- 8 months ago
Ever wonder how your favorite bands got their names? From literary references to historical figures, and even adult toys, these origin stories range from bizarre to brilliant! Join us as we explore the fascinating stories behind some of music's most memorable monikers.
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00:00You didn't say you'd got a band already.
00:01Don't.
00:02Got a band name.
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:05And today, we're counting down our picks
00:07for unique or interesting backstories
00:09concerning the moniker origins of famous bands.
00:13And you called yourselves the Silver Beetles
00:14after the crickets originally?
00:15Yeah.
00:16Number 10, Pearl Jam.
00:23There have been a number of stories out there
00:26detailing the meaning of the band name Pearl Jam.
00:29This grunge group's origins arose
00:31from the ashes of another group, Mother Love Bone.
00:34And Pearl Jam were initially called, um,
00:37Mookie Blaylock after a player in the NBA.
00:40A couple of us were kind of collecting basketball cards
00:42and stuff when we were actually making our first demo.
00:44We'd only been in a band for probably about a week, I guess.
00:47And your card ended up in our demo
00:50and some friends of ours were going on tour
00:52and they wanted us to go on tour with him.
00:53They said, you need a name.
00:54And we hadn't even thought of a name at that point.
00:56And actually, Kelly, our manager, said,
00:59why don't you just call the band Mookie Blaylock?
01:00Vocalist Eddie Vedder and crew rebranded themselves
01:03after signing to Epic Records,
01:05at one point claiming the name referenced
01:07Vedder's grandmother's first name
01:09and a supposed hallucinogenic dip she made.
01:12The part about her name is true,
01:14but the jam refers to their propensity
01:16for long, extended jam sessions.
01:18All right, someday, yeah.
01:22Till begin is my mom, yeah.
01:26Number 9.
01:27Fall Out Boy.
01:28Say my name and kiss in the same bed.
01:31I did you to say they taste the same.
01:34It's not altogether uncommon for a band
01:37to have a work-in-progress name
01:39before finally graduating to a better idea.
01:42Fall Out Boy were initially known as Forget Me Not
01:44before adopting a moniker indebted
01:46to an obscure character on The Simpsons.
01:48We found our new Fall Out Boy!
01:51And he's right over there.
01:52Huh?
01:53This latter name, perhaps predictably,
01:56stuck around for the long haul.
01:57We can totally see why, too,
01:59since The Simpsons can often be a universal language
02:02when it comes to pop culture.
02:04Additionally, a band referring to themselves as Fall Out Boy
02:07were probably going to receive a better go of it
02:09than Troy McClure or Dr. Nick, right?
02:12I don't care.
02:14Don't you think it's wrong as it's about me?
02:19Number 8.
02:20Foo Fighters.
02:21Hello.
02:23I'm waiting here for you.
02:26Dave Grohl could have very easily drummed
02:28for just about any band
02:29after the dissolution of Nirvana in 1994.
02:33Instead, the skinsman decided to bet on himself
02:35and try his hand at fronting a new band.
02:38Grohl recorded demos of songs he wrote
02:40and decided upon a fresh name,
02:43Foo Fighters.
02:44I did it by myself and I played all the instruments.
02:46I played drums and guitar and bass and sang
02:48and I made this cassette,
02:49but I didn't want people to know it was me
02:51because I didn't want people to think like,
02:53oh, that guy from Nirvana is trying to start another band.
02:55So I just called it Foo Fighters
02:57because it sounded like a group of people.
02:59This moniker was in reference
03:00to an old World War II era slang terminology
03:03used by members of the military
03:05to describe unidentified flying objects.
03:08Granted, there was little in the way of sci-fi or fantasy
03:11when it came to the lyrics of Foo Fighters,
03:13but this ultimately didn't matter in the end.
03:16Make my way back home when I learned to fly.
03:20Number seven, Steely Dan.
03:22The weird kids at the college
03:23didn't turn out like you planned.
03:25The things in parts of knowledge I can't understand.
03:28Some band names are obvious,
03:30some make total sense,
03:31and others are, well,
03:33just more obscure and arcane.
03:35The musical genius of Walter Becker and Donald Fagan
03:38was filtered through a name
03:40taken from yet another uncompromising artist,
03:43William S. Burroughs.
03:45A writer can profit from things
03:47that may be just unpleasant or boring to someone else
03:53because he uses those subsequently
03:55as material for writing.
03:57Steely Dan was actually the name
03:59given to an adult sex toy
04:00in the latter's novel, Naked Lunch.
04:02This steam-powered piece of erotica
04:04would then be associated
04:06with one of the jazz, rock, and prog world's
04:09most exemplary acts.
04:11Steely Dan may be incorrectly considered
04:13as dad rock by some,
04:15but their cheeky band name proved
04:16that Becker and Fagan had a sharp sense of humor.
04:19We'll turn it round and round
04:22Go back, track, do it again
04:26Number 6, Megadeth
04:28Hello me, meet the real me
04:32And my misfits wave life
04:34Intentional misspellings can sometimes assist
04:37new bands from legal action
04:39while other times it just looks cool.
