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”.