The band gets its unusual name from the 1964 film Two Thousand Maniacs!, expanded to 10,000 because there were originally five of them. Two Thousand Maniacs! is a cheesy, gorefest, splatter film by noted schlock director H.G. Lewis. Its poster says it all with the blurb "An entire town bathed in pulsing human blood! Madmen crazed for carnage!" and prominently features a scantily clad B-movie blonde tied up.
The group has accumulated a legion of former members thanks to its revolving-door lineup history, but the most famous and founding member was Natalie Merchant. Merchant left in 1993 to start a solo career, but the group kept going without her, replaced by Mary Ramsey. "Natalie was always truthful and forward with our business dealings together," bass player Steven Gustafson said in a Songfacts interview. "She has also been very generous. We all have a lot of respect for her talents and understood her desire to get away from us and the constraints we put on her music. She had different visions and I think we got in the way of those sometimes. We are very happy for her success as a solo artist and she wishes us well."
Lead singer Natalie Merchant was just 17 years old when she was invited to try out for the vocals. She fit, and the group, which started as Still Life, formed around her. They performed together for the first time in 1981 - Merchant was about 10 years younger than her bandmates.
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