When a band hits it big, fans largely just care about one thing—the music. However, groups don’t magically form when they first get attention. There’s always a history of how the band got together, from how the members hooked up to how they named their group.
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Keep reading for the story of how three classic rock bands got their now-iconic names.
Aerosmith
Drummer Joey Kramer is credited with coining the name for classic rock icons Aerosmith. Two years before the band formed, when Kramer was just a high school senior, he was listening to Harry Nilsson’s 1968 album, Aerial Ballet.
“We were listening to this record and I started really getting off on the lyrics,” Kramer said during an appearance on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show. “We started kicking around this work ‘aerial,’ and ‘aerial’ eventually came into ‘aero’ – I don’t know how that happened.”
“And [then] it was like Aeromind, Aerostar, Aero-this, Aero-that; and somebody said ’smith’ – Aerosmith? Wow!” he continued. “And from then on, it was all over my high school psychology books and my math books.”
People would often ask Kramer what Aerosmith was, and he’d tell them, “When I leave high school, I’m going to go have a rock ’n’ roll band, and that’s what it’s going to be called. And we’re going to be big and famous, and that’s the scoop.”
At the time, people responded by saying, “Oh, that’s very nice, Joey.” But two years after the name situation, Kramer stuck to his word, founding the band with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Ray Tabano, and Tom Hamilton.
Journey
Journey went through a lot to get their name. Founding members Neal Schon, Ross Valory, George Tickner, Prairie Prince, and Gregg Rolie first performed under the name Golden Gate Rhythm Section, according to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The name didn’t stick, and the classic rock band tried to crowdsource a new moniker by holding a radio contest. When that proved unsuccessful, one of the group’s roadies, John Villaneuva, made a suggestion: Journey. In 1973, Journey made their debut under their new—and lasting—name.
The Who
The Who didn’t always go by their now-famous name. Roger Daltrey formed the group that would go on to become The Who in 1961. The band, which was initially comprised of Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon, was first known as The Detours.
As The Detours, the band frequently played weddings and corporate gigs. They decided to change their moniker after discovering another band with a similar name: Johnny Devlin and the Detours.
While brainstorming new name options with his housemate, Richard Barnes, Daltrey went back and forth on titles that contained a joke. Options like No One and The Group were considered before Daltrey landed on The Who.
Photo by Ron Pownall/Getty Images
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