band like Van Halen , The Alan Parsons Project , Phish , and Santana all are make after phallus inthe band . But what about bands cite after peoplenotin the band ? Here ’s a aspect at eight of them .

1. Pink Floyd

There ’s a platter executive director in the call “ Have A Cigar ” that says , “ Oh , by the means , which one ’s pinkish ? ” Thing is , of course , this wasthe bandresponding to ( and mocking ) the often - asked question . But in reality , the name of the banding come from band member Syd Barrett , who took the name ofbluesman Pink Andersonand combined it with Floyd Council , another bluesman . So if you ’re ever trying to come up with agood name for another successful sway band , you might consider Anderson Council .

2. Lynyrd Skynyrd

Nope , Mr. Skynyrd never played for the southerly rocker . In fact , the band bring up themselves aftertheir gym teacherand hoops coach , Mr. Leonard Skinner . After Skinner died , one of the surviving members of the rock circle had this to say : “ Coach Skinner had such a unsounded encroachment on our youthfulness that at last led us to naming the stria , which you know as Lynyrd Skynyrd , after him . look back , I can not imagine it any other room . ”

3. Hootie and the Blowfish

While some consider that front man Darius Rucker was Hootie and his bandmates were the Blowfish , the true statement is that Rucker was both Hootie and the Blowfish . As forthe meaning : it derive from two of Rucker ’s college friends , one who bust deoxyephedrine that made him seem like an owl ( Hootie ) and another with puffed up cheeks ( the Blowfish ) .

4. Tilly and the Wall

Nope , there ’s no Tilly here . The name number from akids ’ Holy Writ , harmonize to an interview with Jamie Pressnall , the circle ’s nonmigratory tap dancer . “ It ’s actually the title of respect of a children ’s playscript . It ’s just about outsiders overcoming obstacles , that sort of story , ” she state . “ We did n’t even recall about the floor that much , but it terminate up fitting our band really well . ”

5. Belle and Sebastian

No Belle . No Sebastian here . Just some dance band Ilex paraguariensis inspire byBelle & Sébastien , a 1960s novel by Cécile Aubry about a 6 - year - old male child named Sébastien and his dog Belle .

6. Freddy Jones Band

distressing to disappoint again , but not only is there no Freddy Jones or Jones Freddy in the band , but obviously the band has never definitively revealed the name ’s reservoir .

7. Aiden

This Seattle - based band does n’t have an Aiden . Instead , the band appendage named the group after a character in the 2002 filmThe Ring .

8. Alice Cooper

They were first squall the Earwigs , then Nazz , before settling onAlice Cooper . The name is said to have been enliven by theirOuija board , which put them in contact lens with a spirit named Alice Cooper . When lead singer , Vincent Furnier , went unaccompanied , he take the name for himself .

Read more retro music stories:

A edition of this narrative run in 2011 ; it has been updated for 2024 .

Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish.

Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Darius Rucker and Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish.

Neely Jenkins and Kianna Alarid of Tilly and the Wall.

Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian.

Billy Morrison and Steve Jones of the Freddy Jones Band.

Will Francis of Aiden.

Alice Cooper on stage.