Blues Christmas Quiz

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Clik here to view.Test your knowledge of the Blues with this Christmas Blues Quiz quiz. The twelve questions cover Blues facts and trivia. There are a few picture questions that will keep you amused. Do you know who recorded Christmas Blues songs? Find out here.

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Who was born in San Francisco on Christmas Day 1949?

1. Robben Ford. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. However, Robben was born and raised in California and played on Charlie Musselwhite’s album when he was just 18.
2. Rod Piazza. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Californian Rod was given a harp by Jimmy Reed, backstage in an LA club when he was a kid, and he’s been blowin’ the Blues ever since.
3. Joe Louis Walker. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. As a teenager Joe played Bay Area clubs with John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Otis Rush.
4. Sonny Rhodes. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. This wild-looking lap-steel Bluesman stayed in California after serving in the Navy, but his roots are in Texas.
5. Sugar Pie DeSanto. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Although she was brought up in San Francisco, a childhood friend of Etta James and herself a singer with the Johnny Otis Revue, Sugar Pie was born in Brooklyn.

The Three Kings came from the East bearing gifts, but which one came from Texas?

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1. Earl King. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Earl Silas Johnson was born in New Orleans, and a terrific singer and songwriter. He published his songs under the name Pearl King, but dropped the ‘P’ on his single releases.
2. Chris Thomas King. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Born in Baton Rouge LA, Chris is the son of ‘Rockin’ Tabby Thomas, and he only added the ‘King’ in 1977 on his 7th album.
3. BB King. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. BB came from Indianola Mississippi. After working on a farm, he ran away to Memphis where he became ‘Beale Street Blues Boy’ and eventually BB.
4. Albert King. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Albert was from the same Delta town as BB, although they were not related.
5. Freddie King. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. Freddie Christian was born in Gilmer, Texas but took on his mother’s maiden-name when he got to Chicago, where his explosive guitar style earned him the name ‘The Texas Cannonball’.

Can you guess who our Blues Santa is? It’s not the cold weather making him Chillin, it’s the Boogie

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1. John Lee Hooker Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. Maybe that’s why John Lee left the winter snows of Detroit behind for the warmer climate of California.
2. Amos Milburn. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But his ‘signature tune’ was ‘Chicken Shack Boogie’.
3. Speckled Red. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he was a great Blues and Boogie pianist.
4. Hound Dog Taylor. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Hound Dog and his Houserockers could boogie all night.
5. Johnnie Johnson. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Johnnie teamed up his boogie piano with Chuck Berry’s twanging guitar when they were young men in St. Louis.

Which old-time Chicago Bluesman recorded ‘Christmas With No Santa Claus’?

1. Georgia Tom. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Thomas Dorsey gave up singing ‘hokum Blues’ with Big Bill Broonzy and became a Reverend, and from then onwards all his compositions were Gospel numbers, hymns and religious songs, even at Xmas.
2. Bumble Bee Slim. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. Slim was a big Blues star in the 30s, and they had Xmas singles back then too!
3. Blind Willie Johnson. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. All fire-brand preacher Willie’s songs had Gospel themes, and he would have thought any mention of Santa to be sacrilegious.
4. Tommy Johnson. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Tommy was a full-time alcoholic, and I guess his only interest in Xmas was that people are more generous with the booze around then.
5. Lead Belly. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he had a huge repertiore of old songs, and he recorded a lovely children’s ditty called ‘Christmas is Coming:- Chicken Crows at Midnight’.

Denny Freeman, Otis Rush and Son Seals recorded an instrumental version of this well known Christmas Song. Yes, they should have known better.

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1. We Three Kings of Orient Are Image may be NSFW.
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   Wrong
   Hint:
   wee wish(bone) ewe hay Mary Christmas
2. We Wish You A Merry Christmas Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct
3. Was The Night Before Christmas Image may be NSFW.
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   Wrong
   “You’re in bone, Ram-straw Madonna tree” would be closer??

Who first recorded ‘Christmas Morning Blues’ which has the line “New Year he won’t be here, ‘cos death will be his Santa Claus”?

1. Charles Brown. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he had a big Xmas hit with his song ‘Please Come Home for Xmas’ and it was later covered by Aaron Neville.
2. Charley Patton. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Charley wrote and recorded some pretty morbid songs. ‘Oh, Death’ for example.
3. Dr. John. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But the good Doctor recorded a rocking version of ‘Frosty the Snowman’ with Leon Redbone.
4. Frankie Ford. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Frankie did record a version of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’.
5. Victoria Spivey. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. Victoria was a great singer and a talented songwriter, and this is one of her own.

