90 Soul Music Trivia Questions and Answers: Motown, Stax and the Queen of Soul

The TriviaTalent Team · 8 min read

It begins in church, with a tambourine and a choir leaning into a note until the whole room sways. Then it steps out of the pews and onto the radio, keeps the fire, and adds a backbeat. That is soul — gospel feeling in a Saturday-night suit.

From the polished hit factory of Detroit to the raw heat of a Memphis studio, here are 90 questions on the singers, labels, and songs that moved a generation. Answers follow each one, so settle in and see how much of the sound you still carry.

Where Soul Came From

1. Soul grew mainly out of which church-rooted style, married to rhythm and blues?

Gospel.

2. Besides gospel and R&B, which improvising tradition fed into the sound?

Jazz.

3. In roughly which years did soul take shape in African American communities?

The late 1950s and early 1960s.

4. What do we call a lead singer trading lines with backing voices?

Call-and-response.

5. A 1954 Ray Charles record is credited with fusing gospel and R&B. Name it.

“I Got a Woman.”

6. Which label, founded in 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson, became a soul powerhouse?

Atlantic Records.

7. A lush style built on sweeping strings is known as which city’s soul?

Philadelphia.

8. The shimmering, horn-driven sound from Stax and Hi Records is which city’s soul?

Memphis.

The Motown Machine

9. Who founded the company that became Motown?

Berry Gordy Jr.

10. In what year did he launch it, as Tamla Records?

1959.

11. In which city was Motown born?

Detroit, Michigan.

12. True or false: Gordy borrowed $800 from a family savings fund to get started.

True.

13. What nickname was painted on Motown’s Detroit headquarters?

Hitsville U.S.A.

14. What was the label’s team of studio musicians called?

The Funk Brothers.

15. Motown’s slogan billed its records as the sound of what?

“The Sound of Young America.”

16. Motown’s first million-seller, “Shop Around,” was cut by which group?

The Miracles.

17. Its first U.S. number one, “Please Mr. Postman,” belonged to whom?

The Marvelettes.

18. Which trio became Motown’s most successful act, with twelve number ones?

The Supremes.

19. Who was the lead singer of the Supremes?

Diana Ross.

20. Their breakthrough number one, from August 1964, was which song?

“Where Did Our Love Go.”

21. Which team wrote most of the Supremes’ hits?

Holland–Dozier–Holland.

22. In 1967 the group was renamed to spotlight its star. What did it become?

Diana Ross & the Supremes.

23. Which Motown star was nicknamed the “Prince of Motown”?

Marvin Gaye.

24. His first number one, atop the chart for seven weeks in 1968, was which song?

“I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”

25. In 1971 Gaye released a landmark concept album. Name it.

What’s Going On.

26. His duet partner on “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was whom?

Tammi Terrell.

27. Which star recorded for Motown’s Tamla label and became a defining voice of soul?

Stevie Wonder.

28. Which Motown choreographer polished the acts’ dance steps?

Cholly Atkins.

Memphis and the Stax Sound

29. Stax Records was based in which city?

Memphis, Tennessee.

30. The label started in 1957 under what first name?

Satellite Records.

31. Who founded it, with his sister investing?

Jim Stewart, with sister Estelle Axton.

32. “Stax” combines the first letters of which two surnames?

Stewart and Axton.

33. Stax set up its studio inside a converted what?

A movie theater, the old Capitol Theatre.

34. Which label signed a distribution deal with Stax in 1961?

Atlantic Records.

35. Otis Redding’s records came out on which Stax sister label?

Volt.

36. What was Stax’s house band called?

Booker T. & the M.G.’s.

37. Redding’s first single, from 1962, was which ballad?

“These Arms of Mine.”

38. Redding’s 1965 song “Respect” soon became a bigger hit for whom?

Aretha Franklin.

39. Many call this 1966 Redding recording his signature song.

“Try a Little Tenderness.”

40. In June 1967, Redding closed Saturday night at which California festival?

The Monterey Pop Festival.

41. Redding died in a December 1967 plane crash. How old was he?

Just 26.

42. His final record was the first to top the Hot 100 after an artist’s death. Name it.

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”

43. Which duo recorded “Soul Man” (1967) and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” (1966)?

Sam & Dave.

44. Which Stax songwriting team wrote those two hits?

Isaac Hayes and David Porter.

45. Isaac Hayes released the album Hot Buttered Soul in which year?

1969.

46. Hayes wrote the music for which 1971 film?

Shaft.

47. Carla Thomas gave Stax a 1961 hit with which song?

“Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes).”

