Can You Name These Male '70s Bands and Artists From an Image?

By: William J. Wright
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
Can You Name These Male '70s Bands and Artists From an Image?
Image: Wiki Commons by Chris Hakkens

About This Quiz

It was a decade that began with a cultural identity crisis. The optimism that had been the hallmark of the turbulent 1960s had given way to a cynicism born of tragedy. Drug abuse had claimed the lives of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. The Beatles, the guiding musical light of the decade, had broken up.

Rock music, regarded as a fad in the '50s and a vehicle for social change in the '60s had become big business by the '70s. Bombast, musical virtuosity and theatrics ruled as bands like Led Zeppelin, Queen, KISS and Pink Floyd sold out sports arenas. Popular music became performance art in the work of the visionary David Bowie, and, in a world filled with musical heroes, Alice Cooper became rock's first villain.

By the decade's close, Vietnam and Watergate were painful memories yet to be fully dealt with. People wanted to dance again and the flash and groove of disco were the perfect antidotes to what had become a downer of a decade. Meanwhile, in England and New York, art scene kids and disenfranchised youth were ready to tear it all down to the basics and start again with an emerging scene sneeringly called "punk."

Think of this quiz as your own personal time machine as we take you on a musical journey back to the decadent decade of shag carpet, custom vans and puka shell necklaces. Dig this challenge we're laying down - can you identify the male bands and artists who kept the '70s truckin'?


Bruce Springsteen
Laura bland via WikiCommons
Can you pick out the New Jersey-born rocker known by his fans as "The Boss"?
Donald Fagen
Lou Reed
Bruce Springsteen
Eddie Money
Lynyrd Skynyrd
MCA Records
Can you name the iconic Southern rock band who took their name from their hard-nosed high school gym coach?
The Marshall Tucker Band
Henry Paul Band
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Wet Willie
KISS
Casablanca Records via WikiCommons
This hard-rocking group from New York City was founded by Chaim Witz and Stanley Eisen in 1973. Can you name the "hottest band in the world"?
The Ramones
The New York Dolls
KISS
The Stooges

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The Eagles
Jigsaw Productions
Can you name the folk and country-influenced rock group founded by former members of Linda Ronstadt's backing band?
Poco
Pure Prairie League
The Eagles
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
David Bowie
RCA Records
What legendary English rocker was known as the "Thin White Duke"?
Mick Jagger
David Bowie
Gary Glitter
John Lydon
Peter Frampton
A&M Records
This former Humble Pie guitarist released one of the best-selling live albums of all time in 1976. Can you name him?
Steve Marriott
Paul Kossoff
Peter Frampton
Jeff Beck

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Bee Gees
NBC Television via WikiCommons
This vocal group rose to fame on the heels of Beatlemania in the '60s but reinvented themselves as the kings of the dancefloor in the 1970s. Who are they?
Jerry and the Pacemakers
The Hollies
Bee Gees
Rory Storm and the Hurricanes
Meat Loaf
AVRO
Can you name the popular '70s singer who was born Marvin Lee Aday?
Meat Loaf
Gino Vannelli
Steve Miller
Leo Sayer
The Clash
Helge Øverås via WikiCommons
Can you name the first generation punk group billed as "the only band that matters"?
The Clash
The Sex Pistols
The Damned
Generation X

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The Commodores
Don Cornelius Productions, Syndication
Before launching a successful solo career in the '80s, Lionel Richie was a member of this '70s soul and funk powerhouse. Can you name them?
The Commodores
Sly and the Family Stone
The Spinners
The Meters
Elton John
Heinrich Klaffs via WikiCommons
Can you name the outrageous piano man who was born Reginald Dwight?
Billy Joel
Stevie Wonder
Elton John
Leon Russell
The Jackson 5
CBS Television via WikiCommons
Which Motown recording artists had their own Saturday morning cartoon show in 1971?
The Temptations
The Four Tops
The Miracles
The Jackson 5

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Cheap Trick
Epic Records
Can you name the band from Rockford, Illinois, who first shot to stardom in Japan before finding their audience in the U.S.?
Cheap Trick
Devo
KISS
The Jackson 5
Terry Jacks
Bell Records via WikiCommons
This Canadian singer had a number one hit in 1974 with "Seasons in the Sun." Can you name him?
Terry Jacks
Warren Zevon
Loudon Wainwright III
Harry Nilsson
Aerosmith
Columbia Records
Can you name the hard rock band whose fifth album features a cover drawn by legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld?
The Who
Black Oak Arkansas
Foghat
Aerosmith

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Black Sabbath
Vertigo Records via WikiCommons
Originally known as Earth, this band from Birmingham, England, is credited by some with inventing heavy metal. Can you name them?
Blue Cheer
Steppenwolf
Black Sabbath
Jethro Tull
Queen
BBC
Can you name the British band whose 1977 album "News of the World" features a terrifying cover by sci-fi artist Kelly Freas?
The Rolling Stones
Queen
Wings
Slade
Al Green
Punt / Anefo via WikiCommons
This R&B legend, best known for his 1971 hit "Let's Stay Together," left the mainstream to become a minister and a gospel artist. Can you name him?
Bobby Womack
Barry White
Al Green
Teddy Pendergrass

