Louis Armstrong performed under the pseudonym Ted Shawne while Fats Waller took the name Flip Wallace. Recordings by Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club orchestra are to be found under 22 different pseudonyms. These are among the more than 3,000 pseudonyms unearthed by Allan Sutton in his pioneering guide to pseudonyms used on American recordings between 1892 and 1942.

Organized into sections dealing with vocal artists and instrumental groups, the volume has indexes for legal names, label groups, and vocal and instrumental names. Encompassing all musical styles, from opera to pop vocals, from jazz and blues to country music, and covering both vocal and instrumental performers, this is an invaluable research tool for discographers and music and theatre historians alike.