Who recorded an instrumental harp version of ‘Silent Night’ for Alligator Records’ ‘Christmas Collection’.

1. William Clarke. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But on the same album, he plays some low-down dirty harp on ‘Please Let Me be Your Santa Claus’.
2. Carey Bell. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he did record a blistering version of Little Walter’s ‘Last Night’ on his debut album in 1969.
3. Charlie Musselwhite. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct Charlie gave the 18th Century German carol a Blues make-over.
4. Paul Butterfield. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But ‘Night Child’, on his 1971 album ‘Sometimes I Just Feel Like Crying’ was his version of an Oscar peterson tune.
5. Snooky Prior. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Snooky was far from silent during his Army service in WWII, blowing his harp through the camp’s PA.

Who is our Blues Christmas Elf, and what presents has she brought us? I do hope it is a Blues CD Box set.

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1. Billie Holiday. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But her birth name was Eleanora Fagan, almost like the character in Dickens’ novel ‘Oliver’.
2. Memphis Minnie. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Nobody could mistake that hard-drinking, tobacco-chewing, two-fisted woman for an Elf!
3. Bessie Smith. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct Yes, It’s Bessie and a 7” red, translucent vinyl single of her ‘At the Christmas Ball’ has just been released, where she sings with Fletcher Henderson and Charlie Green.
4. Ella Fitzgerald. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Ella’s 1968 album ‘Swinging Christmas’ has a dozen seasonal offerings from the American Songbook.
5. Etta James. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Etta put out a Xmas album in 1998, titled ’12 Songs of Christmas’.

You might find it hard to guess who is our Blues Snowman because there is not much snow in Texas where he comes from.

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1. Blind Willie Johnson. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Willie never travelled far from Texas, but it gets cold down there because he died from pneumonia when he insisted in sleeping in the ruins of his burnt-down house.
2. Black Ace. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. BK Turner never went far from Texas either and I doubt whether he ever saw snow.
3. Albert Collins. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But Albert was known aas ‘The Ice-man’ for the cold, ringing tone of his Telecaster and a string of hits like ‘The Freeze’, ‘Sno-Cone’ and ‘Frosty’.
4. Blind Lemon Jefferson. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct Sadly, it is likely that Lemon died from a heart-attack when his car got stuck in the snow while he was in Chicago making records.
5. Lightnin’ Hopkins. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he liked ice in his gin!

In the Lowell Fulson song “Lonesome Christmas” complete the lyrics to the line that starts; ‘I’d Love to spend this Christmas……..’

1. “sitting by the fire with you”. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. This song made No.7 in the R&B charts in December 1950.
2. “drinking beer, whiskey and wine”. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. That’s not what Lowell said, but I’m going to do it anyway!
3. “stuffing myself with turkey”. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. That’s not what Lowell said, but I’m going to do it anyway!
4. “carousing all night with my friends” Image may be NSFW.
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   No. That’s not what Lowell said, but I’m going to do it anyway!
5. “sleeping late with my sweet lover”. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. That’s not what Lowell said, but I’m going to do it anyway!

What, another Santa? This Blues Santa will not be coming down your Chimney, but he may come down your Smokestack. Who is he?

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1. Willie Dixon. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he would probably write you a classic Chicago Blues song for a Christmas present!
2. Howlin’ Wolf. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. But how scary would it be to wake up and find The Wolf standing at the bottom of your bed?
3. Chuck Berry. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But you’d be dancing round the Christmas tree!
4. Muddy Waters. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But a meeting with The Man would be my kind of Christmas present!
5. Bo Diddley. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But could you imagine waking up the neighbours with a Bo Diddley Beat!

Finally and tragically…. Who blew their own brains out backstage at his 1954 Christmas Show?

1. Pat Hare. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. But he was killed much later in a shoot-out with police after he had shot his girlfriend.
2. Lil Green. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Lil did pass away in 1954, at the tragically young age of 35, but as a result of pneumonia.
3. Johnny Ace. Image may be NSFW.
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   Correct. Johnny Alexander had been drinking, according to eye-witness Big Mama Thornton, when his fooling around with a pistol turned to tragedy.
4. Texas Alexander. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. He did pass away in 1954, but from the long-term effects of an STD.
5. Pink Anderson. Image may be NSFW.
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   No. Pink was probably on tour with a Medicine Show, and he was still going strong two decades later.