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Sure, you know about the Godfather of Soul and the King of Pop (do you think he’s really still the King of Pop?). But there are honorifics out there for pretty much every type of music you can imagine. Sometimes their nicknames are given by fans, and sometimes they’re given by the press. Either way, be sure to let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments – or if you have a nomination for category not mentioned.
1. The Prince of Wails, the Nabob of Sob, Mr. Emotion – Johnnie Ray. A crooner in the ‘50s, Johnnie Ray had hits like “Cry,” “Such a Night” and “Just Walkin’ in the Rain.” He was known for his stage theatrics – he would fall on the floor, sob, and punch his piano. I guess you can see where “Mr. Emotion” comes from.
2. The Modfather – Paul Weller. Weller is a singer-writer-guitarist, and is the man behind the ‘70s and ‘80s bands The Jam and The Style Council and is credited, obviously, with reviving the Mod movement. Oasis has said that they count Paul Weller among their biggest influences.
3. The Queen of Country – Reba McEntire. She was declared the Queen of Country by Entertainment Weekly, but I don’t know – what about good old Dolly?
4. The Queen of the Power Ballad – Celine Dion. I’m not a fan, but it’s hard to argue with the fact that the lady does a lot of ballads that chart pretty high. The moniker was given to her recently by the Boston Herald, which said that “This lady handles the high notes like Dean Martin used to treat his liquor: She can hold it for what seems like forever and makes it look easy.”
5. The Godfathers of Punk – The Who and The Ramones. The Who received their title from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll; I believe The Ramones is a fan-based nickname. I’m a Ramones girl, myself, but I would never deny the influence of The Who.
6. The Queen of Gospel/The Queen of Spiritual Singers – Mahalia Jackson. Little Richard bestowed this honorific upon her; she was really the first gospel singer to achieve superstardom. She’s also well-known for singing just prior to Martin Luther King, Jr’s I Have a Dream speech.
7. The Prince of Motown and the Prince of Soul – Marvin Gaye. The King, I believe, is Smokey Robinson.
8. The Architect of Rock and Roll – Little Richard. Self-proclaimed, no less. But can you blame the guy? With titles like “Tutti Frutti,” Long Tall Sally,” “Rip it Up” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” I think he’s earned bragging rights. Even the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, said that Little Richard was the first artist ever to put some funk in rock and roll.
9. The Godfather of Grunge – Neil Young. He earned this nickname from Tower Records in 1991 for his influence on bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth. Kurt Cobain even quoted a Neil Young lyric in his (alleged) suicide note.
10. King of the Blues – B.B. King. C’mon, it’s built right into his name. Some of the most talented musicians ever have called him their inspiration – Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, among them.
Some other honorifics include:
King of Reggae – Bob Marley
King of Funk – Rick James
Kings of the South – Ludacris and T.I.
Kings of Country – Garth Brooks, George Strait, Roy Acuff
Kings of R&B – R. Kelly, Usher
King of Bhangra – Malkit Singh
King of Skiffle – Lonnie Donegan
King of Swing – Benny Goodman
Chairman of the Board – Frank Sinatra
The Boss – Springsteen
Godfather of Heavy Metal – Ozzy Osbourne
Godfather of Punk (singular, not a whole band) – Iggy Pop, Pete Townshend
Godmother of Punk – Patti Smith
Godfather of Rocksteady – Alton Ellis
Queen of Soul – Aretha
Queens of Pop – Madonna, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey
Queen of Tejano – Selena
Queen of Urban Pop – Aaliyah
Queen of Rock and Roll – Tina Turner
Queen of Blues – Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington
Queen of Jazz – Ella Fitzgerald
Queen of Hip Hop Soul – Mary J. Blige
Queen of Hip Hop – Lauryn Hill
Queen of Clubs – Danni Minogue
Queen of Latin Pop – Gloria Estefan
Queen of Disco – Donna Summer
Queens of Folk – Joan Baez, Sandy Denny, Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi (Indian Folk)
Teen Queen of Japanese Pop – Namie Amuro
Princesses of Pop – Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue
Princess of Hip Hop and R&B – Ashanti
Crown Prince of Reggae – Dennis Brown
Comments (26)
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Alleged suicide note?
