Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1977 comedian Eddie Anderson died at the age of 71. He was featured for almost 20 years on radio and 15 years on television, playing the same character./ What was his character's name?

2) What are the most common and the most uncommon symbols an a national flag?

3) In 1804, this republic was the world's first black republic to be established as such. What is it called?

4) This tenor saxophonist first came to fame in Basie's band. Who was he?

Answers:

1) Jack Benny's valet, Rochester

2) The star is the most commonly used symbol, while the Dominican Republic's image of the Bible is the rarest.

3) Haiti

4) Lester Young

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1793, George Washington convened the first Cabinet meeting. Where was it held?

2) What does "url" stand for?

3) Who was the youngest man to be sworn in as president?

Answers:

1) The first Cabinet meeting was held in Washington's home.

2) Universal Resource Locator

3) Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in at 42 years old, following the assassination of William McKinley. John F. Kennedy was the youngest man to have been elected president.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What is the best-selling jazz record of all time?

2) There have been three famous jazz musicians named Bill Evans. The pianist and the sax player kept their names, but the third Bill Evans changed his name. What name does the third Bill go by?

3) What was Ben Webster's nickname?

4) Paul Desmond had an agreement with his quartet leader, Dave Brubeck, that for any solo albums Paul recorded he would not do what?

Answers:

1) Kind of Blue - it still sells 5,000 copies a week.

2) Yusef Lateef. There is some debate on Lateef's real name. It may have been Bill Huddleston, but he did for a time go by Bill Evans.

3) "The Brute" - apparently Webster was a bit short-tempered and was known to throw an occasional punch.

4) Desmond agreed not to record with another pianist.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Our solar system was recently reduced to eight planets from the long-standing nine. Which planet was reclassified?

2) This drummer first performed professionally at the age of 18 months on the vaudeville stage. By 13 he was the leader of his own band. He entered into the big band era by drumming for Tommy Dorsey and Harry James, among others. He traveled successfully with his own big band even after the genre declined in popularity. Who was this percussionist?

Answers:

1) For an object to be a planet, it needs to meet these three requirements defined by the IAU (International Astronomical Union):

■ It needs to be in orbit around the Sun – Yes, so maybe Pluto is a planet.
■ It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape – Pluto…check
■ It needs to have “cleared the neighborhood” of its orbit – Uh oh. Here’s the rule breaker. According to this, Pluto is not a planet. What does “cleared its neighborhood” mean? As planets form, they become the dominant gravitational body in their orbit in the Solar System. As they interact with other, smaller objects, they either consume them, or sling them away with their gravity. Pluto is only 0.07 times the mass of the other objects in its orbit. The Earth, in comparison, has 1.7 million times the mass of the other objects in its orbit. Any object that doesn’t meet this 3rd criteria is considered a dwarf planet. And so, Pluto is a dwarf planet.

2) Buddy Rich

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which president was the tallest. The shortest?

2) Who was the only grandchild of a president who became a president?

3) Clint Eastwood created one of film's most iconic characters in Dirty Harry. The role only went to him after the intended star, then others, turned it down. Who else was offered the role?

4) Which president started the tradition of throwing out the first pitch of baseball season?

Answers:

1) Lincoln was 6'4" and James Madison was 5'4".

2) Benjamin Harrison

3) The role was originally intended for Frank Sinatra. Sinatra turned it down and it was offered to John Wayne. Then Paul Newman. They refused. Eastwood accepted the role. Guess he felt lucky.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1953, the first 3D movie opened at Loew's State Theater in New York. What was the name of the film?

2) Who was the first African-American athlete to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics?

3) What was the name of the Soviet cosmonaut who was the first man in space?

Answers:

1) Bwana Devil

2) Shani Davis won a gold medal in speed skating in the 2006 games in Turin

3) Yuri Gagarin

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What is the hardest natural substance in existence?

2) Which two stars were originally tapped to play Captain Kirk?

3) Rod Serling wrote the screenplay for this movie after The Twilight Zone. What was the movie?

Answers:

1) Diamond

2) Jeff Hunter and Jack Lord

3) Planet of the Apes

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was Count Basie's theme song?

2) What television show had Archie Bleyer for its musical director?

3) What instrument did Eubie Blake play?

Answers:

1) "One O'Clock Jump"

2) The Arthur Godfrey Show

3) piano

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was the first female lead to star in a TV crime series?

2) Which president gave his State of the Union address six times in person and the final two in written form?

3) What do Merv Griffin, Soupy Sales, Ted Knight, Adam West and Ernest Borgnine all have in common?

Answers:

1) Anne Francis starred in Honey West

2) Woodrow Wilson. His final two were in written form due to a debilitating stroke.

3) They all started out as local market children's show hosts.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1)Who was the first U.S. president to be photographed while in office?

