17 Bands and Musical Acts Named After Something Literary-Related

Musical acts get their names from a variety of sources, and for many that comes in the way of books.

Sometimes it's as simple as the title of a book. Sometimes it's a character's name. Other times it's an object or location mentioned in the story. More often than not, though, it's an obscure reference that not even your hardcore English major is going to recognize.

So here are 17 random musical acts that named themselves after something literary-related. Consider this a chance to brush up on some obscure facts so you can kick ass at trivia night at your favorite bar.

In no order of significance:

1.) Steppenwolf

The name comes from Herman Hesse's book of the same name. The band's producer recommended a name change from what they were calling themselves: The Sparrows.

Because it's a little difficult to take a man growling "Born to Be Wild" seriously when you're called The Sparrows.




2.) Steely Dan

William S. Burrough's novel Naked Lunch is to blame for the name. And what, exactly, is a "Steely Dan" in the book?

((ahem)) It's a name for a strap-on dildo.

And references to sex toys was about as edgy as Steely Dan ever got.


3.) Modest Mouse

Virginia Woolf has her groupies, and Modest Mouse is one such collection of groupies. The name comes from Woolf's novel The Mark on the Wall, from the line, "...…and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people."

That line makes about as much sense as the rest of Woolf's work.


4.) The Doors

A shout-out to a sale on storm doors at Home Depot?

No, it apparently comes from Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, which is really just quoting William Blake, "When the doors of perception are cleansed, things will appear to man as they truly are…infinite."




5.) My Chemical Romance

Everyone knows if you want inspiration in life, you have to work retail.

The bassist of the band, Mikey Way, used to work at a Barnes and Noble and was inspired to name the band he was in after a book titled Five Tales of Chemical Romance, by Irvine Welsh, which he saw on a shelf.


6.) Genesis

You get three guesses, and the first two don't count.

Yeah, the band's named after that Genesis.


7.) Silverchair

The Aussie band was apparently a big fan of young adult fiction. They named themselves after C.S.Lewis's fourth installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Silver Chair. Clearly they're not a fan of The Magician's Nephew.




8.) Belle & Sebastian

A French-oriented name for a Scottish band? Sure, why not? That's what we have here, as the indie pop group went for the French children's book Belle et Sébastien, by Cécile Aubry, as their name.


9.) Veruca Salt

Can't fight the seether? Well, you can't fight the appeal of Roald Dalh's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory either, as Veruca Salt was the name of one of the bratty kids that appeared in the book.


10.) Sixpence None the Richer

Let's welcome C.S. Lewis back to the stage!

This time it's Lewis's book Mere Christianity that was the inspiration. Detailing the band's name on The Late Show with David Letterman, lead singer Leigh Nash explained, "When the father received the present, he was none the richer because he originally gave the sixpence to his son."

That's a bit roundabout of a way to get to a name, but it serves its purpose.


11.) Moby

The man's given name is Richard Melville Hall. Bonus points if you already know where this is going.

Supposedly Herman Melville was his great-great-great granduncle. If you don't know--and God help you if you don't--Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. Hence, the name.




12.) The Airborne Toxic Event

Any time your band's name has more than three words, you're probably dipping deep to come up with it. In this case, The Airborne Toxic Event comes from the Don DeLillo novel White Noise, specifically section two of the book with the same name that lends its title as inspiration to the band.


13.) Oryx and Crake

Someday she'll win a Nobel Prize in Literature, but for now Margaret Atwood just inspires bands from Atlanta to name themselves after one of her books, as is the case here.


14.) The Velvet Underground

Michael Leigh's book of the same name examined the sexual subculture of the early 1960s.

This makes perfect sense when you consider Andy Warhol managed the band.


15.) Mott the Hoople

Famous for their hit 1972 song "All of You Dudes," the band's record producer came up with the name after cooling his heals in prison for a drug offense. There he came across a book of the same title, written by Willard Manus.

I'm as shocked as you to realize drugs were behind that name.


16.) Supertramp

Their 1979 album Breakfast in America put them on the map, but they went back over 70 years earlier to a 1908 book called The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by Welsh writer W.H. Davies to find something to name themselves after.

I'm still not certain what a Super-Tramp is though.


17.) Okkervil River

The band actually has two sources for its name. Directly, it comes from a short story by Russian writer Tatyana Tolstaya. But Tolstaya got the name for her short story from a river near St. Petersburg.

That is the most popular obscure river in all the world.