Lovin' this thread. I'm a commercial artist and work with fonts and logos every day, plus I'm a pop culture graphics junkie in general.
Which was the first band to use a stylized typeface for its name? Was it the Doors in early 1967?
Re: the Doors logo. Excellent question! The Monkees logo premiered in 1966, so it predates the Doors logo. ( BTW,The Monkees logo was designed by Nick LoBianco, who illustrated many lunchboxes of the 60's & early 70s)
And then there is the classic Beatles logo. I've always wondered what the story was behind this logo, as it appears to hand-lettered. I found this info on it on wikipedia:
"The Beatles' iconic "drop-T" logo, based on an impromptu sketch by instrument retailer and designer Ivor Arbiter, also made its debut in 1963. The logo was first used on the front of Starr's bass drum, which Epstein and Starr purchased from Arbiter's London shop."
I can't recall this logo ever being used on any album covers back in the 1960s, but it appeared on Ringo's bass head, as well as lunchboxes and other merchandise back then.