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Quiz about Songwriters Who Should be Famous

Songwriters Who Should be Famous Quiz

Many of my favorite songwriters have written songs that made at least a mild splash on the charts. However, it's the covering artist who gets the glory, not the songwriter! Most of these songs would be classed somewhere on the Folk/Country spectrum.

A multiple-choice quiz by agony. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
agony

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
135,800

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
1983

Awards
Top 5% quiz!

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Arlo Guthrie had a hit in 1972 with this song, written by Steve Goodman. Hint

Alice's Restaurant

City of New Orleans

The Motorcycle Song

This Land is Your Land

NEXT>

Question 2 of 15

2. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered "Pancho and Lefty" in 1983. Which Texas singer/songwriter wrote this song? Hint

Joe Ely

Jimmie Rodgers

Townes Van Zandt

Bruce Hancock

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Question 3 of 15

3. Long before she became a big name herself, Bonnie Raitt covered a John Prine song on her 1974 album "Streetlights". It has become something of a signature tune for her. What song was it? Hint

Angel from Montgomery

That Song About the Midway

Illegal Smile

Sam Stone

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Question 4 of 15

4. Ringo Starr had a bit of a hit in 1974 with "The No-No Song". Who wrote it? Hint

Richard Thompson

Nick Drake

Hoyt Axton

Tony Banks

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Question 5 of 15

5. Jerry Jeff Walker covered the only Guy Clark song to ever get much widespread radio play, a song about shaking the dust of the city off your feet, and heading out. What was it? Hint

Home-Grown Tomatoes

LA Freeway

T for Texas

The Randall Knife

6. Jerry Jeff Walker may be more famous than Guy Clark, but he's not exactly a "big name". Probably his biggest song was covered by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, on their 1970 album "Uncle Charlie and his Dog Teddy". What was the song? Hint

Dance Little Jean

Mr. Bojangles

Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother

Will the Circle be Unbroken

NEXT>

Question 7 of 15

7. The Eagles covered a song by the king of the eccentric and original, Tom Waits, on their 1975 album, "On the Border". What was the song? Hint

Ol' 55

Closing Time

Best of My Love

My Man

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Question 8 of 15

8. Linda Ronstadt and, later, Terri Clark, have had hits with the great song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me". Who wrote it? Hint

Tom Russell

Dave Alvin

Warren Zevon

Steve Earle

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Question 9 of 15

9. Aretha Franklin's signature song "Respect" was written by a 1960s musician who died much too young. Who? Hint

Otis Redding

Jimi Hendrix

Sam Cooke

Marvin Gaye

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Question 10 of 15

10. Many people think that David Allen Coe wrote this song, by Steve Goodman. Hint

The Rodeo Song

Fuzzy Was an Outlaw

Take This Job and Shove It

You Never Even Call Me By My Name

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Question 11 of 15

11. Mary Chapin Carpenter had a smash hit with her version of "Passionate Kisses". Who wrote it? Hint

Iris DeMent

Anna McGarricle

Nanci Griffiths

Lucinda Williams

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Question 12 of 15

12. Hoyt Axton wrote two songs that were giant hits in the early seventies. Do these words sound familiar? "Never understood a single word he said..." "Say the ladies are insane there..." What band recorded these songs? Hint

Carpenters

Three Dog Night

Eagles

The Byrds

NEXT>

Question 13 of 15

13. Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" after singing it on TV, in 1955. Who wrote the song?

Answer: (First and last, or just last name)

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Question 14 of 15

14. "Outbound Plane" was fairly successful for Suzy Bogguss in 1991. This song was written by Nanci Griffith, along with a songwriter who has a list as long as your arm of much better songs that have hardly been heard. Who is he? Hint

Stan Rogers

Townes Van Zandt

Tom Russell

Guy Clark

NEXT>

Question 15 of 15

15. Who wrote the Carpenters' 1970 hit, "We've Only Just Begun"? He made a minor splash, a few years later, with "Phantom of the Paradise". Hint

Paul Williams

Randy Newman

Harry Nilsson

Kim Mitchell

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Arlo Guthrie had a hit in 1972 with this song, written by Steve Goodman.

Answer: City of New Orleans

This song is a great lament for the fast-fading railroad culture. "This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues..."

2. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered "Pancho and Lefty" in 1983. Which Texas singer/songwriter wrote this song?

Answer: Townes Van Zandt

I first saw Townes Van Zandt live at the Edmonton Folk Festival in the mid-eighties. Ian Tyson, who was also appearing at the festival, was at that time hosting a music program, "Sun Country", on CTV, and got Townes to appear on the show. He sang a couple of songs, on national Canadian television, with his eyes firmly closed the whole time.

