1970s Music Trivia Questions and Answers

The TriviaTalent Team · 9 min read

Picture the needle dropping on a brand-new LP, the slight hiss before the first track, the gatefold sleeve spread open on the shag carpet while you read every credit. The '70s came at you through FM radio in the car, through the 8-track that always seemed to switch programs in the middle of a song, through the local record store where you flipped through bins on a Saturday afternoon.

Here are more than fifty questions covering the rock, disco, Motown, soul, and singer-songwriter sounds you grew up with, plus the one-hit wonders and chart facts that still turn up at trivia night. They start easy and get tougher as you go. Grab a friend who was there too.

Rock

1. Which Led Zeppelin song, from their untitled fourth album, became the most-requested track on American FM radio even though it was never released as a single in the U.S.?

"Stairway to Heaven," from the 1971 album usually called Led Zeppelin IV. Manager Peter Grant turned down the label's requests to put it out as a single.

2. Freddie Mercury wrote a six-part epic with an operatic middle section and no real chorus. Name the song and its 1975 album.

"Bohemian Rhapsody," from A Night at the Opera. It runs 5 minutes and 55 seconds.

3. Which band's 1976 song "Hotel California" became a signature of the West Coast rock sound?

The Eagles.

4. What 1973 Pink Floyd album opens with a heartbeat and includes "Money" and "Time"?

The Dark Side of the Moon.

5. Which guitarist-led Southern rock band recorded "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird"?

Lynyrd Skynyrd.

6. Bruce Springsteen's 1975 breakthrough album shares its name with a song about escaping a dead-end town. What is it called?

Born to Run.

7. Which 1977 Fleetwood Mac album, recorded while the band members' relationships were falling apart, won the Grammy for Album of the Year?

Rumours. It took the award at the ceremony held in 1978.

8. "Dreams" was the only U.S. number-one single for which band, even though all four singles from Rumours cracked the top ten?

Fleetwood Mac. "Dreams" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1977.

9. Which rock opera did The Who release in 1973, following up their earlier Tommy?

Quadrophenia.

10. David Bowie introduced a flame-haired alien rock-star alter ego on a 1972 album. What was the character's name?

Ziggy Stardust.

Disco

11. The Bee Gees wrote most of the songs for a 1977 soundtrack that spent 24 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. What film was it?

Saturday Night Fever.

12. Which Bee Gees song from that soundtrack held the number-one spot on the Hot 100 for eight straight weeks?

"Night Fever."

13. Gloria Gaynor's 1978 anthem about picking yourself back up became a dance-floor standard. Name it.

"I Will Survive."

14. "I Will Survive" won the only Grammy ever given in a category that was created and scrapped almost immediately. What was the category?

Best Disco Recording. It was awarded just once, honoring the 1979 field, and then eliminated.

15. Which singer earned the title "Queen of Disco" with hits like "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls"?

Donna Summer.

16. The band Chic scored a 1978 smash built around a chant that started as a dig at a nightclub that wouldn't let them in. Name the song.

"Le Freak."

17. "Le Freak" became the best-selling single ever released on which record label?

Atlantic Records.

18. Which Village People song about a youth lodging organization is still a stadium sing-along?

"Y.M.C.A."

19. KC and the Sunshine Band came out of what state that gave its sound a distinct regional flavor?

Florida (Miami).

20. Who played Tony Manero, the paint-store clerk who ruled the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever?

John Travolta.

Motown and Soul

21. Which Marvin Gaye concept album from 1971 tackled war, poverty, and the environment, with songs like "Mercy Mercy Me"?

What's Going On. It was released on Motown's Tamla label.

22. Stevie Wonder spent two years on a sprawling 1976 double album that became, at the time, the fastest-selling album in history. Name it.

Songs in the Key of Life.

23. The Jackson 5 pulled off a feat no group had managed before: their first four singles all hit number one. Name any one of those four.

"I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," or "I'll Be There."

24. Al Green's signature song and only pop number one came out in 1971 on Hi Records. What is it?

"Let's Stay Together."

25. In what city did Al Green cut his records with producer Willie Mitchell, giving them that warm Southern-soul sound?

Memphis, Tennessee.

26. The Commodores scored their first number-one hit in 1978 with a ballad written by their lead singer for his parents' anniversary. Name the song.

"Three Times a Lady."

27. Who was the Commodores' lead singer who wrote "Three Times a Lady" before his solo stardom?

Lionel Richie.

28. Which band blended funk, soul, jazz, and gospel on hits like "September" and "Shining Star," fronted by Maurice White?

Earth, Wind & Fire.

