Chords for How 7 Famous Guitarists Got Their Stage Names
Tempo:
108.5 bpm
Chords used:
C
Eb
Ab
Bb
F
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
The power of a name can't be understated, and certain names just scream superstar.
Frank Zappa, [F] Johnny Cash, Randy Rhoads.
[A] But for every one of those, [F] you also come [C] across a Reginald Dwight or a Farouk [G] Balsar
who end up adopting a moniker that conveys a little [C] more rock and roll [A] attitude.
Today we're [Am] looking at how 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
[C] Let's dive in.
There's one [Cm] guitarist who above [Em] all embodies the [F] rockstar image.
Tattoos, low strung Les [Am] Paul, cigarette hanging from his mouth, a [C] mop of hair contained by
a top [G] hat, you know him as Slash.
A name that was given to Saul [F] Hudson by famed [C] character actor Seymour Castle.
One of those actors who's played [Am] countless small parts, but [G] you never know his name.
As a young teen growing [C] up in LA, Saul became [F] friends with the actor's son Matt Castle.
The artist, soon to be [C] known as Slash, found himself in numerous parties hosted by [G] Matt's
semi-famous father.
He would mingle with actors, porn [C] stars, even once meeting the [G] Rolling Stones at one of
[F] Seymour's get-togethers.
Basically living out the dream of every high schooler [C] in existence.
Well one day Slash was zipping around the house when [F] Seymour said,
Hey Slash, where you going?
Where you going Slash, huh?
[C] Well the name stuck and years later Seymour explained why he came up with [Gm] it.
[G] Apparently the name embodied the fact that Slash was always [C] running around from one scheme
to the next.
Quick, sharp, to the point, there one second, gone the next, quick Slash.
Darryl Abbott wasn't always known as Dimebag [F] Darryl.
In fact his first stage name was Diamond Darryl Lance.
A huge fan of [G] Van Halen, this moniker [C] was an ode to lead [G] singer [A] David Lee Roth, [G] aka Diamond Dave.
The exact details as to how [E] Diamond Darryl became [F] Dimebag are a little fuzzy.
What we do know is that the name Diamond [C] Darryl was a little too glam rock for the sound that
Pantera was [F] becoming known for.
On top of that, Darryl Abbott had an [C] affinity for smoking pot, which will often be sold
in a small [G] 1 gram bag retailing for $10 [B] a dime bag.
[C] I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've always thought that the name Prince was a made up stage name.
Well it turns out [Am] Prince's given name was Prince Rogers Nelson.
So that's not [A] overly interesting.
What [F] is interesting is the origins of the name that Prince went by from 1993 to [C] 2000.
Prince and [G] his record label Warner Brothers had a strained relationship at best [C] in the early 90s.
Prince had [Am] over 500 songs recorded and [G] he wanted to release them, whereas Warner Brothers
wanted him to do a [C] more traditional album cycle, releasing an album every couple years
and a [Eb] tour to support it.
[Ebm] Feeling stifled, Prince would protest his contractual entrapment writing Slave on his
cheek when he performed [Eb] live.
As the ultimate middle finger to Warner [Ebm] Brothers, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable
love symbol [Am] in 1993.
This [Abm] proved to be a marketing nightmare [B] for the label and the press, who [Ab] began to refer
to Prince as [Eb] the artist formerly known as Prince.
The new name slash icon merged the traditional male [D] and female [B] symbols, epitomizing gender
[Ebm] fluidity, also making a pretty awesome guitar design.
When Prince's [B] contractual obligations to Warner Brothers ended in 2000, he went back
to his old name.
The artist formerly [B] known as Prince became the artist [Ebm] formerly known as the artist formerly
known as Prince.
You know him as the [B] guitarist for the group U2, The Edge was given the [Bb] name David Evans at birth.
The young Dave was [Ebm] a quiet but highly intelligent child, aspiring to become a doctor [Bb] or an engineer.
His childhood friend Paul [Ebm] Hewson, aka Bono, had dubbed him with the name Inchicore after
a small suburb outside [Abm] of Dublin, a name that Dave wasn't overly fond of.
