Skip to main content

Hearing The Beatles was a revelation for Bruce Springsteen. The first time he heard the Fab Four, he rushed to a pay phone and frantically called his girlfriend and asked if she had heard them. They changed his life, but that didn’t stop Springsteen from complimenting and complaining about The Beatles at the same time.

Bruce Springsteen said The Beatles’ had ‘the worst and most glorious band name’

Racing out to call his girlfriend wasn’t the only impulsive decision Springsteen made when he heard “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” 

The Boss also snatched up the first record he could find with the name Beatles on the cover. It turned out to be the Fab Four backing up Tony Sheridan on the song “My Bonnie.” A duped Springsteen called it a rip-off.

The Beatles impacted him enough that he set a course to make music his career. Still, Springsteen couldn’t help but mix a complaint with a compliment when discussing their band name.

“The worst and most glorious band name in all of rock ‘n’ roll history,” Springsteen once said of The Beatles’ moniker (via 150 Glimpses of The Beatles).

Springsteen got duped when he bought what he thought was a Beatles single and faced whippings for being an early fan. Still, the infectious melody, earworm of a guitar riff, and ecstatic vocal harmonies on the pre-chorus of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” hooked him for life.

The musician who gave us several all-time great songs but never a No. 1 hit honed his guitar skills by learning Fab Four tunes. Springsteen simultaneously complained and complimented The Beatles’ band name; without them, we wouldn’t have The Boss as we know him.

The Beatles’ name was a pun inspired by Buddy Holly’s band

Related

Bruce Springsteen Reveals The Beatles Song That Was the First Rock Song He Learned to Play

Springsteen saw the yin and yang of The Beatles’ band name. All things considered, it was a lot better than the alternatives.

John Lennon’s Quarrymen became the Beatals (taking a cue from Buddy Holly’s band, the Crickets), then the Silver Beetles, then the Silver Beatles before settling on The Beatles. 

The band’s name was a double pun. It maintained the insect-themed link to Buddy Holly’s Crickets, but the spelling was a nod to the beat music the group played. (Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page once said he had a thin connection to how The Beatles got their name).

The Beatles band name that Springsteen simultaneously complained about and complimented never really mattered. Without great songs, the group would have faded into obscurity. But the Fab Four possessed loads of musical magic. The Beatles played the right music at the right time and took the world by storm. That’s how a Liverpool quartet with a cheeky moniker can have both the “worst and most glorious band name in all of rock ‘n’ roll history,” as The Boss said.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.

Best in Music