bands with few to no original members left (continue reading..)

[powderfinger]

Ok, so I really started noticing this phenomena about 10 years ago or so. All these classic rock/doo wop/oldies acts touring with only 1-2 original members. I kinda see these more as "tribute acts" than the original band, but whatever. Ive seen alot of these reincarnated bands before, but was wondering, what is the worst case of a band milking its former glory you have ever seen (ie. most pathetic amount of original members.).

I'd say mine was 12 years ago or so. I believe the show was at a club in N Carolina. It was billed that "Bad Company" was going to appear live at this dive. It seemed really weird that "Bad Company" was coming to this dive of a bar (this bar was the pits, btw). I thought it was a mistake. However, I won free tix from the radio (friend hooked me up, actually). I went and it was a guy named Brian Howe (who sang lead for Bad Co. on like 2 albums in the early 90s). He had a backing band of unknown guys who all looked half his age. They were pretty awesome actually... just hated it was booked as "Bad Company". Dunno if this was the fault of the club or the band though.

Another was Lynyrd Skynyrd. I saw them around 1992. Of course, at that point they still had Leon Wilkinson, Billy Powell, Ed King, and Artmius Pyle (so by today's standards... it was CLOSE to original as they would ever get).

[Richland123]

Here are some classic rock band still hanging on with 1 or 2 original members but many of these bands sound really good with the replacement players.

Humble Pie - Jerry Shirley (Drums) is the only original member left
Foghat - Roger Earl (Drums) is the only original member left
Thin Lizzy - Brian Downey (Drums) is the only original member left but Scott Gorham (Guitar) who joined the band in 1974 is currently in the band
The Guess Who - Jim Kale (Bass) and Garry Peterson (Drums) are the two remaining original members

[DerPrinz]

Guns N Roses, only Axl is left...

[MonkeyBass]

My band opened up for Creedence Clearwater Revisted about 10 years ago. It was the original bassist and drummer. Pretty lame.

[MonetBass]

Foreigner with only Mick Jones. Although to be fair he is a founding member of that band and they still sound great (saw them last year).

[WalterBush]

Originally Posted by MonkeyBass

My band opened up for Creedence Clearwater Revisted about 10 years ago. It was the original bassist and drummer. Pretty lame.

That's how the band started, though. if you ask them (and I did), they always were the only original members. I saw them when they first re-formed, when The Cars' guitarist was still playing with them. Great show, I thought.

I saw Jefferson Starship. There was only one original member left, and a buncha hired hands...to be even more lame, they played an mp3 (noisy and hissy, at that) of the vocal intro to "We Built This City" rather than singing it. I mean, if you're hiring people, couldn't you require they be able to sing your tunes

[jaywa]

Kinda reminds me of a biker event we just had around here last weekend.

The four top-billed acts were:

Quiet Riot
Slaughter
Foghat
Sweet

I didn't catch those shows but I'm pretty sure none of those bands took the stage with any more than two of their original members.

OTOH, people do die (as in the case of Kevin DuBrow and both of Foghat's guitarists)... so what can you do?

[s_mcsleazy]

black flag. greg ginn is the only origional member

[Handyman]

The Who, though I don't think the original bassist or drummer are available to go on tour.

[*smb]

How about Napalm Death? They had no original members by the time they finished recording their first album in 1987. And none of the lineup they had by the end of Scum are in the band today.

[powderfinger]

Originally Posted by MonkeyBass

My band opened up for Creedence Clearwater Revisted about 10 years ago. It was the original bassist and drummer. Pretty lame.

Dude, that sounds lame as hell..haha. But funny. You can't do CCR without John Fogarty, sorry. Or Tom for that matter. Did the vocalist even sound at all like Fogarty?

I saw the Swingin' Medallions before at a nightclub. They were popular here in the Carolinas in the 60s, and had a big hit called "Double Shot of My Babys Love", and also had anothe minor hit with their version of "Hey, Hey Baby", which almost every shag and beach band did in the 60s. When they hit the stage, there was not a single one of them that was older than I was! I was like, "what the hell, REALLY?". During the middle of the set however, when they did their hit "Double Shot", they brought this older gentlman with white hair and a sports coat up on stage to sit in... they announced him as an original member. He was a sophisticated ol' fellow. But after he left the stage, it was like ok... let the grandkids do their thing some more.

[champbassist]

Napalm Death: no original members remained after 1992, IIRC

Edit:

Originally Posted by *smb

How about Napalm Death? They had no original members by the time they finished recording their first album in 1987. And none of the lineup they had by the end of Scum are in the band today.

Good Lord I posted about Napalm Death as the exact same time as you! Telepathy at work!!! Also, as per allmusic.com:

Mick Harris, the only remaining member from the unit's earliest lineups, exited Napalm Death in 1992 to mount an acclaimed ambient dub project named Scorn

[TC2112]

Originally Posted by jaywa

Kinda reminds me of a biker event we just had around here last weekend.

The four top-billed acts were:

Quiet Riot
Slaughter
Foghat
Sweet

I didn't catch those shows but I'm pretty sure none of those bands took the stage with any more than two of their original members.

OTOH, people do die (as in the case of Kevin DuBrow and both of Foghat's guitarists)... so what can you do?

That original guitar player in Slaughter died too, so that's understandable. What isn't understandable to me is the Quiet Riot has exactly 0 original members left. That name probably should have died with DuBrow (the career died long before that)

[ptrick63]

Saw the Temptations a couple of years ago, with one remaining original member. AWFUL. All those great tunes and no one who could sing them..ugh. Great backing musicians though.

[jaywa]

Not to derail, but, re Quiet Riot.

Last weekend my band played a show in the same venue Quiet Riot was booked for, but the night before. Turns out we were given the green room assigned to Quiet Riot, and I got to see the stuff on their buffet table that had been spec'd in their rider. Yogurt... bottled water... 3 packs of beef jerky... the most "rock and roll" thing on the table being two 12-packs of Heineken. For a band with such a reputation back in the day, kind of amusing how tame it all was, I thought.

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by TC2112

That original guitar player in Slaughter died too, so that's understandable.

I saw pics from the Slaughter gig... it looks like Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum are still with them but I didn't see any pics of the drummer so don't know on that one.

BTW Dana Strum is still playing that weird-shaped bass he played back in the day.

[*smb]

Originally Posted by champbassist

Napalm Death: no original members remained after 1992, IIRC

Edit:


Good Lord I posted about Napalm Death as the exact same time as you! Telepathy at work!!! Also, as per allmusic.com:

Mick Harris wasn't their original drummer though

[Richland123]

James "J.Y." Young is the only original touring member left from Styx but Tommy Shaw joined in 1975 and their current lineup is top notch. Chuck Panozzo makes occasional appearances.

[DJS]

+1 on Jefferson Airplane declining into Starship

Chicago in the Peter et Cetera 80s love song schlock period

Triumph without Rick Emmett

Bad Company without Paul Rogers

[powderfinger]

You know, there seems to be 2 sorts of bands without original members...

Ones that still play arenas. And ones that are playing the same bars that I used to. Interesting how some of these bands continue packing areanas, when others attract 20 people at a hellhole bar.