Did You Know? Bands That Formed In College (PHOTOS)

Posted: 06/09/2010 4:57 pm EDT Updated: 05/25/2011 4:45 pm EDT

If we had a nickel for every band formed in college ... we'd have a massive pile of nickels. It seems there's nothing like a university setting to inspire young people to make music. We can't include everyone in this show, so weigh in the comments section with ones we missed.

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BANDS That Got Started In College (PHOTOS)

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Steely Dan officially started when Donald Fagen and Walter Becker crossed paths at Bard College in 1967.
At the University of South Carolina in 1986, the members of Hootie and the Blowfish decided they only wanted to make music with each other (and hold each other's hands, or something). Their first EP dropped in 1991.
Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden started making music as MGMT during their freshman year at Wesleyan University. After graduating in 2005, they released their EP "Time to Pretend."
John Oates and Daryl Hall met as teens and found out by coincidence that they were both going to Temple University. The two became roommates; proximity bred a fruitful musical partnership.
In 2007, Passion Pit started in one member's dorm room at Emerson College in Boston, MA. Two years later, they released their smash-hit album "Manners."
Chris Martin met guitarist Jonny Buckland during orientation week at University College London in 1996. Soon after, they started their first band "Pectoralz." After a few name changes and member additions, they became Coldplay.
Creed's lead singer, Scott Tapp, met guitarist Mark Tremonti in high school. Creed formed when they started at Florida State University.
In 1983, legendary jam band Phish came into being at the University of Vermont. Their first gig was at a Halloween dance.
The seeds of Interpol were planted when Daniel Kessler met initial drummer Greg Dundy in a philosophy class at New York University.
Greg Gillis, the brains behind Girl Talk, began sampling sounds while studying biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University.
Queen guitarist Brian May met bassist Tim Staffell while both were students at Imperial College in London in the early 70s. With the addition of Ealing Art College student Farrokh Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury, Queen was born (though they originally called themselves Smile).
While students at the Rhode Island School of Design, David Byrne and Chris Frantz played in a band called The Artistics. After graduating, moving to New York and getting Frantz's girlfriend Tina Weymouth to learn bass guitar, they became the Talking Heads.
The kings of indie rock met while students at Western Washington University. Many of their early songs refer to the area.
The prep rockers behind Vampire Weekend met at Columbia University.
Indie-rock group Ra Ra Riot began their mission at first playing in basement parties at Syracuse University. What started as a local campus sensation soon became a big-time music festival player, touring with the likes of Vampire Weekend and Death Cab for Cutie.