3 Classic Rock Bands That Fortunately Changed Their Names Before Hitting It Big

In college or high school, did you have a group of friends that formed a fairly decent band only to ruin it with a dreadful name? Well, I did, and it reminded me of the importance of band names. Now, that might sound superficial, and it is to an extent, but the name of a band is their first impression. The name has to have a cleverness to it, a verbal memorability, and in totality, just needs to sound cool yet simple in order to win over potential fans. Again, it is their first impression, and fortunately, these three classic rock bands changed their name before hitting it big, because if they didn’t, then they might not have ever.

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Led Zeppelin

To be frank, Led Zeppelin‘s first band name was incredibly boring and just purely uncreative. Formerly known as The New Yardbirds, Jimmy Page literally took the name of his former band, The Yardbirds, and just stuck the word “New” in front of it. Not to bash Jimmy Page, but given how creatively masterful he is, you’d think he would have put a little more effort into the naming of his new band.

Funny enough, Page, Plant, Jones, or Bonham didn’t even think of the name Led Zeppelin. Rather, Keith Moon, the drummer for The Who, did. Specifically, Moon suggested the name to Jimmy Page, and years later, Led Zeppelin became the official name of the historic rock group.

Pink Floyd

Prior to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, Pink Floyd went under several different names, and a few of them weren’t half bad. A few of the names Pink Floyd formerly went by include Sigma 6, the Megadeaths, and the Tea Set. In our opinion, the Tea Set wasn’t half bad, but founding member Syd Barrett seemingly thought otherwise.

In 1965, Syd Barrett coined the name Pink Floyd after combining the names of the blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. The original idea was the name The Pink Floyd Sound, but that was too much of a mouthful, so it was then shortened to just Pink Floyd.

Queen

Before Freddie Mercury’s inclusion in the band, Queen featured Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Tim Staffell. They were merely known as Smile. Okay, let’s all be honest, that is a rather terrible name for a band. In theory, it sounds clever and a bit mysterious, but it just doesn’t work, and Freddie Mercury seemingly thought so as well.

After Staffell left the band and Freddie Mercury joined, the iconic vocalist suggested that they change their name to Queen. Evidently, that suggestion stuck, as Queen officially became Queen shortly after Mercury joined the band in 1970. Could you imagine if Queen hadn’t changed their name? Not to be too hard on whoever created the name, but Smile would simply not look good on an album cover.

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