10 Bands Who Had Terrible Names Before They Were Successful
3. Green Day
After the earlier entry on the list of Creed previously being known as 'Naked Toddler', Green Day's former name seems much more innocent and palatable.
Pre-1989, and pre-Tre Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt's band that would go on to become Green Day were simply called 'Sweet Children'. Of course, the iconic drummer's addition - and name change - would come shortly after, filling in for the band in 1990 when he was then drumming for The Lookouts.
The name was only changed to avoid confusion with another local band named Sweet Baby, and the band's penchant for cannabis meant they adopted the name Green Day; a slang term in the bay area for a day spent doing two things: smoking marijuana and procrastinating. Although, even Billie Joe Armstrong later professed that he would later think the name was "the worst band name in the world."
Green Day may be one of the key arguments in a conversation around why a band name isn't too important when you look into the concoction of what makes any musical group or artist successful.
The name 'Sweet Children' would go on to be used for an EP released by the band in 1990 shortly after the release of debut album 39/Smooth, but has all been forgotten 30 years later. That said, of all the entrants on this list, Sweet Children may be the least unlikely to have been a hindrance had the band not gone on to become Green Day.