For decades, bands have taken their names from some of the most unlikely places— and things. Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cranberries, Cake, Cream, Salt-N-Pepa, and Meat Loaf all grabbed their monikers from food. Some even named themselves after cities and continents: Chicago, Kansas, Boston, Berlin, Europe, Alabama, Beirut, and Phoenix.
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Throughout music history, others were also inspired by film, including The Knack, Black Sabbath, The Misfits, Mudhoney, and My Bloody Valentine.
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However bands discovered their namesakes, there was often a story or deeper inspiration behind their chosen label — or they just liked the way it sounded. Here’s a look at five bands who decided to name themselves after a few inanimate objects.
1. The Coasters
Originally from Los Angeles, The Coasters first called themselves The Robins and started out singing more novelty songs by the legendary songwriting duo of Leiber and Stoller (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller). By 1955, the group had a lineup shift and changed their name to The Coasters, which was fitting since they moved from the West to the East Coast, to New York City, under Atlantic Records.
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Under their new name, The Coasters released more R&B and rock hits like “Searchin’” and “Young Blood” from 1957, the group’s 1958 hit “Yakety Yak,” and 1959 staples “Charlie Brown” and “Poison Ivy.” The Coasters’ lineups continued to evolve throughout the decades. In 1987, The Coasters became the first group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
On March 1, 2023, Leon Hughes, the last surviving member of the original Coasters, died at the age of 92. The tradition of the group has continued on through the present with an entirely new lineup including J. W. Lance, Primitivo Candelaria, Robert Fowler, and Dennis Anderson.
2. The Doors
Though The Doors are technically the name of the hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at an entryway or exit, the actual band pulled their name title from Aldous Huxley’s 1954 book The Doors of Perception.
The Doors formed in 1965 in Los Angeles with vocalist Jim Morrison, guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, and drummer John Densmore. The Doors’ rich tapestry of classics and hits like “Light My Fire,” “Riders on the Storm,” “Hello, I Love You,” “Break on Through (to the Other Side),” “L.A. Woman,” among others, left a historic impact on music and pop culture beyond the 1960s and early ’70s.
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The Doors released six albums from their self-titled 1967 debut through L.A. Woman in 1971, the final album featuring Morrison, who died on July 3, 1971 at age 27. The band released three more posthumous albums throughout the 1970s. In 2013, Manzarek also died at the age of 74.
Check out our 2021 interview with Robby Krieger HERE.
3. Television
They started out as the Neon Boys in New York City in the early 1970s but soon split and later regrouped. Guitarist and singer Tom Verlaine, along with bassist Richard Hell, rhythm guitarist Richard Lloyd, and drummer Billy Ficca (later replaced by Fred Smith) soon rounded out Television by 1973. Hell had come up with of “tell a vision” in reference to the dominating media of the time: TV.
The band released their transformative debut Marquee Moon in 1977, followed by Adventure in 1978, before disbanding. They briefly reunited in the early ’90s and released their third and final album together, Television, in 1992. Verlaine died on January 28, 2023 at the age of 73.
Check out Tom Verlaine’s Top 5 Collaborations HERE.
4. Guns N’ Roses
First formed in Los Angeles in 1985 Guns N’ Roses‘ original lineup consisted of Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Though the band name is technically made up of two striking inanimate objects, guns and roses, the title was an amalgamation of two previous bands, featuring several of the core band members — Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns — that eventually merged into Guns N’ Roses.
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Guns N’ Roses released their 1987 debut Appetite For Destruction with classics “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” followed by G N’ R Lies in 1988, and the band’s mega-hit dual albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, which hit No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200, respectively. In 1993, they released an album of covers, “The Spaghetti Incident?” followed by Chinese Democracy in 2008.
All along, the band ran through several lineup changes with Rose remaining the core original member until McKagan and Slash rejoined Guns N’ Roses in 2015. By 2021, Guns N’ Roses kicked off their We’re F’n’ Back Tour, which has continued on through the present. The band gave its first Glastonbury headlining performance on June 24, 2023, and is planning to release new music.
5. Spoon
Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1993 by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno, who were previously in the band called The Alien Beats, Spoon played small clubs at first and released their debut EP Nefarious in 1994.
They named themselves after the 1970s German krautrock band Can, who had a hit in 1971 with their song “Spoon.” Spoon, the band, released its debut album Telepono, in 1996. That album was followed by a Series of Sneaks in 1998 and Spoon found more commercial success with their subsequent albums Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill the Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007), and Transference (2010).
Spoon continue on and released their 10th album, Lucifer on the Sofa, in 2022.
Photo: Estate of Edmund Teske/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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