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You Saxy Thing! Trivia Quiz

Saxophones are usually considered jazz instruments but they have been used in many forms of music. Can you identify the artists or the songs that featured a sax?

A multiple-choice quiz by CmdrK. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
CmdrK

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
395,124

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
191

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. A song heavy on sax but light on lyrics (only one word, spoken three times) became a number one hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. Which of these intoxicating numbers was it? Hint

Scotch and Soda

Tequila

Drink It Up Men

The Moonshiner

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Question 2 of 10

2. Sherlock Holmes lived on Baker Street in London. That may have, or may not have, influenced which artist who had a saxophone solo included in "Baker Street"? Hint

Donald Fagen

Gerry Rafferty

Huey Lewis

Bryan Adams

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Question 3 of 10

3. In his song "Amnesia", Bill Morrissey had the narrator who couldn't remember things ask "Are my friends all hip, do they play tenor sax, or belt their pants at the armpits and wear plastic pen packs?"

One of the premier jazz saxophonists, with the nickname Bird, would certainly fit the hip description. Who played on the songs "Just Friends" and "Billie's Bounce"? Hint

Charles Mingus

Dave Brubeck

Dizzy Gillespie

Charlie Parker

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Question 4 of 10

4. The Rolling Stones are usually thought of as a guitar band but they brought in a saxophone player for which of these songs? Hint

Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Little Red Rooster

Satisfaction

Moonlight Mile

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Question 5 of 10

5. The saxophone isn't usually thought of as a concert music instrument but one composer included a sax in his "Symphonic Dances" orchestral suite. Who was he? Hint

Mozart

Beethoven

Rachmaninov

Handel

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which musical group did Clarence Clemons notably play with? Hint

Heart

The E Street Band

The Manhattan Transfer

Chicago

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Question 7 of 10

7. You may like a bottle of red, or a bottle of white, while listening to Billy Joel play the piano, but which song with a sax solo concerned Brenda and Eddie? Hint

Don't Ask Me Why

Just the Way You Are

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Big Shot

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. We can "Turn the Page" but we'll still find a saxophone in this song, which was written and recorded by whom? Hint

Donald Fagen

Bob Dylan

Bob Seger

Bob and Ray

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Question 9 of 10

9. Though the music video for this song looked like it took place in a nightclub, not a jazz club, the saxophone part of the song set the mood for this "Smooth Operator", who we know as ___? Hint

Kate Bush

Gloria Estefan

Madonna

Sade

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Question 10 of 10

10. First came the song and then the album for the Australian group Men at Work. Which sax-heavy song might it be? Hint

Down Under

Who Can it Be Now?

Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive

Be Good Johnny

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A song heavy on sax but light on lyrics (only one word, spoken three times) became a number one hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. Which of these intoxicating numbers was it?

Answer: Tequila

"Tequila" was the B-side of "Train to Nowhere" by the Champs. The record went nowhere until a DJ in Cleveland, Ohio flipped it over and played "Tequila". It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for five weeks. Daniel Flores wrote the song, played saxophone on the record and spoke "tequila" three times during it.

2. Sherlock Holmes lived on Baker Street in London. That may have, or may not have, influenced which artist who had a saxophone solo included in "Baker Street"?

Answer: Gerry Rafferty

Rafferty, formerly of the band Stealers Wheel, included the song on his album "City to City" in 1978. The song was indeed named after the street in London's Marylebone district. It was a top ten hit in most of the English-speaking world and included a sax riff by Raphael Ravenscroft, who also played on the song "Get it Right Next Time" on Rafferty's "Night Owl" album in 1979.

3. In his song "Amnesia", Bill Morrissey had the narrator who couldn't remember things ask "Are my friends all hip, do they play tenor sax, or belt their pants at the armpits and wear plastic pen packs?" One of the premier jazz saxophonists, with the nickname Bird, would certainly fit the hip description. Who played on the songs "Just Friends" and "Billie's Bounce"?

Answer: Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker was a very influential jazz saxophonist and was a leader in the development of the bebop style of jazz. He was a favorite of hipsters and beatniks. Living a life of excess, he died at age 34.

4. The Rolling Stones are usually thought of as a guitar band but they brought in a saxophone player for which of these songs?

Answer: Can't You Hear Me Knocking

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" was on the Stones' "Sticky Fingers" album. They brought in several extra musicians for that album, including Bobby Keyes, who played sax on that song as well as on "Brown Sugar".

5. The saxophone isn't usually thought of as a concert music instrument but one composer included a sax in his "Symphonic Dances" orchestral suite. Who was he?

Answer: Rachmaninov

Not only did Sergei Rachmaninoff use the saxophone as an orchestral instrument he used it as a solo instrument. Finished in 1940, "Symphonic Dances" was his last composition.

6. Which musical group did Clarence Clemons notably play with?

Answer: The E Street Band

Clemons was a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band from 1972 until his death in 2011, as well as performing with other artists and recording some solo albums. He was known as "The Big Man" because he was 6 feet, 5 inches (195.5 cm) tall. His most noticeable collaboration with Springsteen was probably "Born to Run".

He also worked with Lady Gaga on "The Edge of Glory" shortly before suffering a stroke in 2011.

7. You may like a bottle of red, or a bottle of white, while listening to Billy Joel play the piano, but which song with a sax solo concerned Brenda and Eddie?

Answer: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Never released as a single, "Scenes" was on Joel's album "The Stranger" and has been included on many of his compilation albums, as well as becoming a fan favorite. He credits the second side of the "Abbey Road" album by the Beatles as one of the song's main influences. Other woodwind and brass instruments were also used in the recording.

8. We can "Turn the Page" but we'll still find a saxophone in this song, which was written and recorded by whom?

Answer: Bob Seger

Another song that was never released as a single but gained popularity, "Turn the Page" was written by Seger in 1973 and included on his Silver Bullet Band's album "Back in '72". Band member Alto Reed played sax on the recording.

9. Though the music video for this song looked like it took place in a nightclub, not a jazz club, the saxophone part of the song set the mood for this "Smooth Operator", who we know as ___?

Answer: Sade

Nigerian singer Sade Adu named the band after herself and the song is considered a jazz or sophisticated -pop song. It was the third single released from their "Diamond Life" album in 1984 and was a top 20 hit in much of the world.

10. First came the song and then the album for the Australian group Men at Work. Which sax-heavy song might it be?

Answer: Who Can it Be Now?

Released in Australia in 1981 and the rest of the world in 1982 and 1983, "Who Can it Be Now?" was included on Men at Work's debut album "Business as Usual" in 1981. Frontman Colin Hay wrote the melody in 1979 and the lyrics in 1981. Band member Greg Ham was the sax-man on the recording.

Source: Author CmdrK

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