Rock Talk

Hey...we’re back once again with more rock’n’roll trivia.time once. Glad you’re having fun with it. This week, we’re looking at famous places in rock’n’roll. See if you can guess who or what was located at the addresses below. If you know rock’n’roll, then most of these should be fairly easy. We have 10 questions, so give yourself 10 points for each correct answer – see how close you can come to 100%. Answers, as always, are below the questions. Good luck.

1. What famous record company was and is still located at 706 Union Street in Memphis,
Tennessee?

2. Another equally famous record company was also located in Memphis on East McLemore
Avenue. Originally, it had been a movie theatre that was converted into offices and a
recording studio. Can you name this company that ‘souled’ millions of hit records?

3. This midtown Manhattan venue at 881 7th Avenue has been home to thousands of classical,
jazz and rock’n’roll concerts. The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles and The Beatles have all
performed there. There was even a 1947 movie named after this world famous
institution. Can you name it?

4. This recording studio is located on this world famous street in London and was originally built
by EMI. The Hollies, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Gerry & The Pacemakers are but a few
of the hundreds of hitmakers who recorded here. A year after a 1969 album that sold millions
of copies EMI changed the name of the studio complex from EMI Studios to what?

5. This famous recording studio was located in this tiny, out-of-the-way town in New Mexico.
Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, The Fireballs were just some of the artists whp traveled to this
hit-making mecca. Can you name the town and the studio?

6. In the heart of Hollywood, California sits a building built in 1956 by a record company that
once had Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Beach Boys, Judy Garland, Buck Owens, Frank Sinatra, Tex
Ritter, Anne Murray, Dean Martin, Bob Seger and The Beatles under contract. Many
famous celebrities have their stars located in front of world famous landmark. This is almost
too easy, but I'll ask the question anyhow - What is this building?

7. These days, it’s a museum, but back in the 1960’s this was a hit making factory located at
2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. What record company was located there?

8. This Hollywood hot spot, located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, was home to many legendary
performances during the 1960’s, ‘70’s, ''80's and '90's. Can you name this famous club?

9. This legendary venue is also located in Hollywood. Paul McCartney recently performed there
after an absence of over 40 years. You can come enjoy a concert and have a catered
meal ‘under the stars’ at the same time. What’s the name of this famous Hollywood musical
landmark?

10. The city of Chicago was a hotbed for rhythm & blues. This legendary ‘Windy City’ record
label was founded by 2 Polish brothers who cornered the Chicago R&B market and along the
way, discovered artists such as Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. Can you name this record
label?

ANSWERS

1. That would be Sun Records, originally owned by Sam Phillips. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison all recorded there at one time or another. These days, it’s a
highly popular Memphis tourist attraction as well as a still-active recording studio. U2 is just
one of the contemporary acts who have recorded there in recent years.

2. Stax Records was located on East McLemore Avenue in Memphis. Rufus Thomas, Otis
Redding, Carla Thomas (daughter of Rufus), The Mar-Keys, Booker T & The M.G.’s
Eddy Floyd, Isaac Hayes (also one of the main writer/producers at Stax) and Sam & Dave all
recorded for Stax (although some of these came out on Atlantic Records or one of its’
subsidiaries as Stax had a releasing deal with Atlantic. The name Stax comes from the names
of founding partners (as well as brother and sister) Jim STewart and Estelle AXton (Axton
was Estelles’ married name).

3. The legendary venue at 881 7th Avenue is Carnegie Hall, which was built in 1891 and
financed by wealthy industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The main Hall (there
are several smaller halls in the building) seats 2,804. Carnegie Hall was designated a national
historic landmark in 1962. Bill Haley & The Comets, Harry Belafonte, The Beatles, Judy
Garland, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Count Basie, The Beach Boys,
Ray Charles and Chicago have all performed concerts at Carnegie Hall over the years.

4. That would be the world famous Abbey Road Studios located at 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s
Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was originally a 9 bedroom Georgian townhouse,
but was converted to recording studios by The Gramophone Company in 1931. That
company eventually became EMI.

5. The studio, located in Clovis, New Mexico was owned by Norman Petty. Petty became
famous after producing many of Buddy Holly’s early hits. Norman Petty died from Leukemia
in 1984 at the age of 57. His studio is still open for tours, but is no longer a working recording
studio.

6. The Capitol Records tower was completed in 1956. It’s a 13 story, earthquake proof
building located at 1750 North Vine Street, just north of the corner of Hollywood and Vine in
the heart of Hollywood. In 2006, the building was sold to developers by owner EMI. Beatle
John Lennon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located on the sidewalk in front of
the Capitol tower.

7. That would be the Motown Studios. Founder Berry Gordy lived upstairs in the company’s
early days. Gordy bought several houses beside the studios, which he used for various
aspects of Motown. The studios at 2548 West Grand Boulevard were known as “Hitsville
USA”. Motown artists like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The
Jackson 5, Martha & The Vandellas, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye all recorded in these
studios. “Standing In The Shadow of Motown”, a documentary tribute to the Motown
session musicians known as The Funk Brothers, was released in 2002 and is currently
available on DVD.

8. The Whiskey A Go-Go is the club we’re talking about. The Byrds, The Doors, Led Zeppelin,
Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Guns ‘N’ Roses and The Police are just a few of the artists that
have performed at the Whiskey. Johnny Rivers’ 1964 album, “Johnny Rivers At The
Whiskey A Go-Go” contained the hit, “Memphis”. Later that same year, Johnny released
“Here We Go-Go Again”, again recorded at The Whiskey A Go-Go. The following year
(1965), Johnny returned to record the album, “Meanwhile (Back At The Whiskey A Go Go)”.

9. That’s The Hollywood Bowl, located at 2301 North Highland Avenue. The distinctive
‘bandshell’ Bowl, which opened in July of 1922, can seat just under 18,000 patrons. Artists
who’ve performed there read like a ‘who’s who’ of the music business and include The Beach
Boys, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Al Jolson, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland
and Monty Python. The Beatles recorded their 1964 and ’65 concerts at The Hollywood
Bowl, but those performances didn’t see the light of day until 1977 when “The Beatles
At The Hollywood Bowl” was released.

10. Chess Records is the name we were looking for. Brothers Leonard and Phil Chess bought
Aristocrat Records in 1949, renaming it Chess Records in 1950. They not only owned the
label, they also produced the music and handled the business side as well. Artists signed and
recorded to Chess Records includes Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry,
John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter just to name a
few. The Rolling Stones, who took their name from the 1950 Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’
Stone” (also known as “Catfish Blues”), so loved the Chess sound that they insisted on
recording there early on in their career. Much of that material was released as “The Rolling
Stones Now” album.