Results: Could Your Band's Name Be MORE Generic?!

Only this year I heard of this band, but it may be a wonder that many people have. I speak of an English alt' rock quintet A. Yes, just A. As with one-letter-named acts who had U.S. hits, such as M ("Pop Muzik") and Q ("Dancin' Man"), it's probably best to know the name of a song or album by them before you look them up. One song of theirs you may still still have had difficulty finding is "A." Yes. "A" by "A,. from their 1999 second album. 'A' Vs Monkey Kong. Do you think it would difficult for be a record company executive attempting to promote a band with such a distinctly indistinct name?

Perhaps the best known band in this survey may be Canadian five-piece The Band. The group backed Bob Dylan when he first started touring with electric instrumentation in the mid-1960's and in '68 issued their first album of their own, proving that an act based in the nation north of the U.S. could creatively and rockingly interpret the roots music of the nation just south of them. Some of interpreted their name as a self-deprecating, while others see it as a brag, as in "They're THE band!" Which way do you land on that question?

The bluesy, punky Irish combo Them have more than a pronoun name also used to title a movie about giant ants for their legacy. Their first lead singer, Van Morrison, would become an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter by the end of the '60s. And though it wash't a hit for them in the U.S. nor their native U.K. (though, by the looks of the clip accompanying this question, it was in France?), their Morrison-penned "Gloria" would become a Stateside biggie by Chicago garage punks The Shadows of Knight and would be remade by The Doors, The Patti Smith Group and numerous other artists. Were you aware of Morrison's history with Them before becoming a celebrated soloist?

People followed The Shadow's of Knight's path by having their biggest hit by remaking the b-side of a foreign band's single ("Gloria"'s the flip side of Them's remake of Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go"). Their 1968 rendition of The Zombies' "I Love You" earned the San Jose, CA sextet a U.S. gold record. Their name, if what I've read about original blond lead vocalist Larry Norman (who went on solo to be a pioneer in explicitly Christian-oriented rock) is true, the group's name was an attempt to counter the many bands at the time whose names referenced lesser creatures. Do you think People, sometimes rendered People!, could have been more successful had they a less generic name?

English noise mongers The Pop Group operate under a name that's both generic and ironic. With songs such as "We Are All Prostitutes" and an album entitled For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?, it's a good guess that they're uninterested in high Top 40 radio rotation. Still, their cacophonous, fidgety post-punk sound, especially in the band's original 1978-80 run, has proven influential influential on indie rockers to follow, direly lefty lyrics and all. The Pop Group's name could be the one humorous element of The Pop Group. Do you appreciate it when a band has a funny name, however serious their music may be?