Guns N' Roses band name meaning

Hard rockers from Los Angeles, California, also affectionately called GN'R or GNR.

Let’s give it two shots here: the band name may be the result of a cross-fertilization of the group names The L.A. Guns and The Hollywood Roses, or it is an amalgam of the names of the two iconic musicians of the said bands, namely Tracii Guns (of the L.A. Guns) and Axl Rose (of the Hollywood Roses).

Gnarls Barkley band name meaning

Music project of multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer Danger Mouse (New York) and rapper / vocalist Cee Lo Green (Atlanta). The duo produces among others neo soul, funk and alternative hip hop. 

Charles Wade Barkley

In American linguistic tradition taboo words are sometimes covered, or names are given a mocking effect, by replacing the first consonant by ‘schm’, after which the original and the modified word are made to rhyme with each other. A musical example is Nilsson Schmilsson. This can also be done using the letter combination gn; examples include Prince Gnarles (Prince Charles) and Bob Gnarley (Bob Marley). 

Danger Mouse and Green applied this technique to change the name of famous basketball player Charles Wade Barkley (born 1963, see photo) into their band name.

Genesis band name meaning

One of the most successful rock acts since the world saw the first light is from Godalming, Surrey. Known for band members like Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. 

Their first album, created when the musicians were only between 16 and 18 years old, was given the title From Genesis to Revelation. Taking into account that the first and last books of the Bible are entitled respectively Genesis and Revelation, it is no miracle that many shops had the record on display in the religious music racks.

At that time the band in fact did not have a real name yet; it was producer Jonathan King who incited the band to adopt the name Genesis. After all, their first record could be seen as a kind of Genesis.