When it comes to Jeopardy! topics, the Beatles are about as good as one can get, combining elements of music, pop culture and general history rich with fun facts and memorable stories.
There are lots of people in the world who might consider themselves experts on the Fab Four, especially with more and more books, movies, podcasts and other material arriving each year. To those people, we present the following challenge.
As it happens, there exists online a sprawling, searchable database of questions that have been asked on the Jeopardy! TV show over the years. Below, we’ve pulled from over 800 prompts to create a Beatles quiz for the most knowledgable of fans. The first five are from the “$200” level, as a warmup. Things will get more challenging from there, with the final five pulled from “double jeopardy” rounds.
Of course, you don’t need to know everything in order to read on — after all, there is always something new to learn about the Beatles.
1. AN URBAN LEGEND SAYS for $200: This member of the Beatles died in a car accident and was replaced with a double named William Campbell.
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ANSWER: Paul McCartney
2. STREET JOURNAL for $200: The Beatles often recorded at a studio on this street, immortalizing its crossing on an album cover.
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ANSWER: Abbey Road
3. NAME THAT BEATLES TUNE for $200: “Well, the Ukraine girls really knock me out; they leave the West behind / And Moscow girls make me sing and shout.”
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ANSWER: “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
4. THE 5th BEATLE for $200: This Beatles producer started out making comedy records with Peter Sellers.
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ANSWER: George Martin
5. ROCK “AND” ROLL for $200: The Isley Brothers and the Beatles both had hits with this song.
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ANSWER: “Twist and Shout”
Listen to the Beatles’ Version of ‘Twist and Shout’
6. BESTSELLERS for $400: Published in 2000, this book tells the history of the Beatles in their own words and pictures.
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ANSWER: The Beatles Anthology
7. SWEET 16 for $400: Billboard numbers it as the Beatles’ 16th chart album; you can’t tell anything by its cover.
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ANSWER: The White Album
8. DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB for $400: He quit as the Beatles’ bass player to become a painter in 1961.
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ANSWER: Stuart Sutcliffe
9. THE BEATLES for $400: “In Penny Lane there is” one of these “with an hourglass and in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.”
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ANSWER: A fireman
10. NONFICTION for $400: Vincent Bugliosi took the title of this 1974 book about the Manson murders from a Beatles song.
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ANSWER: Helter Skelter
READ MORE: 20 Fab Beatles Covers From 1966
11. THE 4 BEATLES for $600: At the concert for Bangladesh, George got this guitarist to chime in on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
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ANSWER: Eric Clapton
12. FASHION TRENDS for $600: The Beatles helped popularize this jacket, the original of which was worn by Indira Gandhi’s father.
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ANSWER: The Nehru jacket.
13. BEATLES LAST LINES for $600: “My baby don’t care, my baby don’t care“
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ANSWER: “Ticket to Ride“
14. GIVING YOU THE TIME OF DAY for $600: 8:01 P.M. ET Sunday, February 9, 1964
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ANSWER: The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show
15. MUSICAL QUESTIONS for $600: After posing this title question, the Beatles asked “Do you promise not to tell?”
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ANSWER: “Do You Want to Know a Secret?”
Listen to the Beatles’ ‘Do You Want a Secret?’
16. SHAKESPEARE REWRITES THE BEATLES for $800: “Wilt thou still require me, wilt thou still provide sustenance unto me, roughly midway through my 7th decade?“
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ANSWER: “When I’m Sixty-Four“
17. EX-MEMBERS OF THE BAND for $800: From 1960 to 1962 he provided the backbeat for the Beatles but in their eyes, didn’t live up to his last name.
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ANSWER: Pete Best
18. TRAVEL GERMANY for $800: You can still hear live music at this city’s Club Grosse Freiheit, where the Beatles performed when they were mere larvae.
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ANSWER: Hamburg
19. BEATLES HITS IN OTHER WORDS for $800: “One Difficult 24-Hour Period’s Evening”
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ANSWER: “A Hard Day’s Night”
20. THE BEATLES for $800: You can find “Lucy in the Sky” in a sky made of this sweet substance.
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ANSWER: Marmalade
READ MORE: The Best (and Worst) Solo Album by Every Member of the Beatles
21. HALL OF RECORDS for $1000: “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles says, “Now they know how many holes it takes to fill” this London hall.
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ANSWER: Albert Hall
22. ABBREVIATED NO. 1 HITS for $1000: The Beatles, 1970: “T.L.A.W.R.”
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ANSWER: “The Long and Winding Road“
23. MISSING BODY PARTS for $1000: The Beatles wore them: ____ boots
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ANSWER: Ankle
24. THE 4 BEATLES for $1000: Ringo had a part in this 1984 movie that Paul wrote and starred in.
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ANSWER: Give My Regards to Broad Street
25. ONE-WORD BEATLES SONG TITLES for $1000: In winter, the red-winged variety can congregate in flocks of several million.
