Saddle up for a deep-dive quiz through the sound of America’s backroads and big stages.
From the Carter Family to Lainey Wilson, this country music trivia set moves from easy icebreakers to head-scratching curveballs, covering songs, stars, styles, venues, awards, and the instruments that give country its twang.
Roots & Early Days of Country Music
Q: Which U.S. state is most closely associated with Nashville, the heart of the country industry?
A: Tennessee.
Q: What radio program evolved into the Grand Ole Opry?
A: The WSM Barn Dance.
Q: What 1927 recording marathon is often called the “Big Bang of Country Music”?
A: The Bristol Sessions.
Q: Which family trio from those sessions featured A.P., Sara, and Maybelle?
A: The Carter Family.
Q: Who is known as “the Father of Country Music” and “the Singing Brakeman”?
A: Jimmie Rodgers.
Q: Who was the first Black star of the Grand Ole Opry, famed for harmonica mastery?
A: DeFord Bailey.
Q: Which Texas bandleader fused country with jazz to create Western swing?
A: Bob Wills.
Q: What historic venue became the Opry’s home in 1943?
A: The Ryman Auditorium.
Q: Who wrote “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” later covered by Elvis Presley?
A: Bill Monroe.
Q: Which banjo innovator popularized the three-finger style central to bluegrass?
A: Earl Scruggs.
Q: Which song by Vernon Dalhart is often cited as country’s first million-seller?
A: “The Prisoner’s Song.”
Q: Which Memphis studio cut early Johnny Cash sides and rockabilly-country crossovers?
A: Sun Studio.
Nashville Sound & Classic Era Icons
Q: Which guitarist-producer is most associated with the sleek “Nashville Sound”?
A: Chet Atkins.
Q: Whose signature hit “Crazy” was written by Willie Nelson?
A: Patsy Cline.
Q: Which smooth baritone was nicknamed “Gentleman Jim”?
A: Jim Reeves.
Q: What famed vocal group backed many Nashville hits—and Elvis?
A: The Jordanaires.
Q: Who recorded “I Walk the Line,” a defining 1950s country crossover?
A: Johnny Cash.
Q: Which hit with mariachi-style horns was co-written by June Carter Cash?
A: “Ring of Fire.”
Q: Who designed the rhinestone-studded suits worn by stars like Porter Wagoner?
A: Nudie Cohn.
Q: In what year did Patsy Cline tragically die in a plane crash?
A: 1963.
Q: Which George Jones ballad is often called the greatest country song?
A: “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
Q: Which 1968 anthem became Tammy Wynette’s signature?
A: “Stand by Your Man.”
Q: What early Music Row studio was nicknamed the Quonset Hut?
A: Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut Studio.
Q: Which 1954 Webb Pierce hit introduced the modern pedal-steel sound?
A: “Slowly,” featuring Bud Isaacs.
Outlaw Country & Bakersfield Grit
Q: Which California city gave its name to the raw, twangy Bakersfield Sound?
A: Bakersfield.
Q: Which bright Fender model is the Bakersfield Sound’s signature guitar?
A: The Telecaster.
Q: Which 1969 Merle Haggard song became a cultural flashpoint?
A: “Okie from Muskogee.”
Q: What Buck Owens hit was later covered by The Beatles?
A: “Act Naturally.”
Q: Which 1976 LP by Nelson, Jennings, Colter, and Glaser became country’s first platinum album?
A: Wanted! The Outlaws.
Q: What was the outlaws’ core demand from Nashville labels and producers?
A: Artistic control over their music.
Q: What supergroup united Cash, Nelson, Jennings, and Kristofferson?
A: The Highwaymen.
Q: Who wrote “Pancho and Lefty,” later a No. 1 duet for Willie and Merle?
A: Townes Van Zandt.
Q: Which Willie Nelson classic about touring won a Grammy?
A: “On the Road Again.”
Q: Which Hank Williams Jr. anthem declares “a country boy can survive”?
