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John Peel OBE, 1939 - 2004
"Gettin' a Handle on Those Monikers" |
| There are so
many blues artists that had nicknames or had adopted alternate names that I thought it would be
interesting to list some of them and identify where their nicknames came
from. Here is the initial list which I'll be adding to over time.
Enjoy! Whilst I have taken every care to ensure details are
correct, you may spot a mistake, or have a different interpretation of the
origins of a name, or have some new material. If you do, please let me know, including the
source if appropriate,
and I will update the details as soon as I can.
|
| Kokomo Arnold | Real Name: James Arnold |
| Born: Lovejoys Station, GA, 1901 | Died: Chicago, IL, 1968 |
| "Kokomo" was a popular brand of coffee in the early 20th century, and was the subject of Scrapper Blackwell's first recorded blues in 1928. When James Arnold revamped this number as "Old Original Kokomo Blues" in 1934, the name stuck - Kokomo Arnold. | |
| Barbeque Bob | Real Name: Robert Hicks |
| Born: Walnut Grove, Georgia, 1902 | Died: Lithonia, GA, 1931 |
| Columbia Records' talent scout, Don Hornsby, gave Robert the nickname Barbeque Bob, as his day job was as a chef in a barbeque restaurant. | |
| Scrapper Blackwell | Real Name: Francis Hillman Blackwell |
| Born: Syracuse, NC, 1903 | Died: Indianapolis, IN, 1962 |
| Nicknamed for his hot temper! | |
| Buckwheat Zydeco | Real Name: Stanley Dural Jr. |
| Born: Lafayette, LA, 1947 | |
| As a youngster, Stanley had braided hair, and he soon acquired the nickname "Buckwheat", after an 'Our Gang' character). Whilst he grew up listening to Zydeco, he originally preferred R&B and performed in bands playing the latter for many years. It was after being recruited to back Clifton Chenier on tour that he fell for Zydeco, soon forming his own Zydeco combo, playing the accordion and re-christening himself "Buckwheat Zydeco". | |
| Bo Carter | Real Name: Armenter Chatmon |
| Born: Bolton, MS, 1893 | Died: Memphis, TN, 1964 |
| Although he recorded mostly as 'Bo Carter' (his stepfather's name) he was also known as 'Bo Chatman'. | |
| Ida Cox | Maiden Name: Ida Prather |
| Born: Toccoa, GA, 1896 | Died: Knoxville, TN, 1967 |
|
Married fellow
minstral player Adler Cox. |
|
| Catfish Keith | Real Name: Keith Daniel Kozachik |
| Born: East Chicago, IL, 1962 | |
| Nicknamed by a West Indian lobster diving partner who, after seeing him swim, dubbed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around" and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man". | |
| Cow Cow Davenport | Real Name: Charles Edward Davenport |
| Born: Anniston, AL, 1894 | Died: Cleveland, OH, 1955 |
| Named after his signature tune 'Cow Cow Blues', originally recorded with Dora Carr in 1925. | |
| David Honeyboy Edwards | Real Name: David Edwards |
| Born: Shaw, MS, 1915 | |
|
Nicknamed 'Honey' as a small baby by his mother Pearl Edwards, and for
many year known as 'Honey' by his close family, he took the name 'Honeyboy'
when he started recording.
|
|
| Blind Boy Fuller | Real Name: Fulton Allen |
| Born: Wadesboro, NC, 1907 | Died: Durham, NC, 1941 |
| Named by James Baxter Long, a talent scout for the American Recording Company (ARC), to help promote his recording of 'Rag Mama Rag'. | |
| Homesick James | Real Name: John (James) William Henderson |
| Born: Somerville, TN, 1910 (or 1914!) | Died: 2007 |
| 'Call me Homesick' he was heard to say when travelling. He was often called 'Lookquick' in the early days as well. | |
| Lightnin' Hopkins | Real Name: Sam Hopkins |
| Born: Centerville, TN, 1912 | Died: Houston, TX, 1982 |
| Named by Miss Lola Anne Collum, of the Artist Recording Company (ARC). | |
| Howlin' Wolf | Real Name: Chester Arthur Burnett |
| Born: West Point, near Tupelo, MS, 1910 | Died: Hines, IL, 1976 |
| The
name Howlin' Wolf came from a record by Funny Papa Smith "I'm the wolf that digs
my tail down in the ground". I want everybody the hear me when I howl".
