R&B & Soul Music Quiz

1. Aretha Franklin is called the 'Queen of Soul'. Her signature hit 'Respect' (1967) was originally written and recorded by whom?

1. James Brown
2. Otis Redding
3. Ray Charles
4. Sam Cooke

2. Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' (1964) became an anthem of which movement?

1. The anti-Vietnam War movement
2. The Civil Rights Movement
3. The labour rights movement
4. The women's suffrage movement

3. Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' (1992) was a cover of which artist's original?

1. Diana Ross
2. Dolly Parton
3. Gladys Knight
4. Mariah Carey

4. Ray Charles is credited with creating soul music by merging which two genres?

1. Blues and jazz
2. Folk and blues
3. Gospel and R&B/blues
4. Jazz and country

5. Mariah Carey holds the record for the most #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 among solo artists. How many does she have?

1. 14
2. 18
3. 19
4. 22

6. James Brown is called the 'Godfather of Soul'. Which key rhythmic innovation is he credited with pioneering?

1. Creating the 'call and response' vocal style in Black music
2. Introducing African polyrhythm to American popular music
3. Shifting the rhythmic emphasis to the 'one' beat, creating funk's characteristic groove
4. The bass guitar replacing upright bass in R&B

7. Stevie Wonder produced five consecutive masterpiece albums in the 1970s. This period is often called what?

1. 'Classic Wonder' or 'The Golden Years'
2. 'Stevie's Classic Period'
3. 'The Jungle Fever Era'
4. 'The Wonder Years'

8. Tina Turner was famously part of which duo before her solo career, and what did her stage name conceal?

1. Her real name is Anna Mae Bullock; she was in The Ike and Tina Turner Revue
2. She performed as a backup singer for Ray Charles under her real name
3. She was in a girl group called The Ikettes
4. Turner was always her real surname; she was in The Ike and Tina Turner Revue

9. Which Detroit-born artist is known as 'The Temptation Killer' for his dramatic vocals and what 1971 album is considered his masterpiece?

1. Al Green, Let's Stay Together
2. David Ruffin, My Whole World Ended
3. Eddie Kendricks, People...Hold On
4. Marvin Gaye, What's Going On

10. The Temptations pioneered which Motown sound, and which song is considered their masterpiece?

1. Classic close-harmony soul — 'My Girl'
2. Disco — 'Get Ready'
3. Hard funk — 'Ball of Confusion'
4. Psychedelic soul — 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone'

11. Beyoncé became the first female solo artist and first Black woman to headline which major festival?

1. Bonnaroo
2. Coachella
3. Glastonbury
4. Lollapalooza

12. Alicia Keys won five Grammy Awards at the 2002 ceremony, including Album of the Year for her debut. What was the album?

1. As I Am
2. Songs in A Minor
3. The Diary of Alicia Keys
4. Unplugged

13. What is 'neo-soul' and which late 1990s artists defined it?

1. A 1980s retro movement inspired by classic Motown
2. A British-born smooth R&B style
3. A genre blending 1970s soul aesthetics with contemporary R&B, hip-hop, and alternative influences — D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell
4. An electronic subgenre of soul music

14. Otis Redding's posthumous hit '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' was recorded just days before his death. How did he die?

1. A car accident
2. He died of a drug overdose
3. He was shot in Memphis
4. His plane crashed into a Wisconsin lake, killing Redding and most of his band The Bar-Kays

15. Which R&B artist's 'Confessions' (2004) became one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s?

1. Chris Brown
2. Ne-Yo
3. R. Kelly
4. Usher

16. Which Motown songwriter wrote many of The Supremes', Marvin Gaye's, and Smokey Robinson's greatest hits?

1. Both Lamont Dozier AND Smokey Robinson wrote most major Motown hits
2. Lamont Dozier of Holland-Dozier-Holland
3. Norman Whitfield
4. Smokey Robinson himself

17. Frank Ocean's 'Channel Orange' (2012) was groundbreaking partly because of what announcement Ocean made before its release?

1. He announced he was retiring from music after the album
2. He announced the album would only be available on vinyl
3. He came out as bisexual/queer in a Tumblr post — rare for a male R&B/hip-hop artist at the time
4. He released the album for free despite being signed to a major label

18. Which Atlanta-based record label shaped the sound of 1990s R&B with artists like TLC, Usher, and OutKast?

1. Bad Boy South
2. Def Jam South
3. LaFace Records
4. So So Def

19. What is 'trap soul' and which artist is most associated with popularising it?

1. A gospel-influenced trap subgenre
2. A Latin trap crossover style
3. A sub-genre blending trap music's 808s and hi-hats with R&B singing — associated with Bryson Tiller
4. An electronic dance music variant of classic soul

20. Which artist holds the record for the most Grammy Awards won overall?

1. Beyoncé
2. George Solti (classical conductor)
3. Jay-Z
4. Quincy Jones