# One-named stars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102 "2007-08-19T00:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/21 "2007-08-19T03:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] There’s a whole list of black female singers who go by one name: Aaliyah, Ashanti, Beyonce, Eve, Mya, Rhianna, Rihanna, Sade, Tweet [/QUOTE] You forgot Brandy. Jackee Harry, Sandra from _227_, tried if for a while. Everybody just laughed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/22 "2007-08-19T03:08:12Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] There’s a whole list of black female singers who go by one name: Aaliyah, Ashanti, Beyonce, Eve, Mya, Rhianna, Rihanna, Sade, Tweet [/QUOTE] Extra credit for alphabetization, to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/23 "2007-08-19T03:12:20Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Jackee Harry, Sandra from _227_, tried if for a while. Everybody just laughed. [/QUOTE] So did Janet Jackson. Same result. Tito and La Toya fared better. Probably because their names were Tito and La Toya rather than Janet. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/24 "2007-08-19T03:19:05Z")
Esquerita - the performer who showed Little Richard how to do his job Dion Mickey (Baker) & Sylvia (Robinson) (Sylvia later made records under her first name) Rosie (of “& The Originals”) Ruby (of “& The Romantics”) Paul & Paula Peter, Paul & Mary Sam & Dave Ian & Sylvia Lulu Millie (Small, whose “My Boy Lollipop” was first issued under her first name. Later pressings added her last name.) Sonny & Cher (she was already mentioned) Dino, Desi & Billy Peter & Gordon Chad & Jeremy Keith (“98.6”) Sly (Stone) Caleb (Quaye, made some records and guested on others’) Derek (“Cinnamon”) Melanie Mel & Tim Oliver (“Jean”, “Good Morning Starshine”) Valdy (Canadian folk artist - short for Valdimir) Lobo Shirley (& Company - “Shame Shame Shame”) Vangelis Gowan Nena Pretty much any of those (Name) & (The Group) names would qualify, or not, depending on your criteria, so I left hundreds out! ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/25 "2007-08-19T04:20:41Z")
Mako ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/26 "2007-08-19T04:40:51Z")
Twiggy ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/27 "2007-08-19T04:51:40Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] So did Janet Jackson. Same result. Tito and La Toya fared better. Probably because their names were Tito and La Toya rather than Janet. [/QUOTE] Janet, if yore Nasty! Ahhh..YEAAAA! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/28 "2007-08-19T05:31:03Z")
> [@](#): > > You forgot Brandy. I was too busy checking to make sure Rhianna and Rihanna were in fact two different women and I wasn’t going to embarass myself. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/29 "2007-08-19T05:36:01Z")
Fishbicycle, I don’t think some of the people you listed qualify. They may use their first name in their band’s name but they don’t use it personally. Sam & Dave, for example, called themselves Sam Moore and David Prater once they stepped off stage. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/30 "2007-08-19T05:43:52Z")
Yeah, well Sting’s mom calls him Gordon, and Liberace’s first name is Lee, so it doesn’t belong on the list. Sam Moore’s name is Sam and Dave Prater’s name is Dave. That’s what everybody called them in public and private. I’m not sure what nit you’re picking, or how it applies, really. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/31 "2007-08-19T05:44:51Z")
Houdini ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/32 "2007-08-19T06:30:56Z")
Selena Shakira ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/33 "2007-08-19T06:43:29Z")
Leon [http://www.justleon.com/home.htm](http://www.justleon.com/home.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/34 "2007-08-19T06:59:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, well Sting’s mom calls him Gordon, and Liberace’s first name is Lee, so it doesn’t belong on the list. Sam Moore’s name is Sam and Dave Prater’s name is Dave. That’s what everybody called them in public and private. I’m not sure what nit you’re picking, or how it applies, really. It’s like Sonny and Cher. Cher consistently goes by just her first name. Sonny, on the other hand, did not. He was generally known as Sonny Bono. Or to use the example of Sam Moore. Here’s some of his albums: [here,](http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YWM7ZK0PL._AA240_.jpg) [here,](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41E5PQNJ8CL._AA240_.jpg) and [here.](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51J4yOa1joL._AA240_.jpg) As you can see he didn’t call himself just Sam professionally. And if you go to the wikipedia article on [Sam Moore](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Moore), you’ll find this quote from B. B. King: _“To me, Sam Moore is the Frank Sinatra of Soul Music.”_ People use his last name. Or if they were announcing a list of Grammy nominees, they might say “the nominees for best female vocalist are Christina Aguilera, Fiona Apple, Beyonce, Jewel, Sheryl Crow, and Madonna.” ---
**Author:** ![arriterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@arriterre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arriterre)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/35 "2007-08-19T07:02:03Z")
If I said “Keef” would everyone know who I meant? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/36 "2007-08-19T08:53:08Z")
That’s Miz Jackson to you! ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/37 "2007-08-19T11:30:43Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] Esquerita - the performer who showed Little Richard how to do his job Dion Mickey (Baker) & Sylvia (Robinson) (Sylvia later made records under her first name) Rosie (of “& The Originals”) Ruby (of “& The Romantics”) Paul & Paula Peter, Paul & Mary Sam & Dave Ian & Sylvia Lulu Millie (Small, whose “My Boy Lollipop” was first issued under her first name. Later pressings added her last name.) Sonny & Cher (she was already mentioned) Dino, Desi & Billy Peter & Gordon Chad & Jeremy Keith (“98.6”) Sly (Stone) Caleb (Quaye, made some records and guested on others’) Derek (“Cinnamon”) Melanie Mel & Tim Oliver (“Jean”, “Good Morning Starshine”) Valdy (Canadian folk artist - short for Valdimir) Lobo Shirley (& Company - “Shame Shame Shame”) Vangelis Gowan Nena Pretty much any of those (Name) & (The Group) names would qualify, or not, depending on your criteria, so I left hundreds out! [/QUOTE] Yes you did, you left out “Tom and Jerry” though they later went the other way and recorded under their last names “Simon and Garfunkel.” (I don’t know who was who.) ---
**Author:** ![Hobohob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Hobohob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hobohob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/38 "2007-08-19T16:19:16Z")
Fabio Emeril Honus (Crossword answer Honus Wagner is the player on the rarest old baseball card. How many other Honus’s can you name 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Hobohob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Hobohob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hobohob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/39 "2007-08-19T16:22:08Z")
Dr. Phil Yan (of\* Yan Can Cook\*) ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-named-stars/416102/40 "2007-08-19T17:14:06Z")
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