Which musician has had the most streets named after them?
There are street names that mean something to music fans the world over. Leaving aside for a moment the road where The Beatles once strutted their stuff, a brief journey down the tracks of modern music takes us along many a fêted promenade.
New York’s famous Bleecker Street serves folk and punk disciples alike. For jazz aficionados it’s the legendary New Orleans progenitor of the genre that is Bourbon Street. Then there’s Beale Street in Memphis, where Elvis cut his teeth on bonafide rhythm and blues. London has Denmark Street with its music shops and publishers and the King’s Road for devotees of the Sex Pistols. And that’s leaving aside musical history hotspots where the streets have no name, as Bono once put it.
Then again, what about streets that are actually named after the music, as opposed to music becoming synonymous with pre-existing places? Streets whose names mean or refer directly to musicians.
The 21st century has seen the proliferation of streets taking their names from musicians, from Frank-Zappa-Strasse in Berlin to Melbourne’s AC/DC Lane and Oakland’s Tupac Shakur Way. In 2022, Missy Elliott became the latest East Coast rapper to get a road of her own in the city of New York, joining others among its musical progeny to have received the honour, including Joey Ramone, Run-DMC and Duke Ellington.
As of last month, David Bowie even has his own Rue in the 13th Arrondissement of Paris, as a mark of the glam-rock icon’s “strong link with the city of lights”, according to its mayor.
None of these pop, rock and hip-hop greats can compare with one artist, however, who reigns supreme in the musical street-naming stakes. As you might have guessed already, it’s the original Fab Four from Liverpool. Thanks to their legions of fans across the globe and billions of record sales, The Beatles boast hundreds of streets in their name as well.
Is there a Beatles street?
While The Beatles might be better known for making other street names famous, there are also streets around the world specifically named after them. Poland, Australia, California and Las Vegas, to name just a few places.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr do have one (or three) up on the competition, though. Many of the road signs paying homage to The Beatles name one of the members individually, such as those in the Kensington district of their home city, or John Lennon Way and George Harrison Alley in Warsaw.
Others get especially creative, basing their names on Beatles song titles. In Henderson, Las Vegas Valley, you can walk through Sergeant Peppers Court or cruise down Hearts Club Drive. Narre Warren, Australia, has its own Jude Place and Norwegian Way.
There is one road actually called Beatles Street in Smogorzewie, rural Poland. But for the single musician who has given their own name to more streets than any other, we have to go further back through music history.
Beethoven straße
When it comes to streets directly taking the artist’s name, Ludwig van Beethoven blows The Beatles out of the water. According to the European Data Journalism Network, Beethoven is the second most popular person in any field when it comes to street names in European capitals. He comes in ahead of the Virgin Mary, Leo Tolstoy and St Nicholas, among others, while Paul the Apostle just pips him to first.
Take your pick of Beethoven Streets, Rues, Ruas, Avenues and Strasses from hundreds of cities in German-speaking countries and Central Europe to Los Angeles, Quebec and São Paulo. Probably the most famous example is Beethovenstraße in his birthplace, Bonn. The city-centre thoroughfare is just a few blocks away from Beethoven-Haus Museum in the house where he was born.
It turns out the godfather of Romantic composers is also the don of musical street signs.
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