Answers to “Gates of Trivia” Music questions in Puzzle Challenge 2

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Below are the correct answers to the Music Questions in Gates of Trivia. The number (1 - 5) preceding each question indicates the stage of the game the question is in.

What pop singer is the sibling of a noted opera singer and the child of the co-founder of a major book publisher?

Carly Simon

Although Stephen Sondheim today writes both the lyrics and music for his songs, he collaborated with others on his first two Broadway shows, "Gypsy" and "West Side Story." For these two shows, Sondheim wrote only the:

Lyrics

Richard Chamberlain once had a Billboard top-10 tune with "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight," which was the theme from what TV show?

Dr. Kildare

"The Marine's Hymn" begins, "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli." In what present-day country will you find the Tripoli mentioned in the tune?

Libya

What was Big Band leader Benny Goodman's royal nickname?

The King of Swing

The name of what musical instrument literally means "wood sound"?

Xylophone

What current pop singer got her professional start in Canada and France?

Celine Dion

What former U.S. senator once had a Billboard top-40 record?

Everett Dirksen

If you remember Jean Stapleton's singing voice in "All in the Family," you might find it hard to believe that her rendition of the show's theme song (with Carroll O'Connor) actually made it to the Billboard charts in 1971 -- but it's true. What was the title of the show's theme song?

Those Were the Days

Giuseppe Verdi wrote many operas, but only two are considered "comic operas." One is "Un Giorno di Regno," the other is based on a Shakespearean character. Name the character, and you'll name the opera.

Falstaff

John Lennon claimed that his final choice of the name "The Beatles" was influenced by the name of what other group?

Buddy Holly and the Crickets

What former Beatle found himself in court defending a plagiarism charge over his song, "My Sweet Lord," due to its unusual similarity to the 1963 tune, "He's So Fine"?

George

The name of what musical instrument literally means "little"?

Piccolo

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game," "I Feel Pretty," and "Time in a Bottle" are all examples of songs written in what dance tempo?

Waltz

Which of the following Big Band leaders was one of the most notable drummers of the 1930s and '40s?

Gene Krupa

What '60s TV game show used as its theme song the "Tijuana Brass" instrumental tune, "Whipped Cream"?

The Dating Game

What Elvis Presley tune was adapted from the famous 1899 song, "O Sole Mio"?

It's Now Or Never

Country singer Harold Jenkins got his stage name from two small towns -- one in Arkansas, the other in Texas. By what name do country music fans know Mr. Jenkins?

Conway Twitty

William "Count" Basie was one of the giants of American jazz. What musical instrument did Basie play?

Piano

The title of the 1970 tune, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," was inspired by the motto of what organization?

Boys Town

The theme from the sitcom, "Welcome Back Kotter," reached #1 on the Billboard charts in 1976, as performed by the song's composer. Who wrote the tune?

John Sebastian

The 17-minute 1968 "Iron Butterfly" tune, "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida," was the only Billboard top-40 entry for the group. What is the significance of the title?

A corrupted version of "In the Garden of Eden"

"All Cows Eat Grass." That's a mnemonic device to help piano students remember the notes in the spaces, reading up, in the:

Bass clef

Singer Ray Robinson changed his name to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. By what name do we know this singer today?

Ray Charles

Before there were Rodgers and Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers had a long and successful collaboration with Lorenz Hart. Who was Oscar Hammerstein II's principal collaborator before he teamed with Rodgers?

Jerome Kern

What multitalented singer has been a Rhodes scholar, a Golden Gloves boxer, and once won first prize in a short-story contest sponsored by "Atlantic Monthly" magazine?

Kris Kristofferson

Walter Koenig was hired as Ensign Chekov in 1967 for the second season of "Star Trek" because of his resemblance to what pop-music teen idol?

Davy Jones of "The Monkees"

What royal personage, a known songwriter, is often credited as the composer of the popular song, "Greensleeves"?

King Henry VIII of England

Who was the first rock-era recording artist to have his individual picture on the cover of Time magazine?

Harry Belafonte

The name of the musical instrument called the euphonium literally means "good sound." Mentioned in the tune "Seventy-Six Trombones," the euphonium is a variety of what instrument?

Tuba

The first four notes of the vaudeville tune, "Yes, We Have No Bananas," are identical in pitch and rhythm to the beginning of what famous piece of classical music?

