Composers and Songwriters

Question: Which of these musical groups wrote the first "rock opera"?

Answer: The Who’s Tommy (1969) is generally credited as the first of the "rock opera" genre, in which the conventions of classical opera are adapted to a rock-and-roll format.

Question: Who wrote "This Land Is Your Land"?

Answer: Woody Guthrie, the folk singer and political activist, wrote the song "This Land Is Your Land," as well as many other folk standards.

Question: Who wrote the song "I Am the Walrus"?

Answer: John Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus" and recorded it with the Beatles. Paul McCartney helped compose the music.

Question: Who wrote the song "Satisfaction"?

Answer: Mick Jagger wrote "Satisfaction" and recorded it with the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards helped compose the music.

Question: Who wrote Peer Gynt?

Answer: Edvard Grieg wrote the music for Peer Gynt, Henrik Ibsen’s poetic drama, at Ibsen’s invitation.

Question: Who composed "The Way We Were"?

Answer: Marvin Hamlisch, a renowned songwriter, wrote "The Way We Were" for the film of that name in 1973. It has been recorded hundreds of times since.

Question: Who wrote the hit song "Fingertips, Part 2"?

Answer: Stevie Wonder’s third single, "Fingertips, Part 2," hit number one in the United States on both the pop and rhythm and blues charts in 1963.

Question: Who wrote, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun"?

Answer: Although it sounds like something Rudyard Kipling would say, Noel Coward wrote a song with the line "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun."

Question: Who composed The Magic Flute?

Answer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote The Magic Flute and several other operas.

Question: Who wrote "Camptown Races" and "Oh! Susanna"?

Answer: Stephen Foster, the 19th-century American composer, wrote "Camptown Races," "Oh! Susanna," and many other songs that still we know today.