1970s Music Quiz

1. Which band released the album 'Rumours' in 1977, one of the best-selling albums of all time?

1. Carole King
2. Crosby Stills Nash & Young
3. Fleetwood Mac
4. The Eagles

2. Disco reached its cultural peak in the 1970s. Which New York City venue was its most famous home?

1. CBGB
2. Studio 54
3. The Limelight
4. The Roxy

3. ABBA won Eurovision in 1974 with which song, launching their global career?

1. Dancing Queen
2. Fernando
3. Mamma Mia
4. Waterloo

4. Led Zeppelin released 'Stairway to Heaven' in 1971. On which album does it appear?

1. Led Zeppelin II
2. Led Zeppelin III
3. Led Zeppelin IV (Untitled)
4. Physical Graffiti

5. Which artist released 'Superstition', 'Higher Ground', and 'Living for the City' all on the same 1973 album?

1. Curtis Mayfield
2. James Brown
3. Marvin Gaye
4. Stevie Wonder

6. The punk movement of 1976–77 was partly a reaction against what?

1. Both prog rock excess and disco's commercialism
2. The perceived excess and self-indulgence of progressive rock and stadium rock
3. The popularity of country music
4. The rise of disco

7. Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' (1977), produced by Giorgio Moroder, is considered a landmark record because:

1. It was one of the first major pop recordings built entirely on synthesizers, predicting electronic dance music
2. It was the first disco song to reach #1 in the UK
3. It was the first song to sell over 5 million copies as a single
4. It was the longest single ever released at that point

8. The Eagles' 'Hotel California' album (1977) contains which famous track about the dark side of the American dream?

1. Desperado
2. Hotel California
3. Life in the Fast Lane
4. Lyin' Eyes

9. Which 1975 album by Bruce Springsteen, featuring 'Born to Run' and 'Thunder Road', established him as a major rock star?

1. Born to Run
2. Darkness on the Edge of Town
3. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
4. The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle

10. David Bowie created which theatrical alter ego for the Ziggy Stardust era (1972–73)?

1. Aladdin Sane
2. Nathan Adler
3. The Thin White Duke
4. Ziggy Stardust

11. Which Jamaican genre, pioneered by Bob Marley, became internationally popular in the 1970s?

1. Dancehall
2. Reggae
3. Rocksteady
4. Ska

12. Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) was groundbreaking for its length and structure. What was unusual about releasing it as a single?

1. At nearly 6 minutes, it was far too long for radio play — but DJ Kenny Everett played it despite the ban and it went to #1
2. It was released only as a promotional single, not for sale
3. It was the first single released without a B-side
4. It was the first single to be released simultaneously in multiple languages

13. The Bee Gees dominated the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977). What vocal technique were they known for?

1. Falsetto vocals layered in multi-part harmony
2. Growling rock vocals
3. Operatic tenor leads
4. Three-part bass harmonies

14. Which American singer-songwriter released the album 'Tapestry' in 1971, which spent 302 weeks on the Billboard charts?

1. Carly Simon
2. Carole King
3. James Taylor
4. Joni Mitchell

15. Which 1970s prog rock band is known for the 23-minute song 'Supper's Ready' from their 1972 album Foxtrot?

1. Emerson Lake & Palmer
2. Genesis
3. King Crimson
4. Yes

16. Which 1973 Elton John double album is often considered his masterpiece?

1. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
2. Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
4. Honky Château

17. What was 'Krautrock', the influential German experimental music scene of the 1970s?

1. A German folk revival movement
2. A German punk movement parallel to UK punk
3. Experimental electronic and psychedelic rock from Germany — including Can, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Faust, and Tangerine Dream
4. Traditional German folk music fused with rock

18. Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) spent how long on the Billboard 200 chart?

1. 163 weeks
2. 365 weeks
3. 51 weeks
4. Over 900 weeks

19. Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' (1971) was a radical departure because:

1. Gaye played every instrument himself
2. It was a concept album addressing Vietnam, drug addiction, and inner-city poverty — a serious political statement from a Motown artist
3. It was Motown's first double album
4. It was the first album recorded entirely live

20. Which British band's 'Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols' (1977) became the defining punk album?

1. The Buzzcocks
2. The Clash
3. The Damned
4. The Sex Pistols