After the Dolls broke up, David Johansen abandoned the makeup and fishnets to don a tuxedo, pomped up his hair, and became campy lounge singer named Buster Poindexter. David Johansen: Buster PoindexterĪs a kind of reverse transformation, the man who’s partially responsible for creating the look of heavy metal and the sound of punk rock went from being the cross-dressing frontman of the New York Dollsto a latter-day Catskills lounge singer. Many of these “talking blues” songs included thoughtful narrations or “recitations.” Out of Williams’ more than 150 songs, only 14 were released under the pseudonym of Luke The Drifter and none of them charted during his lifetime. Having become a bona fide star, the public expected all of Williams’ releases to have a uniform “Hank Williams sound.” As a result, Williams created the persona Luke The Drifter, with which he could sing about more serious subjects the likes of societal wrongs, without fearing backlash. While many artists use alter egos as a vehicle for outlandish behavior, country legend Hank Williams created the moralistic alter ego Luke The Drifter to espouse good deeds and dole out sage wisdom. Wiggles, a rapping underwater DJ, Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk, Lollipop Man, and countless others.Ĭlick to load video 4. His lifelong fascination with sci-fi manifested itself in his characters Starchild (inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey) and Doctor Funkenstein, who sprung from Clinton’s fascination with cloning. Both of his pioneering bands, Funkadelic and Parliament, were part of Clinton’s cosmology that included galactic-themed dancers, costumes, and a replica spaceship on stage during performances. George Clinton created more than just alter egos he created an entire universe with his P-Funk mythology that would pave the way for Afrofuturism. George Clinton: Starchild/Dr Funkenstein/Mr Wiggles Here we pick just a handful of the most famous alter egos from the 50s to today. From country to rock, jazz to hip-hop, these personas embody a specific moment in an artist’s development. And some are just ill-fated from the start, like Garth Brooks’ fictional rock star persona Chris Gaines. When Simon & Garfunkel were told their names were too “ethnic-sounding,” they recorded under “Tom And Jerry,” borrowed from the cartoon adversaries. For others, it was self-mythologizing, with Robert Zimmerman dropping his supposedly unfashionable moniker for the much hipper Bob Dylan, complete with an itinerant troubadour backstory.įor others, it was due to industry pressure. When The Beatles wanted to retire their mop-top boy band image and be considered serious artists, they created Sgt. More than a stage name, musicians have been creating multiple identities as part of their performance for centuries.
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