The Hallelujah Chorus

"Anchors Aweigh" is the anthem of the United States Navy. An anchor is "aweigh" when it's:

Just free of the sea bottom

Of the four Beatles, which was the youngest?

George

This bandleader of the '40s, born Lindley Jones, was noted for his lampoons of popular songs of the day. His band included bells, saws, toy whistles, and a harpist who never played -- instead, she knitted a scarf while the band played. What was Mr. Jones's nickname?

Spike

"The Rain in Spain" from "My Fair Lady," and "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from "Evita," are two examples of songs written in what dance tempo?

Tango

Glenn Miller's band is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of the Big Band era. What instrument did Miller play?

Trombone

The theme song of "The Jackie Gleason Show" was the haunting instrumental, "Melancholy Serenade." What noted TV name, not primarily known as a composer, wrote the tune?

Jackie Gleason

Which of these Beatles tunes was the only one to win a Grammy Award for Song of the Year?

Michelle

With what lyricist did Henry Mancini collaborate on his Oscar-winning tunes, "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses"?

Johnny Mercer

Although his contribution to the genre is beyond calculation, whose listing was unceremoniously dropped from the second edition of the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock?

Dick Clark

George Gershwin's first "hit song" was his only one, as the term was defined in those days -- a sheet-music bestseller. Name this 1919 tune popularized by Al Jolson.

Swanee

Who designed the cover of the 1971 Rolling Stones album, "Sticky Fingers"?

Andy Warhol

"The Girl from Ipanema" and "The Look of Love" are examples of songs written in what dance tempo?

Bossa nova

Who is the oldest artist ever to have a #1 Billboard song?

Louis Armstrong

What multimillionaire, whose music business is today only a part of his financial empire, made his first million as the producer of the soundtrack of "The Exorcist"?

Richard Branson

What do the initials in B.B. King's name stand for?

Blues Boy

According to the title of an early George Gershwin tune, what is "The Real American Folk Song"?

A rag

Gian Carlo Menotti's opera, "The Last Savage," premiered at N.Y.C.'s Metropolitan Opera in 1962, but is unperformable today. Why?

Menotti destroyed most of the score after the premiere

What American singer has a street named after him in Warsaw, Poland?

Bobby Vinton

Scottish poet Robert Burns is credited as the author of the words to what tune that's still sung regularly today?

Auld Lang Syne

What movie director wrote the libretto of the Samuel Barber opera, "Antony and Cleopatra"?

Franco Zeffirelli

Which of the following popular-song composers never had a collaborator, since he always wrote his own lyrics?

Cole Porter

Of the four Beatles, which was the shortest?

Ringo

What pop music pseudonym was devised as a tribute to Fats Domino?

Chubby Checker

The name of what musical instrument literally means, "play bells"?

Glockenspiel

Irving Berlin's first song hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," includes a musical quotation from what earlier popular song?

Swanee River

This Big Band leader's theme song was "Rhapsody in Blue" -- a fitting choice, since he commissioned George Gershwin to write it in 1924, and conducted its premiere performance. Name him.

Paul Whiteman

"La Traviata" is one of Giuseppe Verdi's most famous operas. What does the title mean in English?

The Lost One

In January 1964, one month before their first live U.S. appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show," what TV host introduced the Beatles to America via videotape?

Jack Paar

Under what cartoon names did Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel record the song "Hey Schoolgirl" in 1957?

Tom and Jerry

On the last page of what book will you find a portrait of composer Franz Liszt?

The Book of Lists

A disco version of the theme from what classic TV sitcom reached the Billboard top-40 list in 1977?

I Love Lucy

Rodgers and Hammerstein named their publishing company Williamson Music. Why?

Both their fathers were named William

Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini is best remembered for his operas such as "The Barber of Seville" and "William Tell." Which of the following is a somewhat more trivial claim to fame of Rossini?

He was born on leap day, Feburary 29

What was Elvis Presley's first #1 Billboard song?

Heartbreak Hotel

How did composer Eubie Blake get his nickname?

Short for Hubert, his middle name

What singer wrote the tunes "In the Ghetto" and "Don't Cry Daddy" for Elvis Presley?

Mac Davis

What provides the power to a calliope?

Steam

What legendary singer's affectionate nickname is "Killer"?

