The All Star All Consonant Band list keeps on trucking with this great list of bands whose names are Acronyms.
MFSB:
The shortened form of Mother Sister Father Brother. The group of over 30 studio Musicians in Philidelphia’s Sigma Sound Studio. You might know the acts they did the music for: The Bluenotes, O’Jays, Stylistics, Jerry Butler, Wilson Picket, and Billy Paul. Also believed to be the originators of the Disco sound in 1974. Contributed a song in Saturday Night Fever, found on the D side of the soundtrack. The group disbanded in 1981, splitting up and going their separate ways to different studios.
SWV:
SWV is the shortened version of Sisters With Voices. The three lovely ladies were Cheryl “Coko” Gamble-Clemons, Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George, and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons. The rumor is that their original name of TLC, an acronym of Taj, Lelee and Coko was taken merely two weeks prior by the already mentioned TLC. So they decided to one up TLC and jump in front of them in the music racks by taking the SWV acronym and thus getting alphabetized before TLC. They have broken up and then reunited recently to tour and also made a special appearance at the 2008 BET awards.
Y&T:
I’ll let their website tell you who they are, because to be honest I had no idea.
Before Motley Crue, before RATT, even before there was a Metallica, when Y&T formed in the early 1970s, they set the standard for hard rock bands that trailed. Many of the most popular heavy rock bands of the ’80s, at the birth of their careers, opened shows for headliners Y&T; and they all cut their teeth on Y&T, as evidenced by the Y&T mentions in the tell-all books by acts such as Metallica and Motley Crue.
Their original name was Yesterday and Today, not a hard hitting rock kind of name. But they were popular. It seemed the audience had an easier time of shouting “Y AND T, Y AND T, Y AND T.” At that urging, in 1980 changed their official name to Y&T. With 5 top 100 albums and a handful of hits, I guess these guys are mostly known as pioneers, not superstars. They are touring still to this day as evidenced by a long list of tour dates from North America to Europe.
This french electronic act mystified me. I was going to make a joke that they were named not for the Meissner 83 Galaxy, also known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, but a video of the frenchman has him explaining his name. He simply said he was a precocious little teenager when he saw this M83 Galaxy in a book and thought it would be a good idea to name his act after it.
Gangsta rapper, said to be undisputed rap royalty along with his Rap partner 8-Ball, comes along the same line as DMX and DMC. His original name,Marlon Jermaine Goodwin, is found along with nearly every other Rappers’ real names. From Memphis and apparently living Southern rap legends, they are releasing albums all the time. Their “not trying to save the world. Just doing us.”
A short lived super group of R&B artists. The name is derived from the last names of each member: Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat, and Johnny Gill. Their hit song “My Body” is an official double platinum. They had only released two albums together, 1997′s “Levert.Sweat.Gill” and 2003′s “LSG2″ with only their first hitting the charts.
This Rochester, NY to L.A. and now based in Chapel Hill, NC powerpop group derives their name from the members names: Seamus N Matt N Mark N Matt. CMJ says they are quirky indie-pop with eclectic instrumentation (accordion, amplified tuba) and an ambitious dose of wit, the quartet is sure to draw immediate comparisons to They Might Be Giants and Ben Folds.
CFCF:
Mike Silver is the Canadian remixer producer one man show that is CFCF. Named after the early name of CTV Montreal, a Canadian television station. You can find plenty of his music at his myspace page.
6PM:
A Spanish duo consisting of Ivan Oubina and Raul Mon. Named 6 Post Morning as per their myspace page but really goes by the shortened version of 6PM. Music blog Cable and Tweed briefly discusses their music putting it in line with postal service, four tet and Blonde Redhead.
An acronym of 3 Little Women. Started in 1999, years after TLC and SWV took the first and 2nd place of Three letter ladies singing groups championships. You might know two of the ladies from The Cheetah Girls. in 2003, two of the group’s girls, Bailon and Williams, starred with Raven Symone in the TV musical The Cheetah Girls.
Debuted in 1995, This is the R&B singing group made up of three sons of Tito Jackson. Their names were Tariano, Taryll and Tito Jackson. Their mother Delores, Tito’s former wife, was murdered by her lover the year before their debut album, thus they dedicated it to her. In 2005 it was announced that they would star in a Television reality TV show that never apparently happened. There is a teaser on their website 3t.com asking “Can you feel it?” advertising for some sort of product called “Living with the Legacy.”
L.T.D.:
An R&B group from the 70′s formed in Greensboro, North Carolina. Stands for Love Togetherness & Devotion. Their bio says they began life as members of Fantastic Soul Men Orchestra back up band to Sam & Dave. Arthur Jake Carle and Abraham packed a car and went to New York as Love Men LTD. After two years they drove to L.A. and got signed to A&M records in 1974 changing their name to just LTD. Their website 4realltd.com hints to the fact that there was a copy cat band in the late 90′s who were successfully put out of business when the original band sued them.
Intentionally using the famous three letters from both JFK and KFC, this super-group band from Atlanta, Ga makes it a point to say they are making a point. They use the Colonel’s image many times. And they have a song about JFK and KFC called JFKFC. It seems they are a supergroup made up of various Metal veterens of Atlanta. Find their metal-tastic brand of humor at their blog or their myspace or even their fan site.
Tomorrow we tackle some more famous bands, and some that aren’t acronyms. But be sure there will be some more acronyms. If you like the bands above and know more about them, or know that I am completely wrong, go ahead and discuss!
This list made possible with the help of Danny, Andi, and Jamison.
Did you read the first list of the most obvious bands? If not go do it now.
Want to read the third and final list of All Consonant All Stars? Go ahead.
