Wednesday, November 28, 2007

One Singular Sensation

I used to think that the Jefferson Airplane was the first band to use a singular name - as opposed to plurals like the Chords, the Crickets, the Comets or the Brothers Four - but now I see that the Lovin' Spoonful may have got there first. Both bands were formed in 1965, but Jefferson Airplane Takes Off wasn't released until August of 1966, by which time the Spoonmen had already had four Top Ten hits. Unless I'm overlooking someone - and more than likely I am - I think we have to give them the nod.

3 comments:

Daniel Brogan said...

The Who?

Tom Nawrocki said...

My sources have the High Numbers changing their name to the Who in late 1964, so you're probably right.

MJN said...

In fact, the Detours changed their name to “The Who” in February 1964, according to Richard Barnes, who was there at the time. The Who became the High Numbers a few months later when Pete Meaden came along to manage them. That was the name under which they released their first single, “I’m the Face”. By November, Meaden was on the way out, and the High Numbers were once again known as the Who.