Crickets> Beatles>Byrds>Animals> Monkees> Eagles

[hideousidiot]

I think the Crickets started the whole trend of naming your band after a (misspelled?) creature of some sort, but the trend seems to have caught fire after the Beatles made it big. Can you think of an earlier instance than the Crickets? Which other creature names am I not listing? Why did this not-very-clever naming process linger for so long, and have such wide-reaching effects? When did it stop? Did it stop?

[Elmer_J.Fudd]

Countless Doo-Wop groups in the 1950s were named after birds. The Orioles, the Ravens, the Crows, the Larks, the Penguins, the Flamingos, the Robins, the Wrens…

[Beckdawrek]

The Who?

[The_Other_Waldo_Pepper]

The Turtles!

[NDP]

@Elmer_J.Fudd

Countless Doo-Wop groups in the 1950s were named after birds. The Orioles, the Ravens, the Crows, the Larks, the Penguins, the Flamingos, the Robins, the Wrens…

Were there any animal-named musical groups before them during the big band, swing, or early jazz eras? Bob Crosby (Bing’s younger brother) had a group called the Bob-Cats during the 1930s, which was the first one that came to my mind, but I’m sure there were others.

Bob Crosby

[Elmer_J.Fudd]

For what it’s worth, I was in a surf band in the early 1980s called the Jag-wires.

[markn_1]

I asked a similar question here, but I don’t think any bands earlier than The Crickets were mentioned in the discussion.

Band names containing misspelled animal names

There was a fad for animal-themed band names in the 60s, which the Internet tells me was started by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. I think there was a sub-fad within it for misspelling the animal name. I can only think of The Beatles, The Byrds, and The Monkees, but I would have sworn there were more. Later examples are Def Leppard, Phish and Gorillaz. Can you think of any others? The rules are, there must be a homophone of an animal name in the band name, as a separate word, and the animal name…

[Elmer_J.Fudd]

@markn_1

I asked a similar question here, but I don’t think any bands earlier than The Crickets were mentioned in the discussion.

The Robins (originally the Bluebirds) for one predate the Crickets.

The Robins

[blondebear]

The first two that came to mind were Tame Impala and Blue Stingrays.

[Telemark]

Tommy Dorsey and his Clambake Seven from 1930s.

[Q.Q.Switcheroo]

Jerry Murad’s Harmonicats started performing under that name in the 1940s.