Question 1

True or false: B.B. King performed Blues until the age of 100.

Accepted Answer

False. B.B. King died in 2015 at age 89, not 100. He performed until his late eighties.

Question 2

True or false: The Blues heavily influenced the development of Rock and Roll in the 1950s.

Accepted Answer

True. Early rock and roll artists like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry directly borrowed from Blues structure and rhythms.

Question 3

True or false: The 12-bar blues chord progression is the standard structure in Blues music.

Accepted Answer

True. The 12-bar blues uses I, IV, and V chords and is the most common harmonic pattern in Blues.

Question 4

True or false: The Blues originated in New Orleans in the early 20th century.

Accepted Answer

False. Blues originated in the Mississippi Delta, not New Orleans, though New Orleans later contributed to the genre.

Question 5

True or false: The Blues is always played in a minor key.

Accepted Answer

False. Blues frequently uses major keys with blue notes; many classic 12-bar blues are in major keys.

Question 6

True or false: The Blues originated in the Deep South of the United States in the late 19th century.

Accepted Answer

True. Blues developed from African American work songs and spirituals in the Mississippi Delta region in the late 1800s.

Question 7

True or false: The standard Blues progression uses only two chords.

Accepted Answer

False. The 12-bar blues uses three chords: I, IV, and V. Two chords are not enough for the standard progression.

Question 8

True or false: Muddy Waters is known as the father of modern Chicago Blues.

Accepted Answer

True. Muddy Waters pioneered electric Blues in Chicago after moving from Mississippi in the 1940s.

Blues Trivia Questions