The exact origins of the name The Edge are disputed, but it's thought that he was given
the name for his sharp facial features as well [Bb] as his sharp [B] mind.
More than happy to shed his old nickname, [Ebm] Dave embraced The Edge.
Once you get past the KFC [B] container on Brian Carroll's head, you can appreciate what [Ebm] a
phenomenal guitarist Buckethead truly is.
So where did this name come from?
Well according to [Ebm] a rare interview done with the masked six stringer, he [B] was raised in
a chicken coop by chickens.
One [Bb] day the birds turned on him, scratching and pecking [Ebm] apart his face, causing him to
[Dm] wear the Michael Myers mask he has [Bb] become synonymous with.
As for the [Eb] KFC bucket, it's an homage [Ab] to all the chickens who [Bbm] were fried for food.
[Eb] Apparently he channels their souls through his playing.
There's also another explanation he [Bb] once offered.
He was [Ab] watching the film [Bb] Halloween 4, eating chicken, and was inspired to buy a [C] mask just
like the one [Eb] worn by the film's [Ab] antagonist.
According to [Fm] Buckethead in a 1996 Guitar World magazine,
[Ab] [Eb]
[Ab] [Bb]
[C] So, [Bb]
uh, you decide [Ab] which one you believe to be [Bb] true.
Johnny Ramone's stage [Eb] name can be traced back to the former bassist of the Fab Four,
Paul McCartney.
While on [Ab] the road in 1960 with a [Bb] band called The Silver [Eb] Beatles, soon to be known as simply
The Beatles, the group decided to [Ab] jazz it up a little bit and [Fm] adopt showbiz names.
Paul McCartney picked [Eb] the name Paul Ramone because it sounded cool and exotic.
Well fast forward to [Ab] 1974, and [Fm] a young punk rock group comprised of Douglas Colvin, [Bb] John
Cummings, and Jeff Hyman is [Db] in its infancy.
Doug decides [Ab] to adopt the stage name D.D.
[Eb] Ramone as an homage [F] to Paul's nickname in [Ab] The Silver Beatles.
The band [Eb] chooses to name themselves The Ramones, each [Ab] member adopting the last name.
[Eb] And last on our list is heavy [C] metal legend known for his work [Ab] with the Prince of Darkness
as well [Bb] as Black Label Society, [Eb] Jeffrey Weiland, also known as Zach Weiland.
Zach [Ab] was the third guitarist to [Bb] play in [Ebm] Ozzy's solo band, preceded by the [Cm] legendary Randy
Rhodes and [Eb] Jakey Lee.
When Jeff joined the band, Ozzy told him [Ab] that he needed to come [Bb] up with a stage name.
One night the [Gb] guitarist was [C] stressing over this as he watched [F] music videos when the [Fm] popular
singer Kim Wilde came on.
Jeff was enamored by [Ebm] her beauty.
His exact words are a little more colourful.
So the next [Ab] day at rehearsal, Ozzy Osbourne [Eb] asks him what his stage name is going to be.
[Bb] Partially inspired by his own last name Weiland, [Bbm] he says Zach [Eb] Wilde like his sister Kim.
[Bb] The name Zach being a [Ab] shout out to the TV show [Bbm] Lost in Space which [Eb] had a character named
Dr.
[B] Zachary Smith.
[Abm] It's all spelled wrong because [E] it looks cooler.
And if you think Zach Wilde has a cool name, you should see what he [A] named his kids.
There [B] you have it, how [E] 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
I hope [A] you enjoyed this video.
I'm going to take a second to recommend two amazing rock and roll bios, both of which
I'll link to down in the description.
[E] The first is Slash's autobiography, Truly a Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.
I'm about halfway through it and I'm loving it.
The second is Anthony Kiedis' Scar Tissue, a must read I've [E] personally flipped through
about 4 times.
This man has lived.
If you like these kind of musical facts, check them out, [B] why not hear it from the horse's mouth.
Thank you all for watching and a big [E] thank you to everyone who supports my channel through Patreon.
[B] You guys make these videos possible and I'll forever be [E] grateful.
