The Origins of 7 Famous Band Logos

[@omgnoob89]

More info about Nirvana's logo: Kurt Cobain actually said that the smiley face was supposed to have the tongue pointing upwards, like ''it was licking something''. But instead, the company who made the logo put the tongue on the opposite side by mistake, and Kurt said that it ''looked like as if it were on drugs''. They obviously however, left it the way it is and the rest is history.

[@onwerslament]

Yeah this dude hates nirvana

[@gruesomewolfgaming4735]

ownerslament what?

[@onwerslament]

Gruesome Wolf Gaming I’ve seen a video were he trashed nirvana

[@onwerslament]

Andrés Morales totally fair point

[@PapaE-ek5ce]

Also the logo is like a logo of a strip club in Seattle

[@maw9406]

I have slight dyslexia and I thought your channel was called "samurairacist" lmao

[@cmd3668]

“Slight” ahah

[@LillHotsauce.]

That called idiot racist~guitar? Not even close

[@mcsquid6861]

@@LillHotsauce. guiARIST. RAcIST i mean its plausible

[@fiddygd8304]

@@LillHotsauce. seriously dude?

[@Marie-qv6on]

Yorick van Asperen L

[@smradztoiek]

Queen. Freddie designed it. He studied art. Great story, right?

[@tillylolac8256]

Hey, At least the logo features all the zodiac signs of the band members...

[@juantellez4665]

Graphic design

[@yrdasellsavon5765]

He studied graphic design not art

[@alexn44405]

@@yrdasellsavon5765 wow you must be fun at parties

[@ranica47]

@@alexn44405 So when someone's right, you slag them off about being boring? Smh.

[@billybro3467]

"I THOUGHT THOES WERE T SHIRT BRANDS"

[@lino4]

Billybro 34 lol

[@o-donnell]

Some guy at school got a Nirvana shirt and thought it was a brand

[@unknownghoul7949]

Idiotic people

[@raisa_cherry35]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@harveyabel1354]

@Spencer Proctor Might be someone sees that comment and names a band "Thoes". First release: "Thoes Music"?

[@ionkap1024]

The dead kennedys logo is pretty iconic

[@Pylvaz]

great!

[@jakepalmer4690]

Yeah

[@ionkap1024]

Yea i know that this sounded out of place, i said it because samurai said to give suggestions of any other logo at the end of the video

[@leog4314]

Black flags logo id say is more iconic

[@joenorris7130]

The dead keneddeys logo is just dk for dead keneddeys though its not like the nirvana smiley face or beatles apple if u get me its just a way of wrighting the bands enitials dk

[@Jamzmahname]

Radiohead does have a song on Amnesiac called Hunting Bears, I believe it has a relation to the logo.

[@rizvanxd8724]

Yep agreed

[@tyhystreasuretrove7315]

Fun fact --- John Bonham's symbol upside down was the logo for his favourite beer franchise aswell

[@andriealinsangao613]

Yes, Ballantine Beer.

[@bentramer682]

Ooh kinda ironic if you think about it...

[@jayden7106]

Thx

[@tardguard7647]

What a guy. Gets everything he wants to say and throws in some jokes and is under 10 minutes.

[@josh_h812]

The backwards Я in KoЯn is a reference to Toys Я us

[@matthewbrown8374]

Joshua Hyneman the font they’d used for the original Korn logo was also lifted from children’s music records called kids stuff that featured a backward s

[@BenJohnson0531]

I thought the backwards R was because Davis got Fred Durst to tattoo it on him, and the guy’s an idiot who doesn’t know which way an R faces. At least that was a story Durst told back in the nineties.

[@matthewbrown8374]

That’s prolly just lost in translation. Korn had their promo material before the run in with Durst. He just gave them really crappy tattoos that made them remember him. I did a lot of study up on logos in college and Korn’s has a lot behind it as well as some cleverly placed mythology to connect and promote a lot of other bands in that genre at the time. Durst was really. Excellent at self promotion and connecting himself to korn was a good ploy but most likely just an anecdote. Google the kids stuff record logo, all of the elements are there and the used it on their demos which I think predate the connection to limp bizkit. I could be wrong but this was my genre of music in middle-high school and what got me into graphic design and logo creation.

[@WeyounSix]

Ironic that Ringo means Apple in Japanese. That's what we call a universal Easter Egg.

