Classic Rock Band Names And The Stories Behind Them

Photo: Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock

What’s in a name? Well, recognition and how others respond to you. Our pets have names, some cute, some that are not very fair to the animal, but luckily, they don’t know that. As recorded music became widely available in the last century, people could listen to music at home, and the advent of radio was even more revolutionary at the time than the internet and all its impact today. So, memorable names were important, but local stations in small markets also gave musicians a chance to play on evening local music shows when the networks weren’t broadcasting national programming, along with local sports, community events, church services, etc.

But naming bands and musicians other than after the band leaders was rare, although Louis Armstrong made his Hot Seven recording group very popular in the late ’20s. Another unusually named early group was the Mound City Blue Blowers, and gospel brought us names such as the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama.

Arkansas native Louis Jordan, who is a critical pioneer in helping develop rock and roll music, deserves special mention. I’m a bit hacked, frankly, at the lack of attention he receives, given his fantastic string of massive hits, especially from the late 1930s through World War II, when his music was hugely popular, including among those in the Armed Services. At the time, the American Federation of Musicians imposed a recording ban from 1942 into 1944 as the union fought record companies over royalty payments connected to recorded music.

An important wartime exception was the V-Disc program, which produced special records for U.S. service personnel, and Jordan appeared on numerous V-Discs. His timely subject matter touched troops and sailors with songs that reminded them of better times at home, albeit sometimes with plenty of ribbing to go along with it. “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby,” “Five Guys Named Moe,” “Caldonia,” and “Ain’t Nobody Here but Us Chickens” were huge, and darned if rock and roll couldn’t be found nosing around in those boogie-woogie tempos and fiery solos! It’s sad that my home state of Arkansas is nearly oblivious to this great man. But name-wise, Jordan called his combo the Tympany Five even when the lineup expanded beyond five musicians. But let’s move on. The ’50s really started the ball rolling, and while band names might not have been especially flashy compared to what was coming, band names were more part of rock and roll, and single performers stayed more in pop-chart territory.

The Rolling Stones

The ’60s would change band and performer naming forever. So, we all know the name game here. The Beatles, after earlier names including The Quarrymen, Johnny and the Moondogs, the Silver Beetles, and the Silver Beatles, eventually settled on their famous spelling that played on both beetles and “beat.” The naming of The Rolling Stones was no mystery either. Brian Jones was the one who formed the Stones and named them after Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ Stone.”

In the first years, Jones was much more prominent before increasing drug problems and a declining role in the band preceded his 1969 death. Now, they are of course the greatest rock and roll band of all time; the Rolling Stones name also became the title of a major music publication, and the world mourns the loss of Charlie Watts, the greatest rock and roll drummer ever.

There were others all poised to break big:

The Who

The Who were a scruffy lot, tough as nails. They had been known as The Detours before one of Pete Townshend’s friends, Richard Barnes, suggested The Who because, according to him, it “had a pop punch.” The band adopted the name, was briefly renamed The High Numbers later in 1964, and then returned to The Who.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

After bringing Hendrix to London and assembling the trio with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, Chas Chandler coined the name The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix then asked “Are You Experienced?” on what most rock fans think is one of the most mind-bending debuts and futuristic albums of all time.

Led Zeppelin

And speaking of The Who, Jimmy Page, after wanting to form a new band following the dissolution of The Yardbirds, initially fulfilled remaining Yardbirds concert commitments with his new lineup under Yardbirds and New Yardbirds billings before the group became Led Zeppelin. The famous story credits Keith Moon with the “lead balloon” joke that inspired the name. Page liked the heavy/light contrast, and one of the greatest bands with one of the greatest names was born.

Black Sabbath

Meanwhile, the band that had earlier used names including the Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth found there was already another band called Earth, creating confusion. The group had written a song called “Black Sabbath,” inspired by the 1963 Boris Karloff horror film of the same name, and when they needed a new band name the choice was obvious: Black Sabbath.