I'm SamuraiGuitarist and if you dig around my videos for a bit you can find out why I
went with that name.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll [G] see you again
Frank Zappa, [F] Johnny Cash, Randy Rhoads.
[A] But for every one of those, [F] you also come [C] across a Reginald Dwight or a Farouk [G] Balsar
who end up adopting a moniker that conveys a little [C] more rock and roll [A] attitude.
Today we're [Am] looking at how 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
[C] Let's dive in.
There's one [Cm] guitarist who above [Em] all embodies the [F] rockstar image.
Tattoos, low strung Les [Am] Paul, cigarette hanging from his mouth, a [C] mop of hair contained by
a top [G] hat, you know him as Slash.
A name that was given to Saul [F] Hudson by famed [C] character actor Seymour Castle.
One of those actors who's played [Am] countless small parts, but [G] you never know his name.
As a young teen growing [C] up in LA, Saul became [F] friends with the actor's son Matt Castle.
The artist, soon to be [C] known as Slash, found himself in numerous parties hosted by [G] Matt's
semi-famous father.
He would mingle with actors, porn [C] stars, even once meeting the [G] Rolling Stones at one of
[F] Seymour's get-togethers.
Basically living out the dream of every high schooler [C] in existence.
Well one day Slash was zipping around the house when [F] Seymour said,
Hey Slash, where you going?
Where you going Slash, huh?
[C] Well the name stuck and years later Seymour explained why he came up with [Gm] it.
[G] Apparently the name embodied the fact that Slash was always [C] running around from one scheme
to the next.
Quick, sharp, to the point, there one second, gone the next, quick Slash.
Darryl Abbott wasn't always known as Dimebag [F] Darryl.
In fact his first stage name was Diamond Darryl Lance.
A huge fan of [G] Van Halen, this moniker [C] was an ode to lead [G] singer [A] David Lee Roth, [G] aka Diamond Dave.
The exact details as to how [E] Diamond Darryl became [F] Dimebag are a little fuzzy.
What we do know is that the name Diamond [C] Darryl was a little too glam rock for the sound that
Pantera was [F] becoming known for.
On top of that, Darryl Abbott had an [C] affinity for smoking pot, which will often be sold
in a small [G] 1 gram bag retailing for $10 [B] a dime bag.
[C] I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've always thought that the name Prince was a made up stage name.
Well it turns out [Am] Prince's given name was Prince Rogers Nelson.
So that's not [A] overly interesting.
What [F] is interesting is the origins of the name that Prince went by from 1993 to [C] 2000.
Prince and [G] his record label Warner Brothers had a strained relationship at best [C] in the early 90s.
Prince had [Am] over 500 songs recorded and [G] he wanted to release them, whereas Warner Brothers
wanted him to do a [C] more traditional album cycle, releasing an album every couple years
and a [Eb] tour to support it.
[Ebm] Feeling stifled, Prince would protest his contractual entrapment writing Slave on his
cheek when he performed [Eb] live.
As the ultimate middle finger to Warner [Ebm] Brothers, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable
love symbol [Am] in 1993.
This [Abm] proved to be a marketing nightmare [B] for the label and the press, who [Ab] began to refer
to Prince as [Eb] the artist formerly known as Prince.
The new name slash icon merged the traditional male [D] and female [B] symbols, epitomizing gender
[Ebm] fluidity, also making a pretty awesome guitar design.
When Prince's [B] contractual obligations to Warner Brothers ended in 2000, he went back
to his old name.
The artist formerly [B] known as Prince became the artist [Ebm] formerly known as the artist formerly
known as Prince.
You know him as the [B] guitarist for the group U2, The Edge was given the [Bb] name David Evans at birth.
The young Dave was [Ebm] a quiet but highly intelligent child, aspiring to become a doctor [Bb] or an engineer.
His childhood friend Paul [Ebm] Hewson, aka Bono, had dubbed him with the name Inchicore after
a small suburb outside [Abm] of Dublin, a name that Dave wasn't overly fond of.
The exact origins of the name The Edge are disputed, but it's thought that he was given
the name for his sharp facial features as well [Bb] as his sharp [B] mind.
