I saw that today, April 27th, was Wally Palmer’s birthday from the Romantics. I didn’t realize that he used a stage name, as his real name is Volodymyr Palamarchuk. It got me thinking about my favorite rockers who don’t use their real names. Check out a list below of guys who use stage names. Some may surprise you.

• Alice Cooper

  This is an easy one that comes to mind immediately. Alice took on the name from his band, the Alice Cooper band. Born Vincent Furnier right here in Detroit, he’s been the “Coop” for decades.

• Rob Zombie

  Another easy one. Born Robert Cummings in Boston, Mass, Rob Zombie is the perfect name for this horror rocker.

• John 5

  Detroit’s own John 5, or who I just call “5”, was born John Lowery. He garnered the name John 5 upon joining Marilyn Manson’s band.

• Ozzy Osbourne

  Born John Michael Osbourne, he’ll always be OZZY to me.

• Zakk Wylde

  Since we’re on the topic of Ozzy, how about his longtime guitarist, Zakk Wylde. Born Jeffrey Weildandt in 1967, Zakk has carved out his place in rock history with multiple projects, including his current gig in Pantera.

• Noodles from the Offspring

  Born Kevin Wasserman, Noodles is a founding member of The Offspring.

• Every Original Member Of KISS

  Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) Paul Stanley (Stanley Eisen) Peter Criss (George Peter John Criscuola) and Ace Frehley (Paul Frehley)

• Sebastian Bach

  Born Sebastian Bierk, he didn’t change his name that much. His brother Zak, is a retired NHL goalie.

• Kid Rock

  Known early on as the “white kid who could rock” Bob Ritchie became Kid Rock.

• Elton John

  Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he took on the name Elton John and reached super stardom.

• Avenged Sevenfold

  The guys from Avenged use stage names. M. Shadows (Matt Sanders) Sinister Gates (Brian Haner Jr.) Zacky Vengeance (Zachery Baker) and Johnny Christ (Jonathon Seward). Check out their killer new song “Nobody”

• Guns N' Roses

  Since we’ve known about the Gun’s guys, we’ve known Slash (Saul Hudson) W. Axl Rose (William Rose) Izzy Stradlin (Jeffrey Isbell) all use stage names.

• Sting from the Police

  We know him as Sting, but his parents know his as Gordon Sumner.

• U2

  There’s Bono (Paul Hewson) and The Edge (David Evans)

• Freddie Mercury

  Anyone who watched Bohemian Rhapsody knows the story of Farrukh Bulsara.

• Red Hot Chili Pepper's Flea

  AKA Michael Balzary.

• David Bowie

  Half his name is his birth giving name…David Jones.

• Jelly Roll

  I’m not sure if Jelly Roll is cooler than Jason DeFord, but it’s worked for him!

• Marilyn Manson

  From Cleveland, Ohio, Brain Warner became his alter-ego.

• Steven Tyler & Joe Perry

  Steven Tallarico doesn’t roll off the tongue as easy as Tyler I suppose. Perhaps Joe Pereira has the same issue.

   

   

• Blackie Lawless

  I’m a huge Blackie Lawless fan…not so much a Steven Duren fan.

• Korn

  Fieldy and Munky are actually Reginald Arvizu and James Shaffer, and both good guys.

• Eminem

  Everyone knows the story of Marshall Mathers.

Sign Up For The WRIF Everything That Rocks Newsletter

Get everything that rocks sent right to your inbox. We're talking rock news, concert updates, stories from all around metro Detroit, plus exclusive contests, games and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.