The Band Name Book

by Noel Hudson

What's in a name? Ask the lead singer. A big, open-it-anywhere book created for music fans and pop-culture followers of all ages, The Band Name Book explains how (or where) the best-named bands in history got their names. Those names are profound, clever, silly, provocative or downright obscure. This entertaining book is full of information and trivia about bands from the dawn of rock 'n' roll right up to today's Internet-based independents. The Beatles are here, as well as Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and the Goo Goo Dolls. But the best fun is found with rock history's lesser-known groups, in Web-savvy contemporary bands, and with true originals. Among their The Band Name Book includes entries on thousands of bands from more than 30 countries, divided into dozens of entertaining and irreverent categories with special notes on name origins, genres and best album titles. There are profiles of notable bands. And there's even a list of "Names Still Available" for each category.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Music

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2008

Reviews

[Carlton Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A massive undertaking that Hudson handled extremely well...and surely there can be additions or even (hopefully) a second edition.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a music junkie, I found this book quite interesting. I did not read the book from entry to entry, rather than reading it in full because I have a ton of other books to read. Regardless, the book is full of fun facts about bands you may know and love to bands you have never heard of before. However, this is not an end-all-be-all list of bands and Hudson notes that and if someone is looking for that, then this is not the book. Besides, that would be quite impossible to have EVERY band ever created in a book.

[Saleena Longmuir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for a great browsing book, or a party/drinking game? This book is like gold! Tons of names, (not everyone is included, read the intro for a full explanation) and the author's funny notes under each name (some are straight facts, some are just funny and/or snarky); this book will keep you giggling for hours (it did me and my husband brought it to a marathon dr visit, got a lot of funny looks, but it sure did keep us from going stir crazy!) Take a look, guarantee you won't be able to put it down!

[Hannah Jo Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big, beefy, glossy book that was a kick in the pants to dip in and out of. The origins of thousands of band names are revealed here. I was impressed by the accuracy and detail. I also liked the appealing layout. I was not fond of the sections listing names that haven't been taken yet. If I were the editor, I would have ditched all of those and included sections that were deleted due to lack of space -- band names with numbers or made up of initials (think of X or U2), for example.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an encyclopedia of band names. Each short entry includes where the band is from and what kind of music they play. The book is organized according to themes like animals and vegetables, etc. It also includes a sidebar of Names Still Available! Essential for anyone who plays the game "this is going to be the name of my next band".

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broken into 30 interesting categories (like Food and Drink, Popular Weaponry, and Department of Transportation) this is essentially an encyclopedia of band names and the history behind them. This fun full-color book includes extras like amusing lists of names still available, extended band profiles, and bands' self- descriptions. Cute!

[Bryan]

Not what I consider a book to read cover-to-cover. A skimmer of sorts. The organization and categorization are pretty clever. However, I pretty much looked up names in the index and turned to the pages. Nice to learn how my favorite bands, and also the other bands I'm familiar with, came up with their monikers.

[Grahm Eberhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A goofy and fun coffee table book. My band is in it, which is odd.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

noy bad, not great.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome concept, but all attempts to make funny commentary fell short.