10 Fascinating Backstories Behind Famous Rock Band's Names

Before they started hording the letter Y, Lynyrd Skynyrd were known by a number of names, including The Noble Five and The One Percent.

Unfortunately, that last one left them open to mockery, as discerning crowd members would say they had one percent talent. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant did not find this funny, so set about looking for a new name. He was hit with inspiration on two fronts.

The first was the novelty song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh by the comedian Allan Sherman, which features a character called Leonard Skinner who develops food poisoning.

Interestingly, the band had a P.E. teacher by that name and he was a real hardass. He would come down firmly on boys with long hair, which led to guitarist Gary Rossington quitting school altogether. They decided to "pay tribute" to Mr. Skinner in their band name, which adopted its classic spelling around the year 1970.

Skinner would capitalise on his fame by opening a number of bars with his name on it, inviting the band to play there a handful of times. He died in 2010, aged 77, more famous than any high school gym teacher from Florida before or since.