Is a Kurt Cobain conspiracy article waiting in the wings?
posted by EMStoveken on 12-17-2008 at 3:27 pm
That’s an awesome idea for an article! I’ve read about it and it seems completely impossible that it was actually suicide. At the time of his death he wouldn’t have had the coordination needed to physically pull the trigger. Plus there’s all kinds of inconsistencies in the note.
posted by Manda on 12-17-2008 at 3:46 pm
I believe you mean Mary J. Blige?
posted by KPerch on 12-17-2008 at 3:47 pm
Ha, indeed I did. Thanks, KPerch :)
posted by stacy on 12-17-2008 at 4:39 pm
And “The King” Elvis,
The First Lady of Country music, Tammy Wynette
posted by Eric on 12-17-2008 at 4:40 pm
I was trying to look up Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi and couldn’t find her on Amazon or Wiki, does anyone know if she has a band or performing name? Or a name of a CD of her’s? I’d like to check her out.
Thanks
posted by NateJ on 12-17-2008 at 4:45 pm
What about Nina Samone to add in the Queen of blues…..also the Kings of the South as Ludacris and T.I. were did that come from..I would think that Lynard Skynard would have taken that title…..Im just sayin’
posted by Jennifer on 12-17-2008 at 4:59 pm
You forgot one… Dusty Springfield. She was known as the Queen of Blue-eyed Soul.
posted by Mindy Lopkin on 12-17-2008 at 5:01 pm
How many times has Michael Jackson been called the “King of Pop”? I think leaving him off was crazy.
posted by infallible on 12-17-2008 at 5:09 pm
King of the Delta Blues? No Robert Johnson at all?
posted by Sarah on 12-17-2008 at 5:12 pm
@infallible: I was thinking the same about the Godfather of Soul until I re-read the first sentence.
posted by Diana on 12-17-2008 at 5:21 pm
Ian Anderson, Minstrel of Rock and Roll. Not kidding.
posted by RJ on 12-17-2008 at 6:33 pm
Wouldn’t Berry Gordy be the King of Motown? He created it, after all. And what’s Quincy Jones? Or Paul McCartney? Shouldn’t they be the Kings of something? (Guess George Harrison would be the King of Something. Heh heh. Sorry.)
posted by Pete on 12-17-2008 at 6:51 pm
Where’s David Bowie???!!?
posted by Nick on 12-17-2008 at 6:55 pm
King of Ska= Desmond Dekker
King of Dub= Lee “Scratch” Perry
posted by Grace on 12-17-2008 at 8:45 pm
I believe that Ella Fitzgerald is the First Lady of Song. I’ve never heard her called the Queen of Jazz. Maybe she’s both. She deserves to be both.
posted by Lora on 12-17-2008 at 9:10 pm
There’s also The God – Rakim and The Louis Vuitton Don – Kanye West
posted by Edward on 12-18-2008 at 12:30 am
Shakira should be the queen of latin pop!!!
posted by Allyson on 12-18-2008 at 7:52 am
I believe Rick Ross also refers to himself as the boss.
posted by Jill...NOT Jillian on 12-18-2008 at 8:31 am
The Who a “godfather of punk”? I believe you mean “The Clash.” The Ramones a “godfather of punk”? I believe you mean “The Sex Pistols”. Neither the Who nor the The Ramones have had as much impact on punk as those two bands. The Clash actually invented the “punk beat,” not to mentioned defined the genre as rebellion mixed with reggae. The Who is the godfather of rock-operas, and the Ramones are the godfathers of what-the-mainstream-calls-punk-but-in-fact-is-way-too-mainstream-to-be-punk. Get it straight, jeez.
posted by Joel on 12-18-2008 at 8:42 am
@ Joel – I didn’t make up the list myself :) But I can tell you that in my research, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll declared The Who the Godfathers of Punk largely based on My Generation, which they considered the first punk anthem… and which a LOT of punk bands have covered since.
posted by stacy on 12-18-2008 at 9:45 am
Stacy you pretty much nailed it, but you left off Joe Cocker and Jessica Simpson, King and Queen of “What is wrong with them when they sing?”
posted by Don on 12-18-2008 at 11:01 am
don’t you watch TV commercials? Ozzy’s the Prince of Darkness. Since 1979!
posted by Siobhan on 12-18-2008 at 3:35 pm
The Godfather of modern music = Elvis Costello.
At least that’s how they used to bill him when he still toured a lot and played larger venues. I suppose “modern” becomes a question of context as more time goes by.
posted by Adam The IA on 12-18-2008 at 4:58 pm
Conway Twitty had the title bestowed on him of “High Priest of Country Music” – the title apparently coined by Jerry Clower.
posted by cybergoober on 12-19-2008 at 4:32 pm
So we have Paul Weller to blame for Oasis. Good to know.
As for the Who being “Godfathers of Punk,” I guess it’s true in the strictest terms of the word, meaning they had really nothing to do physically with the birth of punk, but they were there for christenings and holidays…
posted by My hmphs on 12-22-2008 at 12:34 pm