Can anybody think of a singer, that was in a successful band, who then went solo; that didn't suck in comparison to thier former glory?
I just can't think of anyone.
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Can anybody think of a singer, that was in a successful band, who then went solo; that didn't suck in comparison to thier former glory?
I just can't think of anyone.
Technically Justin Timberlake had a successful band with N'Sync and is pretty successful as a stand alone.
Stole my singer :1orglaugh
well one comes to mind, but he was never famous, as in rich. but he was in a band that many people like and consider to be good.
I'm thinking of a guy named Mike Park, from skankin pickle and other bands.
ozzy osbourne (black sabbath)Quote:
Originally Posted by Jebadiah
stevie nicks (fleetwood mac)
bob marley (the wailers)
john lennon (the beatles)
technically, paul mccartney, though it was intially a new band (the beatles)
iggy pop, depending on who you talk to (the stooges)
maynard, though, apc is technically another band not a solo project (tool)
toby keith, though he was garth brooks' guitarist, he's now a big country act/vocalist
diana ross, though it was a vocal group, not a "band" (the supremes)
mirian makeba, who's a HUGE name in world music (the skylarks)
peter gabriel (genesis)
aimee mann ('til tuesday)
neil young, but you can't really call his other band members failures in any way, he was, by far, the most successful (crosby, stills, nash and young)
don henley (the eagles)
michael mcdonald (doobie brothers)
eric clapton (500 million bands, though techincally the most well known would be either cream or derek and the dominos and he's techincally more known as a guitarist as a songer, i guess)
annie lennox (eurythmics)
lauren hill (the fugees)
sting (the police)
and is perry farrell (janes addiction) linda perry (4 non blondes) paul westerberg (the replacements) and mark mothersbaugh (devo) pushing it, because they are more known now for their accomplishments in music, than when they were in their successful bands?
and though it's killing me because i know, if i had time to actually think about it, i could name a ton more... but this is the best i could think of on the spot...
i'm sure if i had more time, i could bust out country/blues/soul artists left and right... but these are the bigger names that i could think of and i tried to contribute to many genres...
man, i need to go eat something...
I love Bauhaus but Peter Murphy certainly doesn't suck on his own either.
david gilmors solo stuff is quite alright
Jarvis Cocker..
ozzy osbourne (black sabbath)
Definitely better as a solo act.
stevie nicks (fleetwood mac)
Hmmm, maybe, maybe not.
bob marley (the wailers)
Good no matter who he's with or what he was doing.
john lennon (the beatles)
Ditto.
technically, paul mccartney, though it was intially a new band (the beatles)
What the hell are McCartneys lyrics about? They make no sense whatsoever, even as abstractions - Steely Dan makes more sense - hell of a good Bass player, and has a cunning way with a melody, but no - Wings is pure stoned wanker.
iggy pop, depending on who you talk to (the stooges)
Heh, Iggy Pop, no opinion there, still churning.
maynard, though, apc is technically another band not a solo project (tool)
toby keith, though he was garth brooks' guitarist, he's now a big country act/vocalist
Country - sorry, don't know, don't care.
diana ross, though it was a vocal group, not a "band" (the supremes)
A vocal Groups is a group - no opinion, though as a fan of vocal harmony, I'd have to go with the Supremes - she's got good pipes, but the whole was greater then the sum.
mirian makeba, who's a HUGE name in world music (the skylarks)
I'll have to check him out.
peter gabriel (genesis)
Gabriel rocks, he's the man, right behind Leonard Cohen, maybe even beside. As for Phil Collins, who has had argueably more commercial success than Gabriel, see Paul McCartney above.
aimee mann ('til tuesday)
Another brain fart - Aimee Mann? Ah, Voices Carry - I like that song, but can't say it's groundbreaking.
neil young, but you can't really call his other band members failures in any way, he was, by far, the most successful (crosby, stills, nash and young)
First Band was Buffalo Springfield, not CSNY - which also included Stephen Stills and Jim Messina, the latter whom arguably achieved more critical success as a solo act, and his work with Kenny Loggins cannot be characterized as anything but growth - but in both cases, the group efforts edge out Youngs solo stuff technically, although his raw side comes through a lot better solo, and his high points are difficult to compare to anybody - it would be hard to find anything bad to say about him, and he really was almost more of an integrated solo act even in CSNY.
All these guys were pretty much established before they formed CSNY, it's technically a supergroup.
don henley (the eagles)
Another tough call, another supergroup, but I'd have to say his solo work edges out the majority of the Eagles, maybe because I've heard it so much it's turned cliche - but I think it's a little more out there, less laid back.
michael mcdonald (doobie brothers)
Great pipes, solid songwriting - technically superior to, but not near as much fun as the Doobies en masse.
eric clapton (500 million bands, though techincally the most well known would be either cream or derek and the dominos and he's techincally more known as a guitarist as a songer, i guess)
Clapton has always been a solo artist, and every band he's been in has been a collaboration vehicle for other solo artists - his first major band was The Yardbirds, who weren't blue enough for him - later guitarists for the YB's included Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Went on to John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, eventually replaced by Peter Green. On to Cream, which was one of the first supergroups, and all his bands after that are supergroups - his earlier ones were too for that matter, just nobody knew who they were yet. On his best days, he can almost hit Derek and the Dominos, hard to beat a band with both Duane Allman and Stevie Winwood, but the Blues, yes it is.
annie lennox (eurythmics)
Hard to say she's bigger than she was with Dave, but she's still a headline act.
lauren hill (the fugees)
Either/or
sting (the police)
Sting sounds the same to me, I can hardly tell the difference - I miss Andy Summers' elegant arpeggios though.
and is perry farrell (janes addiction) linda perry (4 non blondes) paul westerberg (the replacements) and mark mothersbaugh (devo) pushing it, because they are more known now for their accomplishments in music, than when they were in their successful bands?
Perry Farrels contribution to the band definitely became more evident as a solo act, and he seems the most swell rounded - all the lyricism, melodicism, vocal harmony, etc, and enough grit to make it stick - but given the sparsness of his releases, I'd have to say the band dynamic was good for him.
and though it's killing me because i know, if i had time to actually think about it, i could name a ton more... but this is the best i could think of on the spot...
Haha, New Year Eve and I'm on the internet, and half tanked - a couple more occur to me: Robert Plant solo work is notable, all the more so since he burned out his vocal chords before Zep even broke up - Natalie merchant stands out, given that her original band was best known for a Cat Stevens cover.
A great vocalist - her voice smiles - the best way I can describe it - ironically, her best song ever was "Carnival" off of Tigerlilly, and what made it so great was the cunning of the insane displayed by the guitar player, Jennifer Turner, a session player on that track who remains virtually unknown.
Technically, just about every solo artist who ever existed started in a band of some sort, even if they were session players, but it is true that it's a pretty rare case when a solo artist can rip it without any help whatsoever - most of the artists named above and these ones: the top 25 (Classic Rock) solo artists - at least half did their most memorable work with the bands they first became known in, most of the rest were solo acts from the get go, at least when they hit the charts - and who knows what they could have done in a decent band?
gwen stefani. oh wait, you said didn't suck.
Mike Patton (Hello)....
Hanin Elias from Atari Teenage Riot.