Nazareth’s - The Band

One of the most famous examples comes from The Band’s classic song The Weight. The opening lyric: “I pulled into Nazareth…” That line inspired the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth to adopt the name.

Radiohead - The Talking Heads

Before they became Radiohead, Thom Yorke and company were known as “On A Friday.” That changed when the band signed with EMI and needed a more memorable name. They found it in Talking Heads’ 1986 song “Radio Head”.

The Rolling Stones’ - Muddy Waters

The Stones were heavily influenced by American blues artists. Guitarist Brian Jones reportedly needed a band name quickly before a gig and spotted “Rollin’ Stone,” a record by Muddy Waters.

Candlebox - Midnight Oil

Candlebox came from the Midnight Oil song “Tin Legs and Tin Mines”, which includes the lyric: “boxed in like candles.” That phrase sparked the name Candlebox.

Motörhead -Lemmy was Inspired by his Own Song!

Before forming Motörhead, Lemmy played bass for the psychedelic space-rock band Hawkwind. Shortly before being fired, he wrote a song called “Motorhead”.