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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What literary figure does Marcus allude to in "Sly Stone" when identifying how Sly speaks in the music?
(a) Ahab.
(b) Frodo.
(c) Starbuck.
(d) Golem.

2. What did Seale attempt to use as a political threat?
(a) Peaceful marches.
(b) The judicial system.
(c) Criminal violence.
(d) Petitions.

3. What single did Sly release that was the "most optimistic of all"?
(a) "Everybody is a Star."
(b) "Riot."
(c) "Stand!"
(d) "Dance to the Music."

4. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," what is the spirit behind Riot?
(a) White self-criticism.
(b) Black self-criticism.
(c) American pride.
(d) African pride.

5. To which historical figure does Marcus compare Elvis?
(a) Stevie Wonder.
(b) Richard Nixon.
(c) Abraham Lincoln.
(d) Ralph Waldo Emerson.

6. How many people came to see Elvis open a shopping center after he produced only one record?
(a) 3,000.
(b) 30.
(c) 10,000.
(d) 100.

7. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," what two words make the song "Poet" poetry?
(a) Grinnin and chasin.
(b) Run and stop.
(c) Devil and bullets.
(d) Begin and start.

8. In "Elvis," what song does Marcus use to illustrate the work Elvis puts into his music?
(a) "Hound Dog."
(b) "Milkcow Blues Boogie."
(c) "Good Rockin."
(d) "Boy Who Stole the Blues."

9. What did RCA first present Elvis as?
(a) A country singer.
(b) A hillbilly.
(c) The boy next door.
(d) A folksinger.

10. What song by Randy Newman was a satire on bigotry?
(a) "Short People."
(b) "Suzanne."
(c) "God's Song."
(d) "Davy the Fat Boy."

11. From whom does Marcus quote in the beginning to introduce the myth of Staggerlee in "Sly Stone"?
(a) Bobby Seale.
(b) James Brown.
(c) Billy Lyon.
(d) Sly Stone.

12. Why was Newman's choice of voice "dangerous"?
(a) Audiences are too literal.
(b) It was confusing.
(c) Audiences are too critical.
(d) It alienated people.

13. In "Elvis," what song does Elvis make his own by changing the story from hopelessness to hope?
(a) "Hound Dog. "
(b) "Pink Cadillac."
(c) "Baby Let's Play House."
(d) "Mystery Train."

14. According to Marcus in "Randy Newman," whose song was Randy Newman answering in his version of "Suzanne"?
(a) The Beatles.
(b) The Beach Boys.
(c) Robert Johnson.
(d) Leonard Cohen.

15. Who wrote "Papa Was a Rolling Stone?'
(a) Sly Stone.
(b) Jimmy Hendrix.
(c) Bob Dylan.
(d) The Temptations.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," what is pop culture by definition?

2. What political group does Marcus compare to Sly Stone's music in "Sly Stone"?

3. Who wrote "obviously, it is easier to kill than to create" (95)?

4. What was the original name of the style that Elvis sang?

5. Who said "if I couldn't perform I'd give up . . . It's not a question of the money side of it. . . not having that ninety minutes up there anymore. Phew. I don't like to think about it"?

(see the answer keys)

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