3 Classic Rock Groups That Secretly Started as Punk Bands

For many years, superhero movies have been all the rage at the theaters. Droves of fans line up to watch the origin stories of their favorite characters come to life on the big screen. But Spider-Man and Batman aren’t the only people to boast interesting beginnings.

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Here below, we wanted to dive into the origin stories of three of our favorite classic rock bands. When you do that, you never know what you might uncover. Indeed, these are three classic rock groups that secretly started as punk bands.

R.E.M.

If you associate R.E.M. with the 1980s, there’s a good reason why. The group’s two core members met in an Athens, Georgia, record shop in January of 1980 and quickly formed a relationship based on their shared love of punk rock and proto-punk music. They loved bands like The Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. In the band’s early years during the mid-1980s, they even toured with punk groups, including Minutemen. While today, R.E.M. is known for alternative rock songs like “Losing My Religion”, they kicked it all off with roots in punk.

Talking Heads

When you listen to Talking Heads today, you can hear a great deal of musical influences. If you put on, say, Stop Making Sense (1984), you can hear rock, funk, disco, and punk rock roots. That’s because the group—and its lead vocalist, David Byrne—grew up amidst that milieu. The Talking Heads’ core members of Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth, and drummer Chris Frantz, met in school in Rhode Island, and later they moved to New York City, where they immersed themselves in the burgeoning punk and rock scenes. In 1977, the group released their debut LP, Talking Heads: 77, which included the hit, “Psycho Killer”. How punk is that?

Blondie

Speaking of the 1970s and New York City, another all-time group came up during the time, combining punk elements with classic rock, disco, and even hip-hop. Fronted by the glamorous Debbie Harry, Blondie released their self-titled LP in 1976. You can hear the punk influences on the fast-paced tracks like “X Offender”. You can feel the punk vibes in Harry’s energy. Blondie knew how to absorb all their influences and turn them into something special.

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