What's in a Name?

THE ROLLING STONES

Such an iconic band... and such an iconic name to go with it. The name "The Rolling Stones" has been etched across the very face of rock and roll. From its rebellious lyrics to its taunting tongue and even down to the band names, there is nothing about the Rolling Stones that is insignificant. Which leads to the question... what exactly does the name "The Rolling Stones" even mean? The answer, ironically, lies in an entirely different musical genre: the blues! Turns out, American blues musician Muddy Waters was a source of inspiration for band members, so much so that his song "Rollin' Stone" became the namesake for the band. 

Well, my mother told my father,
just before hmmm, I was born,
"I got a boy child's comin,
He's gonna be, he's gonna be a rollin stone,
Sure 'nough, he's a rollin stone"

 

LET IT BLEED

According to band members, the underlying meaning of the album title, "Let It Bleed" (which is also title of song track 5 - the first time the band used a song title as their album title) stems from the band's strong desire to 'get the album out'. It is said that their fingers were 'bleeding'.. that was the extent of their tremendous effort. An alternate meaning? The phrase "let it bleed" is a well known example of drug lingo. It refers to successfully locating a vein; when pulling the syringe back, if blood is drawn, it is called 'letting it bleed'. Another possible motivation behind the name? It is speculated that the undeniable similarity between the name 'Let It Bleed' and 'Let It Be' is all too undeniable. Could there be some correlation between the two classics? Not according to Keith Richards...

(It didn't have) a thing (to do with the Beatles' Let It Be). Just a coincidence because you're working along the same lines at the same time at the same age as a lot of other cats. All trying to do the same thing basically, turn themselves and other people on. Let It Bleed was just one line in that song Mick wrote. It became the title... we just kicked a line out... We dug that song so... maybe there was some influence because Let It Be had been kicked around for years for their movie, for that album. Let it be something. Let it out. Let it loose. 

 - Keith Richards, 1971

Sources:

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=523

http://www.timeisonourside.com/lpBleed.html