Ongoing History Daily: Why is metal called “metal?”

One of the heaviest and most extreme forms of guitar-based music is metal. That’s the perfect name for it. But who came up with that? It’s rather murky that even scholars have struggled with. In 2013, Deena Weinstein, a professor of sociology at DePaul University, wrote a paper called Just So Stories: How Heavy Metal Got Its Name—A Cautionary Tale. She dug through all sorts of sources in an attempt to find the etymological answer.

Did it have to do with the heavy metals found in the periodic table? No. Then she landed upon writer and poet William S. Burroughs. In the early 60s, he wrote a piece called Uranian Willy the Heavy Metal Kid,” which was interesting but had nothing to do with music. There’s also the phrase “heavy metal thunder” in the Steppenwolf song “Born to be Wild,” but that references to motorcycles. That didn’t really work, either.

So how did “heavy metal” become associated with music? That’s next time.