Swing Music Trivia Questions and Answers

This page is just for fun!

Updated May 16, 2012.

 

Each week we'll post a trivia question, each with its own deadline. 

If you e-mail the correct answer to any question before its deadline has passed, your name will be entered into a drawing for a FREE CD. E-mails should be addressed to swing@bigband-era.com. ,

Please, no more than one entry per trivia question.
You may
submit answers to more than one question in the same e-mail message

Once you're declared a winner, you'll be ineligible to win again for three months. (New relaxed rule!)

NOTICE THE SMALL NUMBER OF CORRECT ANSWERS TO PAST QUESTIONS. IF YOU KNOW THE ANSWER, CHANCES ARE VERY GOOD THAT YOU'LL WIN A PRIZE.


Our monthly winners will receive a CD of any episode of "Swingin' Down The Lane" that's listed in the music store.  

Questions for June 2012

Question #                                Trivia Questions Deadline
1555 Who jokingly and lovingly called Les Brown "the Gomer Pyle of the Bandstand"? June 5
1556 Name the original members of the Gene Krupa and identify them by their instruments. June 12
1557   June 19
1558   June 26

Answers for June 2012

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1555   0
1556   0
1557    
1558    

Questions for May 2012

Question #                                Trivia Questions Deadline
1550 Name the bands usually associated with these songs that begin with the letter C: Cherokee, Carioca, Clarinet a la King, C-Jam blues May 1
1551 What do these songs have in common --- Night Song, Flame, Concerto of Love? May 8
1552 How many siblings did Perry Como have? May 15
1553 Name five bandleaders who were married to vocalists. May 22
1554 Where, according to the song, is Tuxedo Junction located? May 29

Answers for May 2012

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1550 Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington. 2
1551 Stumped you? They are, in order, lyrical versions of Stan Kenton's Artistry in Rhythm, Artistry in Bolero and Concerto to End All Concertos. Lyrics were added by Milt Raskin many years after Kenton introduced them as instrumentals. 0
1552   3
1553   3
1554   3

Questions for April 2012

Winner is Ed Cecchini of Clinton, Massachusetts.

Question #                                Trivia Questions Deadline
1546 Marjorie Hughes was a vocalist with Frankie Carle's band. How were they related? April 3
1547 In what branches of the armed forces did these bandleaders serve? Artie Shaw, Rudy Vallee, Ray McKinley. April 10
1548 It's common knowledge that composer/bandleader David Rose was once married to Judy Garland. Can you name the other movie actress whom he was married to before Judy? April 17
1549 Give me the titles of two songs whose titles have no more than two letters. April 24

Answers for April 2012

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1546 Marjorie is Frank's daughter. 4
1547 Artie Shaw served in the Navy, Rudy Vallee in the Coast Guard and Ray McKinley in the Army Air Corps (in the unit led by Major Glenn Miller). 6
1548 Martha Raye 4
1549 O! (or Oh!), If, He and there may be more. 4

 


Questions for March 2012

Our winner is Bob Collins from Roslyn, New York.

Question #                                Trivia Questions Deadline
1542 On a Les Brown recording, band members chant "We want you on our side!" Who is "you"? March 6
1543 For ten years the Les Brown band accompanied a TV personality on his weekly TV program. Name the personality. March 13
1544 I'll give the lyrics, you name the songs:
"Suddenly the setting is strange."
"The rain will bring the violets of May."
"In love's smoldering ember one spark will remain."
March 20
1545 When Hal McIntyre left the Glenn Miller civilian band to start his own band, Glenn gave him several arrangements to help launch the new operation. Name any one. March 27

Answers for March 2012

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1542 The song, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, was written in 1941 when the Yankee Clipper hit safely in 56 consecutive ball games --- a feat that remains unequalled. 4
1543 The answer I was looking for was Dean Martin. One person correctly gave this response, and I'm going to give him double credit. Others mentioned Bob Hope, with whom Brown had a long-standing association --- but not on a weekly show. I'm feeling generous and will count Hope as a correct answer. 7
1544 And the Angels Sing, Don't Be That Way, Once in a While. 2
1545 Daisy Mae was the only one I could name and the only one mentioned by the three trivia contestants. 3


Questions for February 2012

Winner is Bill Wrocklage of Milford, New Hampshire.
Question # Trivia Questions Deadline
1538 Composer Walter Donaldson wrote at least four songs with the name of a girl in the title. Just name one. 2/7
1539 Stan Kenton was a pianist, bandleader and arranger, though as he became more successful he tuned many arranging assignments over to others. Name three people besides Kenton who arranged for the band. 2/14
 1540  What was the name of the boat they were waiting for down on the levee back in 1912?  2/21
1541 I'll name five band theme songs, you identify the leader. You ought to get one right, anyway:
1. Lean Baby
2. Adios
3. South
4. Jazznocracy
5. Moonlight Serenade
2/28

