# Who did it first: band name-drops own name in song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 19, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458 "2023-01-19T15:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/41 "2023-01-19T19:32:22Z")
“Move over, Rover and let Jimi take over.” ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/42 "2023-01-19T19:35:18Z")
Certainly not the first, but maybe the funniest… Clarence Carter - Strokin’ > Stroke it Clarence Carter, but don’t stroke so fast > If my stuff ain’t tight enough, you can stick it up my woooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/43 "2023-01-19T19:50:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And even more straightforwardly, “We Are The Clash.” I’d play dumb and say that album exists in the same non-existing state as the fourth Indiana Jones movie, except “This is England” is still a decent track. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/44 "2023-01-19T19:56:07Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > I’d play dumb and say that album exists in the same non-existing state as the fourth Indiana Jones movie, except “This is England” is still a decent track. Exactly this. I admit I got the CD, but much later than all my other Clash albums and only for completion, though I knew its reputation. I listened to it once and never again. ETA: I remember reading a review a long time ago that asked: “Hey the Clash, you called your album ‘Cut The Crap’, why didn’t you listen to yourself?” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/45 "2023-01-19T20:00:11Z")
I don’t really listen to anything but their first three albums, and I myself have never listened to _Cut The Crap_, though I know of it through Todd In The Shadows, who did a “Trainwreckords” dissection of the album. HIs comment on “We Are The Clash”: “Look, there’s no other way to say this, this sounds like the theme to a Clash TV show.” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/46 "2023-01-19T20:03:44Z")
You should at least give “Sandinista” a try. Yes, it’s too long, bloated and has other weaknesses (the production and the drum sound), but there are some real gems of songs. ETA: oh, and I forgot “Combat Rock”. That’s an album everybody should give a listen, it’s among their best work. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/47 "2023-01-19T20:06:16Z")
Yeah, I’ve tried – I just haven’t had the patience to get through it all. Maybe if someone pared it down to a single disc. I have trouble getting through any double album, much less triple. And, yes, “Combat Rock” I’ve heard over and over and over again because twenty five years ago my coworker would play it endlessly. I’ve probably heard it enough I don’t need to hear it again. 🙂 But, honestly, that album just doesn’t hit me for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/48 "2023-01-19T20:14:06Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Bo Diddley’s first single was “Bo Diddley”. Yeah, he did it all the time. He also had a single called “Hey! Bo Diddley.” Both songs were included on his first album, which was titled–you’ll never guess–_Bo Diddley_. Not to be confused with his second album, _Go Bo Diddley_, which included the song “Bo’s Guitar.” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/49 "2023-01-19T20:16:12Z")
Granted, he also namechecked his announcer/presenter/sidekick and maracas player in “Bring It To Jerome”, so not _all_ of his songs were about himself. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/50 "2023-01-19T20:21:37Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Didn’t Bo Diddley mention himself in Who Do You Love? Got rock n Roll music with the Bo Diddley beat. I was thinking the same thing, but that shows up in George Thorogood’s version, not Bo Diddley’s version. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Here’s a Youtube video that marks it as 1927: Didn’t know YouTube was around in 1927! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/51 "2023-01-19T20:41:00Z")
Jerry Lee Lewis did it. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/52 "2023-01-19T21:21:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I’ve tried – I just haven’t had the patience to get through it all. Maybe if someone pared it down to a single disc. I have trouble getting through any double album, much less triple. > > And, yes, “Combat Rock” I’ve heard over and over and over again because twenty five years ago my coworker would play it endlessly. I’ve probably heard it enough I don’t need to hear it again. 🙂 But, honestly, that album just doesn’t hit me for whatever reason. Very similar experience here. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/53 "2023-01-19T21:23:43Z")
The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople - not the earliest by a long way, but you get the band in the title, the biography (kinda) in the song, and namechecks by Hunter of all the other band members. Set up for the namechecks, but the whole song is well worth a listen if you don’t know it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sJeU37u6kU8/maxresdefault.jpg "Ballad of Mott The Hoople") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJeU37u6kU8) j ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/54 "2023-01-19T21:45:20Z")
Lightnin’ Hopkins was another bluesman who frequently name-checked himself, but again it doesn’t go back as far as Robert Johnson or Big Bill Broonzy. IIRC Muddy Waters name-checks himself in “Mannish Boy”. Magic Slim name-checks himself in “Before You Accuse Me”. Actually, I’d be surprised if there was a bluesman who _hasn’t_ name-checked himself. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/55 "2023-01-19T22:17:39Z")
Mississippi Fred McDowell introduced himself on his “Red Cross Blues.” ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/56 "2023-01-19T22:20:51Z")
Dagnabbit, you beat me by a year! In 1937, Mississippi blues singer Robert Johnson recorded “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”, which contained the line, “Ain’t but the one thing, makes Mr. Johnson drink…” ETA: ninja’d by Einstein. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/57 "2023-01-19T22:21:55Z")
How about name dropping the bands’ individual members? > Are you ready Steve? Uh-huh > Andy? Yeah > Mick? Okay > Alright fellas, let’s go! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/r8pYpii2Atg/maxresdefault.jpg "Sweet - The Ballroom Blitz - Promo Clip (OFFICIAL)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8pYpii2Atg) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/58 "2023-01-19T22:40:37Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Jerry Lee Lewis did it. I thought the same thing, I know he did it live but I searched around and can’t find it in any of his recordings. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/59 "2023-01-19T22:49:55Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Dagnabbit, you beat me by a year! > > In 1937, Mississippi blues singer Robert Johnson recorded “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”, which contained the line, “Ain’t but the one thing, makes Mr. Johnson drink…” > > ETA: ninja’d by Einstein. No, that wasn’t me, @alovem first remembered that line from “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”. But I’ve got one nitpick, the song actually was recorded in 1936 as the first song of Robert Johnson’s first recording session (in a hotel room). I know it because the two versions of the song he recorded are the two first songs on his “Complete Recordings” which are ordered chronologically by the time of recording. He only did one other (equally fruitful) session in 1937. ETA: while we’re at it, just a recommendation to everyone who has only heard the 1990 “Complete Recordings” or older editions of Johnson’s work: just the other day I stumbled upon the “The Centennial Collection” from 2011, and the sound and mastering is miles better than anything before. I was stunned by the “Complete Collection” back then, but got totally blown away by the “Centennial Collection”. Same songs of course (plus one lost recording), but dramatically better sound. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458/60 "2023-01-19T23:07:46Z")
I bet The The used at least part of their name in every song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-it-first-band-name-drops-own-name-in-song/978458.md?page=4)