Howlin' Wolf liked the song and wanted to call himself.... The Howlin'
Wolf. His parents named him 'Chester Arthur' after Chester Arthur,
the 21st president of the United States.
|
|
| Papa Charlie Jackson | Real Name:
Charlie Carter? or William Henry Jackson? |
| Born: New Orleans, LA, 1885 | Died: Chicago, IL, 1938(?) |
| Name origin Unknown | |
| Skip James | Real Name: Nehemiah Curtis James |
| Born: Yazoo City, MS, 1902 | Died: Philadelphia, 1969 |
| Originally called 'Son' James, then 'Skippy' and finally 'Skip', he once remarked "I never was in anything too long or deep: that's why I reckon they called me 'Skip'". | |
| Frankie 'Half Pint' Jaxon | Real Name: Frankie Jaxon |
| Born: 1897 | Died: 1953 |
| Nicknamed for his 5' 2" stature! | |
| Furry Lewis | Real Name: Walter Lewis |
| Born: Greenwood, MS, 1899 | Died: 1981 |
| Nicknamed as a child | |
| Louisiana Red | Real Name: Iverson Minter |
| Born: Bessemer, AL, 1932 | Died: 2012 |
|
He recorded under various pseudonyms including Rocky Fuller, Playboy Fuller, Cryin’ Red, Rockin’ Red and Walkin’ Slim before settling on "Louisiana Red," a nickname derived from his love of Louisiana hot sauce. The Rocky Fuller moniker came from Muddy Waters, who took Red under his wing during his first recording session in 1952.
|
|
| Muddy Waters | Real Name: McKinley A. Morganfield |
| Born: Issaquena County, MS, 1915 | Died: Westmont, IL, 1983 |
|
'Renamed' Muddy as a small child by his maternal grandmother, Della
Grant, who raised him from the age of three after his mother died - he
was always playing in mud around her sharecroppers shack home at Stovall
Farms plantation, Clarksdale. He later changed it to "Muddy Water" when
he was establishing himself as a performer, and finally "Muddy Waters"
when he had moved to Chicago in 1943.
|
|
| Robert Nighthawk (also recorded as Robert Lee McCoy and Lee McCoy) | Real Name: Robert Lee McCollum |
| Born: 1909 | Died: 1967 |
 Named 'Nighthawk' after he recorded "Prowlin' Nighthawk" at Victor's
studio, Aurora , Illinois in 1937. McCoy was his mother's maiden name. |
|
| Pinetop Perkins | Real Name: Joe Willie Perkins |
| Born: Belzoni, MS, 1913 | Died: Austin, Texas, 2011 |
 Named after one of his songs 'Pinetop's Boogie Woogie', written by
Pinetop Smith who originally recorded it in 1928. |
|
| Speckled Red | Real Name: Rufus G. Perryman |
| Born: Monroe, LA, 1892 | Died: St Louis, MO, 1973 |
 Nickname derived from being an albino. |
|
| Sunnyland Slim | Real Name: Albert Luandrew |
| Born: Vance, MS, 1907 | Died: 1995 |
 Sunnyland got
his name from playing "The Sunnyland Blues"; a tune about the Sunnyland
train that didn't have its own track, but used to run over the Frisco
line. |
|
| Sister Rosetta Tharpe | Real Name: Rosa Etta Bell Nuben |
| Born: Cotton Plant, AR, 20 Mar 1915 | Died: Philadelphia, PA, 9 October 1973 |
 Rosetta
had many names in her early years: Rosa, Rosie Etta, Rosabell and
Rosetta. As was common in those days, there was no birth certificate.
She married Church of God In Christ (COGIC) preacher Thomas J. Tharpe in
Chicago on 17 November 1934, hence taking the name 'Tharpe'. Rosetta's
name on the official marriage licence was: Rosa Etta Bell Nuben.Source: 'Shout Sister Shout' by Gayle F. Ward, Beacon Press, Boston, published 2007. |
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