John Legend’s moniker wasn’t at all times so legendary. In actual fact, it took a authorized contract to safe the appropriate to even use his now-popular stage identify.
“J. [Ivy] heard me singing, enjoying and doing all I used to be doing on these Faculty Dropout tracks [with Kanye West], and he was impressed,” Legend, 46, recalled of his musical origins in Amazon’s Phrase+Music docuseries, per Individuals. “He mentioned, ‘Man, we’re gonna need to name you the legend.’”
Legend (born John Stephens) quickly determined to go by his newfound nickname professionally.
“I needed to determine whether or not or not I used to be going to imagine this stage identify,” he recalled within the docuseries. “A part of me is saying, ‘The way you going to name your self Legend? You don’t also have a report deal but.’”
Legend determined to go for it, realizing that this stage identify would “make individuals listen.”
“Then, I simply obtained to go dwell as much as it,” he mentioned. “And, lo and behold, there’s a porn producer — I child you not — a porn producer who dabbled in rockabilly music, and he glided by the identify Johnny Legend. The truth that he made music, rockabilly music, and his identify was Johnny Legend, meant that there was a doable trademark infringement case.”
In consequence, the now father of 4 wanted to ask Johnny (born Martin Margulies), now 77, for the rights to turn into “John Legend” onstage.
“We needed to discover Johnny Legend, negotiate with him, lower a mutually unique deal stating that he was Johnny Legend, and I used to be John Legend,” the “All of Me” singer mentioned. “[We agreed that] he wouldn’t sue me, I wouldn’t sue him [and] he wouldn’t attempt to get into the soul music enterprise pretending to be John Legend.”
He continued, “I [was] blissful to clarify that I saved my facet of the settlement. I didn’t produce any porn, didn’t make any rockabilly music pretending to be Johnny Legend.”
The EGOT winner signed his first report deal in 2004, releasing his first album that very same 12 months on his twenty sixth birthday. Since then, Legend has acquired super musical success and accolades.
“It’s form of surreal. It’s one thing I by no means even considered once I began my profession,” Legend informed Leisure Tonight of gathering an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award, becoming a member of the elusive membership. “I in all probability wished to win some Grammys and promote loads of information, and all that began taking place fairly shortly, however I by no means dreamed that I’d be right here, profitable an Emmy, and being in that uncommon group of folks that have gained all 4 of those main [awards].”
Along with his thriving profession, Legend has made candy music along with his spouse, Chrissy Teigen.
“We’ve been by all of it collectively,” Legend solely informed Us Weekly in September, detailing the secrets and techniques of his 12-year marriage. “I feel figuring out that we now have one another’s again and assist one another by all of it is — you recognize, when you’ve gotten that as your basis, it’s every thing.”
Legend and Teigen, 40, are dad and mom of daughters Luna, 9, and Esti, 2, in addition to sons Miles, 7, and Wren, 2.
Phrase+Music premieres on MGM+ Sunday, November 30.
