A Brief History
Leon Russell was born on April 2, 1942 as Claude Russell Bridges. He is but one of a number of rock and rollers to have changed their names! This article celebrates thirteen great performances in rock and roll history by stars who changed their names!
Digging Deeper
13. Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz)
12. Freddy Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara)
11. Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian)
10. Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges)
9. Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey)
8. Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone)
7. Conway Twitty (born Harold Lloyd Jenkins)
6. Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier)
5. Marilyn Manson (born Brian Hugh Warner)
4. David Bowie (born David Robert Jones)
3. Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta)
2. Lana Del Rey (born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, aka Lizzy Grant, Lana Ry Del Mar, May Jailer, and of course, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen)
1. Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans)
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Shelley, Bob. Simple Steps to Legally Change Your Name: Plus The Real Names of more than 3000 All-Time Celebrities. 2013.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1660 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1660">13 Comments
I found this article to be interesting because I always wondered if artists changed there names.
I always enjoyed hearing the original names of celebrities.
Farrokh Mercury doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.
I knew prior to this a lot of musicians changed there name; but it is interesting to see how different and how similar their stage names are from their real names.
Always interesting to think about why they chose the names they did, especially the ones that are way far off from their real names. Very cool.
I’ve always found it interesting to find out musicians real names. Especially the ones who have regular names as their stage names like Gene Simmons.
I find it interesting that a lot of people change their names like that. I have always wondered how they came up with weird names like Lady Gaga.
sorry I don’t do Rock and Roll of this type.
I can understand why these people changed their names. I guess their original names were just not cool enough for rock and roll.
I sometimes wonder how/why people think of names to call themselves. Do they think that they need to sound more appealing to the viewers, or just a name easier to remember?
I suppose changing their name makes them more memorable. Many of those names are quite long and if they have a catchier name than the one their born with it make them more likable.
My father went to high school with Marilyn Manson. It always cracked me up that his name was Brian.
I didn’t know that Madonna’s real first name was in fact “Madonna.”