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What's My Real Name? Trivia Quiz

Musicians like The Edge and Capt. Sensible sure have interesting names, but they're not the ones they were born with.This will test your knowledge of singers and instrumentalists given names.

A multiple-choice quiz by george9448. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
george9448

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
336,270

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
757

Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (10/15), Guest 136 (14/15), Guest 101 (10/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Former Guns 'n' Roses/current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash cuts quite the figure onstage with his shades, curly hair and tophat, but what name was he born with? Hint

Paul Hudson

Paul Huston

Jeffrey Dean Isbell

Saul Hudson

NEXT>

Question 2 of 15

2. The Big Bopper was one of the three musicians on that ill-fated plane trip that occurred on February 2nd, 1959. That was his professional name, but his wife knew him better as? Hint

Jiles Perry Richardson

Joseph Patrick Richardson

Joseph Perry Richardson

Jiles Perry Robertson

3. Out of all the members of Bitain's notorious Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious garnered the most press for his antics and eventual arrest for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, but his family knew him as? Hint

John Steven Ritchie

Joseph Simon Ritchie

John Simon Ritchie

John Simon Richards

NEXT>

Question 4 of 15

4. Billie Holiday is one of the most well-known female jazz singers, but what name was on her birth certificate? Hint

Eleanor Fagan

Alice Fagan

Elise Fagan

Eleanora Fagan

NEXT>

Question 5 of 15

5. Iggy Pop could be considered a godfather of punk, having started his recording career as the lead singer of The Stooges, but what name was he born with? Hint

Joseph Newell Osterberg

John Newell Osterberg

Jeffrey Newell Osterberg

James Newell Osterberg

NEXT>

Question 6 of 15

6. Before selling 250 milllion CD's, LP's and cassettes, Elton John was known as? Hint

Ronald Kenneth Dwight

Robert Kyle Dwight

Reginald Kermit Dwight

Reginald Kenneth Dwight

NEXT>

Question 7 of 15

7. Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson and his band of the same name have sold millions of CD's, but his parents gave him another name at birth in Ohio, what was it? Hint

Barry Hugh Wagner

Brian Hugh Wagner

Brian Henry Warner

Brian Hugh Warner

NEXT>

Question 8 of 15

8. B.B. King has influenced blues musicians and non-blues musicians for many decades now, but working at radio station WDIA in Memphis during the late 40's he was known by another name. Hint

Robert B. King

Richard Beale King

Riley Beale King

Riley B. King

NEXT>

Question 9 of 15

9. Buckethead, who also releases his work under the name Death Cube K(an anagram for Buckethead) has played with many different artists, most notably Guns 'n' Roses. Way before Buckethead, his friends in school called him? Hint

Benny Carella

Barry Carroll

Brian Carroll

Bobby Carolla

NEXT>

Question 10 of 15

10. World-famous drummer Ringo Starr never legally had his name changed, so with records released on which he receives composing credits, what name is shown?
Hint

Richard Starkey

Ronald Starkey

Robert Starkey

Rupert Starkey

NEXT>

Question 11 of 15

11. Bono's friend, Gavin Friday, gave him that name, but what was he known as prior to that? Hint

Paul Hewson

Perry Hewson

Peter Hewson

Palmer Hewson

NEXT>

Question 12 of 15

12. Babyface is a singer, songwriter, record producer-he does it all, but back in elementary school, they knew him under a different name.
Hint

Kenneth Edmonds

Keith Edmonds

Kyle Edmonds

Kareem Edmonds

NEXT>

Question 13 of 15

13. You either loved him or hated him, but Captain Beefheart's music was one-of-a-kind. Before breaking into music, he was known to all as? Hint

Doug Van Vliet

Derek Van Vliet

Doug Von Vliet

Don Van Vliet

NEXT>

Question 14 of 15

14. David Bowie's first recorded work was with a group called the King Bees, but what name was he using back then? Hint

Dominic Jones

Darryl Jones

David Jones

Daniel Jones

NEXT>

Question 15 of 15

15. Nico was a German-born singer, keyboardist, actress, and model. A photographer on a photo shoot gave her the name she was most known by, but she was born as? Hint

Christine Paffgen

Charlotte Paffgen

Claudia Paffgen

Christa Paffgen

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 09 2024 : Guest 174: 10/15
Oct 03 2024 : Guest 136: 14/15
Sep 27 2024 : Guest 101: 10/15

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Former Guns 'n' Roses/current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash cuts quite the figure onstage with his shades, curly hair and tophat, but what name was he born with?

