Back in the early 80s I was roadying for a band from the Illinois Valley called The Jerks that had been originally called Hamburger and the Works. Now, Hamburger and the Works is a catchy name for a band, especially if you like your burgers with the works. On the other hand it might be a little hard trying to get that name on the kick drum.
Fate would step in one day or should I say one night when the band was playing some bar in Peru, Illinois and some patrons started yelling at the band that they were “a bunch of jerks” for playing the kind of music they did, which back then was a lot of New Wave covers like “Turning Japanese,” “Life Begins at the Hop,” “Bionic Man,” and “Starry Eyes.” The name stuck and shortly thereafter the band became The Jerks.
Whether it actually happened that way or if it is the stuff that makes an urban legend, have you ever thought about how your favorite band came up with their catchy, interesting, or esoteric name? Have you ever wondered about the origins of the names for bands like The B-52’s, Led Zeppelin, The Moody Blues, Ramones and Ultravox?
Perhaps some of you already know these—as some of these names are the stuff that urban legends are made of—while other names, at least the origins of these names just might surprise you. I’ve added some commentary and musical references (some a little esoteric, so you better pay attention because there will be a short quiz afterwards) to spice things up a bit.
KANSAS
Sometimes a good name for a band is right there in front of you: as in where you are from as in the case of Kansas. The band started out as The Reasons Why and later changed their name to Saratoga before becoming Kansas (which is Sioux for “People of the South Wind”) in 1970.
I guess when they got to naming themselves Kansas they had reached the point of no return. And unlike some bands from the 70s, Kansas was hardly dust in the wind judging from their popularity. Carry on my wayward sons.
KILLING JOKE
According to one urban legend associated with this post-punk band that was founded in 1979, they took their name from a British phrase referring to an ironic or paradoxical situation or event. Another possibility is that is refers to the graphic Batman novel Batman: A Killing Joke.
Either way, this band was definitely no joke and became notoriously large for the controversies they created—both for their album art and their onstage antics, which were bizarre, shocking, and inflammatory—nothing ironic or paradoxical about that. They would also influence many bands including Faith No More, Foo Fighters, Korn, Metallica, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and Soundgarden.
With that many bands influenced by Killing Joke, you might not want to “wait” anymore to give them a listen.
KING CRIMSON
The band’s original lyricist, Peter Sinfield came up the name King Crimson as a synonym for Beelzebub (in some accounts an alternate name for Lucifer, “the fallen angel”) and who wanted a name for a band like Led Zeppelin that had a bit of power to it. According to Robert Fripp the band’s guitarist, “Beelzebub would be an anglicized form of the Arabic phrase B’il Sabab; this means literally the man with an aim and is the recognizable quality of King Crimson.”
Well, there you have it. You can’t get anymore straightforward with a band’s moniker and origin than that which places you right smack dab in the court of the Crimson King.
THE KINKS
After having spent all day and all of the night searching the Net for information about how The Kinks got their name, I have to say they really got me now because the only thing I could find was that Ray Davies once said that the shortest names were always printed bigger on show bills. The Kinks were second in shortness only to the Who. I couldn’t find anything to corroborate Davies’ claim, but I suppose it does make sense.
The band started out in the early 60s and went through a number of names—The Ray Davies Quartet, The Bo-Weevils, Ramrods, and The Ravens—before they finally just became The Kinks. Who knows, maybe they had a lot of kinks to work out in coming up with a catchy name.
KISS
Probably no band has had more rumors and urban legends surrounding the origin of its name than Kiss when in fact, how the band came up with their name was quite simple. According to Paul Stanley, one night he and Peter Criss and Gene Simmons were driving around New York City thinking about band names when Criss mentioned that he had once been in a band called Lips, so Stanley said, “what about Kiss?”
I suppose with a name like Kiss, the band had nothing to lose.
