The Songs of Country #7 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ricky Skaggs

In 1983, Ricky took this Bill Monroe classic and turned it into a number one hit. Bill was so impressed with the royalty check that he told Ricky any songs of Bill's that Ricky wanted, he could have. Bill Monroe originally wrote the song in 1950 about his uncle, Pendleton Vandiver.

Answer: George Strait

In 1984, George took this song to number one. It was written by Paul Biese, Haven Gillespie, and Arthur Sizemore in the 1920s for Emmett Miller and Bob Wills. On the day the song was recorded in the studio, fiddle player Johnny Gimble just happened to be there. Gimble was a member of Bob Wills' band.

He's playing the fiddle heard on the song. "Right or Wrong" was the last song chosen for George's third album.

Answer: Reba McEntire

"Is There Life Out There" was written by Susan Longacre and Rick Giles and Reba performed it in 1992. Reba took her cue from Loretta Lynn and sang songs that dealt with real issues of that time. Women would hold up their diplomas during Reba's performance of the song to show her that they finished college or high school.

Answer: The Judds

For mother and daughter duo, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, "Why Not Me?" became a personal anthem for them in 1984. It was written by their producer Brent Mayer with help from Harlan Howard and Sonny Throckmorton. The song won the three songwriters Song of the Year at the 1984 ACM awards. The song was written in one day after Brent Mayer realized they needed one more song to finish the album.

Answer: Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens

"Streets of Bakersfield" was written by Homer Joy and originally performed by Buck Owens. When Dwight and Buck sang a duet in 1988, they wanted the song to be meaningful and show listeners to be yourself even if people were looking down on you. Dwight had Flaco Jiminez play accordion for the song. "The Streets Of Bakersfield" became Buck Owens' first number one hit in sixteen years.

Answer: Kathy Mattea

Kathy initially turned down the song about her husband's grandparents. When Kathy heard her husband (songwriter John Vezner) perform it at the Bluebird she decided to record it in 1989. With an acoustic piano, two bass players, and a guitar player, Kathy recorded the song.

She won ACM Song of the Year and Single of the Year at the ACM awards in 1989. The song also won Kathy two Grammy awards.

Answer: Vince Gill

Vince wrote this after Keith Whitley died in 1989, but never finished it. After the death of his brother in 1993, Vince got the song back out, finished the lyrics, and performed it at his induction ceremony for the Grand Ole Opry. He also performed it at the memorial service for George Jones in 2013. "Go Rest High On That Mountain" won the Grammy award for Best Country Song in 1995.

Answer: Garth Brooks

"The Dance" was written by Tony Arata. Afraid it wasn't country enough for country music stations, at first Garth didn't want "The Dance" on his 1989 album. When Garth's producers told him he would regret the decision, Garth put the song back on his album. When the song came out on music stations, the self-titled album doubled sales in one month.

Answer: Trisha Yearwood

"She's In Love With The Boy" was written by John Ims. Trisha used the song as her first single on her debut album. Her debut song went to number one on the country charts in 1991. She was the second woman to have that accomplishment, the first being Connie Smith in 1964.

Answer: Clint Black

Clint was a former construction worker from Texas when he began his country music career. His single "Killin' Time" went to number one in 1989. He co-wrote the song with Hayden Nicholas. The inspiration for the song came to the men when they were on their way to a show and talking about how slowly things were happening. Clint made the comment that "this killin' time is killin' me". Eureka! A song was born.