Band Names: One Hit Wonders Edition

Posted at 7:16 AM on September 5, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (7 Comments)

Remember how we were chatting the other day about great band names that were (a) inspired by literature, (b) inspired by movies, or (c) complete sentences? Someone who is much less lazy than we are has started to compile an exhaustive list of band-name origins here. There are some interesting entries that we chalk up to holes in our memory, but this one caught our eye:

BUCK CHERRY - possibly a goof on the often heard speaking disorder wherein the speaker will interchange the first letter{s} in two successive words i.e. "I have just received a Blushing Crow 
{crushing blow} Metallica uses such a device in their album entitled "Cunning Stunts." Buck Cherry would then equal Chuck Berry, famous classic rocker.

Fair enough. But what chafes about this little survey of spoonerisms is that it gives Metallica credit where it isn’t due: The Cows had an album with that dubious title in 1992, six years before the spooky puppet-masters repurposed it. And more importantly, it totally rocked.

Give us your favorite band names, band-name origins, and rules of grammar in the comments.

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