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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What magazine had an article "measuring Richard Manuel for a straight-jacket" (62)?
(a) Time.
(b) The New Yorker.
(c) Playboy.
(d) Rolling Stones.

2. In "The Band," what does Marcus point to as the reason that The Band had the influences of many different bands and yet had an original sound?
(a) They were musical geniuses.
(b) They were inheritors of rock 'n' roll.
(c) They stole from the best and pieced it together.
(d) They studied under many different bands.

3. Why does Marcus believe it is important to study the stories of some performers even if the book does not encompass everything?
(a) It is fun.
(b) It is a glimpse of the future.
(c) The story matters.
(d) The truth needs to be told.

4. What author does Marcus quote in the beginning of "Robert Johnson -1938" to illustrate the promise of American life?
(a) Robert Johnson.
(b) Norman Mailer.
(c) Herman Melville.
(d) F. Scott Fitzgerald.

5. Who said "I learned the words to Little Richard's songs the best I could and what I couldn't figure out didn't matter"?
(a) Bob Dylan.
(b) Ronnie Hawkins.
(c) Bo Diddley.
(d) Robbie Robertson.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who said "If you have a mother-in-law with only one eye, and that eye is in the middle of her forehead, you don't keep her in the living room"?

2. What book is being discussed on the television show sketch used in the Prologue?

3. How does Marcus define a band in "The Band"?

4. In "The Band," what problem does Marcus reveal about The Band's sense of community?

5. How did Harmonica Frank get his name?

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast Harmonica Frank and Robert Johnson in terms of style. Use details from both "Harmonica Frank - 1951" and "Robert Johnson -1938." How are the two styles similar? What about the lyrics are different?

2. According to Marcus in "Harmonica Frank -1951," why would Lyndon Johnson and Harmonica Frank get along?

3. What type of music was Sam Phillips attempting to find and why?

4. In the section entitled "The Weight" in "The Band," what does Dominique Robertson have to say about living in Woodstock? What does this say about community?

5. In "The Band," what happens when the Band plays in San Francisco after releasing their first two albums?

6. What is the relationship between the rock 'n' roll artist and audience according to Greil Marcus in the prologue?

7. How does Greil Marcus define "artist" in the prologue?

8. According to Marcus in the introduction to "The Band," what message did The Band send to its audience?

9. In "The Band," why do the other members of the Band become known as Robbie Robertson's foil?

10. Marcus analyzes Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway" in "Robert Johnson -1938." What is the song about and what are the tools that Johnson uses to create the mood?

(see the answer keys)

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