Where Did That Band Get That Name? Part II Quiz

Answer: 10,000 Maniacs

When they formed in 1981 10,000 Maniacs first selected the name Burn Victims, but changed their name after being inspired by a low budget horror movie called "Two Thousand Maniacs!". They performed under the name 10,000 Maniacs during Labor Day weekend the same year. Natalie Merchant left the band in 1993 to try her hand at a solo career.

In addition to Natalie departing, the group has undergone a series of member changes. Art of Noise took their name from a 1913 Luigi Russolo manifesto titled "The Art of Noises". Foo Fighters was a WW II reference to unidentified flying objects. Opeth took their name from Opet, a fictional Phoenician city in South Africa referenced in the Wilbur Smith novel, "Sunbird".

Answer: Squirrel Nut Zippers

The Squirrel Nut Zippers formed in 1993 in North Carolina. Their first album, "The Inevitable", was released in 1995. While the band claims to have derived inspiration from moonshine called "nut zippers", the name is also shared by a type of candy called Squirrel Nut Zippers that has been around since the fifties.

The candy was also known as Squirrel Nut Chews in some areas. Cherrypoppin' Daddies' name was inspired from a line that members of a band heard in a rhythm and blues record. Gin Blossoms was the slang term for the red blotches on the nose of an alcoholic.

The group reportedly was inspired when they saw a picture of W. C. Fields. Veruca Salt was a character from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and also the name of a Chicago-based band fronted by Louise Post.

The Lemonheads are another band with the name of a candy.

Answer: Collective Soul

In 1993 Collective Soul became a mainstream band when their song, "Shine", became a hit single from their "Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid" album. In the late eighties the band was called Marching Two-Step. Ed Roland was a forming member of the band and when it became apparent that "Shine" was gaining momentum he reformed the band and named it Collective Soul. Roland came across the phrase "collection of souls" in Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead".
They Might Be Giants took their name from a 1971 movie with the same title. Fountains of Wayne formed in 1996. They took their name from a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey, called Fountains of Wayne. The Bristol, England, band, Portishead, took their name from the name of a neighboring town.
Modest Mouse is another band that culled their name from a literary source. A passage in Virginia Woolf's "The Mark on the Wall," reads "in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people".

Answer: Sepultura

Sepultura was formed in Brazil in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera. They were inspired to name the band Sepultura after listening to "Dancing on Your Grave" by Motorhead. Despite personnel changes, the band has released over ten albums beginning with "Morbid Visions" in 1986.
Pantera is the Spanish word for panther. Cansei de Ser Sexy is Portuguese for "tired of being sexy" and Marillion was originally called "Silmarillion" after the title of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

Answer: Bo Diddley

"Pretty Thing" was a song from Bo Diddley's eponymous debut album released in 1958. The album was actually a compilation of Diddley's successful Chess Records single releases such as "Bo Diddley', "I'm A Man", "Who Do You Love?" and "Diddy Wah Diddy".
In 1954 Bo Diddley recorded demos of "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley" for Chess. The label re-recorded the songs using Chess session players and Bo Diddley's unique rhythm took the record to the top of the R and B charts. He released several other hits that were later covered by many artists over the years. He continued to tour and perform until his passing in 2008.
A Muddy Waters song was the inspiration for The Rolling Stones' name. The Raveonettes took their name from Buddy Holly's hit, "Rave On".

Answer: The Wild One

In the 1953 movie, "Wild One", Marlon Brando portrayed Johnny Strabler, the leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The gang terrorized a small town when one of their members got jailed. Lee Marvin starred as the leader of a rival gang called The Beetles. Robert Keith played the police chief in the film. Two years later Keith played Lt. Brannigan opposite Brando in "Guys and Dolls".
The alternative band with the same name was originally called The Elements but changed the name to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club when they learned another band had the same name.
"Electra Glide in Blue" (1973) starred Robert Blake as an Arizona motorcycle cop. The 1969 film, "Easy Rider", was about two drifters, not a gang. "Rebel Rousers" was a 1970 motorcycle movie starring Jack Nicholson.

Answer: The Backstreet Boys

Lou Pearlman formed the Backstreet Boys in the Orlando area after being inspired by the success of The New Kids on the Block. He embarked on a recruiting campaign and after the shuffling of some members he finally formed a lineup and named the group after a flea market in Orlando.
Buoyed by the success of such acts as The Spice Girls and Hanson the boys released "Backstreet's Back" in 1997. The group has remained active into the new millennium despite an occasional member change.
Take That was an English group active in the early nineties. Boyzone was an Irish nineties-era boy band. Westlife formed in Ireland in 1998.

Answer: The Ramones

The Ramones' history began with John Cummings, Douglas Colvin, Jeffrey Hyman and Thomas Erdelyi. Some of them had been with other bands and they all joined musical forces in 1974. Douglas Colvin adopted the name Dee Dee Ramone from a pseudonym of Paul McCartney from his Hamburg performing days.

He suggested that they all adopt the same last name. Jeffrey Hyman took the name Joey Ramone, John Cummings became Johnny Ramone and Thomas Erdelyi was Tommy Ramone. The group became regulars at CBGBs in New York in 1974 and signed a recording deal the following year.

As players left, various replacements would be dubbed Markie, Ritchie, Elvis and C.J. Ramone. Van Halen was the last name of founders Eddie and Alex. Fleetwood Mac is taken from the names of the rhythm section players. Drummer Mick Fleetwood's last name and the first part of bass player John McVie's name were combined to form the group's name when they got together in 1967. Hanson was the last name of brothers Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson.

Answer: True

When the core members of Dream Theater, John Myung, John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy met at The Berklee College of Music they originally decided on the name Majesty. They continued to form a group of equally proficient musicians and released a demo tape under the name of "The Majesty Demos" in the mid-eighties.

They were threatened with litigation from a Las Vegas group named Majesty. After the band floated several possible names, Mike Portnoy's father suggested the band dub itself Dream Theater, the name of a Monterey, California, movie house. The group has recorded over ten studio and live albums since "When Dream and Day Unite" was released in 1989. John Myung, John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy were still the core of the group as it entered the new millennium.

Answer: Dion and the Belmonts

Carlo Mastrangelo, Freddie Milano and Angelo D'Aleo were performing as The Belmonts when Dion joined with them in 1957. The Belmonts sang harmonies around Belmont Avenue in their Bronx neighborhood. After Dion joined them their first hit single was the US Number 22 song, "I Wonder Why".

After a string of hits Dion left the group in 1960 for a solo career and Carlo Mastrangelo took over the lead vocal spot. With an occasional member change the band continued to perform and record for the next three decades. Little Anthony and the Imperials was originally called the Chesters before Little Anthony Gourdine joined the group. Tico and the Triumphs was a group that Paul Simon belonged to in the fifties.

Their Top 100 hit, "Motorcycle", may have been the inspiration for their name.

Shep and the Limelites had a Number Two song in the US with "Daddy's Home" in 1960.