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In this article:
- There have been some very hilarious band names in TV shows and movies throughout the years, from Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Band Solution from Arrested Development to Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from The Muppets Show.
- But there are also plenty of real bands with absolutely ridiculous names. Some of them are vulgar, some of them are witty, and some of them are just entirely nonsensical.
- We’re going to go through the funniest band names, where they came from, some hit songs from these absurd bands, and much more.
If you’re a fan of the Emmy Award-winning sitcom series Arrested Development, you may recall the episode where Tobias sets out to bond with the family (and also promote pharmaceuticals) by forming Dr. Fünke’s 100% Natural Good-Time Family-Band Solution.
For those who grew up in a previous generation, you may remember Animal smashing the drums in The Muppet Show’s fictional band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Their version of Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock” is still the best ever made.
While the previously mentioned fictional bands had some pretty hilarious names, intended to amuse their television audiences, there have been some real-life bands over the years with even more comical names.
They say that the first step in forming a successful band is coming up with a dynamite name. Some bands choose to go with names that are meant to be taken seriously, such as Rage Against the Machine or Iron Maiden.
This isn’t about those bands. This is about the other bands that choose not to take themselves seriously whatsoever.
In honor of those groundbreaking musicians who elected not to give a single shit, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe are the funniest band names in history. And, be prepared, some of them are rather offensive. That’s rock n’ roll.
The Funniest Band Names in Music History
1. Butthole Surfers
I told you this article was going to be explicit.
One of the most hilarious and most well-known ridiculous band names has to go to Butthole Surfers. First of all, I’m not even sure what it’s supposed to mean. Are they anthropomorphic buttholes capable of hangin’ ten? Are they miniature human surfers that prefer a butthole to the beach? There are many things I don’t understand.
Apparently, in the early days of the band, they were going gig to gig using a variety of different names from Fred Astaire’s Asshole to Ed Asner Is Gay.
Then, one faithful night, the announcer read the name of a song called “Butthole Surfer” on their setlist and accidentally introduced them as Butthole Surfers. I guess the members of the band thought it had a certain ring to it.
2. Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys
Kinky Friedman is a master of hilarious names. He entered the world with the name Richard and then earned the infinitely funnier name Kinky later in life.
He then started his very first band while he was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. That band was called King Arthur & the Carrots.
But Friedman’s magnum opus came when he formed the band Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys. The band featured other hilariously named musicians like Little Jewford, Big Nig, Panama Red, Wichita Culpepper, Sky Cap Adams, Rainbow Colours, and Snakebite Jacobs. Yes, it seems that wherever Kinky Friedman goes, funny names follow.
But it didn’t stop there. Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys released hit singles with titles like “How Can I Tell You I Love You (When You’re Sitting on My Face)” and “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore.”
And, if you’re unfamiliar with the work of Kinky Friedman, you’re probably assuming that he’s a hack and a bigot based on these names. However, the guy actually has a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Psychology, is very active in the Texas Democratic Party, and founded the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch.
3. Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat
It’s time for more butt stuff. This time it’s a cat’s.
While this name is gut-wrenchingly hilarious for obvious reasons, it seems as if the artist didn’t actually intend for it to be a joke. The name comes from a medieval witch ritual called “osculum infame” that involved kissing the anus of a black cat because black cats were believed to be incarnations of Satan.
I guess the guy was trying to be super deep and dark and mysterious with this name but, if you ask me, it’s just plain funny.
Maybe I should grow out of my vulgar sense of humor and take this Satanic reference more seriously. Or maybe this guy just chose a really dumb name for his band. That being said, one of his songs has over a million plays on Spotify, so I guess the joke’s on me.
4. The String Cheese Incident
What happened? Did someone eat so much string cheese that they instantly developed a serious problem with high cholesterol? Did someone leave an unwrapped piece of string cheese in their pocket on a hot summer day causing them to develop a bad case of cheesy pants? What was the incident that led to the naming of this band? I must know.
In all seriousness, the band began by playing gigs in exchange for lift tickets on the Colorado slopes while using the moniker The Blue Cheese String Band.
They never really thought that they’d ever be touring full-time, so they didn’t really take things too seriously. Eventually, the band became well-known almost overnight. Some of the band members have expressed that they don’t exactly love the name The String Cheese Incident, but it’s what their fans know them as and they’re kind of stuck with it.
5. We Butter the Bread with Butter
Continuing with the dairy theme here, another fantastic band name is We Butter the Bread with Butter.
While you might expect a band with a name like this to sing whimsical music geared toward children, you would be completely wrong. We Butter the Bread with Butter (or WBTBWB, as their fans call them) sing electronic-infused deathcore music in German, the most aggressive language known to man.
It seems that the band name was (thankfully) meant to be a joke and that the musical duo was poking fun at the long and very intense names of other metal bands. Apparently, the name was so funny to Schultka and Neumann (the two members) that they almost got in a car crash because they were laughing so hard when they thought of it.
6. Chumbawamba
You probably know Chumbawamba from their hit song “Tubthumping” which was played in the video game World Cup 98, on a World Cup commercial, and in every pub in England for probably a decade.
And this very well may be my favorite band name on this list. Why? Because it’s a random assortment of sounds that makes me giggle. That’s why.
For real. There’s almost no meaning behind the name Chumbawamba. Apparently, the name was conceived when band member Danbert Nobacon had a dream in which it read “Chumba” on a men’s bathroom door and “Wamba” on a women’s bathroom door.
Lucky for us, Nobacon’s subconscious was able to come up with one of the most hilarious combinations of syllables in the history of music.