Jerry Lee Lewis

"Rags to Riches" was a top-40 tune for Elvis Presley in 1971. What singer's earlier version of the same tune was #1 in the U.S. for eight weeks in 1953?

Tony Bennett

Which of these was an early name used by the Beatles?

Johnny and the Moondogs

In which of the following orchestral forms did George Gershwin NOT compose music?

Symphony

Even though the bossa nova is a Brazilian dance, in what film did Elvis Presley sing "Bossa Nova Baby"?

Fun in Acapulco

Although he had passed away two years before, his music was used for "Dawn of a New Day," the theme song of the 1939 New York World's Fair. Name the composer.

George Gershwin

You've probably heard the popular U.S. army tune, "The Caissons Go Rolling Along." What exactly are caissons?

Containers for explosives

What instrumental band had a Billboard top-10 hit in 1969 with the theme song from "Hawaii Five-O"?

The Ventures

"Weird Al" Yankovic is noted for his parodies of popular tunes. What musical instrument does he play?

Accordion

Conductor Arturo Toscanini of New York Philharmonic fame was a member of the orchestra at the premiere of the Verdi opera, "Otello," in 1887. What was Toscanini's principal instrument before he became a conductor?

Cello

What highly successful musician can be seen beating a drum in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 version of "The Ten Commandments"?

Herb Alpert

Whose Greatest Hits album holds the record for most weeks on the Billboard top 40 by an individual performer, with 178?

Johnny Mathis

How did the dance step called the fox trot get its name?

It was popularized by vaudevillian Harry Fox

The 1960 tune, "Never on Sunday," by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, is usually performed at wedding receptions in what dance tempo?

Cha cha

The 1935 tune, "The Music Goes 'Round and 'Round," borrows its melody from what earlier work?

The Mikado

His 1968 instrumental, "Classical Gas," reached #2 on the Billboard charts. He got to perform it on the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," where he was head writer. Name him.

Mason Williams

The Grammy Award for Song of the Year has been awarded annually since 1958. The lyrics of the song that won the first year were written in what language?

Italian

Walter Carlos recorded the 1969 top-40 album "Switched-On Bach," utilizing the Moog synthesizer. Wendy Carlos, a present-day synthesizer performer, is:

Walter himself, after a sex-change operation

The music for the Elvis Presley tune, "Love Me Tender," was adapted from the 1861 song, "Aura Lee." What organization uses the same tune for one of its official songs?

The U.S. Military Academy

Gene Autry was known as "The Singing Cowboy." What singer was known as "America's Most Beloved Cowboy"?

Tex Ritter

The Grammy Award for Best Female Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance has been bestowed annually since 1967. For the first eight years of the award's existence, it was won all eight times by the same person. Who?

Aretha Franklin

Which of these '60s TV teen idols had a #1 Billboard song?

Shelley Fabares

From who or what does the Grammy Award get its name?

Shortened version of the name of an early phonograph

Mitch Miller and his gang spawned the "Singalong" fad of the late 1950s and early '60s. Miller, a classically trained musician, first earned distinction as a member of several symphony orchestras, playing what instrument?

Oboe

Johnny Mathis started out as a jazz-style singer, until a Columbia Records executive switched him to the pop balladeer we know today. This executive later formed his own group, which had over 20 albums reach the Billboard charts. Name the group's leader.

Mitch Miller

Big Band leader Noble Sissle gave Lena Horne her first break as a singer. He is perhaps better known as the songwriting partner of what legendary composer?

Eubie Blake

Guy Lombardo started his first band in the early 1920s in London, Ontario, and was still at it more than 50 years later, best known to TV audiences for his annual New Year's Eve broadcasts. What tag line did Lombardo use to describe his band's output?

The sweetest music this side of heaven

The soundtrack album from what Broadway show holds the record for most weeks on the Billboard top 40, with 292?

My Fair Lady

The Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance was given annually for 10 years, 1958-67. Which of these singers did NOT win the award during that period?

Dionne Warwick

Which of the following groups has NOT had a Billboard-charted Christmas album?

The Cowsills

Who was this most unlikely composer of the 1958 #1 Billboard tune, "It's All in the Game"?

Calvin Coolidge's vice president

Which of the following 1930s-era popular composers was NOT of Jewish descent?

Harry Warren