Guess the band by the origin of its name.

REO Speedwagon.

  1. This all-girl group took its name from the street on which their first rehearsal space was located.
  1. All Saints
  1. Supposedly, this duo got its name when an engineer employed by their label marked their demo tape for deletion.

The answer I was looking for was Sleater-Kinney, but wikipedia informs me that this is also correct. Partial credit.

  1. This California-based group borrowed part of its name from an old slogan for Olympia beer.

Smapti got #51- it is REO Speedwagon.

I’m really curious about this one. I grew up in Olympia Beer territory (even toured the brewery once, as it was located in the same city where my aunts lived), and I’m familiar with the slogans “It’s the Water” (the oldest, most well-known slogan) and the “I seen 'em” campaign based on the fictional race of Artesians (derived from the artesian spring water supposedly used to make the beer). But neither of those rings a bell as far as band names.

  1. This band was named for a member’s cat, whose name was Latin for “Beyond those things.”
  2. This group took its name from a recurring Junior Sample sketch on “Hee Haw.”
  1. This band was named after an American expansionist slogan.
    54-40. The slogan was 54-40 or fight, which according to wiki was an anti-expansion slogan put forward by opponents of US senator William Allen and the Western Democrat expansionists.

Love this thread.

  1. This featherweight Britpop band was named after the phrase a sitcom character used to answer the phone at work.

  2. This Scottish band was named when their lead singer explained why so many high school boys started bands. At their first concert the promoter refused to announce their name, so the band quickly changed the second word of their name to something that didn’t refer to female genitalia.

I can confirm that “It’s the water” is the slogan the band took part of their name (the middle part) from.

Procul Harum.

  1. The frontman of this group says it was named for his penis, though they’d have had to go with a different name if he were not a Caucasian.
  1. Whitesnake.

Erasure?

[del]The The???[/del]

ETA: No, that’s just stupid…

That is to say, the middle part of the band’s name comes from the slogan.

Interesting. I was thinking of these guys when I gave my answer (Go West), but a quick search of YouTube showed me these guys (54-40).

Still drawing a blank. Maybe the band is in a genre I’ve just never listened to…

  1. The Marshall Tucker Band
  2. This band took its name from the father of Irish republicanism.
  1. Named for the comic strip, not the lead singer.

  2. This band got their name from a blended version of the Gaelic for “the family from Dore.”

  3. This band took its name from a parody name for a blues musician a friend came up with.

  1. Blondie.

  2. The Wolfe Tones.

Re: 52. My clue may have been too oblique, so i’ll simplify it.

This California band derived its three part name from the first name of a friend of the band, a slogan for Olympia beer, and its’ members’ renewed commitment to the band after early struggles.

WAG: Blind Melon?