2) Who was the Creole musician from New Orleans who was the self proclaimed "inventor" of jazz?

3) When Louis Armostrong moved from New Orleans to Chicago in 1922 he was going to play with who's band?

Answers:

1) Feb 14, 1849, James Polk became the first. The photographer was Mathew Brady, who is famous for his Civil War Pictures.

2) Jelly Roll Morton. Jelly Roll Morton was a pianist and composer, and was undoubtedly one of the most influential and original musicians in the beginnings of jazz music. His claim to being its inventor, however, is somewhat dubious.

3) King Oliver. Joe Oliver was nicknamed "King" because he was the King of jazz trumpet. That was until his protege, Louis Armstrong, came on the scene. Louis had got his start playing with King in New Orleans. King moved to Chicago and started his band there. This gave Louis the opportunity to develop his unique ability for improvisation. When Louis moved to Chicago to play with King's band, he was suddlent the better player and was eventually convinced of this by the band's pianist Lillian Hardin, whom Louis later married. She convined him to go solo.

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) How much were the Beatles paid for their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show"?
Q: Which tv actors made headlines when they locked lips in the first interracial kiss on US network television?
Q: Which artist recorded "West End Blues," one of the most perfect jazz songs of all time?
Q: As a teenager, Miles Davis got his first big break playing gigs with which jazz giant?

A: By today's standards, The Beatles earned a mere $2,400 for their February 9, 1964 Ed Sullivan appearance that was watched by an estimated 74 million viewers -- over 40 percent of the American population.
A: William Shatner (as Captain James T. Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (as Lt. Uhura) made television history on November 22, 1968 with their interracial kiss on the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren".
A: Louis Armstrong. Three perfect minutes.
A: Charlie Parker. Miles, in his youth, played faster than he ever would.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This female singer was a regular at the Cotton Club, singing with Duke Ellington's band. Who was she?

2) This bop artist with the bass voice was born and died in Pittsburgh. Who was this singer/ bandleader, known as Mr. B?

3) This hyphenate is an accomplished jazz pianist and vocalist. She also happens to be married to prolific songwriter, Elvis Costello.

Answers:

1) Ivie Anderson

2) Billy Eckstine

3) Diana Krall

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This U.S. president was born on this date in 1773 and served the shortest term of any president. Who was he?

2) On this date in 1971, this pitcher was the first African-American player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Who was he?

3) On this date in 1997, The Simpsons became the longest-running prime-time animated TV series. Which series held the record prior to The Simpsons?

Answers:

1) William Harrison. He caught a cold on his inauguration which escalated into pneumonia and pleurisy, ending his life, and his term, only one month later.

2) The previous record holder, The Flintstones, lasted six seasons.

3) Satchel Paige

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Nick Nolte was born on this date in 1941. What was the name of his 1999 movie which co-starred Bruce Willis?

2) According to the Rochester Institute of Technology, your risk of being in an automobile accident increases by 34% if you do what while driving?

3) Which U.S. president was the first to have a radio in the White House?

Answers:

1) Breakfast of Champions

2) Talk on the phone

3) President Warren G. Harding

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) The 1998 Winter Olympics began on this date in 1998 in what city?

2) The last bare-knuckle boxing championship was held on this date in 1882. Who Won?

3) Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, originally wanted another actor to play Spock, the iconic role played by Leonard Nimoy. Who was Roddenberry's original choice for the role?

Answers:

1) Nagano, Japan

2) John L. Sullivan

3) Martin Landau

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This bassist and his fretless style exhibited a complexity that won him many admirers. He played with Weather Report, collaborated with Joni Mitchell and released solo work, but unfortunately, he died at the young age of 36. Who was he?

2) This percussionist had a gift for scouting and recruiting other talented musicians to play in his Jazz Messengers ensemble. Who was he?

Answers:

1) Jaco Pastorius

2) Art Blakey

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What is Louis Armstrong's nickname?

2) What's Charlie Parker's nickname?

Answers:

1) Satchmo

2) Bird

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) With the evidence overwhelmingly against him, which U.S. president was accused of listening in the other party's campaign strategies?

2) When rumors were swirling around that this British pop star had died, he responded by saying, "I'm alive and living in Scotland." Who was he?

3) What was the name of Charles Lindbergh's plane that was flown for his famous solo trip from New York to Paris?

4) This rare comet was visible on the day Mark Twain was born and on the day he died. What is the name of the comet?

Answers:

1) Richard Nixon

2) Paul McCartney

3) The Spirit of St. Louis

4) Halley's Comet

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was Duke Ellington's first drummer?

2) In whose swing band did Dizzy Gillespie play?

3) Who was Duke Ellington's most prolific collaborator?

Answers:

1) Sonny Greer

2) Cab Calloway

3) Billy Strayhorn