who came up with the group name the temptations
The Temptations The original name for the new lineup of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams was the Elgins. Under that name, the group auditioned for Motown in March 1961. Already impressed with some of the members after hearing session work, Berry Gordy agreed to sign the group to the Motown imprint, Miracle. However, before signing, Gordy discovered another group was using the name of Elgins. The group began tossing about ideas for a new name on the steps of the Hitsville U.S.A. studio. On a suggestion from Miracle Records employee Billy Mitchell, songwriter Mickey Stevenson, and group members Otis Williams and Paul Williams, the Temptations became the group's new moniker. The "Elgins" name re-surfaced at Motown in 1965, when Gordy renamed a quartet called the Downbeats as the Elgins.
The Marshall Tucker Band The "Marshall Tucker" in the band's name does not refer to a band member, but rather a Spartanburg-area blind piano tuner.[4] While the band was discussing possible band names one evening in an old warehouse they had rented for rehearsal space, someone noticed that the warehouse's door key had the name "Marshall Tucker" inscribed on it, and suggested they call themselves "The Marshall Tucker Band," not realizing it referred to an actual person. It later came to light that Marshall Tucker, the blind piano tuner, had rented the space before the band, and his name was inscribed on the key.[5] Music historian Joel Whitburn erroneously attributes "Marshall Tucker" to the owner of the band's rehearsal hall in his book, Top Pop Singles, 1955-2002.[6]
ZZ Top The name of the band was Gibbons' idea. The band had a little apartment covered with concert posters and he noticed that many performers' names used initials. Gibbons particularly noticed B.B. King and Z.Z. Hill and thought of combining the two into "ZZ King", but considered it too similar to the original name. He then figured that "king is going at the top" which brought him to "ZZ Top".[13]
Sawyer Brown The band originally chose the name Savanna. When another band with a similar name emerged, the group decided to change its own moniker. They met at their manager's office in Nashville and began looking through area telephone books for inspiration. They blindly landed on the name of a nearby thoroughfare, Sawyer Brown Road, and derived the new band name "Sawyer Brown".[1][2]