More than happy to shed his old nickname, [Ebm] Dave embraced The Edge.
Once you get past the KFC [B] container on Brian Carroll's head, you can appreciate what [Ebm] a
phenomenal guitarist Buckethead truly is.
So where did this name come from?
Well according to [Ebm] a rare interview done with the masked six stringer, he [B] was raised in
a chicken coop by chickens.
One [Bb] day the birds turned on him, scratching and pecking [Ebm] apart his face, causing him to
[Dm] wear the Michael Myers mask he has [Bb] become synonymous with.
As for the [Eb] KFC bucket, it's an homage [Ab] to all the chickens who [Bbm] were fried for food.
[Eb] Apparently he channels their souls through his playing.
There's also another explanation he [Bb] once offered.
He was [Ab] watching the film [Bb] Halloween 4, eating chicken, and was inspired to buy a [C] mask just
like the one [Eb] worn by the film's [Ab] antagonist.
According to [Fm] Buckethead in a 1996 Guitar World magazine,
[Ab] [Eb]
[Ab] [Bb]
[C] So, [Bb]
uh, you decide [Ab] which one you believe to be [Bb] true.
Johnny Ramone's stage [Eb] name can be traced back to the former bassist of the Fab Four,
Paul McCartney.
While on [Ab] the road in 1960 with a [Bb] band called The Silver [Eb] Beatles, soon to be known as simply
The Beatles, the group decided to [Ab] jazz it up a little bit and [Fm] adopt showbiz names.
Paul McCartney picked [Eb] the name Paul Ramone because it sounded cool and exotic.
Well fast forward to [Ab] 1974, and [Fm] a young punk rock group comprised of Douglas Colvin, [Bb] John
Cummings, and Jeff Hyman is [Db] in its infancy.
Doug decides [Ab] to adopt the stage name D.D.
[Eb] Ramone as an homage [F] to Paul's nickname in [Ab] The Silver Beatles.
The band [Eb] chooses to name themselves The Ramones, each [Ab] member adopting the last name.
[Eb] And last on our list is heavy [C] metal legend known for his work [Ab] with the Prince of Darkness
as well [Bb] as Black Label Society, [Eb] Jeffrey Weiland, also known as Zach Weiland.
Zach [Ab] was the third guitarist to [Bb] play in [Ebm] Ozzy's solo band, preceded by the [Cm] legendary Randy
Rhodes and [Eb] Jakey Lee.
When Jeff joined the band, Ozzy told him [Ab] that he needed to come [Bb] up with a stage name.
One night the [Gb] guitarist was [C] stressing over this as he watched [F] music videos when the [Fm] popular
singer Kim Wilde came on.
Jeff was enamored by [Ebm] her beauty.
His exact words are a little more colourful.
So the next [Ab] day at rehearsal, Ozzy Osbourne [Eb] asks him what his stage name is going to be.
[Bb] Partially inspired by his own last name Weiland, [Bbm] he says Zach [Eb] Wilde like his sister Kim.
[Bb] The name Zach being a [Ab] shout out to the TV show [Bbm] Lost in Space which [Eb] had a character named
Dr.
[B] Zachary Smith.
[Abm] It's all spelled wrong because [E] it looks cooler.
And if you think Zach Wilde has a cool name, you should see what he [A] named his kids.
There [B] you have it, how [E] 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
I hope [A] you enjoyed this video.
I'm going to take a second to recommend two amazing rock and roll bios, both of which
I'll link to down in the description.
[E] The first is Slash's autobiography, Truly a Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.
I'm about halfway through it and I'm loving it.
The second is Anthony Kiedis' Scar Tissue, a must read I've [E] personally flipped through
about 4 times.
This man has lived.
If you like these kind of musical facts, check them out, [B] why not hear it from the horse's mouth.
Thank you all for watching and a big [E] thank you to everyone who supports my channel through Patreon.
[B] You guys make these videos possible and I'll forever be [E] grateful.
I'm SamuraiGuitarist and if you dig around my videos for a bit you can find out why I
went with that name.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll [G] see you again
Key:
C
Eb
Ab
Bb
F
C
Eb
Ab
The power of a name can't be understated, and certain names just scream superstar.
