14
One account of how the new band's name was chosen held that Moon and Entwistle had suggested that a supergroup with Page and Beck would go down like a "lead balloon", an idiom for disastrous results. The group dropped the 'a' in lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, so that those unfamiliar with the term would not pronounce it "leed". The ...
11
Some of them (noted in your question) are nicknames that they had before they were famous. Other times, names are changed by record execs to sound catchy. John Mellencamp was renamed John Cougar because an exec thought it sounded edgier.
Other times, it's just a matter of privacy. Musicians have been known to make up stage names so they could still ...
7
There is a list of reasons with great examples in this wikipedia article.
Various reasons include avoiding being linked to an existing celebrity (whether it's an actual family relation or not), easier pronunciations, to avoid discrimination, building a brand, or just something catchier.
5
Some sources, that seem to have all copied themselves (e.g. here or there) say:
Born Marcel Hall in Harlem USA, Biz Markie stepped onto the scene in 1985, at age fourteen, as the beat box backup for Roxanne Shanté of the “Juice Crew.” He then adopted his alias–“Biz” a name his mother used to call him because he was such a busybody and “Markie,” short for ...
5
I'd submit that short of Buddy Holly's backing band, The Beatles, Iron Butterfly and Adam and the Ants, there really weren't many insect-related band names at all. Queen had nothing to do with insects and everything to do with being grandiose, and The Bee Gee's was about being Brothers Gibb (B.G.).
Not surprisingly, there were no bands named after insects ...
5
One reason is that in some genres it's the thing to do. In both black metal and hip hop, it is rare to find artists that do not use stage names. This is likely due to that the originators of the genres started using stage names for different reasons, one of them usually being that the stage name sounds cooler than the real names.
4
Guns 'N Roses essentially fits this bill, as Axl Rose is the only original member who resurrected the band after they broke up.
4
Another take on this: some people feel that they're different on stage, and a stage name just encapsulates that feeling. For example, Hank Williams' "Luke the Drifter" alias for his religious-themed material. An example from another sphere, UK standup comedian Jenny Eclair ("Jenny" is real name, but "Eclair" is a stage name) often refers in interviews to ...
4
I disagree with Angst answer on sayCet : As you can heay on this interview video, the woman on the right prononces it merely like you would prononce it in english (with a french accent of course). And the final "t" is sounded. Another example here with a better english accent.
4
"Ocoeur" is the alias of French musician Franck Zaragoza. It is, as you point out, derived from the French "au coeur". Since there is nothing on
his biog page to indicate any other pronounciation, it is most likely pronounced as the French "au coeur".
Edit: 25th August 2020 : for 'Saycet' answer to correct/amend my own answer ...
4
Legally, band names are pretty much like... brand names (no pun intended).
First of all a technicality, names are not copyrighted, they are trademarked and can also be registered.
Legal details of course depend from country to country, but in general, like with any business, if you can show that you have been operating a business or selling a product using ...
4
This is pretty anecdotal & I have no hard references for some of the examples, however...
Usually the first one to get a recognisable hit can force or even just persuade any others to change their name. I'm not sure this is even done using lawyers, usually the other band just gives in after one letter from the record company.
This one I just "know to ...
3
When I was a kid in the 70's the year 2000 was a cliché for anything futuristic or that wanted to be seen as ahead of it's time. Innumerable books, cartoons, movies, tv shows and yes, a few bands too, had 2000 in the name.
I suppose 3000 is the new futuristic year of choice...
3
Buddy Holly and the Crickets were an influential early rock group whose careers were brought short due to a tragic plane crash. The Beatles were named partially in tribute to the Crickets.
Any other bands with similar names were likely named in tribute to one or both of these bands, given their visibility and influence. (As Johnny mentioned, however, ...
answered May 29 '15 at 19:18
Chris Sunami supports Monica
15.2k1 gold badge15 silver badges61 bronze badges
2
I managed to get a comment from El Huervo himself (which is cool in itself).
In short, he thought that it meant "wolverine", but it turned out it means nothing. Name should be pronounced in a Spanish manner.
2
I've found a bunch of different sources that say that he got the nickname Slow Hand in early 1964 from The Yardbirds’ manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, because, according to Clapton's 2007 book Clapton - The Autobiography:
On my guitar I used light-gauge guitar strings, with a very thin first string, which made it easier to bend the notes, and it was not uncommon ...
1
John Deverill, the original vocalist named it after a racehorse of the day!
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