29. Which Philadelphia-based group recorded "If You Don't Know Me by Now" and "The Love I Lost"?

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

30. Barry White's lush orchestral soul backed which instrumental group he founded and produced?

The Love Unlimited Orchestra.

Singer-Songwriters

31. Carole King's 1971 album, one of the defining records of the singer-songwriter era, was named for a woven textile. What is the title?

Tapestry.

32. Tapestry won four Grammys, including Album of the Year. Name one of its hit singles.

"It's Too Late" or "I Feel the Earth Move" (both reached number one as a double A-side).

33. Which songwriter wrote "You've Got a Friend," a number-one hit for James Taylor in 1971?

Carole King.

34. James Taylor sang about seeing "fire and rain" on a 1970 song of the same name. True or false?

True. "Fire and Rain" came out in 1970.

35. Which Canadian singer-songwriter released the album Blue in 1971?

Joni Mitchell.

36. Cat Stevens recorded "Peace Train" and "Wild World" for which 1970 and 1971 albums? Name either.

Tea for the Tillerman (1970) or Teaser and the Firecat (1971).

37. Which pianist-songwriter wrote "Piano Man," drawing on his nights playing a Los Angeles cocktail lounge?

Billy Joel.

38. Jim Croce had hits with "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" before his death in what year?

1973.

39. Which Elton John song gave him his first U.S. number one in 1972?

"Crocodile Rock."

40. Who wrote the lyrics for most of Elton John's early hits, including "Your Song" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"?

Bernie Taupin.

One-Hit Wonders

41. Mungo Jerry opened their 1970 hit with a jug-band shuffle and a line about when the weather's fine. Name the song.

"In the Summertime."

42. Carl Douglas scored a 1974 novelty number one that was originally meant to be a B-side. Name it.

"Kung Fu Fighting."

43. Starland Vocal Band hit number one in the summer of 1976 with a breezy tune whose title borrowed a restaurant's happy-hour phrase. What was it?

"Afternoon Delight."

44. Which 1972 song by the one-hit act Looking Glass told the story of a barmaid in a harbor town?

"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)."

45. Norman Greenbaum opened the decade with a fuzzed-out 1970 hit about heading to "the spirit in the sky." What was it titled?

"Spirit in the Sky."

46. Which 1976 hit by Wild Cherry begged the band to "play that funky music"?

"Play That Funky Music."

47. The Buggles released "Video Killed the Radio Star" in 1979, a song that would later make history on a new cable channel. What channel first aired it?

MTV. It was the first music video shown when the channel launched in 1981.

48. Which group's 1972 hit "Nice to Be with You" marked their only major chart success?

Gallery.

Number-One Hits and Chart Facts

49. The best-selling album in U.S. history is a greatest-hits collection released in 1976. Which band made it?

The Eagles. Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) has been certified for sales of 38 million copies in the U.S.

50. Debby Boone spent ten weeks at number one in 1977 with a song that was, at the time, the longest-running Hot 100 chart-topper in over two decades. Name it.

"You Light Up My Life."

51. Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 album swept the Grammys, winning both Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the title track. What was it called?

Bridge Over Troubled Water.

52. Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon holds the record for the most total weeks on the Billboard 200. True or false?

True. Since its 1973 debut it has racked up well over 900 weeks on the chart through its original run and repeated re-entries, far more than any other album.

53. Which 1971 Al Green hit topped the Billboard R&B chart and remains his best-known recording?

"Let's Stay Together."

54. The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever produced how many Bee Gees number-one singles on the Hot 100 in 1978?

Three: "Stayin' Alive," "How Deep Is Your Love," and "Night Fever."

55. Carole King became the first solo woman to win the Grammy for Record of the Year, for which 1971 single?

"It's Too Late."

Frequently asked questions

What was the best-selling album of the 1970s?

The single biggest seller to come out of the decade is the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), released in 1976. It has since been certified by the RIAA for tens of millions of copies sold in the United States, ranking it among the best-selling albums in American history.

Who were the defining hit-makers of the late 1970s?

Several acts dominated, but the Bee Gees stand out. In the first half of 1978 alone, their singles tied to Saturday Night Fever spent weeks on end atop the Hot 100, part of a run that made them the signature sound of the late '70s.

Why do songs from the 1970s still sound so familiar?

A lot of it comes down to how you first heard them. For most people the '70s meant AM and FM radio and, for the lucky ones, taping songs off the radio onto cassettes you played until they wore thin. Hearing the same hits over and over, often with the DJ talking over the intro, burned them into memory.

What was the first music video shown on MTV?

"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles, a 1979 release that became the very first video aired when MTV launched in 1981. The title turned out to be a fitting prophecy for the decade ahead.

Sources

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