Name That Tune (Classic Rock Version) Quiz

Answer: Stairway to Heaven

"Stairway to Heaven" was released in 1971 on Led Zeppelin's fourth studio album. It was written by band members Jimmie Page and Robert Plant. The meaning of the song has been much debated for years. Many think it is an ode to evil and darkness. However, Page and Plant have hinted that the opposite may be true, that the song is a message of solidarity about changing things for the enrichment of all mankind.

Answer: Hotel California

"Hotel California" was released in 1977 on Eagles' fifth studio album. It was written by band members Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey. The theme of the song according to the band was two-fold. The first concept being that The Beverly Hills Hotel had become a mythical place to the band, and thus became their "Hotel California".

The second part to the theme came from their love of the T.V. series "The Twilight Zone". Therefore they had a guy who walks through each door of the hotel into an entirely new version of reality.

Answer: Bohemian Rhapsody

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was released in 1975 on the band Queen's fourth studio album. It was written by the band's lead singer Freddie Mercury. The singer never gave a meaningful explanation about the song's connotation. However, his long time partner stated that Freddie had told him that it was a "coming out song". Meaning that it was a way to tell the world he was homosexual, but in a hidden/coded type of way.

Answer: Another Brick in the Wall

"Another Brick in the Wall" was released in 1979 on Pink Floyd's 11th studio album. It was written by the band's bassist Roger Waters. It was a three part composition for their rock opera "The Wall". Part two was the one released as a single, and heard on radio airwaves.

This section was written as a protest to rigid schooling, and against boarding schools in particular. Waters felt that type of learning atmosphere just treated children as insignificant individuals in the larger scope of education.

Answer: Baba O'Riley

"Baba O'Riley" was released in 1971 on the band The Who's fifth studio album. It was written by the band's lead guitarist Pete Townsend. It is often mistakenly called "Teenage Wasteland", which is part of the chorus to the song. Townsend said the song was about, "the absolute desolation of teenagers" at the Woodstock Festival.

In the views of Townsend and lead singer Roger Daltrey, audience members were strung out on LSD (acid), and they had heard 20 people incurred permanent brain damage. Meher Baba and Terry Riley were the inspirations for the title of the song. Meher was a self proclaimed avatar of God who was born in India in the late 1800s. Terry Riley was an American musical composer who pioneered a minimalist approach to composition. Pete playfully combined their names for the song title.

Answer: Sweet Home Alabama

"Sweet Home Alabama" was released in 1974 on the second studio album by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was written by band members Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, and Ed King. None of those three hailed from Alabama, but penned the song in response to two Neil Young songs ("Southern Man" and "Alabama).

They felt those songs were blaming everyone in the south for the sins of their forefathers (slavery, segregation, etc). Neil Young later admitted that he deserved the shot Skynyrd had given him because his lyrics were condescending and accusatory.

Answer: Born to be Wild

"Born to be Wild" was released in 1968 on Steppenwolf's debut album. It was written by Dennis Edmonton. His brother, Jerry, was Steppenwolf's drummer. It is most notably associated with the movie "Easy Rider". Some believe it to be the first version of a Heavy Metal song.

However, this could be attributed to the lyrics "Heavy Metal thunder", as it marked the introductory use of that term in music history. However, the words describe a motorcycle instead of a form of music.

Answer: Satisfaction

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was released in 1965 on the Rolling Stone's fourth studio album. It was written by band members Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. It is purported that Richards had written part of the song in his sleep. He felt as though he had done something the night before so he checked a cassette recorder he kept on his nightstand.

When he listened to it he heard about two minutes of acoustic guitar, he then heard him drop his guitar pick, and this was followed by about 40 minutes of snoring. Needless to say they picked up from where he had left off.

Answer: Smoke on the Water

"Smoke on the Water" was released in 1973 on the sixth studio album by Deep Purple. All members of the band at the time were given songwriting credit. The song chronicles the true events of a fire at the Montreaux Casino in Switzerland in 1971. While trying to record their album "Machine Head" someone inanely fired a flare gun which hit a thatched rattan ceiling. Everything burst into flames instantaneously.

The iconic lyrics "smoke on the water, fire in the sky" came to them as they stood by the lake that bordered the casino.

They eventually recorded the album at a nearby Swiss hotel that once was a royal palace.

Answer: Dust in the Wind

"Dust in the Wind" was released in 1978 on the fifth studio album by the band Kansas. It was was written by founding band member Kerry Livgren. The title is a paraphrasing of a passage from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Livgren used parts of the book of Genesis, a Japanese war epic ("The Tale of the Heike"), and Native American poetry as his inspiration for many lyrics in the song, as well.