Jack Black explained what ‘D’ in Tenacious D really means
Jack Black has explained the meaning behind his band's name and it may leave you shocked.
As well as acting in countless beloved films like School of Rock, Kung Fu Panda and Christmas classic The Holiday, Jack Black is a part of rock band Tenacious D alongside Kyle Gass.
The duo met in 1986 as members of the Actors' Gang theatre troupe and formed the band after becoming friends during a 1989 trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
But, while making music came naturally to Black and Gass, a name for their band did not.
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While struggling to choose, they went through a few options, including Responsive Chord and The Axe Lords Featuring Gorgazon's Mischief.
But it wasn't until a performance in the summer of 1994 that they finally settled on Tenacious D.
During the performance, in which the pair played their well-known track 'Tribute,' they asked the audience to vote on what their name should be.
Among the options were Pets or Meat and Balboa's Biblical Theater and, of course, Tenacious D.
While it didn't get the most votes, Black said 'we forced it through' as it ended up being their favourite.
He has since gone on to explain what 'Tenacious D' means.
In an interview with the New York Times, Black explained that basketball commentator Marv Albert used to refer to strong defending from basketball players as 'tenacious dee'.
He said: "We were deep into the Lakey lakes [LA Lakers] in the late 80s and early 90s, and we were jamming a lot at Kyle's apartment and watching basketball and jamming and getting high, and we were thinking 'what would be the best name for a band?'
"And for some reason we were laughing so hard at the idea of a band being called Tenacious D.
"[Marv Albert] would say 'playing some tenacious defense', I don't know if he ever said 'tenacious d', we might have made that abbreviation for him. I just think we were really stoned."
However, the band's 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny would have you believing an entirely different origin for the name.
According to the (ahem) entirely factual film, the band actually got its name because Jack Black was born with the birthmark 'Tenac' on his right buttcheek, and Kyle Gass has a birthmark saying 'ious D' on his left buttcheek.
When the two performers discovered each other's birthmarks and put their butts together, it formed the moniker they became known and loved for.
Speaking in the same New York Times interview, Jack Black said: "What’s important is we got a movie about the D made, and we got to make it the way we wanted."
Topics: Jack Black, Celebrity, Music
Bec Oakes