Hirohiko Araki is a big fan of Western music, and many of the characters and Stands in the show are named after musicians and songs.
Hirohiko Araki came up with Stands as a way to explain psychic powers: he didn't believe someone could move an object with their mind, but he could believe that someone created something with their mind that could move an object.
Many names of characters and Stands have to be altered in the English subtitles and dubs of the anime and games for copyright reasons. Some examples are: -Wham!/Wamu -ACDC/Esidisi -Cars/Kars -Steely Dan/Dan of Steel -Crazy Diamond/Shining Diamond (Pink Floyd) -Vanilla Ice/Cool Ice -Echoes/Reverb (Pink Floyd) -Killer Queen/Deadly Queen (Queen)
Hirohiko Araki chose Egypt as Dio's modern-era base because he had once gone there on a trip and thought the people there looked threatening and fearsome. The location is a tribute to Mitsuteru Yokoyama's story "Babel II", which was set in the desert.
The series released on the 25th anniversary of the "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" manga comic.