Nicknames of Country Music Artists

I have a music group on Facebook, "Old School Country Music", where I share songs from my playlists on YouTube. It's traditional, true country music from the beginning in the late 1920s up to 1989; however, I have exceptions. Those who were true to country music and, possibly, were still going into the 1990s like George Strait, Alan Jackson and others.

When you want to join us there are three questions that refer to an artist's nickname for you to answer. I thought they were fairly easy. Many don't bother trying to answer them, however. Some get at least one right. The Storyteller and The King of Western Swing are the stumpers. However, one person not only only got the first one right, but also each of the stumpers. The questions, in order, are: 

What are the real names of Hag, Possum & The Coal Miner's Daughter?

Who was nicknamed The Storyteller? 

 Who was the King of Western Swing? 

I ain't changing them, though. I decided, out of curiosity, to delve into country music nicknames and make a list. Some used their nickname as their stage (professional) name or have the nickname added to their actual name, first and/or last, such as Mother Maybelle Carter or just to their last name, like Grandpa Jones. I only put down the nicknames of artists from way back yonder when to about the end of the 80s thus you won't find Blake Shelton or Eric Church or Miranda Lambert or others from the 90's to the present unless they are on my exception list of those who started by playing traditional/true/old school country before the 1990s and endured into the 1990s still playing traditional/true/old school country music. Some artists even have more than one nickname. I did not include nicknames that come from a given name such as Dottie, a common nickname for a woman named Dorothy, nor those whose name was simply changed such as Tammy Wynette who was born Virginia Wynette Pugh.

This list probably has someone missing. If you think someone got left off, tell me.

Roy Acuff - The King of Country Music

Elliot Adnopoz - Ramblin' Jack Elliot

Dave Akeman - Stringbean

Rex Allen, Sr. - The Arizona Cowboy, The Voice of the West

Bill Anderson - Whispering Bill (Anderson oft times added)   

Eddie Arnold - The Tennessee Plowboy

Chet Atkins - Mr. Guitar, The Country Gentleman                 

Gene Autry - The Singing Cowboy

William Boyd - Cowboy Rambler

Leon Eric Brooks - Kix (precedes surname in place of Leon Eric)

Lester Burnett - Smiley (preceded Burnett in place of Lester)

Johnny Bush - The Country Caruso

William "Bill" Carlisle - Jumpin' (preceded Bill)

John Carson - Fiddlin' (preceded John)

Anita Carter - The Appalachian Angel

Maybelle Carter - Mother (preceded Maybelle)

Johnny Cash - The Man in Black

Jack Clement - Cowboy (preceded Jack)

Donnell Cooley  -  Spade (preceded Cooley in place of Donnell), King of Western Swing (ultimately this title would settle on Bob Wills)

Dale Cooper - Stoney (preceded surname in place of Dale)

Lloyd Copas - Cowboy (preceded surname in place of Lloyd)

Billy Wayne Craddock - Crash (billed as Billy "Crash" Craddock)

Jimmy Dickens - Little (preceded his first name), Tater

Raymond Earwood - Mundo

Frenchie Edwards - Stoney (preceded surname in place of Frenchie)

Donald Ewing - Skip (preceded surname in place of Donald)

Clyde Foley - Red (preceded surname in place of Clyde)

William Frizzell - Lefty (preceded surname in place of William)

Don Gibson - The Sad Poet

Vern Gosdin - The Voice

Jack Greene - The Jolly Greene Giant

Merle Haggard - Hag

Tom T. Hall - The Storyteller

Harold Hawkins - Hawkshaw, Eleven Yards of Personality, Eleven and One Half Yards of Personality, Eleven Yards of Personality and a Song      

Johnny Horton - The Singing Fisherman                                       

Goldie Hill - The Golden Hillbilly

Wanda Jackson - Queen of Rockabilly

Waylon Albright Jennings - Shooter

Waylon Jennings - Hoss, Chief, Waymore

George Jones - Possum, No Show Jones

Louis Marshall Jones - Grandpa (preceded surname in place of Louis Marshall)

Doug Kershaw - The Ragin' Cajun

Jerry Lee Lewis - Killer

James Loden - “Sonny" was a childhood nickname. However, a record executive thought there were too many musicians with surnames that sounded similar to 'Loden' and suggested 'James' as a surname instead. Thus, Sonny Loden became Sonny James. He was later nicknamed "The Southern Gentleman."

Loretta Lynn - The Coal Miner's Daughter

David Macon - Uncle (preceded his first name), Dixie Dewdrop

Bill Monroe - Father of Bluegrass

Aubrey Mullican - Moon  (preceded surname in place of Aubrey), King of the Hillbilly Piano Players

Willie Nelson -The Red-Headed Stranger, Shotgun Willie

Thomas 'Tommy' Overstreet- T. O., what some D. J.'s reportedly called him.

Alvis Owens, Jr. -Buck. As the story goes, Buck was the name of a donkey on the Owens farm. When Alvis, Jr. was around 3 or 4  years old he walked into the house and announced that his name also was “Buck”. That was just fine with the family and from then on Alvis Owens, Jr. was called “Buck”.

Jim Reeves - Gentleman Jim

Charlie Rich - The Silver Fox

Nolan Rinehart - Cowboy Slim (One of the first singing cowboys)

James “Jimmie” Rodgers - The Singing Brakeman, America's Blue Yodeler, The Father of Country Music

Kenny Rogers - The Gambler

Joe Simpson - Red (preceded surname in place of Joe)

Carl Smith - Mister Country Music

Clarence Snow - Hank (preceded his surname in place of Clarence) , The Yodeling Ranger, The Singing Ranger

Woodrow Sovine - Red (preceded surname in place of Woodrow)

Russell Steagall - Red (preceded surname in place of Russell)

Gary Stewart - King of Honky-Tonk

George Strait - King George, King of Country Music

Ernest Tubb  - The Texas Troubadour

Conway Twitty - High Priest of Country Music

Porter Wagoner - Mr. Grand Ole Opry

Billy Walker - The Tall Texan

Jerry Jeff Walker - The Gypsy Songman

Ottis Whitman, Jr. - Slim (preceded surname in place of Ottis), The Smilin' Starduster

Don Williams  - The Gentle Giant

Hank Williams, Jr.  - Bocephus

Hank Williams, Sr. - The Hillbilly Shakespeare

Bob Wills - The King of Western Swing

Faron Young - The Hillbilly Heartthrob, The Singing Sheriff, The Young Sheriff             

               

Sources

First off I googled “nicknames of country music artists”. I got recent artists more than past artists. I turned my hint inside out. I found at Wikipedia a list of country artists. I would look an artist up, one that had to be from far back, and read about them to see if they had a nickname.

This site was helpful- https://www.hillbilly-music.com/index.php    

Pics gotten via search on Google