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Original Band Names of 51 Famous Groups
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Original Band Names of 51 Famous Groups!
Would Girl's Tyme have been as huge if they'd never become DESTINY'S CHILD? Could Rat Salad, Mookie Blaylock or Polka Tulk Blues Band have ever turned into the huge rock bands they became if they never changed their names to VAN HALEN, PEARL JAM, and BLACK SABBATH respectively? The world will never know, but what we do know is that many groups initially went by other, often wackier names. Here's a look at 50 famous acts whose original names that didn't make it to stardom with them.
RELATED:POP STARS' REAL NAMES
Getty Images
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DESTINY'S CHILD
Original Name: Girl's Tyme
Sasha Samsonova
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FIFTH HARMONY
Original Name: Lylas
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Malibu
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MAROON 5
Original Name: Kara's Flowers=
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GREEN DAY
Original Name: Sweet Children
Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
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VAN HALEN
Original Name: Rat Salad
Danny Clinch
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PEARL JAM
Original Name: Mookie Blaylock
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NIRVANA
Original Name: Pen Cap Chew
Jon Furniss/WireImage
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OUTKAST
Original Name: Two Shades Deep
Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage
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THE BEASTIE BOYS
Original Name: The Young Aborigines
Jatnna Nunez
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YOUNG THE GIANT
Original Name: The Jakes
Ben Watts
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THE ROOTS
Original Name: The Square Roots
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RADIOHEAD
Original Name: On A Friday
Nora Lezano
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QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
Original Name: Gamma Ray
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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LED ZEPPELIN
Original Name: The New Yardbirds
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PUBLIC ENEMY
Original Name: Spectrum City
Getty Images Entertainment
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CYPRESS HILL
Original Name: DVX
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LINKIN PARK
Original Name: Xero
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BLACK SABBATH
Original Name: Polka Tulk Blues Band
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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KISS
Original Name: Wicked Lester
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COLDPLAY
Original Name: Starfish
Denise Truscello/WireImage
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BOYZ II MEN
Original Name: Unique Attraction
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THE GRATEFUL DEAD
Original Name: The Warlocks
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PHISH
Original Name: Blackwood Convention
Paul Natkin/WireImage
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THE FUGEES
Original Name: Tranzlator Crew
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CREED
Original Name: Naked Toddler
Ebet Roberts/Redferns
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THE CURE
Original Name: The Obelisk
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INSANE CLOWN POSSE
Original Name: Inner City Posse
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THE WHO
Original Name: The High Numbers
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
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U2
Original Name: The Hype
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RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Original Name: Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem
Colin Lane/Courtesy RCA Records
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CAGE THE ELEPHANT
Original Name: Perfect Confusion
David Leyes
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BARENAKED LADIES
Original Name: Free Beer
Kate Glicksberg
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GOO GOO DOLLS
Original Name: The Sex Maggots
WireImage
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TLC
Original Name: 2nd Nature
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ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Original Name: Avey Tare and Panda Bear
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SNOW PATROL
Original Name: Polar Bear
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TALKING HEADS
Original Names: The Artistics
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BLINK-182
Original Name: Duck Tape
Anwar Hussein/Getty Images
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QUEEN
Original Name: Smile
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DEF LEPPARD
Original Name: Atomic Mass
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THREE 6 MAFIA
Original Name: Backyard Posse
Chapman Baehler
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STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
Original Name: Mighty Joe Young
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THE BEE GEES
Original Name: Rattlesnakes
Michel Linssen/Redferns
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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Original Name: Nynuk
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PINK FLOYD
Original Name: The Tea Set
Seher Sikander
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NAUGHTY BY NATURE
Original Name: New Style
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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THE SUPREMES
Original Name: The Primettes
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Original Name: The Salty Peppers
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DEPECHE MODE
Original Name: Composition of Sound
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THE CLASH
Original Name: The Weak Heartdrops
John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images
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THE BEATLES
Original Name:The Silver Beatles
Want more on famous musicians' names? Check out our gallery of POP STARS' REAL NAMES