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ANSWER: “Blackbird“
Listen to the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’
26. THE BEATLES for $1200: In 1964 it was all about “me” with the Beatles — the lads had these two No. 1 hits with “me” in the title.
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ANSWER: “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Love Me Do“
27. NATIONALITY, PLEASE for $1200: The Beatles knew it was used to make cheap furniture: ____ wood
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ANSWER: Norwegian
28. STRINGED INSTRUMENTS for $1200: This instrument first appeared on a Beatles recording when George played it on “Norwegian Wood.”
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ANSWER: Sitar
29. SIR WALTER RALEIGH for $1200: In “I’m So Tired” the Beatles curse Raleigh for his role in bringing this substance to England.
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ANSWER: Tobacco
30. ENTERTAINMENT HYPHENATES for $1200: There are four hyphens in the title of this Beatles song in which we hear Desmond say to Molly, “Girl, I like your face.”
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ANSWER: “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da“
READ MORE: Beatles Album Opening Songs Ranked From Worst to Best
31. SELF-REFERENTIAL BEATLES for $1600: “Glass Onion” begins, “I told you about” this title spot, “you know the place where nothing is real.”
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ANSWER: “Strawberry Fields“
32. PUTTIN’ OUT THE WELCOME MUTT for $1600: The Beatles’ song “Martha My Dear” was written about this British breed that the AKC says “requires diligent grooming.”
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ANSWER: Old English Sheepdog
33. THE BEATLES for $1600: Opening this 1967 song with bars from “La Marseillaise” helped accentuate its message of international unity.
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ANSWER: “All You Need Is Love“
34. HISTORIC SIGNATURE SONGS for $1600: Sen. Joseph McCarthy: “The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud” is this title Beatles guy.
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ANSWER: “The Fool on the Hill”
35. NAMES IN SONGS for $1600: In a song by the Beatles, we’re told this alliterative man likes to yell obscenities at the Queen.
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ANSWER: “Mean Mr. Mustard”
Listen to the Beatles’ ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’
36. COP ROCK for $1600: It’s no small tusk, er task, to decipher this trippy Beatles song, whose lyrics include a sighting of “Mister City P’liceman.”
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ANSWER: “I Am the Walrus”
37. IN DA CLUB for $1600: You went down 18 stone steps to enter this club, the home of the Beatles, at 10 Mathew Street in Liverpool.
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ANSWER: The Cavern Club
38. SONGS for $1600: “When it gets dark I tow your heart away,” says this Beatles song.
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ANSWER: “Lovely Rita”
39. THE BEATLE’S NON-BEATLES SONG for $1600: Three-word title of George’s song of Krishnas and hallelujahs.
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ANSWER: “My Sweet Lord“
40. THREE NAMES IN CLASSIC ROCK for $1600: Earth, Wind & Fire covered this Beatles tune that begins, “I was alone, I took a ride, I didn’t know what I would find there.”
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ANSWER: “Got to Get You Into My Life”
READ MORE: All 229 Beatles Songs Ranked Worst to Best
41. TO SIR PAUL, WITH LOVE for $2000: The Beatles won a music Oscar for this 1970 doc, but finding itself in times of trouble, the band didn’t accept in person.
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ANSWER: Let It Be
42. JOB-POURRI for $2000: An early name for the Beatles, or guys of past and present who drill and extract stone.
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ANSWER: The Quarrymen
43. THE BEATLE’S NON-BEATLES SONG for $2000: John says it’s “gonna get you.”
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ANSWER: “Instant Karma!“
44. SHAKESPEARE REWRITES THE BEATLES for $2000: “Assemble forth, all ye jesters, speak thusly…Hark! Thou must conceal thy amorousness.”
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ANSWER: “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”
45. CHARACTERS IN BEATLES SONGS for $2000: Nancy ran off with Dan, the rival of this guy from “the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota.”
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ANSWER: “Rocky Raccoon”
Listen to the Beatles’ ‘Rocky Raccoon’
46. BEATLES SONGS: Of the Beatles songs on which Ringo Starr sang lead, this one charted the highest, reaching No. 2.
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ANSWER: “Yellow Submarine“
47. THE BEATLES: Of the Beatles’ 20 US No. 1 hits, this song has the shortest title.
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ANSWER: “Help!”
48. BEATLES MUSIC: Chauffeur Alf Bicknell was the inspiration for this 1965 song.
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ANSWER: “Drive My Car“
49. ROCK & ROLL HISTORY: The name “Beatles” was inspired by the backup group of this singer.
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ANSWER: Buddy Holly (The Crickets)
50. BEATLES TUNES: It’s the Beatles’ only US No. 1 hit single whose title is the name of an actual place.
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ANSWER: “Penny Lane“
The Best Song From Every Beatles Album
Consensus can be difficult to reach on which Beatles album is best – much less which song.
Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