Frank Zappa, [F] Johnny Cash, Randy Rhoads.
[A] But for every one of those, [F] you also come [C] across a Reginald Dwight or a Farouk [G] Balsar
who end up adopting a moniker that conveys a little [C] more rock and roll [A] attitude.
Today we're [Am] looking at how 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
[C] Let's dive in.
There's one [Cm] guitarist who above [Em] all embodies the [F] rockstar image.
Tattoos, low strung Les [Am] Paul, cigarette hanging from his mouth, a [C] mop of hair contained by
a top [G] hat, you know him as Slash.
A name that was given to Saul [F] Hudson by famed [C] character actor Seymour Castle.
One of those actors who's played [Am] countless small parts, but [G] you never know his name.
As a young teen growing [C] up in LA, Saul became [F] friends with the actor's son Matt Castle.
The artist, soon to be [C] known as Slash, found himself in numerous parties hosted by [G] Matt's
semi-famous father.
He would mingle with actors, porn [C] stars, even once meeting the [G] Rolling Stones at one of
[F] Seymour's get-togethers.
Basically living out the dream of every high schooler [C] in existence.
Well one day Slash was zipping around the house when [F] Seymour said,
Hey Slash, where you going?
Where you going Slash, huh?
[C] Well the name stuck and years later Seymour explained why he came up with [Gm] it.
[G] Apparently the name embodied the fact that Slash was always [C] running around from one scheme
to the next.
Quick, sharp, to the point, there one second, gone the next, quick Slash.
Darryl Abbott wasn't always known as Dimebag [F] Darryl.
In fact his first stage name was Diamond Darryl Lance.
A huge fan of [G] Van Halen, this moniker [C] was an ode to lead [G] singer [A] David Lee Roth, [G] aka Diamond Dave.
The exact details as to how [E] Diamond Darryl became [F] Dimebag are a little fuzzy.
What we do know is that the name Diamond [C] Darryl was a little too glam rock for the sound that
Pantera was [F] becoming known for.
On top of that, Darryl Abbott had an [C] affinity for smoking pot, which will often be sold
in a small [G] 1 gram bag retailing for $10 [B] a dime bag.
[C] I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've always thought that the name Prince was a made up stage name.
Well it turns out [Am] Prince's given name was Prince Rogers Nelson.
So that's not [A] overly interesting.
What [F] is interesting is the origins of the name that Prince went by from 1993 to [C] 2000.
Prince and [G] his record label Warner Brothers had a strained relationship at best [C] in the early 90s.
Prince had [Am] over 500 songs recorded and [G] he wanted to release them, whereas Warner Brothers
wanted him to do a [C] more traditional album cycle, releasing an album every couple years
and a [Eb] tour to support it.
[Ebm] Feeling stifled, Prince would protest his contractual entrapment writing Slave on his
cheek when he performed [Eb] live.
As the ultimate middle finger to Warner [Ebm] Brothers, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable
love symbol [Am] in 1993.
This [Abm] proved to be a marketing nightmare [B] for the label and the press, who [Ab] began to refer
to Prince as [Eb] the artist formerly known as Prince.
The new name slash icon merged the traditional male [D] and female [B] symbols, epitomizing gender
[Ebm] fluidity, also making a pretty awesome guitar design.
When Prince's [B] contractual obligations to Warner Brothers ended in 2000, he went back
to his old name.
The artist formerly [B] known as Prince became the artist [Ebm] formerly known as the artist formerly
known as Prince.
You know him as the [B] guitarist for the group U2, The Edge was given the [Bb] name David Evans at birth.
The young Dave was [Ebm] a quiet but highly intelligent child, aspiring to become a doctor [Bb] or an engineer.
His childhood friend Paul [Ebm] Hewson, aka Bono, had dubbed him with the name Inchicore after
a small suburb outside [Abm] of Dublin, a name that Dave wasn't overly fond of.
The exact origins of the name The Edge are disputed, but it's thought that he was given
the name for his sharp facial features as well [Bb] as his sharp [B] mind.
