# What was the first popular band to not have "the" in their name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622 "2018-11-16T16:38:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/81 "2018-11-20T06:11:24Z")
I’ve raised this question many times over the years. I think (and have always thought) without question that the legitimate answer to this question is Them. This is particularly so if you consider bands only from the point that they had a legitimate record release and became widely known. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/82 "2018-11-20T06:30:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > **Chad and Jeremy** had a hit in 1960. No, they did not. Their first hit was “Yesterday’s Gone,” which reached #37 on the British charts in 1963 and #21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. They’re not germane to this thread anyway, but I still had to correct the misinformation. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/83 "2018-11-20T07:32:55Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > [Downliners Sect - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downliners_Sect) > > If you look they don’t really qualify. They are even more connected to their article than the ramones or the MC5. Look at the title of the debut LP. I don’t get it. They are billed on [their debut LP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downliners_Sect#/media/File:DownlinersSect_TheSect_1964.jpg) as “Downliners Sect”, not “The Downliners Sect”. Ditto for [their debut single](https://www.discogs.com/Downliners-Sect-Baby-Whats-Wrong/master/1067225) and [their debut EP](https://www.discogs.com/Downliners-Sect-At-Nite-In-Gt-Newport-Street/master/815212). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/84 "2018-11-20T08:59:35Z")
Tangentially, a couple of band names without any “the”—but to which people keep prefixing an illicit “the”: Talking Heads Indigo Girls ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/85 "2018-11-20T14:38:00Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Tangentially, a couple of band names without any “the”—but to which people keep prefixing an illicit “the”: > Talking Heads > Indigo Girls Savages is a modern band with the same issue. Ferocious all-female trio, btw. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/86 "2018-11-20T15:35:21Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Tangentially, a couple of band names without any “the”—but to which people keep prefixing an illicit “the”: > **Talking Heads** > Indigo Girls [my bold] At least they made it clear once and for all with their album “The Name Of The Band Is Talking Heads”. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/87 "2018-11-20T17:52:45Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I don’t get it. They are billed on [their debut LP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downliners_Sect#/media/File:DownlinersSect_TheSect_1964.jpg) as “Downliners Sect”, not “The Downliners Sect”. Ditto for [their debut single](https://www.discogs.com/Downliners-Sect-Baby-Whats-Wrong/master/1067225) and [their debut EP](https://www.discogs.com/Downliners-Sect-At-Nite-In-Gt-Newport-Street/master/815212). This is why I thought Wikipedia may not solve everything. They refer to themselves as “the sect” in every single one of their LP titles. And most of the footnotes and cites have “The” in them. Looks like most of them per wiki. They were very much calling themselves “The sect” ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/88 "2018-11-20T19:10:27Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > \*C’mon, doesn’t it make a part of your brain ache to say “Motor City Five” mentally without putting a “The” in front of it? Maybe that was the point. I’m not sure. The one that really bothered me was Carpenters. And that wasn’t even a band name; it was just their joint last name. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/89 "2018-11-20T19:30:33Z")
[Eli’s Chosen Six](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli%27s_Chosen_Six), 1950s But yeah, I was surprised to see how ubiquitous the “The [Adjective] [Nouns]” nomenclature was for musical groups of all kinds before the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/90 "2018-11-21T00:15:16Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > … So did Pink Floyd and Buffalo Springfield, although none of those names makes any more sense with “the” than they do without… Correct name of Pink Floyd is “The Pink Floyd Sound” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/91 "2018-11-21T03:08:04Z")
Wasn’t Pink Floyd supposed to be the name of a dildo or something? If so, ‘the’ would be fine. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/92 "2018-11-21T07:07:53Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Wasn’t Pink Floyd supposed to be the name of a dildo or something? If so, ‘the’ would be fine. No. Quoth the wiki: “Barrett created the name on the spur of the moment when he discovered that another band, also called the Tea Set, were to perform at one of their gigs. The name is derived from the given names of two blues musicians whose Piedmont blues records Barrett had in his collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.” I find it -disturbing- that the first thing through your mind is a dildo. Freudian slips can be quite revealing! ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/93 "2018-11-21T09:41:16Z")
If Big Bands count, Wikipedia has a list that goes back a century with plenty of names without “The”: [List of big bands - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_big_bands) Nighthawks Orchestra did hot jazz in 1919, precursor of R&R in some way: [Nighthawks Orchestra - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_Orchestra) and there are many more. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/94 "2018-11-21T11:07:23Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > That’s gotta be it. > > I wonder how people reacted. “What, is it ‘The Creams’?” Clapton being a known quantity must have helped. I once heard an interview with Jimi Hendrix where he referred to them as “The Cream”. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/95 "2018-11-21T12:56:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Wasn’t Pink Floyd supposed to be the name of a dildo or something? If so, ‘the’ would be fine. You’re probably thinking of how The Steely Dan got their name. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/96 "2018-11-21T14:24:01Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > You’re probably thinking of how The Steely Dan got their name. That’s correct – it’s from a William Burroughs novel. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/97 "2018-11-21T15:18:25Z")
n.m. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/98 "2018-11-21T18:28:34Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > If Big Bands count, Wikipedia has a list that goes back a century with plenty of names without “The”: [List of big bands - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_big_bands) Nighthawks Orchestra did hot jazz in 1919, precursor of R&R in some way: [Nighthawks Orchestra - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_Orchestra) and there are many more. I just have to say that ever since I started collecting MP3s I ignore the word “The” in the artists name, with only a few exceptions. I would think that lists of bands on the net may be doing that too. They are alphabetical in some way. They are explaining the connect between a number of related names. Also posessives kind of take the place of the indefinite article, to me. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/99 "2018-11-22T01:13:03Z")
On a related note, I’ve noticed that Sirius XM sometimes displays the band names without the “The”, even if they are definitely a part of the band name, like “The Who”. But it’s inconsistent, even with that band. On another related, more grammatical note, there’s the issue that something the “the” in the band’s name gets treated as semi-optional when it would lead to constructions like “The ‘The Beatles’ Channel”. It makes sense to use just one “the” and let it be ambiguous as to which “the” is being removed. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622/100 "2018-11-22T01:47:05Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > If Big Bands count, Wikipedia has a list that goes back a century with plenty of names without “The”: [List of big bands - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_big_bands) Nighthawks Orchestra did hot jazz in 1919, precursor of R&R in some way: [Nighthawks Orchestra - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_Orchestra) and there are many more. Also I just realized that they don’t list any “The…” names under “T” except for one that is a T initialed name after “The.” It’s a list with the Thes edited out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-popular-band-to-not-have-the-in-their-name/824622.md?page=6)