3. Long before she became a big name herself, Bonnie Raitt covered a John Prine song on her 1974 album "Streetlights". It has become something of a signature tune for her. What song was it?

Answer: Angel from Montgomery

"I am an old woman/ named after my mother/ My old man is another/ child that's grown old." John Prine is of course well-known among folkies, but success in the wider music world has eluded him.

4. Ringo Starr had a bit of a hit in 1974 with "The No-No Song". Who wrote it?

Answer: Hoyt Axton

"A woman that I know just came from Majorca, Spain/ She smiled because I did not understand/ And then she held out a ten-pound bag of cocaine/ She said it was the finest in the land./ And I said "No no no no, I don't (sniff) no more, I'm tired of waking up on the floor..."

5. Jerry Jeff Walker covered the only Guy Clark song to ever get much widespread radio play, a song about shaking the dust of the city off your feet, and heading out. What was it?

Answer: LA Freeway

"If I can just get offa that LA freeway without getting killed or caught/ Down the road in a cloud of smoke/ For some land that I ain't bought bought bought..." This song was on 1972's "Jerry Jeff Walker".

Answer: Mr. Bojangles

This is a great album, by the way. Classic early Dirt Band, and, as an added bonus, you can hear the dog, Teddy, howling along in accompaniment to "That Old Rugged Cross". "Sing, Teddy, sing!"

7. The Eagles covered a song by the king of the eccentric and original, Tom Waits, on their 1975 album, "On the Border". What was the song?

Answer: Ol' 55

Tom Waits released this song on his 1973 album "Closing Time". "And now the sun's coming up/ I'm riding with Lady Luck/ Freeway cars and trucks..."

8. Linda Ronstadt and, later, Terri Clark, have had hits with the great song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me". Who wrote it?

Answer: Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon died on September 7, 2003, from lung cancer. He released the collaborative album "The Wind" a month before his death.

9. Aretha Franklin's signature song "Respect" was written by a 1960s musician who died much too young. Who?

Answer: Otis Redding

Redding's version of this song is pretty good, but this is a song that really gains much of its power by being sung by a woman. Especially a woman like Aretha Franklin!

10. Many people think that David Allen Coe wrote this song, by Steve Goodman.

Answer: You Never Even Call Me By My Name

Also known as "The Perfect Country and Western Song". "Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison/ And I went to pick her up in the rain/ But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck/ she got runned over by a damned old train".

11. Mary Chapin Carpenter had a smash hit with her version of "Passionate Kisses". Who wrote it?

Answer: Lucinda Williams

"Is it too much to ask /
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back/
Food to fill me up/
And warm clothes and all that stuff ". This song first appeared on 1988's "Lucinda Williams".

Answer: Three Dog Night

Axton wrote both "Joy to the World (Jeriemiah was a Bullfrog)" and "Never Been to Spain", among many other songs. He came by his songwriting talents honestly; his mother wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel".

13. Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" after singing it on TV, in 1955. Who wrote the song?

Answer: Carl Perkins

Carl Perkins' recording of his song "Blue Suede Shoes" had been a radio hit. Carl and his band were on their way to New York, to perform on the "Perry Como" TV show, and get some national exposure, when they were in a car accident. While they were laid up, Elvis sang the song on the "Dorsey Brothers Stage Show", and made it his own.

Answer: Tom Russell

Actually, all four of those writers has a list that long, of wonderful, unheard songs. The restricted playlists of commercial radio have a lot to answer for! Tom Russell's forte is story songs, with well drawn characters and strong melodies.

15. Who wrote the Carpenters' 1970 hit, "We've Only Just Begun"? He made a minor splash, a few years later, with "Phantom of the Paradise".

Answer: Paul Williams

Paul Williams is a bit of a pop song factory. He's written, among others: "An Old Fashioned Love Song"; "I Won't Last a Day Without You"; "Evergreen"; and of course, Kermit the Frog's big hit "Rainbow Connection".

Source: Author agony

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
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Related Quizzes

This quiz is part of series Songs of my Favourite Musicians:

A series of quizzes on songs by artists mostly on the Folk/Country spectrum.

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  3. Tulare Dust Average
  4. Sing Along with John Prine Average
  5. The Songs of Randy Newman Average
  6. Richard Thompson (more or less) Average
  7. She Moves Through the Fair Average
  8. Songs of Fred Eaglesmith Average
  9. The Songs of Stan Rogers Average
  10. The Songs of Townes Van Zandt Average
  11. Donovan Comes, Singing Songs of Love Average