More than happy to shed his old nickname, [Ebm] Dave embraced The Edge.
Once you get past the KFC [B] container on Brian Carroll's head, you can appreciate what [Ebm] a
phenomenal guitarist Buckethead truly is.
So where did this name come from?
Well according to [Ebm] a rare interview done with the masked six stringer, he [B] was raised in
a chicken coop by chickens.
One [Bb] day the birds turned on him, scratching and pecking [Ebm] apart his face, causing him to
[Dm] wear the Michael Myers mask he has [Bb] become synonymous with.
As for the [Eb] KFC bucket, it's an homage [Ab] to all the chickens who [Bbm] were fried for food.
[Eb] Apparently he channels their souls through his playing.
There's also another explanation he [Bb] once offered.
He was [Ab] watching the film [Bb] Halloween 4, eating chicken, and was inspired to buy a [C] mask just
like the one [Eb] worn by the film's [Ab] antagonist.
According to [Fm] Buckethead in a 1996 Guitar World magazine, _ _ _
_ _ [Ab] _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ [Ab] _ _ [Bb] _ _
_ _ _ [C] So, [Bb]
uh, you decide [Ab] which one you believe to be [Bb] true.
Johnny Ramone's stage [Eb] name can be traced back to the former bassist of the Fab Four,
Paul McCartney.
While on [Ab] the road in 1960 with a [Bb] band called The Silver [Eb] Beatles, soon to be known as simply
The Beatles, the group decided to [Ab] jazz it up a little bit and [Fm] adopt showbiz names.
Paul McCartney picked [Eb] the name Paul Ramone because it sounded cool and exotic.
Well fast forward to [Ab] 1974, and [Fm] a young punk rock group comprised of Douglas Colvin, [Bb] John
Cummings, and Jeff Hyman is [Db] in its infancy.
Doug decides [Ab] to adopt the stage name D.D.
[Eb] Ramone as an homage [F] to Paul's nickname in [Ab] The Silver Beatles.
The band [Eb] chooses to name themselves The Ramones, each [Ab] member adopting the last name.
[Eb] And last on our list is heavy [C] metal legend known for his work [Ab] with the Prince of Darkness
as well [Bb] as Black Label Society, [Eb] Jeffrey Weiland, also known as Zach Weiland.
Zach [Ab] was the third guitarist to [Bb] play in [Ebm] Ozzy's solo band, preceded by the [Cm] legendary Randy
Rhodes and [Eb] Jakey Lee.
When Jeff joined the band, Ozzy told him [Ab] that he needed to come [Bb] up with a stage name.
One night the [Gb] guitarist was [C] stressing over this as he watched [F] music videos when the [Fm] popular
singer Kim Wilde came on.
Jeff was enamored by [Ebm] her beauty.
His exact words are a little more colourful.
So the next [Ab] day at rehearsal, Ozzy Osbourne [Eb] asks him what his stage name is going to be.
[Bb] Partially inspired by his own last name Weiland, [Bbm] he says Zach [Eb] Wilde like his sister Kim.
[Bb] The name Zach being a [Ab] shout out to the TV show [Bbm] Lost in Space which [Eb] had a character named
Dr.
[B] Zachary Smith.
[Abm] It's all spelled wrong because [E] it looks cooler.
And if you think Zach Wilde has a cool name, you should see what he [A] named his kids.
There [B] you have it, how [E] 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
I hope [A] you enjoyed this video.
I'm going to take a second to recommend two amazing rock and roll bios, both of which
I'll link to down in the description.
[E] The first is Slash's autobiography, Truly a Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.
I'm about halfway through it and I'm loving it.
The second is Anthony Kiedis' Scar Tissue, a must read I've [E] personally flipped through
about 4 times.
This man has lived.
If you like these kind of musical facts, check them out, [B] why not hear it from the horse's mouth.
Thank you all for watching and a big [E] thank you to everyone who supports my channel through Patreon.
[B] You guys make these videos possible and I'll forever be [E] grateful.
