# Who Named The Album Titles We Love? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 12, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327 "2021-01-12T14:36:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/1 "2021-01-12T14:36:46Z")
I’ve read SO many stories, interviews or otherwise, but I have no idea who named the albums. Initial guess it probably the main lyricist, but I don’t know for sure. I’m sure it’s probably mutually agreed upon by the band-mates, the label, etc., but if you know, please list the story (and if you have, an interview, video, audio) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/2 "2021-01-12T16:17:45Z")
I imagine every album has a different story. There’s no standard way that albums get their titles. In one example, the Grateful Dead wanted the title of their seventh album to be “Skull Fuck”, but the record label refused, saying stores would boycott it, so it was published without a title. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/3 "2021-01-12T20:33:36Z")
A music friend of mine said that Ringo Starr came up with the title “Revolver” ---
**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 12, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/4 "2021-01-12T20:38:06Z")
# [Who Named The Album Titles We Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327) Yes! They did. _Who’s Next_, _Who are You_, _Quadraphenia_… ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/5 "2021-01-12T21:29:29Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Yes! They did. That would be _Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans_, … ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/6 "2021-01-12T22:30:35Z")
Guess Who wrote _American Woman_ and _Share the Land_. ---
**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 12, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/7 "2021-01-12T23:21:50Z")
**Wilco** makes up their own album titles, and it’s hard work! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2RqPeAjHDm4/hqdefault.jpg "Wilco Is Proud Of Their Album Titles, Dang It") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RqPeAjHDm4) ---
**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 13, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/8 "2021-01-13T00:59:08Z")
There is a different story for each album. Probably the most common is the artist’s name (Peter Gabriel loved that) or the name of a song (e.g., _Hotel California, Low Budget, Green River, Inna-Gadda-da-Vida_, etc.) Some are serendipity. Someone asked Roger McGuinn what their next album would be called, he said, “It’s untitled” (meaning “at the moment”), but it was released as _(untitled)._ Cream’s final album was _Goodbye_ while Traffic had _Last Exit_ (though they re-formed and continued). ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/9 "2021-01-13T01:10:44Z")
Right. And **Music from the Big Pink** was from the band… the band with Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm and those other dudes. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/10 "2021-01-13T02:16:21Z")
Wikipedia re: ELO’s eponymous debut studio album: > In the United States, the album was released in March 1972 as **No Answer** , after a misunderstood telephone message made by a United Artists Records executive asking about the album name; the caller, having failed to reach the ELO contact, wrote down “no answer” in his notes, and this was misconstrued to be the name of the album. ---
**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 13, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/11 "2021-01-13T03:04:31Z")
Cream’s _Disraeli Gears_ was named after someone mispronounced “derailleur gears,” used on bicycles. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/12 "2021-01-13T04:42:41Z")
ev, nevamind ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/13 "2021-01-13T04:57:53Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Wikipedia re: ELO’s eponymous debut studio album: An error which was never remedied in their U.S. catalog; 49 years later, it’s still labeled “No Answer” here in the States. Speaking of ELO: their 1983 album _Secret Messages_ got its name from the fact that, in the early 1980s, some conservative Christians were accusing rock bands of hiding subliminal, backwards-tracked Satanic messages in their songs, which led to Congressional hearings on the topic. ELO had, on several earlier albums, intentionally placed backwards vocal tracks in their songs, which led to proposals of warning labels that would be placed on those albums. Jeff Lynne poked fun at the entire thing, by intentionally naming the album after the controversy, and filing it with backwards tracks. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/14 "2021-01-13T14:10:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Cream’s _Disraeli Gears_ was named after someone mispronounced “derailleur gears,” used on bicycles. Huh, so had nada to do with a certain former British PM. Coulda fooled me. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/15 "2021-01-13T16:43:38Z")
In 1976, Marvin Gaye fell so far behind on alimony payments to his ex-wife that a warrant was put out for his arrest. His attorney suggested that he give her half of the royalties from his upcoming album. He named the album “[Here, My Dear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here,_My_Dear).” ---
**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 13, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/16 "2021-01-13T17:23:59Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > Cream’s _Disraeli Gears_ was named after someone mispronounced “derailleur gears,” used on bicycles. > > Huh, so had nada to do with a certain former British PM. Coulda fooled me. Oh, there was a connection – it was a malapropism and the speaker (Mick Turner, one of their roadies) clearly substituted the PM’s name for the correct term. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/17 "2021-01-13T22:31:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Cream’s _Disraeli Gears_ was named after someone mispronounced “derailleur gears,” used on bicycles. I think they also considered “Elephant Gerald.” ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/18 "2021-01-14T09:55:54Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Music from the Big Pink From wiki: The Band began to create their distinctive sound during 1967 when they improvised and recorded with [Bob Dylan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan) [a huge number of cover songs and original Dylan material](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Basement_Tapes_songs) in the basement of a pink house in [West Saugerties, New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Saugerties,_New_York), located at 56 Parnassus Lane (formerly 2188 Stoll Road). The house was built by Ottmar Gramms, who bought the land in 1952. The house was newly built when [Rick Danko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Danko) found it as a rental. Danko moved in along with [Garth Hudson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Hudson) and [Richard Manuel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Manuel) in February 1967. The house became known locally as “[Big Pink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pink)” for its pink [siding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siding_(construction)). The house was subsequently sold by Gramms in 1977, and since 1998, it has been a private residence.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_from_Big_Pink#cite_note-3) ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/19 "2021-01-14T20:23:04Z")
XTC wanted to name their fourth studio album _Working Under Pressure_ as a not-so-subtle critique of how hard their manager was working them. Said manager was not amused and told the band to come up with another title. They chose _Black Sea_ because it matched the [album photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/XTC_-_Black_Sea_album_cover.jpg) the band had already taken, in which they are all wearing vintage diving gear. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327/20 "2021-02-12T18:19:01Z")
Ah, another XTC fan. _Black Sea_ is a good one. There was a tendency for albums later in their career to have titles from songs on the previous record (I think this happened on _Oranges and Lemons_, which is a lyric on _Skylarking_, and _Nonsuch_ as well). But Andy Partridge claims it’s a coincidence. _Drums and WIres_ was named because after the departure of Barry Andrews and addition of Dave Gregory, they were switching to a guitar and drums based sound. I think it also had to do with Steve Lillywhite and Hugh Padgham’s experimentation with the gated drum sound that climaxed on Phil Collins’ albums in the 80s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-named-the-album-titles-we-love/930327.md?page=2)