During the 1940s, which opera company opened its doors to Black singers?
1. Atlanta Opera House
2. Oakland Symphony
3. Metropolitan Opera House
4. New York City Opera House
New York City Opera House
In 1945, baritone Todd Duncan, broke the color barrier for major opera companies by performing the Italian opera "Pagliacci" at The New York City Opera Company.
Which of the following was not a composer at the beginning of the 20th century?
1. Will Marion Cook
2. Harry Burleigh
3. William Grant Still
4. Scott Joplin
William Grant Still
Joplin, Burleigh and Cook were all composers from the 19th and early 20th centuries; William Grant Still wrote more than 150 compositions over his career which extended into the 1970s.
Who earned the first Grammy award for Best Rap Performance?
1. Run-DMC
2. Public Enemy
3. Salt-N-Peppa
4. D.J. Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince
D.J. Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince
The Hot 100's First Black Artist to hit No. 1 on the billboard charts
Who was known as “the Queen of Soul”?
1. Billie Holiday
2. Nina Simone
3. Patti Labelle
4. Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
In 1960, Aretha Franklin launched her professional career at the age of 18 with little success, but by the end of the decade she enjoyed so many hits that she was designated as “the Queen of Soul”.
Who composed an opera, "Treemonisha", which was not professionally performed until 1972?
1. Scott Joplin
2. Duke Ellington
3. W.C. Handy
4. John W. Work III
Scott Joplin
"Treemonisha" is an opera composed in 1911 by the African-American “rag-time” composer Scott Joplin. The opera was not professionally performed until the world premiere took place in 1972, as a joint production of the music department of Morehouse College and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia.
What singer was forbidden by the Daughters of the American Revolution to sing at Constitution Hall?
1. Marian Anderson
2. Lillian Evanti
3. Leontyne Price
4. Caterina Jarboro
Marian Anderson
In 1939, Marian Anderson was denied by the Daughters of the American Revolution the opportunity to sing at Constitution Hall because of her race. Subsequently, Eleanor Roosevelt and associates of President Franklin D. Roosevelt arranged for her to sing for 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
What singer started at the Cotton Club and in 1958 became the first Black woman to earn a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical?
1. Lena Horne
2. Ella Fitzgerald
3. Billie Holiday
4. Mahalia Jackson
Lena Horne
Lena Horne, singer, dancer, actress and Civil Rights activist, joined the chorus line of the Cotton Club in 1933 and earned the Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 1958 for her role in the musical, "Jamaica".
Which of the following is NOT a singer/pianist?
1. Roberta Flack
2. Duke Ellington
3. Nina Simone
4. Ray Charles
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was a major composer, pianist and bandleader of a jazz orchestra enjoying a career that spanned over 50 years. He did not sing.
Who was the singer/musician instrumental in the movement to make Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday a national holiday?
1. Michael Jackson
2. Prince
3. Stevie Wonder
4. Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder was a key figure in the campaign to get Dr. King’s birthday established as a national holiday; in 1981, he even made a song, Happy Birthday, appropriately dedicated to the birthday effort. The national holiday was approved by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.
Which was the first popularized hip hop song in the United States and around the world?
1. "Feel the HeartBeat"
2. "Rapper’s Delight"
3. "Party Time"
4. "King of Rock"
"Rapper’s Delight"
"Rapper's Delight", recorded in 1979 by The Sugar hill Gang, while not the first single to feature rapping, is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop.
