🎵 Music by Decade Trivia Questions & Answers
The 60s, 80s, 2000s and the sounds that defined each era. Below are 30 free music by decade trivia questions with answers — part of Music trivia on BUZZ. Want a real challenge that adapts to what you know? Play the Music quiz — no signup needed to start.
30 Music by Decade trivia questions
Q1. Rock 'n' roll first exploded as a mainstream sound during which decade?
Answer: 1950s
💡 Bill Haley & His Comets' 'Rock Around the Clock' became rock's first US No. 1 in July 1955.
Q2. Disco ruled the dancefloors and pop charts throughout which decade?
Answer: 1970s
💡 New York's Studio 54, disco's glittering epicenter, opened its doors in April 1977.
Q3. Grunge crashed into the musical mainstream during which decade?
Answer: 1990s
💡 Pearl Jam's debut 'Ten' (1991) helped push the raw Seattle sound onto global charts.
Q4. Which city is considered the birthplace of jazz?
Answer: New Orleans
💡 Jazz developed in New Orleans in the late 19th century from a blend of African rhythms and European harmony.
Q5. Who sang 'Respect' in 1967?
Answer: Aretha Franklin
💡 Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Q6. In which city did Grunge music originate in the late 1980s?
Answer: Seattle
💡 Seattle's grunge scene gave the world Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.
Q7. What was the first music video played on MTV when it launched in 1981?
Answer: Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles
💡 The irony of 'Video Killed the Radio Star' being the first MTV video was intentional — it was chosen as a clever joke by the programming team.
Q8. Which band performed 'Don't Stop Me Now', 'We Are the Champions', and 'Another One Bites the Dust'?
Answer: Queen
💡 Freddie Mercury wrote 'Don't Stop Me Now' in 1978 during one of the happiest periods of his life. It was a minor hit when released but has since been voted one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
Q9. Which instrument is Slash from Guns N' Roses famous for playing?
Answer: Guitar
💡 Slash's top hat and curly hair make him one of rock's most recognisable silhouettes. He reportedly owns over 200 guitars and credits Aerosmith for inspiring him to pick up the instrument.
Q10. What was the first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart in 1952?
Answer: Here in My Heart
💡 The UK Singles Chart launched in November 1952. Al Martino's 'Here in My Heart' was the inaugural #1, staying nine weeks.
Q11. What is the name of the legendary Motown record label's hometown?
Answer: Detroit
💡 Motown was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit in 1959 with an $800 loan. The label signed The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and The Jackson 5.
Q12. The Beatles' American TV debut, kicking off Beatlemania in February 1964, happened on which show?
Answer: The Ed Sullivan Show
Q13. Which falsetto trio's soundtrack, including 'Stayin' Alive,' powered 1977's Saturday Night Fever?
Answer: The Bee Gees
Q14. Which 1999 file-sharing service, made by a college dropout, threw the music industry into chaos?
Answer: Napster
Q15. 'Wannabe,' the 1996 single that made 'girl power' a global catchphrase, launched which group?
Answer: Spice Girls
Q16. The streaming service Spotify was founded in which country?
Answer: Sweden
Q17. Elvis Presley recorded his earliest singles for which pioneering Memphis label?
Answer: Sun Records
💡 Founder Sam Phillips also first recorded Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis there.
Q18. Funk and R&B trailblazer James Brown is honored with which regal nickname?
Answer: The Godfather of Soul
💡 Brown's rhythmic innovations laid the groundwork for funk, disco and even hip-hop.
Q19. Which star-studded 1985 benefit concert did Bob Geldof stage for African famine relief?
Answer: Live Aid
💡 It ran simultaneously at London's Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's JFK Stadium.
Q20. Which artist released the album 'Kind of Blue' in 1959?
Answer: Miles Davis
💡 Kind of Blue remains the best-selling jazz album of all time.
Q21. What is the most-streamed song of all time on Spotify?
Answer: Blinding Lights — The Weeknd
💡 As of 2024, The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' is the most-streamed song in Spotify history with over 4 billion streams — helped by its irresistible synth-pop 80s sound.
Q22. What is the name of Daft Punk's breakthrough 1997 debut album?
Answer: Homework
💡 Daft Punk recorded Homework largely in their Paris bedrooms and apartments. The duo rarely appeared without their robot helmets after 1997, citing a desire to let the music speak for itself.
Q23. In what year did Berry Gordy found Motown Records with an $800 family loan?
Answer: 1959
Q24. What 1979 anti-disco stunt blew up records between games at a Chicago ballpark?
Answer: Disco Demolition Night
💡 The crate of exploded records sparked a near-riot at Comiskey Park and is seen as a symbolic end to the disco era.
Q25. What name describes the mid-1960s surge of UK bands topping American charts?
Answer: British Invasion
💡 The Beatles' 1964 arrival in New York kicked it off, with the Stones and Kinks close behind.
Q26. The 1995 UK singles-chart showdown between Blur and Oasis was dubbed what?
Answer: Battle of Britpop
💡 Blur's 'Country House' outsold Oasis's 'Roll With It' to claim that week's No. 1.
Q27. Apple's game-changing 2003 service for buying single tracks was called what?
Answer: iTunes Store
💡 It sold about 275,000 tracks on its very first day in April 2003.
Q28. BTS's 2020 hit 'Dynamite' was the first by a South Korean act to top which US chart?
Answer: Billboard Hot 100
💡 'Dynamite' debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 5, 2020.
Q29. Which 2013 Avicii smash fused EDM with country and folk, becoming his biggest hit?
Answer: Wake Me Up
💡 It was Avicii's only Billboard Hot 100 top-10, peaking at No. 4 in 2013.
Q30. Marvin Gaye's landmark 1971 protest album shares its name with which title track?
Answer: What's Going On
💡 Gaye's introspective record tackled war, poverty and the environment head-on.
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