Everyone loves jamming out to their favorite bands, but did you know that some of the biggest and most influential bands of all time almost didn’t form to begin with? It’s a wonder we’ve ended up with as much great music as we have, given how unlikely some of these awesome band formation stories are.
Darryl Hall and John Oates
Beloved yacht rock due Hall and Oates met in a somewhat unlikely scenario. The pair were each fronting their own bands, with Hall in charge of The Temptones and Oates leading The Masters. While at a band competition together they discovered they each attended Temple University, and they instantly hit it off. They formed their own group two years later after becoming roommates.
Megadeth
Some critics deride heavy metal as little better than noise, and it seems Dave Mustaine might have agreed before joining with bassist Dave Ellefson to form Megadeth. Ellefson lived below Mustaine before the two met and had a habit of playing his bass guitar early in the morning. Once, while playing “Running With the Devil,” Ellefson angered Mustaine enough that he tossed a flower pot out the window and onto Ellefson’s AC unit below, shouting “shut up!”
Foo Fighters
Following the tragic passing of Kurt Cobain, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl recorded an entire album by himself and anonymously shopped it around under the “band” name Foo Fighters. He later formed a band to support the album when it generated interest from major labels, though he would later express regret that he chose such an unusual name for the project given how big they got.
The Ramones
Interestingly enough, not one of the members of the Ramones knew how to play any instruments when they formed. They all just wanted to be in a band! Hilariously, Joey Ramone wasn’t even the original singer. He started out on the drums!
Emerson, Lake and Palmer
A popular urban legend goes that Jimi Hendrex nearly joined Emerson, Lake and Palmer before his tragic passing in 1970. However, that’s not quite how things went. Greg Lake has stated in interviews that Hendrix saw his band King Crimson, and that he had linked up with Keith Emerson already to consider forming a band. The group was introduced to Carl Palmer through the Bee Gees’ manager, Roger Stigwood, and instantly hit it off. Sadly, Hendrix never even spoke to the group about joining—they simply discussed the possibility of adding him to the lineup shortly before hearing he’d passed away.
Gorillaz
Blur frontman Damon Albarn met comic artist Jamie Hewlett in 1990 and were acquaintances through the 90s until they became roommates in 1997 at the end of their respective romantic relationships. They got the idea to create a “virtual band” after watching MTV together and determining that the artificial nature of modern music deserved an artificial parody.
Muse
The band that would eventually be known as Muse performed at a battle of the bands as “Rocket Baby Dolls,” ending the show by smashing their instruments and equipment in a form of protest. They won the contest, though, leading them all taking the band seriously, changing its name, and quitting their day jobs to work on the band full time.
August Burns Red
The metalcore band August Burns Red has a somewhat standard formation story, the group having all met in high school and practiced in the basement of Matt Greiner’s family home. However, the interesting thing is the rumor the band themselves started about the origins of their name. They claimed that original vocalist Jon Hershey had dated a woman named August who set fire to his dog, Red’s, doghouse. Thankfully, this story was a fabrication, and the name just “sounded cool” to them at the time.
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Steely Dan
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen met at Bard College in New York in 1967 and discovered that they each loved making music. They briefly played in a college band alongside Chevy Chase, of all people, on drums. The two were described as emblematic beatniks of the era when they were in college, complete with black turtlenecks and packs of Lucky Strikes.
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The Beatles
This one is the stuff of legends. John Lennon formed a band called The Quarrymen at the age of 16 in 1956 and was joined by Paul McCartney, then 15, as rhythm guitarist. McCartney invited his pal George Harrison to listen in, and, after prodding from McCartney, Lennon let Harrison join them as lead guitarist. The other members of the band left in the late 50s, leaving the band without a drummer. The eventually renamed themselves the Beatles at the suggestion of Lennon’s friend Stuart Sutcliffe as a tribute to Buddy Holly’s band, the Crickets.
It took them a long time to find a drummer who they clicked with, finally meeting Ringo Starr in 1962. Shortly after, they released “Love Me Do,” their first major hit, and Beatlemania was on.
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