[@poojockmcplop1038]

Weyoun Six you’re hot and smart... the best combination 🤗

[@bigcheese2128]

That's not ironic

[@TubbysWorld4413]

@@poojockmcplop1038 Thirsty? 😂

[@simonstclare]

It would be ironic if Ringo means apple but Ringo himself had a strong dislike of apples. Otherwise 'ringo means apple' is the opposite of ironic

[@brokenwave6125]

That's vaguely coincidental...but not ironic

[@markallender]

As soon as you say "band" and "logo," I can't help but think of Chicago. That logo became more iconic than the actual faces of the members of the group.

[@tavicotavio]

Thanks music asian man

[@UpDownAndUnder]

No, thank *you* , Lawyer Morty

[@baalrog887]

No, I don't want to see your pog collection!

[@bonniejunk]

asian music man sounds better

[@34weaselsinatrenchcoat11]

@@bonniejunk asian man records

[@matafuko]

John Bonham's rune does represent unity, but the reason he picked it because it's also the logo for Ballantine's beer!

[@adamfox9651]

I always thought that story was apocryphal. After all, would a true ale-drinking Englishman go for an ale that was brewed in godforsaken Newark, NJ? (When I was a youth, Ballantine is what you drank when you were under-age and couldn't afford the good stuff.)

[@matafuko]

@@adamfox9651 You're probably right; can't remember where I first heard it or who said it - some documentary I expect.

[@adamfox9651]

@@matafuko I recall hearing that story from someone when I was in high school many moons ago. But then, I heard a lot of stories in HS about Led Zeppelin that turned out to untrue or only half-true. I can neither confirm nor deny the Ballantine story with Bonzo, but it never sounded right to me.

[@SirLancelotTheBrave]

Its also thought of as the condensation from beer bottle set on table and the circles interlock

[@adamfox9651]

Actually, I think the condensation rings are what inspired the Ballantine logo.

[@raytonioni4245]

When I think band logos I instantly go to the black flag bars, tattooed on every teenage punk since the late seventies

[@KingCrimson-420]

The deads stealie or dancing bears comes to my mind

[@bigpopparasta8133]

He said quid like an actual English LAD

[@hanawana]

What's in my drink? innit

[@bigpopparasta8133]

Hana Jesus fuck were not all like that, some are Bristolian, some are Liverpudlian or Mancunian.

[@kingdavid7516]

"Among the first" Thinking of Andy Warhol's banana on the first Velvet Underground album.

[@alabamahebrew]

I think one of the ballsiest logos was the lightning bolt S's in the KISS logo. To many people, myself included it just appears to be lightning bolts, but to others they appear similar to the Nazi's SS logo. Even more weird about that is that the two creators of the band, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, are both Jewish. In an even odder twist is that Gene Simmon's mother was in the Nazi internment camps!! I believe someone in Paul Stanley's family was as well. So I guess to them the similarity did not bother them but they sure have come under fire for it!! For me as a 12 year old who had never heard of them in 1977 I thought their name was KIZZ lol...

[@oldgoat381]

Even weirder is that one of the members of the band (I think it was Ace, don't quote me) collected actual Nazi uniforms. Also because of the resemblance to the SS insignia, the album covers were changed in Germany

[@alabamahebrew]

You are correct, Ace bought those outfits, even stranger? There are photos of PAUL wearing one!! According to a few people, Gene was very upset over it and yeah I can't blame the guy. Gene was born and raised in Israel until he was 9 years old. To put that into perspective, Israel was not a sovereign nation until 1947 which means that Israel was only about 3 or 4 years old when Gene was born! Imagine all the horror stories those people must tell and then to come here and have people only 20 years after the Holocaust ended thinking it's funny to dress like that? Paul is a Jew but he was born here in the USA so he doesn't know what it's like to be a real Jew. When I heard that Gene did not even speak English until he was like 10 or 11 I was very impressed with him and his intelligence. You do not even detect any accent at all and that I find amazing. In Germany even to this day the logo still has regular S's .

[@dnray2092]

KIZZ😂

[@troypeezy2784]

Short, precise, and didnt beat around the bush.. perfect for quick poop break.. thank you

[@_Nekronos_]

The “S” on Sabaton’s logo has a Sabaton (the foot armor) in the middle. The story goes when they started, one of the members said they wanted to sound like “a metal kick to the face” So they named themselves after a type of metal foot armor

[@gibbins1982]

Name checks out

[@ramonesny]

Band + Tee Shirt = The Ramones It’s actually become a fashion must-have.

