In a recent issue of Guitar World, the cover invited you to test your knowledge in the ultimate guitar quiz, 666 questions in all. With the imminent release of the next Guitar Hero game, and this current ish of Guitar World, it made me think of what could be some cool, fun, trivia for the readers of Tom’s who are also rockers.

If you’ve been to a Guitar Center lately, you may have seen an exact replica that’s been made of Eddie Van Halen’s famous red and white striped guitar, known as the “Frankenstein” because it was cobbled together from spare parts. The replica is going for $25,000 (!), but did you Ed bought the original neck and body for $80.00? Did you also know he painted his home made guitars with Schwinn bicycle acrylic lacquer (several coats per guitar)? He also kept the frets from popping out with Krazy Glue.

Steve Lukather, the reknowned guitarist for Toto and top studio musician in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, has played with everyone from Paul McCartney, to Michael Jackson at his peak with Thriller, to Don Henley. Lukather thought he could play with anyone, but what was the one gig he had a tough time accepting (an album by Richard Simmons). Speaking of high profile sessions, you’ve certainly heard the great guitar solo Eddie Van Halen laid down on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” (that’s Lukather on rhythm guitar). Do you know how much money Ed made from playing on that album? Zero, he did it for free.

James Hetfield is one of the best riff masters in metal, but initially he just wanted to concentrate on guitar and songwriting. Do you know who was asked to join Metallica twice as a singer, and turned the gig down twice? John Bush, who sang for Anthrax and L.A. metal mavens Armored Saint. For more Metallica trivia, did you ever hear that the ominous bell at the beginning of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is reputedly a door bell? You may probably also know that Les Claypool from Primus auditioned for Metallica as Cliff Burton's replacement, but didn't get the gig because he was too...funky, and the band was stumped when he showed up to jam and asked if they knew any Isley Brothers tunes.

Here's one I've always wanted to know: Has anyone ever figured out how many times Stairway to Heaven has been played on the radio? It would be interesting to find out how much dough Zeppelin made just off that song's royalties. It's also hard to believe considering how much you hear it on classic rock radio, but did you know at the band's insistence it was never released as a single?

Here’s one for the film buffs: Did you know master poster artist Drew Struzan, who gave us the incredible art for the Star Wars campaigns, also painted the cover of Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare (Cooper posed for the cover in Struzan’s living room).

For the drummers out there, according to an article on Led Zeppelin in Vanity Fair, John Bonham’s drum solos were getting so long, Jimmy Page once had enough time to go to the hotel and back while Bonham played on and on. One time when Iron Maiden were playing their thirteen minute epic Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner in concert, two of the members of Motley Crue came out onstage, set up a table, and started playing cards while the band played on and on. Did you know Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner was a favorite song for D.J.s at the legendary L.A. metal station KNAC to put on when they wanted to sneak out and smoke a joint? (For rock stations in the ‘70’s, the sneak out and get stoned classic for DJs was Freebird)

And do you know the punchlines to these musician jokes? How many guitar players does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Ten, one to screw it in, nine to stand around with their arms crossed saying, “I can do that.” How many lead singers does it take to screw in a light bulb? The lead singer doesn’t screw it in, he puts the bulb in the socket and the world revolves around him. And of course, how many rock journalists does it take to screw in a light bulb? Ten, one to screw it in, nine on the guest list.

If playing Guitar Hero inspires you to pick up the real thing, make sure to pick up Guitar World magazine as well, and put your rock I.Q. to the test.