A: “A Country Boy Can Survive.”
Q: Which Texas city’s “cosmic cowboy” scene blended hippie culture with honky-tonk?
A: Austin.
Q: What longtime Nashville club became a hangout for alt-minded country rockers?
A: Exit/In.
1990s Boom & Stadium Era
Q: Which star is often cited (per RIAA tallies) as the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history?
A: Garth Brooks.
Q: What’s his barroom singalong that became a cultural phenomenon?
A: “Friends in Low Places.”
Q: What 1999 pop alter-ego project baffled Garth Brooks fans?
A: Chris Gaines.
Q: Which 1997 Shania Twain album became the best-selling country album worldwide?
A: Come On Over.
Q: Which duo helped fuel the line-dance craze with “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”?
A: Brooks & Dunn.
Q: Which early-’90s smash by Billy Ray Cyrus turbocharged line dancing?
A: “Achy Breaky Heart.”
Q: Which Alan Jackson hit celebrates a Georgia river and summer fun?
A: “Chattahoochee.”
Q: What was Trisha Yearwood’s 1991 breakout No. 1?
A: “She’s in Love with the Boy.”
Q: Which trio later known as The Chicks debuted in the late ’90s with tight harmonies?
A: The Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks).
Q: Which 1998 Faith Hill hit name-checks “centrifugal motion”?
A: “This Kiss.”
Q: Which Tim McGraw song insists, “I like it, I love it, I want some more of it”?
A: “I Like It, I Love It.”
Q: What intimate Nashville venue is famed for “in-the-round” songwriter shows?
A: The Bluebird Cafe.
21st-Century Stars & Crossovers
Q: Which 2005 American Idol winner quickly became a country superstar?
A: Carrie Underwood.
Q: What 2001 single launched future The Voice coach Blake Shelton?
A: “Austin.”
Q: Which Pennsylvania-born singer started as a teen country act before dominating pop?
A: Taylor Swift.
Q: Which 2012–2013 hit epitomized “bro-country” and became the best-selling digital country single?
A: “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line.
Q: Whose 2015 CMA duet with Justin Timberlake supercharged his mainstream profile?
A: Chris Stapleton.
Q: Which Kacey Musgraves album won the 2019 Grammy for Album of the Year?
A: Golden Hour.
Q: Luke Combs scored a 2023 smash with a cover of which Tracy Chapman classic?
A: “Fast Car.”
Q: Which artist’s 2021 double album dominated charts and streaming despite controversy?
A: Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album.
Q: Which Nashville duo blends country and pop on “Tequila” and “Speechless”?
A: Dan + Shay.
Q: Which Maren Morris breakout won the Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance?
A: “My Church.”
Q: What platform now routinely breaks country hits with short-form viral clips?
A: TikTok/social media.
Q: Which 2019 genre debate centered on a viral song removed from the country chart?
A: “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X.
Legendary Songs & Songwriters
Q: Who quipped that country is “three chords and the truth”?
A: Harlan Howard.
Q: Which Dolly Parton ballad later became a Whitney Houston megahit?
A: “I Will Always Love You.”
Q: Which Willie Nelson song became Patsy Cline’s signature?
A: “Crazy.”
Q: Who wrote “Me and Bobby McGee,” later a posthumous No. 1 for Janis Joplin?
A: Kris Kristofferson (with Fred Foster).
Q: Which Townes Van Zandt song became a No. 1 for Willie and Merle?
A: “Pancho and Lefty.”
Q: Which songwriter penned George Strait classics like “The Chair”?
A: Dean Dillon.
Q: Which Tom T. Hall story-song let a mom school a small-town committee?
A: “Harper Valley PTA.”
Q: Who wrote George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today”?
A: Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman.
Q: Who wrote “Tennessee Whiskey,” later revived by Chris Stapleton?
A: Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove.
Q: Who authored the autobiographical hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter”?
A: Loretta Lynn.
Q: Which two Dolly Parton classics are often said to have been written on the same day in 1972?