I'm SamuraiGuitarist and if you dig around my videos for a bit you can find out why I
went with that name.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll [G] see you again
Frank Zappa, [F] Johnny Cash, Randy Rhoads.
[A] But for every one of those, [F] you also come [C] across a Reginald Dwight or a Farouk [G] Balsar
who end up adopting a moniker that conveys a little [C] more rock and roll [A] attitude.
Today we're [Am] looking at how 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
[C] Let's dive in.
There's one [Cm] guitarist who above [Em] all embodies the [F] rockstar image.
Tattoos, low strung Les [Am] Paul, cigarette hanging from his mouth, a [C] mop of hair contained by
a top [G] hat, you know him as Slash.
A name that was given to Saul [F] Hudson by famed [C] character actor Seymour Castle.
One of those actors who's played [Am] countless small parts, but [G] you never know his name.
As a young teen growing [C] up in LA, Saul became [F] friends with the actor's son Matt Castle.
The artist, soon to be [C] known as Slash, found himself in numerous parties hosted by [G] Matt's
semi-famous father.
He would mingle with actors, porn [C] stars, even once meeting the [G] Rolling Stones at one of
[F] Seymour's get-togethers.
Basically living out the dream of every high schooler [C] in existence.
Well one day Slash was zipping around the house when [F] Seymour said,
Hey Slash, where you going?
Where you going Slash, huh?
[C] Well the name stuck and years later Seymour explained why he came up with [Gm] it.
[G] Apparently the name embodied the fact that Slash was always [C] running around from one scheme
to the next.
Quick, sharp, to the point, there one second, gone the next, quick Slash.
Darryl Abbott wasn't always known as Dimebag [F] Darryl.
In fact his first stage name was Diamond Darryl Lance.
A huge fan of [G] Van Halen, this moniker [C] was an ode to lead [G] singer [A] David Lee Roth, [G] aka Diamond Dave.
The exact details as to how [E] Diamond Darryl became [F] Dimebag are a little fuzzy.
What we do know is that the name Diamond [C] Darryl was a little too glam rock for the sound that
Pantera was [F] becoming known for.
On top of that, Darryl Abbott had an [C] affinity for smoking pot, which will often be sold
in a small [G] 1 gram bag retailing for $10 [B] a dime bag.
[C] I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've always thought that the name Prince was a made up stage name.
Well it turns out [Am] Prince's given name was Prince Rogers Nelson.
So that's not [A] overly interesting.
What [F] is interesting is the origins of the name that Prince went by from 1993 to [C] 2000.
Prince and [G] his record label Warner Brothers had a strained relationship at best [C] in the early 90s.
Prince had [Am] over 500 songs recorded and [G] he wanted to release them, whereas Warner Brothers
wanted him to do a [C] more traditional album cycle, releasing an album every couple years
and a [Eb] tour to support it.
[Ebm] Feeling stifled, Prince would protest his contractual entrapment writing Slave on his
cheek when he performed [Eb] live.
As the ultimate middle finger to Warner [Ebm] Brothers, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable
love symbol [Am] in 1993.
This [Abm] proved to be a marketing nightmare [B] for the label and the press, who [Ab] began to refer
to Prince as [Eb] the artist formerly known as Prince.
The new name slash icon merged the traditional male [D] and female [B] symbols, epitomizing gender
[Ebm] fluidity, also making a pretty awesome guitar design.
When Prince's [B] contractual obligations to Warner Brothers ended in 2000, he went back
to his old name.
The artist formerly [B] known as Prince became the artist [Ebm] formerly known as the artist formerly
known as Prince.
You know him as the [B] guitarist for the group U2, The Edge was given the [Bb] name David Evans at birth.
The young Dave was [Ebm] a quiet but highly intelligent child, aspiring to become a doctor [Bb] or an engineer.
His childhood friend Paul [Ebm] Hewson, aka Bono, had dubbed him with the name Inchicore after
a small suburb outside [Abm] of Dublin, a name that Dave wasn't overly fond of.
The exact origins of the name The Edge are disputed, but it's thought that he was given
the name for his sharp facial features as well [Bb] as his sharp [B] mind.
