Mark Slobin's Blog
August 1, 2018
Motor City Music
I grew up in Detroit when it was "the capital of the 20th century, being born in wartime, when the city was "the arsenal of democracy."
It was an amazing city for music, as you all know from Motown, but there was so much more.
I'm starting with a quick quiz to show the range of musics I cover in the book.
A Detroit Music Quiz
1.Who wrote the most popular anthems of the auto workers’ 1930s strikes?
a) Pete Seeger
b) Woody Guthrie
c) Aunt Mollie Jackson
d) Maurice Sugar
2. Which of the following was not a Ford Motor Company worker music group?
a) Ford Hawaiians
b) Ford Novelty Orchestra
c) Ford Polka Band
d) Ford Motor Company Clarinet Quartet
e) Ford Rube Quartet
3. Which opera diva came straight by train from the Metropolitan Opera stage to a General Motors broadcast in Detroit?
a) Kirsten Flagstad
b) Amelita Galli-Curci
c) Lotte Lehman
d) Rise Stevens
4. Which of the following communities did not have their own ethnic ensemble?
a) Belgians
b) Czechs
c) Dutch
d) Lithuanians
e) Swiss
5. Which nationally renowned band leader recruited students directly out of Cass Technical High School?
a) Benny Goodman
b) Stan Kenton
c) Glenn Miller
d) Duke Ellington
6. Name two jazz musicians who went to Northwestern High School:
a) Tommy Flanagan
b) Barry Harris
c) Betty Carter
d) Sheila Jordan
e) Bennie Maupin
f) Kenny Burrell
7. Name three ethnic groups that had their own symphony orchestras in 1951:
a) Norwegians
b) Poles
c) Swedes
d) French
e) Italians
f) Germans
g) Greeks
8. How many ethnic-themed hours did WIID have on its weekly schedule?
a) 6
b) 8
c) 12
d) 20
9. Which two jazz greats started on cello in the Cass Tech orchestra?
a) Ronald Carter
b) Milt Jackson
c) Donald Byrd
d) Paul Chambers
e) Dorothy Ashby
10. Which future star was a cheerleader at Cass Tech?
a) Diana Ross
b) Lily Tomlin
c) Sheila Jordan
d) Alice Mc Leod Coltrane
11. In which year did WXYZ-TV feature Kenny Burrell on “Detroit’s Only All-Colored TV Show?”
a) 1964
b) 1953
c) 1957
d) 1960
Answers
1: d
2: c
3: c
4: c
5: b
6: c, e
7: a, b, c
8: c
9: a, d
10: b
11: b
It was an amazing city for music, as you all know from Motown, but there was so much more.
I'm starting with a quick quiz to show the range of musics I cover in the book.
A Detroit Music Quiz
1.Who wrote the most popular anthems of the auto workers’ 1930s strikes?
a) Pete Seeger
b) Woody Guthrie
c) Aunt Mollie Jackson
d) Maurice Sugar
2. Which of the following was not a Ford Motor Company worker music group?
a) Ford Hawaiians
b) Ford Novelty Orchestra
c) Ford Polka Band
d) Ford Motor Company Clarinet Quartet
e) Ford Rube Quartet
3. Which opera diva came straight by train from the Metropolitan Opera stage to a General Motors broadcast in Detroit?
a) Kirsten Flagstad
b) Amelita Galli-Curci
c) Lotte Lehman
d) Rise Stevens
4. Which of the following communities did not have their own ethnic ensemble?
a) Belgians
b) Czechs
c) Dutch
d) Lithuanians
e) Swiss
5. Which nationally renowned band leader recruited students directly out of Cass Technical High School?
a) Benny Goodman
b) Stan Kenton
c) Glenn Miller
d) Duke Ellington
6. Name two jazz musicians who went to Northwestern High School:
a) Tommy Flanagan
b) Barry Harris
c) Betty Carter
d) Sheila Jordan
e) Bennie Maupin
f) Kenny Burrell
7. Name three ethnic groups that had their own symphony orchestras in 1951:
a) Norwegians
b) Poles
c) Swedes
d) French
e) Italians
f) Germans
g) Greeks
8. How many ethnic-themed hours did WIID have on its weekly schedule?
a) 6
b) 8
c) 12
d) 20
9. Which two jazz greats started on cello in the Cass Tech orchestra?
a) Ronald Carter
b) Milt Jackson
c) Donald Byrd
d) Paul Chambers
e) Dorothy Ashby
10. Which future star was a cheerleader at Cass Tech?
a) Diana Ross
b) Lily Tomlin
c) Sheila Jordan
d) Alice Mc Leod Coltrane
11. In which year did WXYZ-TV feature Kenny Burrell on “Detroit’s Only All-Colored TV Show?”
a) 1964
b) 1953
c) 1957
d) 1960
Answers
1: d
2: c
3: c
4: c
5: b
6: c, e
7: a, b, c
8: c
9: a, d
10: b
11: b
