10 classic bands named after real people
Picking a band name can be an arduous task, and most groups usually get it wrong. Ultimately, the most crucial factor is the music they create, and everything else is secondary. However, band names work as a first impression and should act as an invitation into their world, with many acts, including Pink Floyd, using real people as their inspiration.
Band names are often a source of regret for groups later in life, simply because they see it as a meaningless formality to which they don’t give much thought. As a result, their decision is a mistake. When Dave Grohl decided to name the Foo Fighters, it was a solo project rather than a band, but the chosen moniker provided the allure of a group which is what he wanted.
He later told CBS: “I called it Foo Fighters because I didn’t want to put my name on it at first. Had I imagined that it would last more than a month and a half, I might have named it something else. It’s the dumbest band name ever. Foo Fighters is a slang term that they used for UFOs in World War II.”
Other groups have elected to name themselves after real people, which range from school teachers to childhood friends to murderous cult leaders. However, one attribute which aligns them together is they are named after humans.
10 bands named after real people:
Pink Floyd
As a band name, Pink Floyd oozes originality and stands alone. However, the creation process for forming the moniker was remarkably straightforward. After naming themselves The Tea Set, the group decided they needed to make a change and land upon a denomination more befitting of their experimental sound.
Syd Barrett explored his record collection for inspiration and found work by blues acts Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. After seeing these two names, Barrett made the connection in his brain and realised Pink Floyd would be the perfect name for his band. Unfortunately, both artists who inspired the naming process never had the chance to meet the group despite playing an unspoken pivotal role in their story.
The Yardbirds
Similarly to Pink Floyd, The Yardbirds named themselves after a musician they admired. Originally, the group were called The Blue-Sounds before deciding upon a name change and paying tribute to the saxophonist Charlie Parker, commonly known as the ‘Yardbird’.
The Yardbirds began performing under their new name in 1963, which was too late for Parker to recognise the eulogy as he’d passed away in 1955. While he was a prodigal musical talent, Parker became addicted to heroin at 16 and suffered from severe mental health problems, which sadly proved fatal.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
When the members of Creedence Clearwater Revival decided to form a new band in 1967, their first instinct was to call the group Muddy Rabbit, Gossamer Wump, Creedence Nuball and the Ruby. After realising the name they considered was a terrible idea, they put their heads together to discuss a rebrand, but they decided to keep the Creedence aspect.
Jon Fogerty was the driving force for the band calling themselves the Creedence Clearwater Revival, a tribute to his friend Credence Newball. Meanwhile, the Clearwater part of their name was stolen from a television advert for the beer brand Olympia, and Revival was to express their commitment to the project. While they’d been in groups together before, with Creedence Clearwater Revival, they were serious for the first time and wanted to take on the musical establishment.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
When Lynyrd Skynyrd formed in 1964, they changed their name almost weekly before finally deciding upon a permanent name. However, they decided to pay tribute to their P.E. teacher Leonard Skinner by naming themselves Lynryd Skynyrd shortly after they got into trouble at school in Jacksonville for daring to grow long hair.
While the nod to Skinner wasn’t directly from a place of love, it wasn’t a decision fuelled by hatred either. At first, the teacher was puzzled by their name, and he later learned to love the notoriety. After Lynyrd Skynyrd hit the big time, Skinner told The Times-Union of Jacksonville: “They were good, talented, hard-working boys. They worked hard, lived hard and boozed hard.” Meanwhile, his son added, “I think he kind of ate it up. He didn’t like it at first, he had mixed emotions later, but I think he kind of liked it eventually.”
Franz Ferdinand
Rather than name themselves after an unknown figure from their personal lives who weren’t familiar to people outside of their circle, Franz Ferdinand decided to take their name from the person whose death led to World War I. However, it wasn’t his assassination that led to them settling on their moniker – instead, it was horse racing. After seeing a stallion of the same name take home the Northumberland Plate in 2001, they decided if Franz Ferdinand was good enough for a horse, it was passable for a band.
Frontman Alex Kapranos once explained the band name: “He was an incredible figure as well. His life, or at least the ending of it, was the catalyst for the complete transformation of the world, and that is what we want our music to be. But I don’t want to over-intellectualise the name thing. Basically, a name should just sound good … like music.”
Kings of Leon
When brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill decided to form a group with their cousin Matthew, they decided to keep the name in the family. Their late grandfather, who died in 2014, was called Leon and inspired the Followill clan to opt for Kings of Leon.
“He was the kind of guy that never met someone that wasn’t his friend instantly,” said singer Caleb Followill after his death to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I think that’s something that you strive to be, but I think he was born that way.”
Meanwhile, Nathan explained how Leon wasn’t jealous of their fame after watching an Oklahoma show and told his grandson: “He said, ‘My arm is so sore from shaking so many hands, and my face hurts from smiling for pictures’. He said, ‘Y’all can have that fame stuff. It’s not for me.’”
Kasabian
Similarly to Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian opted to name themselves after a historical figure but not a person remembered for the right reasons. In 1969, the Manson Family infamously murdered Hollywood star Sharon Tate, her unborn baby, and six other innocent people. Their getaway driver was Linda Kasabian, and decades later, a band in Leicestershire decided to adopt her surname.
Kasabian died in 2023, and her death certificate showed she had adopted the surname “Chiochios” in later life to protect her identity. Founding member of the band, Kasabian, explained their decision to name themselves after a member of the Manson Family to Radio X: “We were definitely into our serial killers. We liked that name, so we chose that, he said. “Kasabian also means ‘butcher’ in Armenian.”
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Jonestown Massacre is one of the most horrifying human tragedies ever. In 1978, over 900 people in Guyana died at the hands of the evil American cult leader Jim Jones. While this event is utterly tragic, it did spark an idea in the head of Anton Newcombe, who decided to call his musical project The Brian Jonestown Massacre, which paid tribute to the late Rolling Stones guitarist.
While the band name is provocative, it’s not a celebration of Jim Jones and shouldn’t be misinterpreted in that way. However, the love for Brian Jones is authentic, and Newcombe even once claimed he was visited by the ghost of the late musician who instructed him to make the album, Take It from the Man.
Jane’s Addiction
When Jane’s Addiction formed in 1985, frontman Perry Farrell lived in shared accommodation with his friend, Jane Bainter. While she wasn’t part of the band, Bainter played a crucial part in Farrell’s life, and he wanted to pay tribute to her by naming the band in her honour.
The singer later recalled: “My girlfriend [Casey Niccoli] and I were sitting in the car, and we started to think about band names. She threw in Jane’s Heroin Experience. I thought it wasn’t vague enough. If you want to invite people in, you don’t want to put heroin on your door.”
Dropkick Murphys
Celtic rockers The Dropkick Murphys are a group who’ve made a name for themselves by creating anthems made to soundtrack drinking sessions. Ironically, they are named after the former professional wrestler John ‘Dropkick’ Murphy, who ran a rehabilitation centre for alcoholics from 1941 to 1971 in Boston.
The band’s Ken Casey once explained the band name: “I have always heard old-timers around Boston talk about a dry-out place around in the 1950s and ’60s, called… Dropkick Murphys Place. I loved that name so much that we planned to use it for a band name long before we ever had a band.”
