One of the most important anchoring elements ofany iconic rock bandis the lead singer. Mick Jagger ofThe Rolling Stones, Steven Tyler ofAerosmith, Robert Plant ofLed Zeppelin, and James Hetfield ofMetallicaare just a few of the best to step up to the microphone. But in the case of some bands, the original anchor needs to be replaced.
Now, the typical assumption is that changing the lead singer means that a group’s best days are behind it. That next up is the casino circuit and barroom gigs with stages covered in chicken wire à laThe Blues Brothers. But this has been far from the case for some rock outfits. In fact, there are some groups that changed singers and foundeven greater career success.
10Genesis Lands A New Frontman From Inside
The Drummer Finds The Spotlight
Prog rock luminaries Genesis found themselves cycling through several drummers following their 1967 debut, eventually settling on Phil Collins in 1970. Collins worked with the band on four albums in this capacity, includingNursery CrymeandThe Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. But in 1975, Collins found himself moved from behind the drum kit and into the lead singer spotlight after prior frontman Peter Gabriel announced he was stepping away, leaving Genesis in uncertainty. The band initially auditioned quite a few vocalists for the spot but found that Collins was more than capable once he stepped into the recording booth.
While some Genesis and prog rock fans still debate over Collins' ability and his impact on the genre,the results have been unmistakable. From Genesis albums likeA Trick of the Tail,A Wind & Wuthering, andAbacabto his own standout solo career, Collins propelled Genesis and his own artistry to greater heights of success that might have initially seemed impossible when Gabriel departed.
9A Disjointed Pink Floyd Gets Uplifted
An Erratic Member Is Replaced
The English band Pink Floyd was initially formed in late 1965 by bassist/vocalist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason, keyboardist Richard Wright, and guitarist/lead vocalist Syd Barrett. Despite early success that saw the band signed to record label EMI and the release of their 1967 albumThe Piper at the Gates of Dawn, cracks were forming in Pink Floyd’s foundation due to the drug use and mental health issues of Barrett. Barrett’s former school friend David Gilmour was initially hiredto cover for Barrett’s growing musical deficienciesbut eventually replaced him altogether when the band’s working relationship with Barrett grew too strained.
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Behind Gilmour handling vocals (alongside Waters) as well as skillfully inventive guitar, Pink Floyd grew into an internationally famous powerhouse behind albums likeThe Dark Side of The Moon,Wish You Were HereandThe Wall. And while infighting among the band began to diminish their creative output, 1994’s Waters-lessThe Division Bellshowed that Gilmour, Wright, and Mason had one last stamp left to put on their iconic work together as Pink Floyd.
8Iron Maiden Finds Their Stability
A Samson Strength Vocalist Is Found
In the early years that followed their 1975 formation, the heavy metal group Iron Maiden was a band frequently in flux. Despite securing a record deal and recording two studio albums, by 1981 Iron Maiden had gone through a sizable rotation of musicians, and their lead vocalist at the time, Paul Di’Anno, was spiraling. Caught up in a severe cocaine addiction, Di’Anno’s unpredictable and concerning behavior caused him to be dismissed in favor of former Samson singer Bruce Dickinson.
Dickinson immediately hit the ground running on Maiden’s third release,The Number of the Beast, which was the group’s first #1 UK album that also charted highly in multiple countries. That was quickly followed by further success with albums likePiece of Mind,Powerslave,Somewhere in Time, andSeventh Son of a Seventh Son. Despitea few bumps, bruises, breakups, and reunionsalong the way, Dickinson and Iron Maiden have made for a decades-long perfect fit together.
7Jefferson Airplane Discovers A Breakthrough
By Pulling Out A White Rabbit
One of the landmark psychedelic bands of the 1960s was formed in San Francisco, California when singer and guitarist Marty Balin helped found Jefferson Airplane in 1965. Balin was joined by other notable musicians including drummer Skip Spence and blues guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, but it was the addition of a female vocalist that elevated the group to a household name.
By 1966, founding Jefferson Airplane vocalist/percussionist Signe Toly Anderson had decided to depart the group after giving birth to her first child. The Great Society singer Grace Slick replaced Anderson the night after Anderson’s final show, immediately showing off a level of vocal talent, striking looks, and sheer stage presence that elevated Jefferson Airplane to another level. It also didn’t hurt that Slick brought the songs “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” along from her prior band, tracksthat both became iconic Jefferson Airplane hitson the group’s 1967 breakthrough LPSurrealistic Pillow.
6A Key Addition Changes Everything For Fleetwood Mac
A Duo Defining Destiny
Fleetwood Mac was a band of several faces. When singer and guitarist Peter Green formed the group in 1967 with a title cobbled out of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie’s last names, the sound was all about blues rock. By 1970, when Green had departed and McVie’s wife Christine joined the fold, Fleetwood was in transition after sub-par success. That is, until Mick Fleetwood heard a song by a folk-rock duo called Buckingham Nicks. Guitarist/singer Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks would later join Fleetwood Mac in 1974.
