Jack Black finally reveals meaning behind Tenacious D name after 31 years

Jack Black has finally cleared up one of the biggest mysteries in music, revealing the meaning behind Tenacious D’s name. The School of Rock star founded the musical group with Kyle Gass in 1994, dropping tracks including Wonderboy, Video Games and Time Warp.

They recently dropped an incredible cover of Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time for the Kung Fu Panda 4 soundtrack last year – before controversially canceling their tour. More than three decades after they were formed, the 55-year-old touched on what their unique moniker actually stands for.

Sitting down for a past interview with Bill Simmons on Grantland, which has resurfaced online, he explained that it actually came from their love of the LA Lakers, and a sports commentator. ‘We were deep into the lakey lakes in the late 80s and early 90s,’ he told the host.

‘We were jamming a lot at Kyle’s apartment and watching basketball, jamming and getting high, and we were thinking “what would be the best name for a band?”. ‘For some reason we were laughing so hard at the idea of a band being called Tenacious D.

‘[Commentator 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. ‘Now I think, Tenacious D, it’s not that funny… It’s not the funniest name I’ve ever heard.

‘It was at the time – it was hilarious to us and a few other stoners.’. Jack added: ‘A name is everything – it’s not everything but it’s a lot. We could’ve been called All Points West or something like that. ‘It doesn’t matter how good your band is, if you don’t have the right name, it’s not going to resonate with the people.’.

The Hollywood favorite has been a staple of the spotlight for years, popping up in projects including I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, the Holiday, Dear Santa and the Kung Fu Panda franchise. However, there is one particular film that he isn’t too thrilled about being a part of, calling himself a ‘sell-out’ for taking on a role in 2001’s Shallow Hal.

The Farrelly Brothers wrote and directed the comedy, in which Jack played a superficial man who was hypnotized to see only inner beauty, and fell in love with a bigger woman after perceiving her as slim. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t age well and has caused controversy in recent years.

‘I had an opportunity to work with some dudes I thought were really funny, but it didn’t turn out as I’d hoped,’ Jack previously said of the comedy in 2006. ‘I wasn’t proud of it, and I got paid a lot of money, so, in retrospect, it feels like a sell-out.’.

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