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Led Zeppelin
Jim Summaria via WikiCommons
Can you name the legendary hard rock band whose untitled fourth album features four arcane symbols?
Cream
Free
Bad Company
Led Zeppelin
Ramones
Plismo via WikiCommons
This influential punk band from Forest Hills, Queens, released their first album in 1976. Can you name them?
Talking Heads
Dead Boys
Television
Ramones
Billy Joel
BBC2
Can you name the popular singer-songwriter who was in a psychedelic heavy metal band called Attila before going solo?
Billy Joel
James Taylor
Gordon Lightfoot
Dan Fogelberg

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Alice Cooper
Hunter Desportes via WikiCommons
This shock rocker has said that his group was the band "that drove a stake through the heart of the peace and love generation." Can you name him?
Ozzy Osbourne
Alice Cooper
Screamin' Lord Sutch
Frank Zappa
Earth, Wind and Fire
Chris Hakkens via Wiki Commons
This innovative R&B group got its name from the zodiac. Can you name them?
Rare Earth
Jefferson Starship
Earth, Wind & Fire
Hawkwind
The Osmonds
MGM Records via WikiCommons
Can you name the bubblegum pop group that recorded an environmentally aware hard rock song in 1972?
The DeFranco Family
The Partridge Family
The Cowsills
The Osmonds

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Leif Garrett
ABC
This child star turned teen idol had a string of hits with covers of '50s and early '60s pop songs. Can you name him?
Leif Garrett
David Cassidy
Shaun Cassidy
Andy Gibb
Boston
Premier Talent Associates via WikiCommons
Can you name the popular '70s band founded by an engineer with a degree from MIT?
Aerosmith
Queen
Nazareth
Boston
The Sex Pistols
Koen Suyk via WikiCommons
Can you name the British punk band who crashed Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee by boat?
Generation X
Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Clash
The Sex Pistols

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The Misfits
Misfits Records
This New Jersey punk group known for incorporating classic horror and sci-fi imagery into their songs are considered pioneers of hardcore. Can you name the band?
The Undead
Rosemary's Babies
Mourning Noise
The Misfits
Blue Öyster Cult
Eric Meola, Columbia Records via WikiCommons
Can you name the hard rock outfit from the 1970s who first hit the stage as Soft White Underbelly?
Aerosmith
Black Oak Arkansas
Blue Öyster Cult
Amboy Dukes
Klaatu
CBC Television
Can you name the Canadian band formed in 1973 who were falsely rumored to be a reunited Beatles?
Badfinger
Elephant's Memory
The Quarrymen
Klaatu

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Pink Floyd
Capitol Records via Wiki Commons
Can you name the psychedelic British rock act whose concerts often included flying a giant, inflatable pig over the audience?
Soft Machine
Genesis
Yes
Pink Floyd
Deep Purple
Warner Bros. Records via Wiki Commons
What band is responsible for the iconic riff that is a rite of passage for nearly every beginning guitarist?
Grand Funk Railroad
Kansas
Deep Purple
Mahogany Rush
Bay City Rollers
Rob Bogaerts (ANEFO) via WikiCommons
Can you name the Scottish pop band whose fans were known as the Tartan Horde?
Thin Lizzy
Pilot
Silk
Bay City Rollers

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Nick Lowe
AVRO
Actual footage from his wedding appears in the promo clip for this power pop singer's 1979 hit "Cruel to Be Kind." Can you name this English musician?
Elvis Costello
Andy Partridge
Nick Lowe
Gilbert O'Sullivan
The New York Dolls
AVRO via Wiki Commons
Can you name the influential New York band that fused glam looks with hard rock attitude in a style that was a precursor to punk?
The Velvet Underground
Richard Hell and the Voidoids
The New York Dolls
MC5
Johnny Winter
Bob Sanderson via Wiki Commons
Who was the famous Texas guitarist who produced a Grammy-winning album for blues legend Muddy Waters in the late 1970s?
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Jeff Back
Eric Clapton
Johnny Winter

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Terry Reid
Dina Regine via Wiki Commons
Can you name the British musician who was the first choice for vocalist in the band that would become Led Zeppelin?
Robert Plant
Paul Rodgers
Peter Green
Terry Reid
Paul Williams
A&M Records via Wiki Commons
This diminutive songwriter penned hits for The Carpenters and Three Dog Night and also appeared in the films "Phantom of the Paradise" and "Battle for the Planet of the Apes." Can you name him?
Burt Bacharach
Bernie Taupin
Jim Steinman
Paul Williams
The Ohio Players
AVRO
According to urban legend, this band's 1975 hit contains the scream of a murder victim. Can you name this notorious funk and R&B outfit?
Graham Central Station
The Ohio Players
Kool and the Gang
Funkadelic

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Don McLean
Herbert S. Gart via WikiCommons
Can you name the singer-songwriter who had a hit with a ballad about artist Vincent van Gogh?
Jim Croce
Paul Simon
Harry Chapin
Don McLean