[@Swim2TheMoon]

I would propose that the Steal Your Face is in the running for the most popular band logo of all time.

[@killval849]

Black Flag, the Germs, the Misfits are what should have rounded this out to a top 10 list. They are absolutely legendary logos, seen just about everywhere.

[@JayMagick]

Prince also

[@Caveira138]

Misfits crimon ghost is always a good one, and Black Flag's 4 bars

[@whoremongeringass-wipe5733]

Yeah definitely

[@fiendymisfits1734]

fuck yeah Misfits, funny how he didn't mention it.

[@EddieDingle76]

The boognish is a classic band logo with an awesome story!

[@rct3isepic]

I'd be curious to know the origins of Aerosmith's flying A

[@Kylora2112]

Ray Tabano (original rhythm guitarist before they moved to New York, and still works for the band) designed it in 1974 for "Get Your Wings" (3 years after he was replaced in the band, go figure!), and they tweaked the design for Toys In The Attic (Van Halen's VH logo looks eerily similar to this version) before its modern shape was used on 1978's Live Bootleg.

[@LuckyStrike01]

Kylie McInnes Van Halen’s vh logo is actually a rip-off of a jimmy Hendrix poster. Their original manager never realized it til he got fired in 1986 and was cleaning out his office and found some promo material for Hendrix that’s pretty much exactly the logo. The picture of them side by side is in Noel monks book(said manager). You can probably google it

[@lknez13]

This kind of countdown videos are one of my fav videos you make!! Keep it up, def my favourite channel on youtube.

[@nancypatricia511]

The symbol Prince chose to be identified by in the 90s which is essentially a logo.

[@JustinDon]

This video was dope, you got a cool style my guy

[@juhuu13579]

The Kiss logo is simple but iconic. Judas Priest and AC/DC were my favorites to doodle on every school book

[@milesverivague6521]

Rock band with mainstream logo : *Exist* E girls at my school : *My time has come*

[@faunmars1100]

Freddie Mercury was an art student and drew the logo for queen himself using all of the band members zodiac signs ( the two lions for John and Rodger, the crab for Brian, and the fairies for Freddie)

[@Derek-wg5gk]

Jimmy Page didn't design his logo. It's an ancient symbol which represents Capricorn (his astrological sign) in Saturn.

[@josecarbajal5710]

I thought it was a ouija board demon.

[@jayden7106]

Thx

[@jaecenwhite2590]

John Paul Jones’ symbol is called a “triquetra”.

[@BlackSpineRecords]

7 infamous logos starting with ween the boognish

[@jamesfarrell1116]

Great video. Thank you for posting.

[@propyro85]

The symbol John Paul Jones picked is variation of a symbol called a Triskele, it's a very old symbol that's often associated with the Irish Celts, although it predates them by quite a bit. I think it was classically associated with the three crones or other pagan trinities (usually represented as maiden, mother and crone). Eventually it was absorbed into Celtic Christianity as a symbol to represent the holy trinity, not sure where self confidence is supposed to come into the picture.

[@DragonFromAnotherWorld]

the format of the video plus the way your head moves its like Fallout 3 conversations lol

[@caiobortolozo131]

Nice thing about the Beatles apple: it was inspired by a Magritte's painting that a friend of Paul left in his dinner tanleb

[@g-9175]

You look like Judah form boJack horseman, lol

[@Pirategod23]

I thought that myself

[@srkniss]

"CLEAN UP THIS MESS OR YOU'RE FIRED" - Benson

[@wellfindheavenineachother]

Holy shit i knew he reminded me of someone

[@johnzig1386]

Ha! Totally. Ah, that stupid manbun...

[@Tracker1019]

You kno who else looks like judah from bojack horseman MY MOM!!!

[@antiproanti]

That explanation for BlinkyBear is SO perfectly Radiohead

[@simorto]

ok so as an hardcore kurt and nirvana fan with a dad that worked with them i can tell you that the logo come just from a thing that he painted without a sense in a collage and then just tried to make a design for the band

[@tygrkhat4087]

Blue Oyster Cult's symbol, Van Halen's 'VH' monogram, the Kinks "kinky boots" logo, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's 'ELP' monogram

[@TheBlackKnight1o1]

The Fiend from Misfits would be cool to see. Then again I could do my own research.