More than happy to shed his old nickname, [Ebm] Dave embraced The Edge.
Once you get past the KFC [B] container on Brian Carroll's head, you can appreciate what [Ebm] a
phenomenal guitarist Buckethead truly is.
So where did this name come from?
Well according to [Ebm] a rare interview done with the masked six stringer, he [B] was raised in
a chicken coop by chickens.
One [Bb] day the birds turned on him, scratching and pecking [Ebm] apart his face, causing him to
[Dm] wear the Michael Myers mask he has [Bb] become synonymous with.
As for the [Eb] KFC bucket, it's an homage [Ab] to all the chickens who [Bbm] were fried for food.
[Eb] Apparently he channels their souls through his playing.
There's also another explanation he [Bb] once offered.
He was [Ab] watching the film [Bb] Halloween 4, eating chicken, and was inspired to buy a [C] mask just
like the one [Eb] worn by the film's [Ab] antagonist.
According to [Fm] Buckethead in a 1996 Guitar World magazine, _ _ _
_ _ [Ab] _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ [Ab] _ _ [Bb] _ _
_ _ _ [C] So, [Bb]
uh, you decide [Ab] which one you believe to be [Bb] true.
Johnny Ramone's stage [Eb] name can be traced back to the former bassist of the Fab Four,
Paul McCartney.
While on [Ab] the road in 1960 with a [Bb] band called The Silver [Eb] Beatles, soon to be known as simply
The Beatles, the group decided to [Ab] jazz it up a little bit and [Fm] adopt showbiz names.
Paul McCartney picked [Eb] the name Paul Ramone because it sounded cool and exotic.
Well fast forward to [Ab] 1974, and [Fm] a young punk rock group comprised of Douglas Colvin, [Bb] John
Cummings, and Jeff Hyman is [Db] in its infancy.
Doug decides [Ab] to adopt the stage name D.D.
[Eb] Ramone as an homage [F] to Paul's nickname in [Ab] The Silver Beatles.
The band [Eb] chooses to name themselves The Ramones, each [Ab] member adopting the last name.
[Eb] And last on our list is heavy [C] metal legend known for his work [Ab] with the Prince of Darkness
as well [Bb] as Black Label Society, [Eb] Jeffrey Weiland, also known as Zach Weiland.
Zach [Ab] was the third guitarist to [Bb] play in [Ebm] Ozzy's solo band, preceded by the [Cm] legendary Randy
Rhodes and [Eb] Jakey Lee.
When Jeff joined the band, Ozzy told him [Ab] that he needed to come [Bb] up with a stage name.
One night the [Gb] guitarist was [C] stressing over this as he watched [F] music videos when the [Fm] popular
singer Kim Wilde came on.
Jeff was enamored by [Ebm] her beauty.
His exact words are a little more colourful.
So the next [Ab] day at rehearsal, Ozzy Osbourne [Eb] asks him what his stage name is going to be.
[Bb] Partially inspired by his own last name Weiland, [Bbm] he says Zach [Eb] Wilde like his sister Kim.
[Bb] The name Zach being a [Ab] shout out to the TV show [Bbm] Lost in Space which [Eb] had a character named
Dr.
[B] Zachary Smith.
[Abm] It's all spelled wrong because [E] it looks cooler.
And if you think Zach Wilde has a cool name, you should see what he [A] named his kids.
There [B] you have it, how [E] 7 famous guitarists got their stage names.
I hope [A] you enjoyed this video.
I'm going to take a second to recommend two amazing rock and roll bios, both of which
I'll link to down in the description.
[E] The first is Slash's autobiography, Truly a Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.
I'm about halfway through it and I'm loving it.
The second is Anthony Kiedis' Scar Tissue, a must read I've [E] personally flipped through
about 4 times.
This man has lived.
If you like these kind of musical facts, check them out, [B] why not hear it from the horse's mouth.
Thank you all for watching and a big [E] thank you to everyone who supports my channel through Patreon.
[B] You guys make these videos possible and I'll forever be [E] grateful.
I'm SamuraiGuitarist and if you dig around my videos for a bit you can find out why I
went with that name.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll [G] see you again