Plans change, and sometimes that’s good luck, for in the case of many bands, they found a name that clicked just in time for them to blow up. While a band’s name change may not be the sole reason they found success, it turns them into easily recognizable figures and often establishes the tone of their music.
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One of the first recorded band names dates back to 1842 with the Richardson Rock Band, a band that played on actual rocks. With a rise in recording and popular music in the 1930s, more conceptual, artistic band names came around, such as the doo-wop group The Ink Spots in 1932. From there, bands and musical groups started to put great care into the monikers they adopted, as they noticed how it shaped their image, making them seem almost mystical.
Here are six bands that put some extra care into their public allure.
1. Green Day (Sweet Children)
Known as one of the forefathers of pop-punk, Green Day wasn’t known as such in their early days. The band sported the name Sweet Children in 1987, while they were still a relatively underground act in the Bay Area’s underground punk scene. They frequented shows at 924 Gilman into the early ’90s, playing alongside bands like Operation Ivy and NOFX. However, they were often confused with another band called Sweet Baby, prompting a need to change their name.
They co-opted “Green Day” from Bay Area slang, referring to a day spent sitting around smoking marijuana. The name clicked in time for the band to release their first official EP, 1,000 Hours. They’ve called back to the Sweet Children name several times over the years, such as with the release of their EP, Sweet Children, in 1990. In 2015, the band performed under Sweet Children in Cleveland before their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2. Linkin Park (Xero, Hybrid Theory)
Many may register Hybrid Theory as the name of Linkin Park’s debut album, but it happened to be one of the band’s original monikers. The first was Xero, which they used from 1996 to 1999. They adopted Hybrid Theory in 1999 and used it for a year before switching to Linkin Park.
The band planned to stick with the name Hybrid Theory until they signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1999. Another band, Hybrid, was popular at the time, so it was in the band’s best interest to change their name. Linkin Park, a cacography of Lincoln Park, is an homage to the park in Santa Monica. The misspelling was so they could acquire a proper web domain. Hybrid Theory was released in 2000 to critical and commercial acclaim, selling over four million copies and winning them a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2001.
3. The Beach Boys (The Pendletones)
Flowing off the tongue and perfectly paired with their “surf rock” sound, The Beach Boys weren’t supposed to be the California band’s name. They originally intended to go with The Pendletones, a portmanteau of Pendleton, a type of shirt commonly worn by surfers, and a nod to the beach-y “tone” they created in their music.
Their label Candix Records, however, had different plans. The original plan was to rename them The Surfers, but the name was already taken—not to mention only one member, drummer Dennis Wilson, could actually surf. They landed on The Beach Boys, a name that both sold their sound, and their likenesses as young SoCal-ites. However, Brian Wilson revealed in a 2018 tweet that the band didn’t know about the name change until they saw the record pressings, but came around to it, “It was a great name – The Beach Boys – and everyone knows it, you know?”
4. Maroon 5 (Kara’s Flowers)
Maroon 5’s career has taken many twists and turns, and their name change in 2001 is the least of them. Lead singer Adam Levine, guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed the band as high schoolers in 1994 under the name Kara’s Flowers.
While the band will not disclose where or when the name Maroon 5 came to be, they have revealed that Kara’s Flowers was in reference to a girl all four members had a crush on in high school. They released their first EP, We Like Digging? in 1995, and landed a record deal with Reprise Records as they got to work on their next release. Compared to the polished, radio-ready pop that Maroon 5 makes today, Kara’s Flowers is the exact opposite—grungy garage rock made for the few.
5. Radiohead (On a Friday)
Radiohead was born from innocent yet complex origins, and their original name, On A Friday, reflects that. Starting out as jam sessions between Thom Yorke, Colin Greenwood, and Ed O’Brien, the then-high schoolers at an English boarding school had to balance band practice with their school schedules, and the music room’s availability. On A Friday came to be because they could only practice together on Fridays.
They released a few demos under the name but changed their moniker to Radiohead in 1991 before releasing their debut EP in 1992. The new name came from the song “Radio Head” by Talking Heads.
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers (Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem)
As if “Red Hot Chili Peppers” weren’t already a bit of a mouthful. Known for their songs “Californication” and “Can’t Stop,” the band formed in 1982. A friend of members Anthony Kiedis and Flea needed an opening act for an EP release party, and the two offered to perform along with Jack Irons. They used the name Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem for a year before changing it to Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983. Their new name drew from old-school jazz and blues monikers, which often utilized words like “hot,” “chili,” or similar adjectives. Thus, the band took that to the extreme.
Photo by Josh Brasted/FilmMagic
