Music Match: 1970 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel released "Bridge Over Troubled Water" to great acclaim in January, 1970. Its tracks include some of the duo's most famous songs, including "Baby Driver", "Bye Bye Love", and "The Only Living Boy in New York". Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in elementary school.

Answer: Jimi Hendrix

"Band of Gypsies" was recorded live on New Year's Day during a concert at the Fillmore East in New York where Hendrix played with musicians who referred to themselves as the Gypsys. Reportedly, Hendrix had grown weary of his members of his formal band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, as well as the demands from the record company to put out more albums.

A live album with a fresh set of musicians seemed to be just what he needed. It received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom wrote that Hendrix's powerful sound was much more apparent on his other albums, such as "Are You Experienced" (1967) and "Electric Ladyland"(1968).

Answer: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

"Jesus Christ Superstar" was a rock opera album based on the Bible's Gospels. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice reported they were also influenced by the book " Life of Christ" (1958) by American bishop Fulton J. Sheen. The rock opera covers the last week of Jesus's life. It debuted as a musical on Broadway in 1971 and as a film in 1973.

Answer: James Brown

It's hard to imagine anyone but the imitable James Brown singing "Sex Machine"'s title track. The album featured a version of the song that was over 10 minutes long, the son played on the radio at the time was closer to a two and a half minutes. Brown was born to young parents in an impoverished part of South Carolina. He went on to see tremendous success as the "Godfather of Soul".

Answer: Grateful Dead

"American Beauty" was the Grateful Dead's fifth studio album. Most of its songs were written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. Throughout this album, Garcia used a pedal steel guitar, which is a console-type instrument that looks a bit like a guitar is lying flat on a table.

Answer: Derek and the Dominos

Not everyone may recognize the band "Derek and the Dominos" but most will know the name of their guitarist and singer on their album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs": Eric Clapton. Clapton had recently left Cream and wanted to focus more on music and less on being a famous rock star, so he created Derek and the Dominos.

They were only active for two years, but "Layla" from their album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs", was a significant hit eventually. It was inspired in part by an ancient Arabian story as well as Clapton's love for George Harrison's then-wife.

Answer: Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell was a prolific singer-songwriter who released eight albums in the 1970s alone. Her first album of that decade was "Ladies of the Canyon", inspired by Laurel Canyon outside Santa Monica in California. Mitchell was born in Alberta, the daughter of a teacher and a Royal Canadian Air Force officer. One of the songs on this album, "Woodstock", was about Joni's imaginative version of the festival, as she didn't attend herself and instead watched reports of it on television.

Answer: Van Morrison

Before "Moondance", Van Morrison had released two other studio albums that were not particularly well-received, but this 1970 album, recorded in midtown Manhattan, received critical and popular acclaim. Morrison was born outside Belfast. His father gave him a guitar when he was seven years old.

Answer: Cat Stevens

"Tea for the Tillerman" contains some of Cat Stevens' most famous songs, including "Wild World" and "Where Do the Children Play?" You may recognize the title track from the closing theme of HBO's "Extras":

"Bring tea for the tillerman
Steak for the sun
Wine for the woman who made the rain come
Seagulls sing your hearts away
'cause while the sinners sin, the children play

Oh lord how they play and play
For that happy day, for that happy day"

Answer: Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn was already a successful singer when she released "Coal Miner's Daughter", her fifteenth album. Loretta married young and taught herself to play guitar on a $17 instrument, a gift from her husband. She's one of the most enduring singers in country music. Talent runs in the family; her younger sister is Crystal Gayle, another successful singer.