It was Ace Frehley who made their logo with the two “S’s” looking like lightning bolts which caused some controversy because the two “S’s” looked liked the insignia of the Nazi SS. Ironically, Frehley, Simmons, and Stanley are all Jewish.
Over the years, Kiss has denied the fundamentalist rumor that the name stands for ‘Knights In Satan’s Service’. We can all sleep soundly tonight knowing that. Likewise the band has consistently denied rumors that the acronym also stands for “Keep It Simple Stupid.”
Hey, all these guys wanted to do was just rock and roll all night. And they did.
KLAATU
This one was easy and I although I didn’t have to call occupants of interplanetary craft, maybe I should have because this Canadian progressive rock group named themselves after the extraterrestrial by the same name in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Remember back in the 70s when one of the biggest rock rumors making the circuit was that Klaatu were actually the Beatles?
Klaatu barada nikto.
KRAFTWERK
The origin of this influential 1970’s electronic band’s name from Düsseldorf, Germany was also quite easy to come up with: Kraftwerk is German for “power plant” or “power station.”
If you ever listened to their music, especially their hit single “Autobahn” take it from me, these guys were never any showroom dummies.
LED ZEPPELIN
Stories vary, but in what has to be one of the more famous rock and roll stories/urban legends and rumors, Keith Moon of The Who supposedly told Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones that their new project would go over like a lead balloon, hence, Led Zeppelin. Another story, with just a slight spin has it that Moon and John Entwistle suggested a possible supergroup with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck would go over like a “lead zeppelin.”
The name stuck, but there would be one more story. The “Led” spelling was to make sure people pronounced the name right and not call the band “leed” Zeppelin.
Obviously there was no communication breakdown and the band would soar high all through the 70s and beyond.
LEMONHEADS
Named by band founder Evan Dando for a candy that is sweet on the inside but sour on the outside, it’s possible that it was a metaphor for the band’s sound.
You know “it’s about time” that a band named itself after candy or something like that.
Just in case you never heard of the band or any of their music, I recommend their version of “Mrs. Robinson” and “It’s a Shame About Ray” from their It’s a Shame About Ray album and “Into Your Arms” from Come On and Feel the Lemonheads.
LEVEL 42
According to one story, the band got their inspiration for their name from a supercomputer in the novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that gave the answer to life, the universe and everything as “42″. However, there were copyright problems with actually calling the band 42, so the band, not wanting to get into any “hot water” with Douglas Adams the author of the novel, added “level” in front of the 42.
And here’s a bit of 70’s trivia for you: before becoming Level 42, they were members of the pop group M with one of those one-hit wonders of the 70’s, “Pop Muzik.”
LITTLE RIVER BAND
The origin of this Australian band’s name was inspired by a sign for a river. Probably worrying that their original name Mississippi sounded too American, when the band, which was founded in Melbourne in 1975, was driving to a gig in Geelong, they passed Little River and they agreed to call themselves the Little River Band.
Must have been just what they needed for the band who would go on to be quite successful and not fade into oblivion as some lonesomer losers.
I don’t know about you, but don’t you find reminsincing about all these bands and the stories behind their names interesting?
THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL
Do you believe in magic when it comes to coming up with a catchy name for a band, or do you think one just has to daydream a little to find the right name for a band?
Well, if that doesn’t work you can always get inspiration for a name from the lyrics of a song like The Lovin’ Spoonful must have done when they chose their name from the Mississippi John Hurt song “Coffee Blues.”
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
The origin of this American Southern rock band’s name started back in high school when two of its founding members got in trouble.
This Jacksonville, Florida band had started out in the late 60s as The Noble Five and later My Backyard, but then later, when looking for a better name changed their name to Leonard Skinnerd after their Robert E. Lee High School gym coach, Leonard Skinner. Back when founding members Gary Rossington and Bob Burns were in high school, Skinner had punished them several times for breaking the school’s strict dress code, which did not allow boys to have long hair touching the collar or sideburns below the ears.