This more pop-rock-leaning direction with Buckingham and Nicks at the helm led the band to create famed albums likeRumours,Tusk, and the 1997 live record smashThe Dance. Fleetwood Mac haddrama, chaos, heartache, and heartbreak, all the studio ingredients needed to eventually put the band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. And it was all spurred on through a sudden meeting brought on by simply hearing a song.
5The Change Toward A Serious Black Flag
A Fan Makes Punk Rockers Go Deeper
California’s own punk rock roughnecks Black Flag are still icons of the genre despite an up-and-down erratic history and their fair share of rotating band members. And while the group never quite took off into the stratosphere of commercial levels of success, they got fairly close in 1981 after band member Dez Cadena chose to focus on playing guitar rather than singing. This left the door open for 20-year-old Black Flag fan and S.O.S. vocalist Henry Rollins to audition and take over as the group’s permanent singer.
Rollins was only with the band for five years, but in that time Black Flag took on adarker, more cohesively moody and poetictone than it had with any other vocalist. The band’s 1981 recordDamagedlooked poised to bounce Black Flag high on the bubble of punk rock’s popularity at the time, but legal matters and mismanagement kept the band at cult status on later releases such asMy WarandLoose Nut. Still, Rollins helped put Black Flag firmly and undeniably in the echelon of being decidedly and legendarily punk.
4Pearls Out Of The Ashes
Pressure Makes Grunge Icons
In the late 1980s, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were on the cusp of success, backing vocalist Andrew Wood in Seattle-based rock group Mother Love Bone. However, just months before the band’s debut LPApplewas released in 1990, tragedy struck when Wood died of a heroin overdose. After grieving, Gossard and Ament were brought back together when the pair began to play as a trio with former Shadow guitarist Mike McCready. Searching for a vocalist, their five-song demo tape eventually found its way into the hands of vocalist and part-time San Diego gas station employee Eddie Vedder.
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And while it is perhaps unfair to judge Wood’s success with Mother Love Bone given his premature passing, the transformation of Mother Love Bone’s remainders into the Vedder-led Pearl Jam came todefine grunge rock as we know it. From the explosion ofTenandVitalogyin the 1990s to later works likeNo Code,Riot Act, and the recentDark Matter, Pearl Jam goes to show that even from tragedy there can still be a triumph.
3Gin Blossoms Briefly In Bloom
Right Time Right Moment
Tempe, Arizona-based alt-rock act Gin Blossoms found themselves with local area popularity as the 1990s began, but that would briefly change to the big stage as the band changed too. Initially, lead vocalist and guitarist Jesse Valenzuela decided to shift roles and leave the main singing to fellow Gin Blossom Robin Wilson. Later on, lead guitarist and primary songwriter Doug Hopkins was ousted from the group for severe alcohol dependency just before the release of their breakthrough 1992 albumNew Miserable Experience.
New Miserable Experienceeventually reachedquadruple platinum statusand was followed by 1996’sCongratulations I’m Sorry, which also went platinum. Despite overall chart success and many late-night television appearances under the band’s belt, Gin Blossoms eventually broke up in 1997. But a few changes did get them to bloom, if only for a little while.
2AC/DC Gets A Recharge
New Life From Death
By 1980, Australian band AC/DC was in the top echelon of hard rock acts, having recorded six studio albums based on raw energy, blistering guitar riffs, and a style all their own—right down to their on-stage school uniforms. Leading the way was the blistering growl of vocalist Bon Scott, who powered the group until dying from acute alcohol poisoning prior to recording the band’s next album,Back in Black. Singer Brian Johnson was chosen to succeed Scott, and AC/DC didn’t miss a beat, withBack in Blackbecoming one of the highest-selling albums of all time.
Much like the comparison betweenbands Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, it might be arguably unfair to rank Johnson as AC/DC’s superlatively successful singer, given he has had more time to front the ups and downs of the band compared to Scott. But he did recharge AC/DCduring a critical period of timewhen the group could have folded after losing Scott. And the legacy of the band is that much brighter thanks to the barroom bellow of Johnson stepping in to lead the way.
1The Windy City Finds Their Center
And Success Soon Follows
In 1969, the band Chicago had three lead vocalists on their debut albumChicago Transit Authority: guitarists Peter Cetera and Terry Kanth, as well as keyboardist Robert Lamm. But over time, it was Cetera’s voice and songwriting that took center stage as the glue in Chicago’s rise as a band. The group’s follow-up smash hit LPChicagowas spearheaded by Cetera singing “25 or 6 to 4”,the band’s first major hit single, with Cetera on solo lead vocals.
Over time, what had started with Cetera’s few lead vocal compositions turned into Chicago’s focal point, with Cetera-penned songs like “Wishing You Were Here,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “Baby What a Big Surprise,” and “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” leading the way. And while Cetera left Chicago in 1985 to pursue a lucrative solo career and has recently retired, the success of the band might never have been the same if Peter Cetera hadn’t been on center stage.