04:42Dave Mustaine had a lot of time on his hands
04:44to contemplate his ousting from Metallica
04:46back in 1983.
04:47It was during this period
04:57where the guitarist came upon a newspaper article
04:59that quoted then-California senator
05:01Alan Cranston referencing
05:03a quote, arsenal of megadeath
05:06which was another way to describe
05:08the large-scale demise of a million people.
05:11Mustaine changed the spelling a little bit
05:13and voila, an instant contender
05:16to Metallica's thrash metal throne was born.
05:23Number 5, Jethro Tull
05:26It's a question that's historically come up a lot
05:34And no, there isn't actually anybody named Jethro Tull
05:38within the lineup of this pioneering UK prog band.
05:41The moniker actually wasn't even the idea
05:44of anybody in the band
05:45but was instead given to them
05:46by a member of their booking agency.
05:48By the time the group realized this was the case
05:51it was too late.
05:52Jethro Tull
05:58Jethro Tull was a historical agriculturist
06:01that had absolutely nothing to do
06:03with the band's blues and folk
06:05inflected brand of progressive rock.
06:07These days, however
06:08it's hard not to associate this name
06:10with Tull's unique and influential style.
06:13Number 4, Molly Hatchett
06:21The mysterious legacy behind the name Molly Hatchett
06:29is as grisly and fantastical
06:31as the colorful album art
06:33that graces this band's LP.
06:35Molly Hatchett's guitarist
06:37and founder Dave Klubeck
06:38has gone on records
06:40surrounding the names in a hat method
06:42that his band used to come up with their name.
06:51The ultimate winner, Molly Hatchett
06:54was said to have been inspired by a sex worker
06:56who was known to murder those
06:57that hired her services.
06:59This Civil War era murder spree
07:01is difficult to corroborate
07:02with a lot of sources today.
07:04But hey, never let the truth
07:06get in the way of a good story, right?
07:12Number 3, The Beatles
07:16It should come as no surprise
07:24that there were a lot of groups
07:26with a the prefix to their name
07:28back during the time of The Beatles.
07:30The Quarrymen served as an embryonic version of the group,
07:33a skiffle outfit that featured
07:35John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.
07:38This range would be lucky to find a job on the docks
07:40because at the moment
07:41you're going nowhere.
07:43Here at Quarry Bank, generally
07:44nowhere.
07:49There's nowhere for the geniuses, sir.
07:51Then I probably do belong there.
07:53More monikers followed, including the Rainbows,
07:56but it would be bassist Stuart Sutcliffe
07:58that suggested they try and piggyback
08:00upon the success of Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
08:04The Beatles switched over to the Silver Beatles,
08:06before eventually dropping the silver altogether.
08:09We thought the Crickets was a pun,
08:12like with the English game, cricket,
08:13but of course the Americans didn't.
08:15It just meant grasshoppers.
08:18So we thought it was a brilliant pun,
08:19so we tried to do the same thing with Beatles,
08:21an insect that meant something else as well.
08:23The rest, as they say, is history.
08:26Number 2, The Grateful Dead
08:28There always seems to be some sort of gentle nod
08:36to the dark side surrounding the formation
08:38of the Grateful Dead.
08:39This can be seen within their initial moniker
08:41of the Warlocks,
08:43although the group's actual music
08:44owed more to blues jamming
08:46and light psychedelia
08:47than anything heavy or metal.
08:49Can you describe your favorite memories
08:52from that era?
08:54Well, uh...
08:54I thought there was the acid test
08:55and that was a barrel of fun.
08:57Still, The Dead's Jerry Garcia
08:58did seem to be slightly inspired
09:00by spiritualism
09:02when it came to picking out
09:03his band's new name from the dictionary.
09:05Garcia seemed pleased
09:06with the book's definition
09:07of Grateful Dead
09:08as being an appreciative soul,
09:11one that seeks to thank
09:12a living benefactor
09:13that's assisted with the spirit's burial.
09:15Before we continue,
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09:37Number 1, Joy Division
09:39The music of Joy Division
09:46has been lauded
09:47for its unapologetic
09:48and unrepentant darkness.
09:50It stands to reason, then,
09:52that this pioneering post-punk band
09:54from the UK
09:55should also retain
09:56a sinister story
09:57with regards to its moniker.
10:05The term Joy Division
10:07refers to the Freudenabteilung,
10:09German brothels
10:10that operated
10:11during the Second World War.
10:13These Joy Divisions
10:14were utilized for prisoners
10:15who were designated
10:16by the Nazi SS
10:17for administrative functions.
10:20Their purpose
10:20was to ostensibly
10:21increase productivity
10:22amongst this prisoner workforce,
10:25but was ultimately utilized
10:26more as a bargaining chip.
10:28The band Joy Division
10:29in the meantime,
10:31splintered after the death
10:32of their singer Ian Curtis,
10:34re-emerging as New Order
10:35in 1980.
10:37Do you know any other
10:45crazy band name rumors
10:46or fun facts?
10:47Let us know in the comments.
10:49Honestly,
10:49had I taken this whole
10:50career thing seriously,
10:51I would have named it
10:52something else.
10:53that happened to me.
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