A: “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You.”
Q: Which “Storyteller” wrote “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine”?
A: Tom T. Hall.
Instruments, Production & the Nashville Number System
Q: Which five-string instrument adds rolling brightness via clawhammer or three-finger styles?
A: The banjo.
Q: The “fiddle” is technically the same instrument as what orchestral mainstay?
A: The violin.
Q: Which console instrument uses pedals and knee levers to bend chords?
A: The pedal steel guitar.
Q: Which Fender solid-body is famed for bright, cutting “twang”?
A: The Telecaster.
Q: What nickname was given to Nashville’s elite mid-century session crew?
A: The Nashville A-Team.
Q: Which historic studio is linked to the warm “Nashville Sound” of the late ’50s/’60s?
A: RCA Studio B.
Q: Which pianist popularized the “slip-note” style on Nashville hits?
A: Floyd Cramer.
Q: What chord shorthand uses Arabic numerals for scale degrees?
A: The Nashville Number System.
Q: Which Jordanaires singer codified that system for studios?
A: Neal Matthews Jr.
Q: What rhythmic feel, mimicking wheels on rails, underpins many classic country songs?
A: The train beat.
Q: What recording choice lets tempos breathe by avoiding strict metronome timing?
A: Tracking without a click.
Q: What type of mic is prized for smooth, detailed vocal capture in studios?
A: Large-diaphragm condenser microphones.
Venues, Awards & Institutions
Q: In what year did the show that became the Grand Ole Opry begin?
A: 1925.
Q: What venue is nicknamed the “Mother Church of Country Music”?
A: The Ryman Auditorium.
Q: Where did the Opry move in 1974 for its modern home base?
A: The Grand Ole Opry House.
Q: What purple-fronted bar across from the Ryman is a post-Opry legend?
A: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.
Q: What Nashville museum houses country’s Hall of Fame?
A: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Q: In what year were the first CMA Awards held?
A: 1967.
Q: Which CMA category crowns the genre’s top overall performer each year?
A: Entertainer of the Year.
Q: What West Coast-born show is the CMA’s longtime awards counterpart?
A: The ACM Awards.
Q: What fan event, born as Fan Fair in 1972, takes over Nashville each June?
A: CMA Fest.
Q: Which cable network launched in 1983 to air country videos?
A: CMT (Country Music Television).
Q: Which Indio, California festival launched in 2007 as a country counterpart to Coachella?
A: Stagecoach.
Q: What Nashville week each fall honors roots-leaning artists with its own awards?
A: AmericanaFest / Americana Honors & Awards.
Women Who Shaped Country
Q: Who’s often called the “Queen of Country Music” thanks to a 1952 trailblazer hit?
A: Kitty Wells.
Q: Which Kentucky-born icon turned her life into “Coal Miner’s Daughter”?
A: Loretta Lynn.
Q: Which East Tennessean wrote both “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You”?
A: Dolly Parton.
Q: Which 1968 anthem defined Tammy Wynette’s legacy?
A: “Stand by Your Man.”
Q: Which harmony-loving bandleader bridged country and rock and amassed many Grammys?
A: Emmylou Harris.
Q: Which superstar lost eight band members in a 1991 plane crash but later headlined the sitcom Reba?
A: Reba McEntire.
Q: Which mother-daughter duo owned the ’80s with “Mama He’s Crazy” and “Grandpa”?
A: The Judds (Naomi and Wynonna).
Q: Which Canadian megastar fused pop and country on “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”?
A: Shania Twain.
Q: Which 2005 American Idol champ belted “Before He Cheats”?
A: Carrie Underwood.
Q: Who co-founded Pistol Annies and won CMA Album of the Year for Revolution?
A: Miranda Lambert.
Q: Whose Golden Hour won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2019?
A: Kacey Musgraves.
Q: Which Louisiana-born singer-songwriter won CMA Entertainer of the Year in 2023?
A: Lainey Wilson.
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