mickey Gilley, and television evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart.

Answer: Levon Helm

Although Levon Helm was appreciated for his musical ability on a plethora of instruments it was as a drummer he received his greatest admiration. He was once labeled by "Rolling Stone" magazine as "rock & roll's greatest drummer" - that was when he was vocalist and drummer for The Band. And the second album released by The Band (its self-titled offering which is often dubbed, "The Brown Album") has been described as "one of the finest rock albums of all time" - that was in 1969.

The core members of The Band (which included Helm, Robbie Robertson, Ronnie Hawkins and Rick Danko) were the back-up band for Bob Dylan during the portion of his tour that began in 1965. And, he can act, too, fact: Levon Helm portrayed Loretta Lynn's father in award winning movie, "A Coal Miner's Daughter".

His performance was well-received - even by Loretta Lynn and her mother!

Answer: Clarence Clemons

For almost forty years Clarence Clemons was "The Big Man" who played saxophone with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Clemons received his first saxophone as a Christmas present from his father when he was nine years old. Although playing rock-and-roll music was not his first endeavor as an entertainer, Clemons often told "he was born to be a rock-n-roll sax player" and his friendship with Bruce Springsteen was an inevitable, fraternal bond. Clemons did not limit himself to one band - or, even one genre of music.

He was featured on more than fifty albums that were released by a variety of artists. Clemons played saxophone for/with Dan Hartman, The Grateful Dead, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker, Janis Ian, Twisted Sister and Gloria Estefan - to mention a few. Less than two weeks before his unexpected death (from complications of a stroke, in June of 2011), Clemons recorded a video with Lady Gaga titled, "The Edge of Glory".

Answer: Ian Anderson

Probably, Ian Anderson was best known as the lead singer and flautist for the successful rock band, Jethro Tull. As many of the truly talented musical artists are, Anderson was more than just "adept" on a wide range of musical instruments, he was accomplished.

He played guitar, keyboards, bass (guitar), bouzouki (an instrument similar to the lute - of Greek origin), balalaika (a stringed instrument - held like a guitar and can be picked or strummed), saxophone, violin, harmonica, and a variety of whistles. Yet, it was his talent and showmanship associated with the flute that distinguished Ian Anderson from other musicians for decades. From the something "fishy" files: Ian Anderson and his wife, Shona, invested in a seafood company that offered salmon products called Strathaird Salmon Ltd. That investment was (apparently) a wise choice; at one time, Strathaird was the largest independent smoked salmon firm in the United Kingdom.

Answer: Mark Knopfler

Many adjectives about truly gifted musical artists have become so common place - although those were intended to be superlative - that they have become cliché. Yet those complimentary adjectives would be appropriate for Mark Knopfler - craftsman, genius, meticulous, mega-star, virtuoso, award-winning, truly unique.

As front man (as vocalist and lead guitar player) for the rock band Dire Straits Knopfler proved he could create and contribute to an internationally successful group of performers. As a songwriter he went beyond his own group and worked for and with a wide range of other artists; he wrote the soundtrack for several (full length) motion pictures.

In an age that most guitar players used a pick to play their guitars, Knopfler seemed to stay with a "bare fingered strumming and plucking" style. From maybe this was his secret-to-success fact: Mark Knopfler was naturally left-handed but he played his guitar(s) as if he were right-handed.

Answer: Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma was born the son of Taiwanese parents in Paris, France but spent most of his formative years in New York, New York. Truly, a child prodigy, he began performing before audiences before he was five years old. To describe his ability or list his accomplishments in a single paragraph would be impossible. One website (www.wikipedia.com) said this: "Ma has been referred to as "omnivorous" by critics and possesses an eclectic repertoire." His contributions - beyond recordings of beautiful sounds - won him recognition as recipient of such awards as: The United Nations Messenger of Peace Award, The Glenn Gould Prize, the National Medal of Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom and Polar Music Prize. From the not-for-everybody's budget files: In the early part of the twentieth century Yo-Yo Ma's primary performance cello was one that had been built by Domenico Montagnana in the mid-eighteenth century; at the time it was valued at $2.5 million.