[@lil_pemsiofficial9268]

They're logo is called the "Crimson Ghost". They literally stole it right from a movie.

[@fiendymisfits1734]

@@lil_pemsiofficial9268 lmfao stolen.

[@calebmckinney3605]

The punk bad Bad Religion has a pretty dope and controversial logo

[@TommyWashow]

They chose it because they knew it would be controversial theres not much more to it than that

[@hdervish2497]

The crossbuster is iconic, and of course it's controversial, but it's also a very clear visual representation of their name.

[@IanOPadrick]

The White Stripes/Jack White's solo stuff, the three lines comes from upholstery, it's the minimum number of staples to keep the fabric in place while you work to fit it to the chair. Jack was an upholsterer to make money before the White Stripes took off, and there's a sort of "three staple sounds to make our music work" feel to the band because of that. (The three sounds being voice, guitar, and drums for the most part.)

[@statewidesandblastingstate7171]

The Blue Oyster Cult logo . It appeared on damn near every album cover

[@campbellfiles9019]

Kurt liked the band Flipper who also had x'ed out eye logo

[@josehborba3004]

Well the guy on the video says the rolling stones logo symbol is the most iconic most famous logo symbol of all times I totally agree 100 percent.

[@azizdhanu]

Queen made their logo based on each members horoscope 👍

[@GreasyFilms-qc1xo]

Nirvana's smiley face is totally the Lusty Lady logo. It was right downtown across from the Art Museum. It was always on their sign

[@renapeppers20]

Great vid. Thanks bro ✌🏼

[@acttragic]

The Violator Rose of Depeche Modes violator

[@declanbelldnewrestling6086]

Pink Floyd?????

[@brandonbaker7150]

Love the videos man! Keep up all the lit videos!

[@bored9456]

I think whats important is the simplicity, im looking at logo desinging right now and overcomplicated it. Simplicity is always key in logo designing.

[@vegancodingnovice9468]

the Deads soundman made LSD for the band. he made enough to get the whole planet high a few times over

[@asparaugustus77]

Damn no Boognish?

[@khalifaalattiyah8341]

Ohhhh shit yeah! The boog

[@khalifaalattiyah8341]

You made my day dude.

[@Dwolfmusic]

What i heard about the chili pepper logo was that one of the bandmembers once saw a glory hole in a bathroom stall, it was taped shut. The logo resembles the way the tape was placed.

[@KennyRider137]

The Circle Jerks' moshing guy is a drawing of an old roadie named Tumbleweed. I used to tour with him.

[@howiedewin3688]

I remember the "have a wasted day" smiley face on T-shirts back in the early 70's.

[@ospididious]

Thanks for your content. It entertains me, daily. I would like to posit "The Booglish" as used by the band Ween as a suggestion for your next logo video. Keep up the great work.

[@cigarettesmokingman9471]

I can attest to the fact that the Nirvana smiley face thing was really something that I only really saw rise with the boom of merchandise that occurred when/after Kurt died. This was before the internet and whatnot so I can only tell you I didn't see it except on a bootleg until AFTER Nirvana was over but that could have been because I lived in the boonies. What I really remember is how popular the Sub Pop "LOSER" tee's were and holy shit they sell for a LOT of money now (just looked) and I think I still have one......Just gotta figure out what my Ebay password is...

[@twig8523]

The term "steal your face" comes from the song "He's Gone" originally about a conman skipping town, since the mid 90's has become a refrain for Jerry Garcia. Following that thread it's become a quality of a killer guitar solo, to be able to "steal your face"

[@KingCrimson-420]

The term steal your face in he's gone was about one of their old managers who was stealing from the band and he stole their face right of their head

[@slow-mo_moonbuggy]

Apple Corps. A Paul Corpse.

[@ivanher07]

Smiley Face was created by Forrest Gump... 🤣

[@Walshyyy420]

Surprised Misfits aren’t here

[@harveyabel1354]

Brian May and Roger Taylor were originally in the band SMILE; singer Tim Staffel designed a smiling lips logo before the Stones had the lip and tongue.

[@chinoelindio6493]

The Grateful Dead logo idea came from tripping while looking at the sign. That's a fucking important fact, man!

[@rajdeepganguli2274]

The Beatles' Apple Corps made better products than today's Apple... I bet

[@andriealinsangao613]

YEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[@burnttoastcosmonaut]

It was sadly a disaster.

[@coopergoss350]

OMG yes!!!! Please make more!!!!

