Quizzes & Puzzles It’s Your Jam: Test Your Knowledge with a Big Red Music Quiz In advance of the Dead & Company anniversary show, we offer a tuneful playlist of trivia—from jazz to rock to the ‘Alma Mater’ DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MEDIUM © Larry Reichman / www.gdbartonhall1977.com How much do you know about Cornell-related music history? Take our 14-question quiz and find out! 1) What famous rocker—a member of the Class of ’72 who’d scored a perfect 800 on his math SATs—studied engineering on the Hill for a year and a half before dropping out to pursue music? Huey Lewis John Mellencamp Billy Joel David Lee Roth None 2) Which Peter, Paul and Mary hit single did Peter Yarrow ’59 base on a poem that Leonard Lipton ’62 wrote as an undergrad? “Blowin’ in the Wind” “Puff, the Magic Dragon” “If I Had a Hammer” “500 Miles” None 3) Cornell gave President Bill Clinton a paperweight containing 287,900 nanoscale images—each about the size of a red blood cell—of what instrument? Guitar Saxophone Violin Drum None 4) The lead singer of what successful punk rock band earned a PhD in zoology on the Hill in 2003? Bad Religion The Clash Blink-182 Black Flag None 5) A 2015 comic opera explored the friendship between Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54 and what other Supreme Court justice? John Roberts Sonia Sotomayor Antonin Scalia Clarence Thomas None 6) When the audience emerged from Barton Hall after the famed Grateful Dead concert of 5/8/77, what were they surprised to find? The tour bus had been stolen It was snowing The band was doing an encore on the sidewalk Someone’s parents had called the FBI None 7) On “The Office,” what was the name of fictional alum Andy Bernard’s Cornell singing group? The Sound Investments Strike a Chord The Tune-Uhs Here Comes Treble None 8) A band led by singer David “Doc” Robinson ’69, PhD ’82, had what ’70s-era Top 10 hit (written by Sherman Kelly ’66, BA ’68)? “Share the Land” “Dancing in the Moonlight” “Brandy” “Afternoon Delight” None 9) The tune of the “Alma Mater” was based on a … French folk tune American ballad Italian opera duet German lullaby None 10) What type of instrument did Robert Moog, PhD ’65, pioneer? Electric guitar Theremin Digital drums Synthesizer None 11) The “Evening Song” shares its melody with what Christmas carol? “Silent Night” “Once in Royal David’s City” “O Christmas Tree” “The Little Drummer Boy” None 12) Which jazz great has served as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large? Harry Connick, Jr. Wynton Marsalis Branford Marsalis Herbie Hancock None 13) Jane Lynch, MFA ’84, appeared in what musical TV series? “Glee” “Smash” “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” “Cop Rock” None 14) Roughly how many songs have been arranged for the Cornell Chimes? 250 800 1,800 3,000 None Time’s up Published April 13, 2023 Comments Jennifer Krasnoff, Class of 1988 25 Apr, 2023 Fun but don’t think I knew many of these Reply Yoshi, Class of 1996 2 May, 2023 Next time please do not forget Steve Reich Reply Mark, Class of 1981 25 Apr, 2023 I’m forever impressed with the diverse accomplishments of our alums — amazing! Reply Bill Gallagher, Class of 1979 25 Apr, 2023 Huey Lewis was also one of the first artists to perform at Anabel Taylor Hall’s “Bound for Glory” radio show (he performed under his real name, Hugh Cregg). Reply Kenneth Fields 25 Apr, 2023 Why nothing about Harry Chapin who I remember hanging out in front of Williard Straight playing guitar while he was an “intermittent” student at Cornell in the 60’s? Reply George+Weiner, Class of 1964 2 May, 2023 Harry was an architecture classmate, before he switched to A&S. We used to kid him, if don’t quit singing all the time, you’ll bust out and never be successful. Well, we were partly right. He returned in 1972, along with Phil Ochs and Eric Weissberg (Dueling Banjos), for a Barton Hall concert benefitting Ramsey Clark, who was vying for the Democrat nomination for president. Reply Victor Tancredi, Class of 1995 26 Apr, 2023 Everybody loves taking quizzes, keep ’em coming! Reply Marie-Celeste Scully, Class of 1969 29 Apr, 2023 Also missing from this line up… Richard Farina, author of “Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me”, husband of Mimi Baez with whom he produced and performed 3 albums… Celebrations For A Grey Day Vanguard 1965 Reflections In A Crystal Wind Vanguard 1965 Memories Vanguard 1968 Reply Carol Selman, Class of 1968 2 May, 2023 Why were the audience members surprised it was snowing? Snow during spring finals seemed commonplace in the 1960s. Enjoyed the quiz and did fairly well. Sigh, if only Herbie Hancock had been at Cornell…..Remembering the music of the mid 60s when hearing Odetta, Bob Dylan, Donavan (these in a small venue) and of course P<P and Mary and laughing over The Rolling Stones. But anyone from that era recall if it was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles or the Temptations or perhaps the Four Top one big weekend? I tried to find out but records seem to only go back to the 1970s. Reply Linda Triggs Dostie, Class of 1971 5 Apr, 2024 The Temptations performed during Orientation Week in 1967. (My roommate had tickets, but I did not.). The Four Tops performed over Fall Weekend 1967 – one of the best concerts. They performed every hit and ignored the somewhat rowdy, somewhat drunken crowd. Reply marty muggleton, Class of 1980 2 May, 2023 8 out of 14. Is this graded on a curve? Reply Lois Gans Kemp, Class of 1983 2 May, 2023 Fun … wish I could listen to the answers – or at least hear a song from the correct answer. Reply Phil Marriott, Class of 1989 4 May, 2023 Hey let’s not forget Jesse Harris’91, who among other things wrote and won the Grammy for Don’t Know Why” performed by Norah Jones. He’s put a lot of great music out there. Reply Angela DeSilva, Class of 1978 4 May, 2023 Fun but next time let’s have some music to go with it! Reply Dr. SUSANNE SOLOMON, Class of 1978 9 May, 2023 Got 13 of 14- Cornell still has the best university music! Reply Jeff Cohlberg, Class of 1966 13 May, 2023 Greatest moment in Cornell music? Maybe the magnificent Charles Mingus Sextet concert of March 18, 1964, at Bailey Hall. Regarded by many as one of the greatest jazz concerts in history and available on Blue Note (“Charles Mingus Quartet with Eric Dolphy – Cornell 1964”). One of Dolphy’s last performances. The previous night Mingus was interviewed at Bailey Hall by the one of the campus ministers; he talked about what it was like being a black artist in America. Overall probably the best educational experience of my years at Cornell. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni In New England, Two Sisters Grow Cranberries for Your Holiday Table Cornelliana Hold Those Banners High! 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