The 15 Greatest Bands Named After Real People Bands/Musicians
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The 15 Greatest Bands Named After Real People

IHateEverything IHateEverything Power
Ranker  Leonard Skinner's Wikipedia Page 94,722 views 15 items
In honor of school principal Leonard Skinner, who inspired the name for classic rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, here are the 15 greatest, most famous bands in history that have been named after real people; along with a song from each band. The name origins of each of these great bands is pretty interesting, as you would expect. And no, Pink Floyd was NOT inspired by the character Randall "Pink" Floyd in the movie Days And Confused.
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  1. 1

    Lynyrd Skynyrd

    Long ago, this name was explained as homage to a gym teacher named Leonard Skinner they had in high school, who would send them to the principal’s office because "their hair was too long".

    Bonus: click here for a picture of Lynyrd Skynyrd drinking Jack Daniels with a monkey.
    BUY @ amazon
  2. 2

    Pink Floyd

    Originally called The Tea Set, the members of this iconic band showed up at a gig one night to discover that there was already another band on the roster who had called dibs on that title (Joan Rivers would have torn them apart!)

    Thinking quick, Syd Barrett mixed the names of two blues musicians he loved, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, to rename the band ‘The Pink Floyd Sound’, and then later shortened the name to Pink Floyd.
    BUY @ amazon
  3. 3

    Jane's Addiction

    There was a hooker friend of Perry Farrell named Jane, who said that prostitution was her addiction. He then decided to exploit this poor woman’s habit as his band’s gain.
    BUY @ amazon
  4. 4

    The Dandy Warhols

    Simply put, the name derives from a play on words of Andy Warhol, the famous and bat-s**t crazy pop artist who is famous for painting soup cans. A "Dandy" is a fancy British man of the 18th century.
    BUY @ amazon
  5. 5

    Dead Kennedys

    There is perhaps no more tragic American story than that of the Kennedy curse. It started with John, and has since set forth to kill off most of the well known Kennedy men, other than Ted, who evaded death due to sheer luck and stupidity, but eventually bit the dust because of brain cancer. On the cool scale, this name rates pretty high.
    BUY @ amazon

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  1. n***a pea
    The 15 Greatest Bands Named After Real People at 5/25/2011 6:15 AM
    ed gein car
  2. Bigtony423
    Kings of Leon at 11/25/2010 9:50 AM
    Great List! Though, I'd actually like to think that they mean something along the lines of Kings [From] Leon. The word "Of" is frequently used to mean "From".
  3. peace
    The 15 Greatest Bands Named After Real People at 10/23/2010 7:31 PM
    dave matthews band?
    1. IHateEverything
      The 15 Greatest Bands Named After Real People at 10/23/2010 9:15 PM
      where's the story in that? It's a guy with a big ego naming the band after himself.
  4. Tim
    The 15 Greatest Bands Named After Real People at 10/08/2010 5:52 PM
    very interesting list. never know the story behind these band names especially pink floyd.
  5. KamiyaMusubi
    Marilyn Manson at 10/07/2010 12:49 AM
    The "3" in the previous comment was supposed to be a "heart"... whatever... haha.
  6. KamiyaMusubi
    Marilyn Manson at 10/07/2010 12:48 AM
    3
  7. IHateEverything
    Alice Cooper at 9/28/2010 9:45 PM
    That's how the story goes on his wiki page
  8. RKae
    Alice Cooper at 9/28/2010 9:42 AM
    Interesting that Alice Cooper was "burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials," since NO ONE was burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials.



    Better do a little research to back up what "the spirits" tell you.

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