[@landonbailey]

Actually for #2 the Beatles had time travel tech and knew that Apple Computers would one day be popular, so they stole it. :) Also love Radiohead. cool video

[@gustavgnoettgen]

_"I'm just a creep."_ - logo bear

[@TheSpelledMilk]

Totally love this idea. Ty

[@tomfrazier1103]

As a little kid I was a connoisseur of graffiti, and saw the -VH- Van Halen logo everywhere c1979.

[@papasquatscott7615]

Corrosion of Conformity’s spike skull. Paid a tattoo artist to draw the logo but never paid the whole amount so nobody is quite sure who really owns the copyright to it.

[@shadefreude6499]

The guy looks like Fabian from GTA 5

[@jake6887]

The band 'Angel' has a logo you can put upside down. The band 'Satan' has logo with similar mirror reflection.

[@JacksonJulienFenn]

Rush’s Starman also has a pretty cool history.

[@dwc1964]

Didn't Kurt Vonnegut come up with the idea of an asterisk as a symbol for a butthole? (though he used a 6-pointed asterisk rather than 8)

[@TheBlackKnight1o1]

I clicked for Grateful Dead...

[@KleversonRoyther]

So it wasn't just me who simply wanted to see him talk about the Dead

[@BarcaPatrick9]

Metallica (James did it in art class in high school) Deftones Korn Slipknot

[@TheMightyPirateTm]

Thank you, I did enjoy the video!

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

I think Kali was a goddess of death and war or something like that. Probably explains the multiple weapons she's depicted with.

[@SlyHikari03]

I love the nirvana logo.

[@michaelheath3062]

The Crosby, Stills and Nash logo was designed by Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live fame

[@rizvanxd8724]

Radiohead are so underrated as a rock band :’(

[@RussellSmith91]

"Angel's asshole" - that probably summed up his disdain for the machine.

[@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703]

3:57 *Was that perhaps the "Deadhead sticker" that Don Henley sang about in Boys Of Summer?*

[@jgfunk]

+1 for the video. +1 more for The Grateful Dead

[@twentyoneHz]

Jimmy Page didn’t draw his own symbol, he found it in an occult book representing the planet Saturn, his astrological sun sign, Capricorn

[@ChopTheViking]

Gotta love the obsession with the chaos symbol first doodled by a sci-fi author on a napkin...

[@monika9228]

The Crass logo is cool, but people rarely recognise it...

[@dwsperspectiveonreality.659]

Samuraiguitarist I love your video love your Channel you've always got great content just wanted to say I'm a deadhead through and through and the story I heard on the road so to speak was that bear AKA the guy that created White Lightning LSD The Grateful Dead sound guy he did make the wall of sound for the dead in the 70s but he also in the early 60s she was recruited by the dead to be a sound guy and also to make LSD for them they say his first batch was so pure and amazing he called it White Lightning thus this is why there's a 13-point white lightning bolt on that symbol typifying the American culture with a red white and blue pallet he used and the clever Alchemy in which he dabbled people have no idea that he stole their face at many a show

[@tatoo190]

Some of these suggestions are more mascots than logos, but origins are usually pretty interesting. Here’s some ideas: Judas priest’s cross, Slayer’s eagle, Blink 182’s rabbit & smiley face, Motörhead’s snaggletooth, Megadeth’s Vic rattlehead, Anthrax’s not man, Iron Maiden’s Eddie...

[@inzane0ne]

Descendents' Milo is, well...Milo, the singer. The drawing was done by Jeff Atkinson, who apparently is an Olympic athlete if Wikipedia is to be believed. I'm not really 100 on that part cus that seems more like a simple editing mistake, but I haven't found anything to the contrary yet.

[@lm3249]

Could you please do a video on using modes and chord tones within modes and how to apply them to different genres, would really appreciate it Thanks!

[@blasvega2]

A samurai telling histories about other lands

[@rhyswilliams4893]

kudos for the use of quid!

[@jasonroth8208]

Bad Religion's "cross-buster". great video man!!

[@notavibe6929]

Queen: Freddie designed it, the 2 Leo’s are Roger and Brian (or John). The Cancer is John (or Brian). And the Fairy twin things at the bottom is Freddie. The Phoenix is watching over them and then there is the crest of a Q. ....or something....

[@FatimaIsabel_]

Deaky’s my Dad The Cancer is Brian and the two Leos are John and Roger.