what’s in a name? ninety minutes entertainment of popular music with a blend of different music genres from the past decades … about names ☘️
| Title | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| The Name Game | Shirley Ellis | “The Name Game” is written by Shirley Ellis and Lincoln Chase and is a novelty song that creates variations of names through playful rhyming. |
| That’s Not My Name | The Ting Tings | “That’s Not My Name” is a song by The Ting Tings. The song addresses the frustration of being repeatedly misidentified. |
| My Name Is Prince | Prince & The New Power Generation | “My Name Is Prince” is a song by American musician Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in 1992. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by NPG member Tony M. The intro to the song features vocal samples from Prince’s earlier songs “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, “Partyup”, and “Controversy”. Prince used the alter ego of “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” during this period. |
| What’s My Name | Snoop Doggy Dogg | “Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)” (commonly titled “What’s My Name?”) is the debut solo single by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, released on 1993. Snoop Doggy Dogg was later known as Snoop Dogg. |
| Say My Name | Cocoon | “Say My Name”, was first released by Destiny’s Child in 1999 and covered by Cocoon on their 2011 album “Where the Oceans End”. It gained popularity for its inclusion in various TV shows and commercials. Cocoon is a French pop-folk band from Clermont-Ferrand (France) that sings in English, created in 2006 by Mark Daumail (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, ukulele, banjo; born December 6, 1984) and Morgane Imbeaud (harmony vocals, keyboards; April 14, 1987). |
| Sign Your Name | Terence Trent D’Arby | “Sign Your Name” is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Terence Trent D’Arby (now known as Sananda Maitreya), released in 1987. |
| Float On | Floaters | “Float On” by The Floaters was written by James Mitchell, Arnold Ingram and Marvin Willis. The lyrics spotlight each member of the band, who introduced themselves with their name, astrological sign, and ideal type of romantic partner. The track became a source of parody. |
| You Can Call Me Al | Paul Simon | “You Can Call Me Al” is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released in 1986. The names in the song came from an incident at a party that Simon went to with his then-wife Peggy Harper. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, who was attending the same party, mistakenly referred to Paul as “Al” and to Peggy as “Betty”, inspiring Simon to write a song. |
| C’Est Moi | C Jerome | “C’est moi” by C Jerome was written by Michel Jourdan, Lionel Florence and Serge Lebrail and released in 1974. C. Jérôme (born Claude Dhotel, 21 December 1946 in Paris, France; died 14 March 2000), was a French singer. |
| Black Betty | Ram Jam | “Black Betty” is a traditional song, initially recorded by folk singer Leadbelly in 1949 and covered in 1989 by one-hit wonder Ram Jam. Ram Jam were a short-lived band from New York City, and this was their only hit. |
| Rosie | Joan Armatrading | “Rosie” by Joan Armatrading, released in 1979 is about an attention-getting guy with lipstick, a red umbrella and his hair piled high. |
| Arnold Layne | Pink Floyd | “Arnold Layne” was Pink Floyd’s first single in 1967. Original member Syd Barrett wrote this about a cross-dresser named “Arnold Layne” who used to steal bras and panties from clotheslines in Cambridge, England. Barrett and Roger Waters’ mothers both lost underwear to Arnold Layne. Pink Floyd’s name originated from Syd Barrett, whose favourite blues artists were Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. |
| Sunny | Boney M. | “Sunny” by Boney M. is a cover of the Bobby Hebb classic in 1966. “Sunny” is very ambiguous – it could apply to a man, woman, parent, child, lover, friend or even God. |
| Pretty Belinda | Chris Andrews | “Pretty Belinda” is a song written and recorded by Chris Andrews, which he released as a single in July 1969. |
| Manuela | Julio Iglesias | “Manuela” by Julio Iglesias is written by husband-wife writers duo Manuel Alejandro (born Manuel Alvarez Beigbeder Perez) and Ana Magdalena (born Purificación Casas Romero). Julio Iglesias (Born September 23, 1943 in Madrid, Spain.) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, former professional footballer and record producer. |
| Rosanna | TOTO | “Rosanna” by TOTO, released in 1982 is written by co-founder David Paich and based on Rosanna Arquette, who was dating ToTO keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time. |
| Geno | Dexy’s Midnight Runners | “Geno” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners released The song pays homage to Geno Washington, an American soul singer. Dexy’s Midnight Runners is an English pop rock group with soul influences founded in 1978. The song was written by band members Kevin Rowland and Kevin Archer. Archer was named “Al” by Kevin Rowland in their Dexys Midnight Runners times (1978-1981), supposedly because Rowland thought the band too small for two Kevins. |
| Ben | Michael Jackson | “Ben” (often referred to as “Ben’s Song”) by Michael Jackson, released in 1972, was written by Don Black and Walter Scharf for the 1972 film of the same name, performed by Lee Montgomery in the film and by Michael Jackson over the closing credits. |
| Nikita | Elton John | “Nikita” by Elton John, released in 1985 describes John’s crush on a a border guard during the Cold War era.Though the name Nikita can refer to women in other languages, it is a male name in Russian. |
| Nathalie | Gilbert Bécaud | “Nathalie” by Gilbert Bécaud, released in 1964, tell the story of a romantic encounter in Moscow with a beautiful Soviet tourist guide during the Cold War. |
| Maria | Blondie | “Maria” by Blondie, released in 1999, written by keyboard player Jimmy Destri, is about desire using the Ave Maria as a way of saying she’s on a pedestal, she’s almost holy. This was Blondie’s comeback song, while Debbie Harry had reached the age of 53. |
| Gloria | Them | “Gloria” by Northern Irish rock band Them, released in 1964, is written by singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The song is about a girl who comes by for (presumably) sexual encounters. |
| Gloria | Umberto Tozzi | “Gloria” is a 1979 love song, written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, dreaming about an imaginary woman named Gloria. Jonathan King translated it into English-language and recorded it in November 1979. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