Answers for February 2012

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1538 Choose from the following: What are you waiting for, Mary?, If you see Sally, Sweet Jennie Lee, Little Liza Lee and The daughter of Rosie O'Grady. 3
1539 Well, let's see --- for starters there were Pete Rugolo, Shorty Rogers, Bill Holman, Gerry Mulligan, Franklyn Marks, Johnny Richards, Ray Wetzel, Bill Russo, Marty Paich, Bob Graetinger, Bob Cooper and Joe Coccia. 3
1540 They were "Waitin' for the Robert E. Lee." 2
1541 Billy May, Enric Madriguera, Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford and -- what was that guy's name? -- Glenn Miller. 2

Questions for January 2012

It pains me to report that we have no winners this month since all who entered have rendered themselves ineligible by winning recently.

Question # Trivia Questions Deadline
1533 True or false: If Stan Kenton were alive, he will celebrate his 100th birthday in 2012. 1/3
1534 Stan Kenton utilized several outstanding female vocalists, one of whom he married. Name her. 1/10
1535 Ray Noble recorded Irving Berlin's Remember using an arrangement by a young man who would later co-lead a band. Name him. 1/17
1536 Name an instrumental that was recorded by both Charlie Barnet and Jimmy Dorsey in 1941. 1/24
1537 Composer Burton Lane wrote a song called Melinda. Name five other songs that mention in their titles a female whose first name begins with the letter M. 1/31

Answers for January 2012

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1533 This one tripped me up. One source said he was born in early 1912 but it turns out his actual birth date was in December, 1911. 2
1534 Her name was Ann Richards. 2
1535 No, it wasn't Glenn Miller. It was Eddie Sauter, who would later form one-half the leadership of the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. 0
1536 Charleston Alley. 1
1537 Those that readily come to mind are Marie, Minnie the Moocher, Maria, Maria Elena, Michelle, Mary's a grand old name, Thoroughly Modern Millie and, of course, Mame. There are lots more. 2

Questions for December 2011

Winner for December is Debbie Dunbar. She really knows her Beantown!
Question # Trivia Questions Deadline
1529 A World War II song makes reference to a sky pilot. Two-part question: What was the name of the song and what's a sky pilot? 12/6
1530 A Broadway show that opened in 1946 referred to service personnel returning from duty in World War II. What was the title of the show? 12/13
 1531 A member of Spike Jones' band left to form his own musical group, the Natural Seven. Identify him. 12/20
1532 Artie Shaw paid tribute to an American city with his instrumental, Back Bay Shuffle. Name the city. 12/27

Answers for December 2011

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1529 Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition. Sky pilot was a nickname for a chaplain. 2
1530 "This is the Army," posted here on December 22, was NOT the correct answer, as Gene Lasinski kindly pointed out. The correct answer is "Call Me Mister." For his vigilance I'm sending him a CD of Program #1530. 2
1531 Red Ingle. He and Jo Stafford teamed up to record a terrible interpretation of Temptation (Tim-Tay-Shun). 2
1532 Boston, popularly known as Beantown. 4

Questions for November 2011

Winner this month is Eddie Cecchino of Clinton, Massachusetts.

Question # Trivia Questions Deadline
1524 Identify these Joneses:
1. Real first name: Lindley
2. Actor and singer who was father of singer Jack Jones
3. bandleader-composer who hired Woody Herman as his vocalist
11/15
1525 A song written in 1942 was entitled We Did It Before. We did what before? 11/15
  1526 What was the original title of Duke Ellington's Don't Get Around Much Anymore? 11/22
1527 True or false: On many recordings, maestro Sammy Kaye sang the title to a song at the very beginning. 11/29
1528 Frank Sinatra sang a World War II song called Buy a Piece of the Peace. What was he referring to? 11/29

Answers for November 2011

Question # # of 
Correct Entries
1524 Spike, Allan and Isham. 4
1525 Won a war, World War I 4
1526 Never No Lament. 4
1527 No, Sammy didn't sing. His male vocalist (Tommy Ryan etc.) sang the song title. After a chorus, Sammy stepped to the microphone to announce the vocalist. Like this: "These romantic words are interpreted by Nancy Norman." 0
1528 War bonds, a device used with remarkable success by the Treasury Department to ward off inflation. 2




Home Page | Swingin' News | Performer Portraits | Tune Me In | Music Store
Trivia Time | Big Band Talk | Swingin' Getaways


© 2012 Swingin’ Down the Lane
Division of David Miller Enterprises, Inc.
e-mail: swing@bigband-era.com

 

Design by Aristotle.