They definitely weren’t free as any birds back then when it came to bending the school dress code.
MC5
This quintessential rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan (for those of you keeping score at home that is now six artists/bands from Michigan that have already been mentioned) were originally called The Headhunters before they became MC5 which reflected their Detroit roots (it was short for Motor City Five), was vaguely reminiscent of a sports car (the GTO) and echoed the Dave Clark Five at the height of their popularity.
The proof is in the pudding as the saying goes, but in this case their music because MC5 definitely knew how to kick out the jams when they hit the stage.
Trivia note: Fred “Sonic” Smith one of the guitar players would go on to marry Patti Smith.
MADNESS
Originally, the critical mass of the band that would eventually become Madness was called The North London Invaders in 1976. Later, in 1978 the band briefly changed their name to Morris and the Minors before coming Madness.
And then it was not just one step beyond, but many leaps and bounds for the band that would enjoy success in the early 80s with a string of hits that included “Night Boat to Cairo,” “My Girl,” “House of Fun,” “Our House,” and “It Must Be Love.”
MEAT LOAF
Born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas, TX, there are several stories attributed to his more famous name of Meat Loaf. It was either an expression his high school football coach yelled when Aday stepped on his foot (instead of swearing), his childhood nickname (because of his weight), or he was originally called “Meat” because of his size and later “Loaf” was added.
Hey, two out of three of these stories ain’t bad. In fact, they all sound like they could be true.
Although his career did not take off like a bat out of hell at first, it would when Bat out of Hell was released in 1977.
METALLICA
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich was helping a friend come up with a name for a metal fanzine and suggested a few names—one of them was “Metal Mania” that his friend decided to use and the other one, “Metallica” was the one that Lars kept.
Okay, so maybe that isn’t too interesting of a story for such a great band, but you know what they say, sad, but true.
MOLLY HATCHET
I wonder if this Southern rock band was flirtin’ with disaster, their own disaster when they decided to name themselves after a legendary southern prostitute who supposedly mutilated and decapitated her clients?
Originating from the same town as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet’s name did not portend disaster for the band that enjoyed success throughout the 70s. They tried to distanced themselves from other Southern rock acts and in their music expressed the hopes, values, and excesses of the 70s working-class youth in the South.
MOODY BLUES
The origin of this famous progressive, symphonic and psychedelic rock band’s name was inspired by some brewskis and a little mood music—in this case the planned sponsorship from M&B (Mitchell and Butler’s) Brewery in Birmingham and a subtle reference to Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo.”
Isn’t life strange the way that everything works out in the end when a band is looking for right name? Sometimes it can be the question of what sounds best for the music that is played by the band. You know when you hear the name Moody Blues that you are not in for some hard rock, but something of a more progressive nature. And other times, it is like a balancing act—like riding that seesaw—to balance out a band’s musical vision with a name that captures that vision.
That’s what The Moody Blues have done all these years.
MOTORHEAD
This has to be a classic rock and roll story. First Lemmy bassist, singer and songwriter is kicked out of the band Hawkwind in 1975 for doing the wrong drugs; next he decides to start his own band called Bastard—no doubt because he’s angry for just having been sacked. Then, he is talked out of calling the band Bastard because it’s not the kind of a band that’s going to be popular on TV. So Lemmy decides to call his new band Motörhead, inspired by a song he had written for Hawkwind, which was a slang term for amphetamine.
And the rest is rock and roll history.
MOTT THE HOOPLE
Originally called Silence when they first started playing in 1968, the band later changed its name to Mott the Hoople from a novel by the same name about an eccentric who works in a circus freak show.
Unfortunately, all the young dudes in this band did not do too well in the beginning with the four albums they had recorded and were about to split up when David Bowie, a fan of the band offered them one of his songs “Suffragette City.” They turned it down, so he wrote “All the Young Dudes” for them and it would become their biggest hit.
They would go on to have a few more hits and have success as a glam rock band from the early to mid 70s.
