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ROCK FORMATIONS 
| Written by: Dave Wilson Category: Music-Popular Publisher: Cidermill Books
Format: Trade paperback, 288 pages Publication date: Fall 2005 Price: $14.95 ISBN: 0974848352 |
ABOUT THIS BOOK ROCK FORMATIONS is a fascinating collection of well-researched narratives covering the sometimes obscure but always interesting stories behind how band names were formed. In a surprising departure from the usual A-Z, the content is grouped into similarly-themed categories, such as movies, books, culture and even risqué themes, which bands through the years have labored to make into household names. Despite the title, entries cover all music genres-not just rock-including blues, soul and jazz, and also extends to individual artists who have adopted stage names. There are 30 categories featuring more than 1,000 entries, with titles such as THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (names inspired by other groups), TAKE A STAND (names which make a statement), RE ISSUES (contemporary themes) and DISCOGRAPHY (names inspired by songs or albums). Surprising revelations in the individual entries include the reason the first 'B' in ABBA is reversed, why there are 10,000 Maniacs, what 10cc is a measure of, what or who Steely Dan was, why the Average White Band were average, what a "bo diddley" is and why heavy-metal band Iron Maiden are linked to a teddy bear. An impressive feature of this book is that the author has not taken at face value the widely accepted stories of band name origins, but digs deeper to unearth the real genesis (and yes, Genesis are featured). Wilson has gone to great lengths to discover the "why" behind the names, not just the "what", and also gives us a great deal of interesting additional information related to the band names. A good example which highlights all of these attributes is the entry for Toto-many references state that this came from lead vocalist Bobby Kimball's real name of Robert Toteaux (which isn't the case)-other references state simply that the band is named for the dog featured in the movie The Wizard Of Oz. Actually the band had earlier agreed that a two-syllable name was preferable, then later that evening drummer Jeff Porcaro was watching the movie and heard the dog's name, Toto. After he suggested the name Toto to the band, someone pointed out that "toto" is Latin for "everything" so the name was chosen.All in all a compelling and entertaining collection.
ORDER Rock Formations!
Cidermill Books
PO Box 32250, San Jose, CA 95152-2250 Tel: 877 884 8645 Fax: 408 904 4614 email: info@cidermillbooks.com |
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