25 bands & musicians with food in their names

Known best for her Grammy Award-winning songs “Criminal” and “Shameika,” Fiona Apple was actually born Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart. She comes from a showbiz family that includes actors, singers, and a writer/director, all of whom use either the McAfee or Maggart surname.

Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael have been playing in a band aptly named “The Bacon Brothers” for more than 25 years. The group—which also features Paul Guzzone, Joe Mennonna, Tim Quick, and Frank Vilardi—has released 10 albums, toured extensively, and made many TV appearances.

Performers of the ‘80s hits “Cruel Summer,” “Venus,” and “I Heard a Rumour,” Bananarama was part of the so-called “Second British Invasion.” Their name apparently, in part, comes from the 1974 Roxy Music song “Pyjamarama.”

Chuck Berry was born Charles Edward Anderson Berry and was also known as “The Father of Rock and Roll.” That’s why he was one of the first artists inducted into the Hall of Fame in its opening year, and also because he penned hit songs like “Johnny B. Goode,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Maybellene.”

Will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and J. Rey Soul are the current members of the Black Eyed Peas, although Kim Hill and Fergie both served as vocalists in the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively. In the time between the group’s formation in 1995 and the release of their 1998 debut album, they were actually known as the Black Eyed Pods.

Blind Melon—which got its name from a slang term one for hippies that one member heard while growing up in Mississippi—scored big in the early ‘90s with “No Rain,” the second single off of their self-titled debut album. Although the band is still together today, they suffered a tragic setback early in their career when vocalist and founding member Shannon Hoon died of an overdose in 1995.

Blue Öyster Cult was formed in 1967 under the name “Soft White Underbelly.” A bad review led to numerous name changes—including Oaxaca, Stalk-Forrest Group, and the Santos Sisters—before settling on the moniker that they would use when recording megahits like “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” “Burnin’ for You,” and “Godzilla.”

Bowling for Soup found success with their hits "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" and "1985" back in the early 2000s, but they had some trouble getting booked in their early days. It wasn’t their sound that was a problem, but instead their name, which was originally “Bowling for S**t,” which came from a Steve Martin stand-up bit. The Texas-based band changed its name, found its fame, and still records and tour together today.

Although the name Cake makes most people think of dessert, the Sacramento alternative rock band actually intended it to be the verb version of cake, as in something that gets stuck to you whether you like it or not. Their smash-hit singles “The Distance,” “Short Skirt / Long Jacket,” and “Never There” get stuck in our heads whether we like it or not, but thankfully we really enjoy the music of Cake.

The rock band Cracker lit up the airwaves in 1993 with their song “Low,” and it’s still heard on the radio and in TV shows and movies today. The lineup has changed a lot since then, with vocalist David Lowery and lead guitarist Johnny Hickman as the only constants, although the 1993-era quartet briefly reunited to tour in 2014.

The Irish rock band The Cranberries were originally called The Cranberry Saw Us (a play on words “the cranberry sauce”), but shortened the name prior to the release of their debut album in 1993 and the success of songs like “Zombie” and “Linger.” The band continued to record and tour together until the untimely death of singer Dolores O'Riordan in 2018.

Many people don’t realize that the band Cream was only together for about two years. That’s likely because they still managed to record four albums and release iconic songs like “I Feel Free,” “Strange Brew,” “Sunshine of Your Love,” “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” "SWLABR,” “White Room,” and “Badge.” It’s also because Jack Bruce (vocals/bass), Eric Clapton (guitar), and Ginger Baker (drums) are three of the best musicians of all time—hence the name Cream, as is “cream of the crop.”

We could have gone with just John Oates, but everyone knows he’s best when paired with Daryl Hall. Hall & Oates formed in 1970 and have been entertaining audiences ever since with songs like “You Make My Dreams,” “Rich Girl,” “Kiss is on My List,” and “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do).”

The spelling is a bit off, but Korn still comes from the word “corn,” as the band thought the name wouldn’t matter if the music was good—so they picked something stupid. The music did indeed speak for itself, as Korn has not only sold more than 40 million records worldwide but also pioneered the entire nu-metal genre that was popular in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.

Marvin Lee Aday changed his name to Michael Lee Aday when he was 37 years old, but it didn’t really matter, because the world already knew the singer/songwriter as Meat Loaf. The late musician and actor—known for songs like “I'd Do Anything for Love” and films like “Fight Club”—got the name Meat Loaf as a child for his short, overweight stature, and because the initials of “Meat Load” matched his actual first and middle name.

We can’t even tell you the names of many songs and albums by Peaches, the Canadian electroclash musician with a wild personality and stage presence. That’s due to profanity, not a lack of familiarity. If you’re not familiar with the names of any songs, you’ve still probably heard them in countless movies and TV shows.

Pearl Jam is one of the top-selling artists of all time and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during their three decades (and counting!) as a band. Pearl Jam doesn’t sound like a very good food, though—we’d rather have strawberry or raspberry jam.

Some of the early names for the Red Hot Chili Peppers were “The Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem” and “Tony Flow.” We’re glad they settled on RHCP, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and six-time Grammy-winning musicians definitely need to have a little spice in their moniker.

Reel Big Fish is an obvious pun, which is no surprise given the comedic nature of many of the ska band’s songs. The most notable tunes by the California-based group include “Sell Out,” “Beer,” and their cover of A-ha’s “Take On Me.”

Cheryl James (a.k.a Salt) and Sandra Denton (a.k.a Pepa) make up the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa, but don’t forget that DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper) was also just as critical to the group’s success in their heyday. However, the trio became a duo a few years ago, and the remaining members still perform and tour together.

There are a lot of alleged origin stories for the name Smashing Pumpkins, but one thing is for sure: Pumpkins are delicious. We’re as big of a fan of pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, and creamy pumpkin sauces as we are of ‘90s, alt-rock bands.

Based on record sales, the Spice Girls are easily the most popular girl group of all time. That’s impressive considering the height of their popularity was confined to the latter half of the ‘90s. The group underwent a number of changes early on, as they were originally called “Touch,” then “Spice,” before finally settling on the Spice Girls

The Mark McGrath-fronted rock band Sugar Ray was originally called Shrinky Dinks (or Shrinky Dinx) but had to change their name when the board game manufacturer Milton Bradley threatened to sue. A few years later, they hit it big with songs like “Fly” and “Every Morning,” and have been together in some form ever since.

Tim Bogert (vocals), Vince Martell (lead guitar), Mark Stein (bass), and Carmine Appice (drums) formed the ‘60s rock band Vanilla Fudge, which was named as such because they sounded like white soul music. The original lineup was only together for three or four years, but they made their mark on hard rock and found a hit with their cover of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”

Sure, “wings” is a little vague in terms of food—but then again, if we said, “Let’s go get some wings,” you’d know exactly what food we were talking about. So, do you want to go get wings? We can listen to Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band Wings on the way.