'Jeopardy!' contestant confuses Bob Dylan, Billy Joel
A "Jeopardy!' contestant on Monday's episode thought Bob Dylan, left, wrote the Billy Joel song "Piano Man." Credit: Composite: AP / Chris Pizzello; Invision / AP / Evan Agostini
Billy Joel and Bob Dylan may be two of the most instrumental singer-songwriters in the history of popular music, but Monday's "Jeopardy!" contestants seemed to have no clue just what those instruments are.
Contestants Mira Hayward, Jeff Paine and Kendra Westerhaus struggled with the $200 clue, arguably the easiest, in the category "Bob Dylan Lyrics." "Hey, 'this guy,' play a song for me, I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to," read "Jeopardy!" host Ken Jennings when the clue was revealed.
Hayward rang in first with the incorrect response "Who is Piano Man?" referring to the 1973 classic by Hicksville native Joel. Westerhaus then buzzed in with "Who is Joe?" a nod to Jimi Hendrix's "Hey, Joe," to which Jennings replied "no." Paine wisely didn't venture a guess. Jennings then said "We had some Jimi Hendrix, Billy Joel confusion … this is 'Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man.' "
Social media naturally was abuzz with comments from viewers who were stunned at the wrong responses. "Imagine going through life thinking Piano Man was a Dylan song. Sad," wrote one poster on Twitter.
Another tweeted, "Another great pop culture reference wasted on the youth."
Someone else simply tweeted, "PAIN."
This is not the first time in the past two years when younger "Jeopardy!" contestants have been taken to task for their lack of knowledge about older celebrities. In a November 2021 episode, none of the contestants recognized actor-turned-Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly when an image of her appeared on-screen.
And on two occasions last year, contestants incorrectly responded to clues about Diana Ross' age. In a March episode, someone responded with Ross' name rather than Tony Bennett's to the clue: “In 2021 at age 95, this singer achieved a Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material.” Four months later, 23-year-old contestant Jake Marvin said "What is 90?" instead of "What is 78?" to the Daily Double clue “Your standard phonograph record until the 1950s, or the age Diana Ross turned in 2022."
