Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World

Quiz on country music,
Level 3: Crazy

Think you know your country music? While “Crazy” was made famous by Patsy Cline, it was composed by Willie Nelson. And that brings us to Level 3: Crazy — the last stage in our three-part country music quiz, compiled by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Michael McCall, John Rumble, and Paul Kingsbury — authors of The Encyclopedia of Country Music. You can still go back and take “Level 1: Walk the line” and “Level 2: Ring of fire”. Tonight is the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Are you ready?

June Carter was married to what country music performer before Johnny Cash?
(a) Joe Maphis
(b) Carl Smith
(c) Claude Casey
(d) Carl Butler

Who recorded “Friends in Low Places,” only to have Garth Brooks beat him to the punch by releasing it as a single first?
(a) Joe Diffie
(b) Clint Black
(c) Mark Chesnutt
(d) David Ball

Which radio announcer is credited with having founded the Grand Ole Opry?
(a) John Lair
(b) Lowell Blanchard
(c) David Stone
(d) George D. Hay

Who performed country’s first million-selling record, “The Wreck of the Old ’97” b/w “The Prisoner’s Song”?
(a) Vernon Dalhart
(b) Carson J. Robison
(c) Fiddlin’ John Carson
(d) Ernest V. “Pop” Stoneman

Who was the first country entertainer to guest-host “The Tonight Show”?
(a) Eddy Arnold
(b) Roy Clark
(c) Ferlin Husky
(d) Glen Campbell

Who were the first three members elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame?
(a) Gene Autry, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Carter Family
(b) Vernon Dalhart, Patsy Montana, and the Carter Family
(c) Roy Rogers, the Carter Family, and Hank Williams
(d) Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Fred Rose

Chicago’s “National Barn Dance” radio program was originally known by what name?
(a) Checkerboard Fun Fest
(b) WLS Barn Dance
(c) WLS House Party
(d) Chicago Jubilee

Which country singer did Hank Williams’s widow, Billie Jean, marry after Williams’s death?
(a) Jim Reeves
(b) Johnnie Bailes
(c) Johnny Horton
(d) Webb Pierce

WSM radio personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs formerly played fiddle in what group?
(a) The Country Gentlemen
(b) The Scottsville Squirrel Barkers
(c) The Seldom Scene
(d) The Johnson Mountain Boys

Which country comedian was known for his tag line, “I’m goin’ back to the wagon, boys, these shoes are killin’ me!”?
(a) Whitey Ford (The Duke of Paducah)
(b) Rod Brasfield
(c) Speck Rhodes
(d) Hot Shot Elmer

Radio station WSM, home of the Grand Ole Opry, signed on the airwaves in 1925. Its call letters were specially chosen by the station’s owners, the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, to stand for what slogan?
(a) We Sell Merchandise
(b) We Shield Millions
(c) We Secure Millions
(d) World’s Strongest Membership

Which artist worked for Garth Brooks, selling merchandise at his shows, prior to securing his/her own record deal?
(a) Sara Evans
(b) Trisha Yearwood
(c) Martina McBride
(d) Patty Loveless

Which country act joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1937?
(a) Paul Howard & His Arkansas Cotton Pickers
(b) Pee Wee King & His Golden West Cowboys
(c) The Prairie Ramblers
(d) Girls of the Golden West

Which fiddler cut the 1922 sides for Victor that are considered the first country music recordings?
(a) Eck Robertson
(b) Ernest V. “Pop” Stoneman
(c) Fiddlin’ John Carson
(d) Uncle Jimmy Thompson

Which Nashville independent record label produced the first recordings of Chet Atkins, Minnie Pearl, Ray Price, and B.B. King?
(a) King
(b) Tennessee
(c) Dot
(d) Bullet

Three separate Grammy winning artists worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum before gaining prominence in country music themselves. Name any one of the three.
a) Patty Loveless
b) Trisha Yearwood
c) Rosanne Cash
d) Tim O’Brien
e) Kathy Mattea
f) Marty Stuart
g) Ranger Doug (Douglas B. Green, of Riders in the Sky)
h) Tracy Lawrence

ANSWERS BELOW…

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, LOOK Magazine, 1969. Photo by Joel Baldwin. Source: Library of Congress.
AND NOW THE ANSWERS…

June Carter was married to which country music performer before Johnny Cash?
(b) Carl Smith

Who recorded “Friends in Low Places,” only to have Garth Brooks beat him to the punch by releasing it as a single first?
(c) Mark Chesnutt

Which radio announcer is credited with having founded the Grand Ole Opry?
(d) George D. Hay

Who performed country’s first million-selling record, “The Wreck of the Old ’97” b/w “The Prisoner’s Song”?
(a) Vernon Dalhart

Who was the first country entertainer to guest-host “The Tonight Show”?
(b) Roy Clark in 1963

Who were the first three members elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame?
(d) Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and music publisher Fred Rose (all in 1961)

Chicago’s “National Barn Dance” radio program was originally known by what name?
(b) WLS Barn Dance

Which country singer did Hank Williams’s widow, Billie Jean, marry after Williams’s death?
(c) Johnny Horton

WSM radio personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs formerly played fiddle in what group?
(d) Johnson Mountain Boys

Which country comedian was known for his tag line, “I’m goin’ back to the wagon, boys, these shoes are killin’ me!”?
(a) Whitey Ford (The Duke of Paducah)

Radio station WSM, home of the Grand Ole Opry, signed on the airwaves in 1925. Its call letters were specially chosen by the station’s owners, the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, to stand for what slogan?
(b) We Shield Millions

Which artist worked for Garth Brooks, selling merchandise at his shows, prior to securing his/her own record deal?
(c) Martina McBride

Which country act joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1937?
(b) Pee Wee King & His Golden West Cowboys

Which fiddler cut the 1922 sides for Victor that are considered the first country music recordings?
(a) Eck Robertson

Which Nashville independent record label produced the first recordings of Chet Atkins, Minnie Pearl, Ray Price, and B.B. King?
(d) Bullet Records

Three separate Grammy winning artists worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum before gaining prominence in country music themselves. Name any one of the three.
(b) Trisha Yearwood
(e) Kathy Mattea
(g) Ranger Doug (Douglas B. Green) of Riders in the Sky,

Larry Stewart of the group Restless Heart worked at the museum but never won a Grammy.

Enjoy the show tonight!

Immediately upon publication in 1998, the Encyclopedia of Country Music became a much-loved reference source, prized for the wealth of information it contained on that most American of musical genres. Countless fans have used it as the source for answers to questions about everything from country’s first commercially successful recording, to the genre’s pioneering music videos, to what conjunto music is. This thoroughly revised new edition includes more than 1,200 A-Z entries covering nine decades of history and artistry, from the Carter Family recordings of the 1920s to the reign of Taylor Swift in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Compiled by a team of experts at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the encyclopedia has been brought completely up-to-date, with new entries on the artists who have profoundly influenced country music in recent years, such as the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban. The new edition also explores the latest and most critical trends within the industry, shedding light on such topics as the digital revolution, the shifting politics of country music, and the impact of American Idol (reflected in the stardom of Carrie Underwood). Other essays cover the literature of country music, the importance of Nashville as a music center, and the colorful outfits that have long been a staple of the genre.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only music articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.
View more about this book on the

Recent Comments

  1. Chris

    *sigh* OK, after taking this I now feel I should move out of Tennessee before they throw me out! lol

    This should be made into an app for the tablet crowd, I could see getting lost in these for hours.

    Thank you!

Comments are closed.