CHAPTER 65 Rolling Beethoven Over: Roots and Reworkings of
Rock
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. What was the MOST important music phenomenon of the second half of the twentieth century?
a. minimalism c. rock-and-roll
b. chance music d. atonal music
2. Rock-and-roll has impacted many social aspects including
a. fashion. c. politics and religion.
b. language. d. All answers shown here.
3. When did rock-and-roll first emerge?
a. 1940s c. 1960s
b. 1950s d. 1930s
4. Rock-and-roll is a union of
a. jazz with rhythm and blues. c. soul with bebop.
b. rhythm and blues with country-western. d. All answers shown here.
5. What is the backbeat?
a. emphasis on beats two and four c. emphasis on beats one and two
b. emphasis on beats two and three d. emphasis on beats one and three
6. What musical genre is associated with Ruth Brown, Joe Turner, and Louis Jordon?
a. rockabilly c. jazz
b. rhythm and blues d. rock-and-roll
7. What does the abbreviation R&B stand for?
a. rock and bebop c. rock and blues
b. rhythm and blues d. rhythm and backbeat
8. What mid-1950s term describes a form of rhythm and blues that crossed racial lines?
a. hipster c. bebop
b. rock-and-roll d. rockabilly
9. Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis are associated with which musical genre?
a. rockabilly c. jazz
b. rhythm and blues d. country-western
10. ________ featured twelve-bar blues progressions and “boogie” rhythms while incorporating musical elements common to country
music.
a. Rockabilly c. Jazz
b. R&B d. Bluegrass
11. Which record producer fostered the mix of African American blues with Anglo-American country songs to great success?
a. Leonard Chess c. Berry Gordy
b. Chuck Berry d. Phil Spector
12. What was Chuck Berry’s first hit record?
a. Roll Over Beethoven c. Maybelline
b. Johnny B. Goode d. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
13. Which Chuck Berry song was described as “the ultimate rock & roll call to arms”?
a. Roll Over Beethoven c. Maybelline
b. Johnny B. Goode d. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
14. Besides Beethoven, which composer does Chuck Berry reference in Roll Over Beethoven?
a. Bach c. Stravinsky
b. Tchaikovsky d. Copland
15. What does the line “tell Tchaikovsky the news” from Roll Over Beethoven suggest?
a. that Chuck Berry is the best guitarist
b. that rock-and-roll is threatening classical music
c. that the composer should watch the evening news
d. that classical music is threatening rock-and-roll
16. What is the form of Roll Over Beethoven?
a. twelve-bar blues c. A-A-B
b. A-A-B-A d. sixteen-bar blues
17. Which song was a 1954 hit for Bill Haley and the Comets?
a. Maybelline c. Great Balls of Fire
b. Rock Around the Clock d. Hound Dog
18. The song ________ was a hit for Fats Domino in 1956.
a. Maybelline c. Great Balls of Fire
b. Rock Around the Clock d. Blueberry Hill
19. The commercial music tradition of performers conveying their individual versions of hit tunes is known as
a. stealing a song. c. copycat records.
b. covering a song. d. rock-and-roll.
20. What commercial music tradition was essential to the spread of early rock-and-roll?
a. backbeat c. multitrack recording
b. covers d. Tin Pan Alley
21. The song Hound Dog was originally recorded by
a. Elvis Presley. c. Chuck Berry.
b. Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton. d. Little Richard.
22. What is the difference between the Beatles version of Roll Over Beethoven and Chuck Berry’s original recording?
a. nothing
b. The Beatles don’t sing all of the verses.
c. The Beatles version is more polished.
d. There is no electric guitar in the Beatles version.
23. What is the difference between the Carl Perkins version of Roll Over Beethoven and Chuck Berry’s original recording?
a. Perkins slows down the tempo. c. Perkins includes a honky-tonk piano.
b. Perkins rearranges the lyrics. d. All answers shown here.
24. Which British band recorded an inventive cover of Roll Over Beethoven in 1973?
a. the Beatles c. Carl Perkins
b. Electric Light Orchestra d. Yes
25. The ELO cover of Roll Over Beethoven includes
a. the short-short-short-long motive from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
b. an excerpt from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky.
c. a guest guitar solo by Chuck Berry.
d. All of the answers shown here.
1. Rock-and-roll was the most important music phenomenon of the second half of the twentieth century.
2. Rock-and-roll had little impact in terms of social issues.
3. The backbeat is an emphasis on beats one and three.
4. Almost all of the great early rhythm and blues performers were African American.
5. Rockabilly is a mix of bluegrass and rhythm and blues.
6. Rock Around the Clock is a song by Jerry Lee Lewis.
7. Ruth Brown and Bill Haley are R&B singers.
8. Producer Berry Gordy fostered the mix of African American blues with Anglo-American country songs to great success.
9. Chuck Berry’s first hit was Maybelline.
10. Chuck Berry wrote Maybelline as a complaint to his sister.
11. Roll Over Beethoven is a twelve-bar blues.
12. Roll Over Beethoven includes a reference to Stravinsky.
13. Cover songs were essential to the spread of early rock-and-roll.
14. Elvis Presley originally recorded the song Hound Dog.
15. The Beatles covered Roll Over Beethoven early in their career.
16. The ELO cover of Roll Over Beethoven is an example of “art rock.”
17. Cover songs can be reclaimed to meet the changing needs of artists and their audiences.
18. Some cover songs during the early days of rock-and-roll were controversial.
1. What are the differences between the three versions of Roll Over Beethoven discussed in the textbook?
2. Discuss the diverse musical origins of rock-and-roll.
3. Discuss Chuck Berry’s influence on the emerging style of rock-and-roll.
4. Discuss how cover songs meet the changing needs of artists and their audiences. Cite examples NOT found in the textbook.