There is a quantity of motives why an artist may well possibly pick to do the job below a pseudonym.

For a single specific factor, it actually is a rather quick way to preserve away from contractual or authorized conflicts, as effectively as drama in among competing record labels. Elton John, for instance, utilised the pseudonym Rockaday Johnnie for his contributions to a single specific of Jackson Browne’s music, “Redneck Mate,” mostly due to the fact at that challenge, he failed to nonetheless have a permit to function in The us.

Or sometimes, it actually is about proving that a extremely fantastic music is a fantastic music, no matter how effectively-identified of a individual wrote it. That’s what Paul McCartney was aiming for in 1965 when he gave the English pop duo Peter and Gordon a song he’d published referred to as “Female,” below the challenge that they credit rating him as the created-up Bernard Webb.

Read Extra: 36 Tracks That Were getting Available or Supposed for Other Artists

“I was a bit aggravated that nearly anything by Lennon-McCartney was staying a hit, significantly by Peter and Gordon,” he later defined. “I never know, I just acquired an assault of morals or anything, but I felt it was a bit a great deal that mechanically having our title on anything made it do perfectly, and I needed to see if I could get around it. So I requested our songs publisher, Dick James, if I could use a pseudonym.

“He was a bit jittery – ‘It sells significantly superior if your name’s on it!’ – so I stated ‘Yes but Dick, appear, you have got all that funds, you have obtained ‘Yesterday,’ we are accomplishing wonderful, I absolutely am eager on viewing this take spot,’ so he gave in. Bernard Webb was the name I chose, and the amazing factor was that quickly proper right after that we went on tour to The usa and somebody was maintaining up a large signal declaring ‘Long are living Bernard Webb!’ I did not genuinely thoughts when people today now situated out.”

In the under gallery, we’re taking a search at 16 rock artists and their respective pseudonyms. It’s possible you’ve heard tunes by some of your most loved folks and not acknowledged it this whole time…