Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Jethro Tull, serendipity edition

I have been listening to Jethro Tull for thirty or more years. Their band name was unusual but I gave it little thought. In reading a history of Scotland I came across the Scottish agricultural scientist Jethro Tull. Could they have been named for him? It seemed improbable but indeed they were. From Wikipedia.
At first, the new band had trouble getting repeat bookings and they took to changing their name frequently to continue playing the London club circuit, which included "Navy Blue", "Ian Henderson's Bag o' Nails" and "Candy Coloured Rain". Anderson recalled looking at a poster at a club and concluding that the band name he didn't recognise was his. Band names were often supplied by their booking agents' staff, one of whom, a history enthusiast, eventually christened them "Jethro Tull" after the 18th-century agriculturist. The name stuck because they happened to be using it the first time a club manager liked their show enough to invite them to return.

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