Budgie

Another great but terribly underrated Welsh three-piece band was Budgie, named after what people also call parakeets. Bassist/vocalist Burke Shelley, with his Geddy Lee-like range and a very heavy sound, liked the name Budgie because of the light/heavy contrast between the little bird and the band’s music. Budgie would get some critical recognition when Metallica covered “Breadfan” and “Crash Course in Brain Surgery,” but their days were numbered. Sadly, Shelley passed away in 2022. People who love early Rush and the earthiness of Sabbath and other hard-working, hard-rocking bands can check out our Top 10 Budgie Songs.

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane had one of the better names for the San Francisco hippie movement, right up with the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and who knows how many other weirdly named bands all over the place. A long-running story has claimed that “Jefferson Airplane” was drug slang, but guitarist Jorma Kaukonen has explained that his friend Steve Talbot jokingly nicknamed him “Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane,” a play on blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson. When the new band needed a name, Kaukonen suggested Jefferson Airplane.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Mention must be made of a Jacksonville, Florida band that, besides defining southern rock basically forever, did the odd deed of naming their band after their physical education teacher, Leonard Skinner. But more baffling is the fact they also created one of the hardest names in rock and roll to spell – Lynyrd Skynyrd. Took me forever to add that second “y” in both words.

Motorhead

Motorhead was not named for car and race fanatics. Bassist and legendary leader Lemmy Kilmister, who also played in one of the most beloved psychedelic UK bands, Hawkwind, was fired but not before he wrote the song “Motorhead,” British slang for somebody who used a lot of speed, his favorite drug.

Pink Floyd

If you’re wondering where that guy Pink Floyd got his name from…sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Nonetheless, if you are wondering where the name Pink Floyd came from, Syd Barrett named the band after American blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

The Cars

One of the greatest pop/rock bands out of the New Wave era was The Cars. This Boston outfit had roots in a group called Cap’n Swing before settling on drummer David Robinson’s suggestion of The Cars. Sadly, both vocalist/guitarist Ric Ocasek and bassist/vocalist Ben Orr have passed away.

Van Halen

Van Halen was named not by the brothers Van Halen. They had been known as Mammoth, and pretty much ruled the L.A. party scene, and helped spawn dozens of glam bands, even though they were much more a super hard rock band that also could write a good pop tune. Singer David Lee Roth suggested the name Van Halen. He liked that it didn’t really tell the listener anything and was therefore harder to pigeonhole.

Hometown Names

Without naming all of them, the ’70s also saw lots of bands using the names of hometowns, cities, states, and regions. Kansas certainly qualified: the band came together in Topeka, Kansas, and ultimately adopted the state name. Black Oak Arkansas took its name from Black Oak, Arkansas. Atlanta Rhythm Section was assembled from session musicians working at Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, just outside Atlanta, before becoming a recording and touring band in its own right. Boston, Chicago, and Nantucket also did well, although Nantucket, for some reason, hailed from North Carolina.

Metallica got its name when drummer Lars Ulrich saw “Metallica” among the names his friend Ron Quintana was considering for a metal fanzine. Ulrich encouraged Quintana to use Metal Mania and kept Metallica for the band. Metallica, of course, became one of the greatest examples of tape-trading and word-of-mouth success in the pre-internet era.

And let’s hear it for my little band that did originals and sloppy copies, but played with all our hearts, and truthfully, we weren’t bad. We didn’t get to record, but it was my band nominally since I played lead guitar, sang and wrote the originals, and introduced most of the covers. My friends who were brothers were happy that way – I didn’t tell them what exactly to do; they could shoot down anything they didn’t like, and we had a certain chemistry that made us pretty tight and could play by ear. We called ourselves The Lost Episodes.

Updated August 26, 2026.

ClassicRockHistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and intellectual property under United States copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to republish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain, Creative Commons photos, or officially licensed from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article.