Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On this date in 1914, Henry Ford introduced the assembly line method of manufacturing cars, allowing completion of one Model-T Ford in what amount of time?

2) What was the original tile of NBC's The Today Show?

3) Who was the first host of The Today Show?

Answers:

1) One Model-T every 90 minutes

2) The Rise and Shine Revue

3) Dave Garroway

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was one of the first foreign wars for the U.S.?

2) Virtually all of us have been bothered by the Musca domestica. What is the common term for this creature?

3) What determines the starting date of Chinese New Year?

4) Which U.S. city contains the world's railway bridge?

Answers:

1) The conflict was the Tripolitan or Barbary Wars (1800 - 1815). It was precipitated by piracy.

2) Housefly

3) After the winter solstice, the second new moon decides the starting date.

4) New Orleans' Huey P. Long Bridge is the longest railway bridge.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Since 1907, the Times Square ball has dropped to signify the New Year every year with two exceptions. What years did the ceremony get skipped?

2) Where is the world's largest railway station?

Answers:

1) 1942 and 1943

2) New York's Grand Central Station is the largest railway staion.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Ella Fitzgerald is often referred to as the Queen of Scat (singing). Who was the "King"?

2) Translated into English, "Auld Lang Syne" means what?

3) On what day does the fiscal year for the U.S. federal government begin?

Answers:

1) Mel Torme

2) "old long ago"

3) October 1st

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which city hosts the first major New Year's Eve celebration each year?

2) What is the name of the calendar for the Chinese New Year?

3) On this day in 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations assembled in what city?

4) Who else played with Miles Davis on Kind of Blue?

Answers:

1) The city of Gisborne, New Zealand kicks things off with their three day "Rhythm and Vines Music Festival." Gisborne boasts that it is the first city in the world to greet each new day.

2) The Chinese adhere to the Lunar calendar. In the West, we observe the Gregorian calendar.

3) London

4) Cannonball Adderly on alto sax, John Coltrane on tenor, Paul Chambers on bass, and Bill Evans on piano.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This insect comes in 3,500 varieties, carries 100 different kinds of bacteria and can spread food poisoning. Which insect is it?

2) Which city boasts the world's longest railway bridge and what is its name?

Answers:

1) The cockroach

2) The Huey P. Long Bridge is the world's longest railway bridge. It's in New Orleans.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) As a teenager, Miles Davis got his first big break for this jazz giant. Who was he?

2) This famous sax player was once arrested for robbing a drug store. Who was he?

3) The long-shuttered jazz club, The Blackhawk, was located in what city?

4) Every Monday night in the 80s, this veteran player performed with the Monday Night Orchestra in New York's Sweet Basil. Who was he?

Answers:

1) Charlie Parker

2) Stan Getz

3) San Francisco

4) Gil Evans

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Big Band Wednesday Bonanza!

Questions:

1) "Sentimental Journey" was the theme song for which Big Band?

2) "Take the 'A'Train" was the theme song for whose Big Band?

3) Whose Big Band had "Bubbles in the Wine" as its theme?

4) Whose Big Band had "One O'Clock Jump" as its theme song?

Answers:

1) Les Brown

2) Duke Ellington

3) Lawrence Welk

4) Count Basie

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who said this regarding the difference between man and animals: "Man is the only animal who blushes -- or needs to."?

2) What was the name of the New York City political machine led by William "Boss" Tweed in the 1880s?

3) Jazz musicians are often associated with a particular style or school of jazz. Some are, like Mingus or Coltrane, genres unto themselves. There was one musician, however who was an essential figure in multiple styles. Who was he?

Answers:

1) Mark Twain

2) Tammany Hall

3) Miles Davis

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) In 1963, this male singer recorded with John Coltrane. Who was he?

2) Which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical features a train called "Rusty"?

3) This female singer was one of the great vocalists of the Swing Era, singing for Duke Ellington and as a performer at the Cotton Club. Who Was she?

4) May 10, 1869 is known as National Train Day. Why so?

Answers:

1) Johnny Hartman

2) Starlight Express

3) Ivie Anderson

4) On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, the "golden spike" was driven into the final tie that joined 1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, transforming America by creating the nation's first transcontinental railroad.

Alan Rock's Trivia, December 21, 2010

Questions:

1) Jack Lord played a police officer in what TV series (which aired from 1968 to 1980)?

2) Adolf Hitler, Joseph and Napoleon Bonaparte and King Henry III of England suffered from what phobia?

3) Insects breathe through spiracles. What are spiracles?

Answers:

1) Hawaii Five-O.