48. Her father, a Stax artist, had a 1963 hit with “Walking the Dog.” Name him.

Rufus Thomas.

49. Eddie Floyd’s 1966 hit, co-written with Steve Cropper, was which song?

“Knock on Wood.”

50. What was Stax’s huge 1972 Los Angeles benefit concert called?

Wattstax.

The Queen of Soul

51. Aretha Franklin carried which royal nickname?

The Queen of Soul.

52. In what year was she born?

1942.

53. Her father, C.L. Franklin, was a prominent what?

A Baptist minister.

54. Where did young Aretha first learn to sing?

In her father’s church in Detroit, singing gospel.

55. Which producer brought her to Atlantic Records?

Jerry Wexler.

56. Her first Atlantic smash, cut in January 1967, was which song?

“I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).”

57. In which Alabama town is FAME Studios, where she recorded it?

Muscle Shoals.

58. Her defining 1967 hit, a cover of Otis Redding, was which one?

“Respect.”

59. Name two more of her classics from 1967 and 1968.

Any two of “Chain of Fools,” “Think,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

60. How many Grammy Awards did she win?

Eighteen.

61. In 1987 she became the first woman inducted into which hall of fame?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

62. Her 1972 live gospel album, recorded in a church, was titled what?

Amazing Grace.

63. That album sold more than how many copies?

More than two million.

The Godfather of Soul

64. James Brown wore which famous nickname above the rest?

The Godfather of Soul.

65. He was also billed as the hardest-working what?

Man in show business.

66. Brown first rose to fame fronting which group?

The Famous Flames.

67. Their first R&B hit, from 1956, was which song?

“Please, Please, Please.”

68. His 1963 live album, recorded in Harlem, was titled what?

Live at the Apollo.

69. His 1965 hit that pointed toward funk was which song?

“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”

70. Name his other 1965 burst of joy.

“I Got You (I Feel Good).”

71. His 1968 anthem of Black pride was which song?

“Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud.”

72. Critics call Brown’s 1967 record “Cold Sweat” the first true what?

Funk song.

73. Brown is regarded as the central creator of which genre?

Funk.

Soul’s Founding Voices

74. Sam Cooke is often called the King of what?

Soul.

75. Before going pop, Cooke sang lead for which gospel group?

The Soul Stirrers.

76. His 1957 crossover number one was which song?

“You Send Me.”

77. Name two more Cooke classics.

Any two of “Chain Gang,” “Cupid,” “Wonderful World,” and “Twistin’ the Night Away.”

78. Cooke’s enduring civil-rights hymn, released after his death, was which one?

“A Change Is Gonna Come.”

79. What was Cooke’s own record label called?

SAR Records.

80. Ray Charles earned which one-word nickname from his peers?

“The Genius.”

81. His 1959 record mixing gospel fervor with a driving beat was which song?

“What’d I Say.”

82. His 1960 recording of which state’s song became a signature?

“Georgia on My Mind.”

83. In 1962 Charles released a landmark album blending his voice with which genre?

Country.

Hitmakers and Chart Facts

84. Wilson Pickett earned which menacing nickname?

The “Wicked Pickett.”

85. His 1965 hit, recorded at Stax, was which song?

“In the Midnight Hour.”

86. His 1966 Muscle Shoals hit invited everyone to the “Land of” how many dances?

A thousand — “Land of 1000 Dances.”

87. In what year did Pickett release his “Mustang Sally”?

1966.

88. Jackie Wilson’s 1957 crossover hit was which song?

“Reet Petite.”

89. Ben E. King’s enduring 1961 hit was which song?

“Stand by Me.”

90. Which weekly soul and R&B dance show debuted on TV in 1971?

Soul Train.

Frequently asked questions

What is soul music, in plain words?

It is rhythm and blues shot through with the feeling of gospel — big voices, call-and-response, handclaps, and a beat you can’t sit still to. It came up in African American communities in the late 1950s and ruled the radio through the 1960s.

What’s the difference between the Motown sound and the Stax sound?

Motown, out of Detroit, was polished and pop-friendly, built for crossover. Stax, out of Memphis, was rawer and hotter, cut almost live with a house band in an old movie theater. Both are soul — just two sides of the same coin.

Is this a good set for a group singalong?

It is. Most of these titles start people humming before you finish the question. If you want to carry the evening further back, try our doo-wop trivia questions and answers or move forward a decade with our 1970s music trivia questions and answers.

Where can I check these facts?

Every answer here is drawn from the reputable sources listed just below.

Sources

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