A good band needs a good name. After all, it’s more than just a name; it’s an identity, a brand, and often, a representation of the band’s image. Think of the flamboyant identity of Queen, the energetic sound of AC/DC, or the ‘chaotic but good’ energy of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While some bands picked a name that simply felt right, other bands had a well-thought-of reason behind their iconic name. In this article, we will go over 15 legendary rock bands and the origin story behind the name of their band.
The Doors
Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore named themselves The Doors after Aldous Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception. Huxley, in his turn, titled the book after a line in William Blake’s poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. It features the line: “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” The band initially settled on The Doors of Perception before shortening it to The Doors.
Pink Floyd
‘So, who is Pink?’ was one of the most common questions the members of Pink Floyd received. The answer? Blues musician Pink Anderson. The band’s first frontman Syd Barrett had a record of the Piedmont blues singer in his collection and decided to combine Anderson’s first name with that of another blues musician, Floyd Council. Ta-da! Pink Floyd.
The Beatles
The best-selling band of all time was originally named The Quarrymen after John Lennon’s school Quarry Bank. After some lineup changes John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison shortly called themselves Johnny and the Moondogs before eventually settling on The Beatles. Then-fourth member Stuart Sutcliffe reportedly came up with The Beetles, which was inspired by Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets (both insects). John Lennon reportedly suggested The Beatles as a play on words, incorporating the term ‘Beat’ music.
The Rolling Stones
The legendary rock band got their name during a phone call guitarist Brian Jones had with Jazz News after the band secured their first gig. When the journalist asked Jones what the name of the band was, he realized they had none. His eye fell on a Muddy Waters record lying on the floor, with one of the tracks being “Rollin’ Stone”. Jones quickly improvised and told the journalist his band was named The Rollin’ Stones. Later, the band respelled their name to The Rolling Stones.
The Who
The Who first went by the name The Detours. But after discovering the band Johnny Devlin and the Detours, they decided to change their name. co-founder Pete Townshend and friend Richard Barnes started thinking of names that would cause humorous announcements. They eventually came up with No One, The Group, and The Who. Lead singer Roger Daltrey eventually picked The Who.
AC/DC
Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young named their band after the abbreviation of ‘alternating current/direct current’ electricity. It was suggested to them by their sister Margaret, who saw it on the adapter of her sewing machine. The brothers felt AC/DC properly represented the power and energy of the band, and therefore decided to use it as their name.
Queen
Freddie Mercury suggested the band name Queen to Brian May and Roger Taylor because he felt it was a strong, representative, and universal one-word name. “The concept of Queen was to be regal and majestic,” Mercury said. “Glamour was part of us, and we wanted to be dandy. We wanted to shock and be outrageous.”
“I thought up the name Queen early on. It couldn’t have been King, it doesn’t have the same ring or aura as Queen. It was a very regal name and it sounded splendid. It’s strong, very universal, and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations.”
Fleetwood Mac
Nothing beats a good old combination of names. It’s the case with Fleetwood Mac. The band’s founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie combined their surnames, forming Fleetwood Mac. The drummer and bassist, together with Peter Green and John Mayall, initially called themselves The Bluesbreakers. As the Bluesbreakers, they released an instrumental song named “Fleetwood Mac” after the rhythm section. The band eventually decided to use the song’s name as their band name.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers derived their name from several sources. In his autobiography Scar Tissue, lead singer Anthony Kiedis explained the origin behind the name. “[It’s] a derivation of a classic old-school Americana blues or jazz name. There was Louis Armstrong with his Hot Five, and also other bands that had “Red Hot” this or “Chili” that. But no one had ever been the Red Hot Chili Peppers… If you think of Red Hot Chili Peppers in terms of a feeling, a sensation, or an energy, it makes perfect sense for our band…”
Creedence Clearwater Revival
After record executive Saul Zaentz gave the then-named band The Golliwogs the chance to record an album, the members decided to give their band a new name. Bassist Stu Cook suggested Hardwood and drummer Doug Clifford suggested Gossamer Wump, but both were eventually dismissed. Rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty then suggested naming the band after acquaintance Credence Nuball, who was a custodian at an apartment building of one of his friends.
The band’s frontman John Fogerty liked the idea of a band name with revival. After seeing a commercial on TV that mentioned ‘clear water’, Fogerty connected the dots. Credence was adjusted to Creedence, after which he added Clearwater Revival.
Deep Purple
The members of Deep Purple originally called themselves Roundabout. Lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore eventually suggested Deep Purple after Pete DeRose’s song of the same name, which was his grandmother’s favorite song.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam initially named themselves after NBA player Mookie Blaylock. But due to legal concerns by Epic Records’ executives, the band was urged to pick another name. They eventually settled on Pearl Jam, which was inspired by a Neil Young concert the members attended. “Neil played only about eight songs, but it was, like, a three-hour show. We were kind of panicked trying to figure out a band name, and he was having these long jams, and we just threw Jam at the end of Pearl,” bassist Jeff Ament stated. In the early 1990s, Pearl Jam’s frontman Eddie Vedder jokingly declared the name was inspired by a jam his grandma Pearl made, but he later clarified this story wasn’t true.
ZZ Top
Billy Gibbons decided to name his band ZZ Top after he noticed performers like Z.Z Hill and B.B. King used initials as their artists’ names. Gibbons shortly considered combining the two into ZZ King, but he felt it was too identical to B.B. King. In the end, Gibbons came up with Top instead of King, resulting in ZZ Top.
Nirvana
Before settling on Nirvana, the band went through several names, including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fred. Kurt Cobain eventually chose Nirvana because he wanted a nice, pretty, and meaningful name instead of a mean, raunchy punk name. In Buddhism, Nirvana is the highest state someone can attain; a state of perfect peace, happiness, and enlightenment, where all desires and suffering have gone away.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
On their debut album Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd, the band explained how to pronounce their name. But what’s the origin behind it? Well, the band named themselves after their high school P.E. teacher Leonard Skinner, who reportedly strictly enforced the school’s policy against boys having long hair. The band changed the vowels of Leonard Skinner to Lynyrd Skynyrd to avoid a lawsuit.
