The True Story Behind The Hard Rock Cafe Logo

The Hard Rock Cafe logo is easy to spot no matter where you are in the world, whether it's at one of their many restaurant locations, or perhaps even more ubiquitous, on people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the famous icon. Like most brands and restaurant chains, coming up with the name and logo is something that is contemplated and carefully thought of until making a final decision.

In the early 1970s, Hard Rock founders Issac Tigrett and Peter Morton were Americans living in London who decided to open their own hamburger restaurant in the city that would offer American-style fare. They decided to convert an old Rolls Royce dealership into a dining establishment, according to the Hard Rock Cafe website, and they knew they wanted their iconic logo to represent and have Americana charm with a side of rock n' roll that soon became their overarching theme.

So, the duo reached out to a well-known artist, Alan Aldridge, who was connected to the music world and had designed images for bands such as The Beatles and The Who.

Tigrett liked the idea of using the car hood ornament of Chevrolet as inspiration as it's a classic American car and brand; it quickly served as the blueprint for coming up with the final design, according to the Hard Rock Cafe website. From that vision, Aldridge created a graphic based on the simple design and concept of the Chevy car decal. However, the colors they had originally planned on — red, white, and blue — were ultimately scratched. Although those colors are very American, they realized it may be too over the top. So Aldridge presented the reddish brown lettering with mustard yellow circle behind it — and thus a brand was born.

Tigrett and Morton may not have known then just how popular and famous their restaurant would be, with it later expanding throughout the world, represented in 74 countries, alongside casinos and hotels — and the iconic logo has certainly been part of that journey.