2) These famous leaders suffered from ailurophobia or a fear of cats.

3) Holes on each side of an insect's abdomen.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was Stephen Spielberg's first directing job?

2) The ancient Chinese used what may have been the first insecticide. Name the compound and the insect it was intended to kill.

3) Born in Cleveland, this composer has been inextricably linked with the bop era. Writing for artists ranging from Count Basie to Dizzy Gillespie, this composer worked with Miles Davis in 1949 before sliding into drug worries and, ultimately, prison on 1959. Who was this man, composer of "If You Could See Me Now" and "On A Misty Night"?

Answers:

1) The TV pilot for Night Gallery in 1969. He directed the segment starring Joan Crawford.

2) They used powdered chrysanthemum as flea powder.

3) Tadd Dameron, who was born in Ohio in 1917, had a genius for jazz arrangements. He worked with some of the greatest jazz minds of all time, including: Miles Davis, Artie Shaw, Clifford Brown, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Billy Eckstine. Though his life was curtailed at an early age by cancer in 1965, he is well remembered for his work with Miles Davis at the Paris Jazz Festival in 1949.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This specific title for a law enforcement officer has been in use since 992 AD and remains commonly used today. What is it?

2) Born this date in 1936, he was promoted as being England's answer to Elvis Presley. Who was he?

3) On this date in 1969, entertainer Herbert Khaury married his fiancee, Victoria Budinger, on The Tonight Show. What was his stage name?

Answers:

1) Sheriff

2) Tommy Steele

3) Tiny Tim. He referred to his bride as "Miss Vicky."

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) In the original Wizard of Oz, what were Dorothy's slippers made of?

2) Who was the first running back in the NFL to rush 2,000 yards in a single season?

3) What city was the setting for the TV show, Car 54, Where Are You?

4) Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on this date in 1770. When composing, to excite his brain, what did he do?

Answers:

1) Silver

2) O.J. Simpson completed more than 2000 yards rushing on this date in 1973.

3) New York

4) He would pour ice water over his head.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was the first to put together a jazz trio of piano, guitar and bass?

2) What show holds the record for being the longest-running police-themed show?

3) Television's first mini-series premiered on ABC on this date in 1954. What was the name of the series?

Answers:

1) Nat King Cole

2) The "documentary" series, Cops. It is one of the longest running series of any genre.

3) Davy Crockett

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Robert May wrote a poem that was illustrated and published as a Montgomery Ward pamphlet in 1939. 8 years later, John Marks set it to music. What was the poem?

2) The U.S. Table Tennis Association wanted to call the sport "Ping-Pong" but ran into a snag. Why couldn't they use "Ping-Pong"?

3) What is Richard Starkey's stage name?

Answers:

1) "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

2) Parker Brothers already owned the rights to the name.

3) Ringo Starr

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) This North Carolina native played tenor sax with some of the most influential jazz artists of his era. He's considered just as groundbreaking. Who was he?

2) This Philadelphia native cut his teeth playingwith the likes of Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey, and gained widespread recognition as part of Woody Herman's "Second Herd." He helped popularize the bossa nova craze in the 60s, along with Jao Gilberto and Jobim. Who was he?

3) This Fort Worth, Texas native was an avant garde "free jazz" trailblazer. Who was he?

Answers:

1) John Coltrane

2) Stan Getz

3) Ornette Coleman

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) British Airways passengers consume six tons of this per year.

2) This New Orleans Creole musician proclaimed himself to be the inventor of jazz. Who was he?

3) In the U.S., what is the average number of people airborne per hour?

Answers:

1) caviar

2) Jelly Roll Morton

3) 60,000

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What is the biggest selling Christmas single of all time?

2) Who lost the $8,000 in It's a Wonderful Life?

3) On this day in 1992, this couple announced their separation. Who were they?

Answers:

1) "White Christmas"

2) Uncle Billy

3) Prince Charles and Lady Diana

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Sean Penn received best actor nominations for his portrayal of jazz guitar player in the 1999 film, Sweet and Lowdown. His character was actually based on a famed French guitarist who recorded during the 1930s and 40s. Who was this great French guitarist?

2) How did American Airlines cut their costs by nearly &40,000 in 1987?

3) What is the minimum number of electoral votes each state can have?

4) Architect James Hoban died on December 8, 1831. What famous national treasure did Hoban design?


Answers:

1) Django Reinhardt

2) Eliminating an olive from each salad served in-flight

3) Three electoral votes are based on representation at congress, which means two senators and at least on House member

4) He designed the White House.