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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Marcus say each performer he will discuss in the book attempts to do?
(a) Create oneself.
(b) Redefine love.
(c) Make music for money.
(d) Entertain.

2. Who did Marcus speak with while in Woodstock to interview Robbie Robertson?
(a) Sly Stone.
(b) Bob Dylan.
(c) Robert Manuel.
(d) Dominique Robertson.

3. Who said "I played rock and roll before I ever heard of Elvis Presley. I saw him in Memphis before he ever made a record"?
(a) Bob Dylan.
(b) Harmonica Frank.
(c) Little Richard.
(d) Sam Phillips.

4. What type of art does Marcus think rock 'n' roll is?
(a) Modern.
(b) Classic.
(c) Democratic.
(d) Republican.

5. In "Harmonica Frank -1951," what song does Marcus say "set the stage for rock 'n' roll"?
(a) "Rockin' Chair Daddy."
(b) "Howling Tomcat."
(c) "Mixed-Up Confusion."
(d) "Up on Cripple Creek."

6. In "Harmonica Frank -1951," Marcus claims that Phillips was looking for music to do what?
(a) Start a revolution.
(b) Confuse things.
(c) Anger people.
(d) Affirm traditional roles.

7. How did Robert Johnson die?
(a) Suicide.
(b) Murdered.
(c) Drug overdose.
(d) Old age.

8. Who is the main character in the song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"?
(a) Virgil Kane.
(b) Robert Levon.
(c) Robbie Robertson.
(d) Robert E. Lee.

9. The song "We Can Talk About It Now" creates what kind of image?
(a) Homecoming.
(b) The country at its worst.
(c) The country at its best.
(d) A broken heart.

10. Who does Marcus compare Phillips to in the beginning of "Harmonica Frank - 1951"?
(a) Starbuck.
(b) Huck Finn.
(c) Elvis Presley.
(d) Harmonica Frank.

11. What is the name of The Band's second album?
(a) The Band.
(b) Big Pink.
(c) America.
(d) The Weight.

12. According to Marcus, what was country music doing in the early 50s?
(a) Making people feel better.
(b) Changing their lives.
(c) Making people think.
(d) Boring them.

13. What is the "old American idea" that the worried man is stuck in according to Marcus?
(a) The past as the present.
(b) Tradition before change.
(c) An innocent world.
(d) A joint-stock world.

14. What type of music did Robert Johnson sing?
(a) Gospel.
(b) Blues.
(c) Rock 'n' roll.
(d) Country.

15. What does Marcus name the storyteller from The Band's lyrics?
(a) Bob.
(b) The worried man.
(c) The knight.
(d) Big Pink.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Johnson's instrument of choice?

2. In "Robert Johnson - 1938," why do some of Robert Johnson's contemporaries say that Johnson sold his soul to the devil?

3. What betrayal does the song "Tears of Rage" convey?

4. What author does Marcus quote in the beginning of "Robert Johnson -1938" to illustrate the promise of American life?

5. From what song does Marcus quote to introduce the chapter "Robert Johnson -1938"?

(see the answer keys)

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