Did Your Favorite WBLM Band Start Out Under Another Name?

One group wanted to be known as The Sex Maggots, while Pud and Smile went on to become million-sellers. Under different names, of course...

Black Sabbath: A few different monikers got tossed around when our favorite heavy metal pioneers started out. Originally The Polka Tulk Blues Band, they shortened it to Polka Tulk when a personnel change led to the name Earth. Too bland for what they were doing, so thanks to the movie theatre across the street from where they were rehearsing -- "Black Sabbath" is the name of a 1963 Mario Bava movie...

The Doobie Brothers: Founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons were actually in a band named Pud when one of their roommates suggested a new name based on their fondness for cherishing marijuana. Which may explain why Pud got used first...

Queen: They were calling themselves Smile before Freddie Mercury joined and pretty much turned everything they were doing inside-out and upside-down. Their sound was positively majestic, thus...

Def Leppard: The original name, Atomic Mass, was often misspelled as "Mess" and they knew it had to go. Singer Joe Elliott once did a project in school which called for coming up with names for imaginary rock bands; one of those was Deaf Leppard (original spelling). The rest, as they say...

Goo Goo Dolls: This one's our favorite, it's so rock 'n' roll. The club owner refused to put The Sex Maggots on the marquee, so Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac grabbed the "True Detective" magazine that was laying around backstage and found an ad for a 'Goo Goo Doll'. Presto!

Coming soon: who are The Screaming Abdabs and Detour? Their albums will sell somewhere in the mega-millions, that's all...