24 Vintage Photos of Musicians Wearing Their Own Band’s Tees ~ Vintage Everyday

Because they love their own band too!

The music artist you listen to tells a lot about your spirit and style. If you are a die-hard fan of a particular band, is there even a better way to express your craze than proudly sporting the band’s T-shirts? Of all music merchandise, vintage band shirts continue to rock as a perennial fashion favorite. As you slip on a band tee, it sparks a visual interest, declares your story, and reflects your excellent music taste. Love for the tees began decades ago, turned into a culture and evolved to become a symbol of fashion today. The music-lovers T-shirt once seen on merchandise stalls at gigs has now gone wild worldwide.

The origin of band T-shirts is challenging to trace. But legends say that the real excitement began in the 1940s when the teenage ‘bobbysoxers’ flashed tee creations by scribbling the name of their favorite musicians across their outfits.

In the late 1950s, bands and promoters noticed the hidden demand and started a new revenue stream by making official merch. It turned out to be an absolute win-win! One of the preeminent rock producers, Bill Graham, introduced the 1960s San Francisco sound and uncovered ways to promote the music industry. He supported concerts like scheduling B.B King to play the same night as The Who. His company Winterland made the concert ringer T-shirt a mainstay of the rock show experience.

Further, the late 1960s witnessed emerging subcultures like punk, mods, and goths. The Grateful Dead’s madness created a one-of-a-kind visual language that not just spoke about the band but also its fans.

In the 1970s, the stadium rock ushered in to bring a seismic shift. AC DC became a merch pioneer as one of the first bands to make the highest profits from merch sales.

The next decade saw Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon prism graphic and Nirvana’s “Smiley Face” band T-shirts that reflected the entire generation’s spirit. The 1980s and 1990s was the era of punk counterculture and started to swoon masses.

Here, below is a selection of 24 photos of musicians wearing their own band’s T-shirts:

1. Keith Moon – The Who