Song by Song: "Maybellene" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ida Red

"Ida Red" is a song that dates back to the 19th century, but it was, according to Rolling Stone magazine, the Bob Wills version that inspired Chuck Berry. The song, which describes a man chasing his unfaithful girlfriend in a car, was recorded on May 21, 1955. It was released as a single in July of 1995 and eventually included on "The Anthology" by Chess Records.

Answer: A mascara box

When performing the song live, Chuck Berry had previously called it "Ida Mae," but producer Leonard Chess thought the name to be too rural. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "Leonard Chess came up with the title, inspired by a Maybelline mascara box lying on the floor at the Chess studio." The spelling was altered slightly (with an e substituted for the i) to avoid legal issues.

Answer: harmonica

Chuck Berry wrote the song and supplied vocals and guitar. Johnnie Johnson was on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, Ebby Hardy on drums, and Jerome Green on maracas. It was released as a single in July of 1955 with "Wee Wee Hours" on the B-side.

Answer: DJ Alan Freed

Alan Freed was an influential DJ in the 1950s who promoted country, blues, and R&B music. His career was destroyed when it came to light that he had accepted money from record companies to give their songs airtime. In some cases, he took co-writing credit and royalties, as with "Maybellene." This further created a conflict of interest, because the more he promoted the song, the more royalties he got.

Although this practice was not illegal until the government made it so in 1959, at the time, Freed's refusal to admit to it destroyed his career.

Answer: A Coupe de Ville

Maybellene drives a Coupe de Ville while the singer tries to catch up to her in his V8 Ford.

"As I was motivatin' over the hill
I saw Maybellene in a Coupe de Ville
A Cadillac arollin' on the open road
Nothin' will outrun my V8 Ford."

"Maybellene" peaked at number five on the Billboard pop chart and number one on the R&B chart. By the end of 1955, it had sold a million copies. The song has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is included on NPR's 1999 list of the "one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century."

Answer: About 95

"The Cadillac doin' about ninety-five.
She's bumper to bumper, rollin' side by side."

Paul Simon used "Maybellene" in a medley with his song "Kodachrome," and it was covered by The Syndicats in 1964. Steve Howe played guitar on that version, and he would later go on to play for Yes.

Answer: true

"Maybellene
Why can't you be true
Oh Maybellene, why can't you be true
You've started back doin' the things you used to do."

According to Glenn C Altschuler in the 2003 book "All Shook Up, How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America," Chess records producer Leonard Chess liked Maybellene because he was intrigued by the idea of a "hillbilly song" being "sung by a black man." The song is often classified as belonging to the "rockabilly" genre.

Answer: rainwater

"The Cadillac pulled up ahead of the Ford
The Ford got hot and wouldn't do no more
It then got cloudy and started to rain
I tooted my horn for a passin' lane
The rainwater blowin' all under my hood."

According to "Pop Chronicles," it was blues legend Muddy Waters who urged Chuck Berry to bring "Maybellene" to Leonard Chess. The single followed Berry's 1954 single "I Hope These Words Will Find You Well" and preceded his 1955 single "Thirty Days."

Answer: At the top of the hill

"The motor cooled down the heat went down
And that's when I heard that highway sound
The Cadillac a-sittin' like a ton of lead
A hundred and ten half a mile ahead
The Cadillac lookin' like it's sittin' still
And I caught Maybellene at the top of the hill."

According to Songfacts, Chess records gave one-third of the composing credit for this song to a DJ friend of Chuck Berry's named Russ Fratto to ensure that Alan Freed would get fewer royalties, but Fratto agreed to give Berry his share.

Answer: Johnny Rivers

The Johnny Rivers cover was released as a single in August of 1964 from his second official album "Here We à Go Go Again!" The album was recorded live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California. "Midnight Special" was the other hit song from the album.

Numerous artists have covered "Maybellene," ranging from Ronnie Hawkins, the Everly Brothers, Carl Perkins, and Conway Twitty to Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Chubby Checkers.