Question 1

True or false: The phrase 'hit the road' was a 1950s slang term for being fired from a job, not a romantic breakup.

Accepted Answer

False. 'Hit the road' means to depart generally, not specifically to be fired. The song 'Hit the Road Jack' is about a lover being told to leave, a romantic breakup.

Question 2

True or false: Ray Charles wrote 'Hit the Road Jack' himself, but it was originally a demo for another singer.

Accepted Answer

False. The song was written by Percy Mayfield, not Ray Charles. Charles loved the demo and recorded it himself, turning it into a hit.

Question 3

True or false: The female vocalist on the track, Margie Hendrix, was also a member of the Raelettes and had a child with Ray Charles.

Accepted Answer

True. Margie Hendrix was both a Raelette and Charles's lover. She gave birth to his son, and their turbulent relationship inspired the song's call-and-response anger.

Question 4

True or false: Ray Charles won a Grammy Award for his recording of 'Hit the Road Jack'.

Accepted Answer

True. Ray Charles' 'Hit the Road Jack' won the Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording at the 4th Annual Grammy Awards in 1962.

Question 5

True or false: The song was originally written as a slow blues ballad before Ray Charles sped it up into an up-tempo R&B number.

Accepted Answer

True. Percy Mayfield originally wrote it as a slow, mournful blues. Charles rearranged it with a faster tempo and brass, giving it the iconic R&B swing.

Question 6

True or false: Hit the Road Jack was banned from some radio stations in the 1960s for being too sexually suggestive.

Accepted Answer

False. The song's lyrics tell a man to leave because he's broke, not anything sexually suggestive. There's no record of any radio station banning it for that reason; it topped the charts in 1961.

Question 7

True or false: Ray Charles recorded his version of 'Hit the Road Jack' in 1961.

Accepted Answer

True. Ray Charles recorded the song in 1961, and it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Question 8

True or false: 'Hit the Road Jack' won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording in 1962.

Accepted Answer

True. Ray Charles won a Grammy for this song in 1962, cementing its influence. It also helped popularize the call-and-response style in R&B.

Hit the Road Jack Trivia Questions