Answer: Saul Hudson

British-born Slash was given his nickname by a family friend who said he was always in a hurry. Jeffrey Dean Isbell is the given name of Slash's former bandmate in Guns 'n' Roses, Izzy Stradlin.

2. The Big Bopper was one of the three musicians on that ill-fated plane trip that occurred on February 2nd, 1959. That was his professional name, but his wife knew him better as?

Answer: Jiles Perry Richardson

J.P. Rchardson, who first started his career as a songwriter and scored his first major hit as a solo artist with "Chantilly Lace", was on the plane with Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. Holly's bassist, Waylon Jennings, gave up his seat for The Big Bopper and Tommy Allsup, Holly's guitarist, flipped a coin for the other seat with Richie Valens.

Answer: John Simon Ritchie

Johnny Rotten, The Sex Pistols lead singer, was said to have come up with the name after Ritchie was bitten by Rotten's hamster, which was named Sid. He told Johnny that "Sid is really vicious."

4. Billie Holiday is one of the most well-known female jazz singers, but what name was on her birth certificate?

Answer: Eleanora Fagan

Billie took her name from an actress she admired, Billie Dove, and the last name of her biological father, Clarence Holiday, who was a musician himself, playing guitar and banjo in several bands throughout the 20's and 30's.

5. Iggy Pop could be considered a godfather of punk, having started his recording career as the lead singer of The Stooges, but what name was he born with?

Answer: James Newell Osterberg

Mr. Osterberg got his nickname in part from a prior band he was in as the drummer, which was called The Iguanas.

6. Before selling 250 milllion CD's, LP's and cassettes, Elton John was known as?

Answer: Reginald Kenneth Dwight

Sir Elton John arrived at his famous name by combining the names of two British musicians, Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.

7. Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson and his band of the same name have sold millions of CD's, but his parents gave him another name at birth in Ohio, what was it?

Answer: Brian Hugh Warner

Formed in Florida, Manson's stage name and those of his band member's are usually derived at by combining the name of a serial killer with that of an actress or singer, e.g., Zsa Zsa Speck.

8. B.B. King has influenced blues musicians and non-blues musicians for many decades now, but working at radio station WDIA in Memphis during the late 40's he was known by another name.

Answer: Riley B. King

As a singer and disc jockey at WDIA, he acquired the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which later became shortened to "B.B."

Answer: Brian Carroll

Buckethead's covering was originally a KFC bucket with an orange bumper sticker that read "FUNERAL" in block letters, but now uses a plain white one.

10. World-famous drummer Ringo Starr never legally had his name changed, so with records released on which he receives composing credits, what name is shown?

Answer: Richard Starkey

Ringo adopted his stage name in part to all the rings he wore on his fingers.

11. Bono's friend, Gavin Friday, gave him that name, but what was he known as prior to that?

Answer: Paul Hewson

It is said that the name came from from a hearing aid shop in Dublin, called "Bonavox". He disliked the name until he found out it was a loose translation of Latin for "good voice."

12. Babyface is a singer, songwriter, record producer-he does it all, but back in elementary school, they knew him under a different name.

Answer: Kenneth Edmonds

Funk artist Bootsy Collins gave him the name he's known by when he was still a teenager.

13. You either loved him or hated him, but Captain Beefheart's music was one-of-a-kind. Before breaking into music, he was known to all as?

Answer: Don Van Vliet

Although born as Don Glen Vliet, it was changed early on to Don Van, which is more commonly known. He claimed that he and Frank Zappa came up with his unusual stage name.

14. David Bowie's first recorded work was with a group called the King Bees, but what name was he using back then?

Answer: David Jones

To avoid confusion with the Monkee's Davy Jones, he re-named himself after the 19th century American frontiersman Jim Bowie and the knife he had popularized.

15. Nico was a German-born singer, keyboardist, actress, and model. A photographer on a photo shoot gave her the name she was most known by, but she was born as?

Answer: Christa Paffgen

Nico was given the name by photographer Herbert Tobias who named her after his ex-boyfriend.

Source: Author george9448

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
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