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- [00:00]
Alan Cross
Hey, it's Alan and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to the ongoing history of new music early and ad free on Amazon. Music included with prime the Colonels cooked
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- [00:36]
Alan Cross
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- [00:39]
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- [00:53]
Alan Cross
Chosen Foods when someone in your band decides to leave or gets fired or, heaven forbid, dies, you have a problem. This is an issue if any member leaves, but if we're talking about your singer, that's a hurt. On an entirely different level, your front person is an integral part of your sound. It's the voice of your music. And there is nothing more important to your music than its voice. Oh, and it gets worse too. Your front person often provides the central image for your band. That person is the one out front. That person takes center stage live. That person is the one the camera follows in a video. That person is the one photographers focus on. And chances are it's that person's name that comes to mind first when you talk to fans. So what do you do when that person bails? Well, you have two choices. First, you can fold your tent, go home, and maybe come back in a different form with a different name. Or you suck it up and risk replacing that singer with someone else. This is hard on so many levels. Again, I go back to the notion of voice. You could find a sound alike like we've seen with Journey. There was that period of time with Judas Priest and perhaps Queen. But fans know that you've just plugged that hole with a reasonable facsimile at best or an out and out fake at worst. Instead, it's probably best to focus on skills and chemistry. So maybe the new person does sound a little bit like the old one. But maybe they also bring something new to the table, some intangible talent that not only dresses the wound, but makes the body as a whole stronger. That's really hard, but it can be done. And here are 18 examples of bands who have done just that.
- [02:39]
Vanta Advertiser
This is the ongoing History of New Music podcast with Alan Cross.
- [02:46]
Stitch Fix Advertiser
Welcome.
- [02:46]
Alan Cross
Welcome again. I'm Alan Cross and this episode addresses the tricky and dangerous task of replacing the lead singer in a successful band. There are far more failures at this than successes, but at the same time, there are more successes than you might realize, and I'd like to highlight 18 such instances going through them in alphabetical order. And first up is acdc. They had to change frontman not twice, not three times, but four times. The band's first singer was Dave Evans, who was with the band from their formation for about a year after they were formed in 1973. That was the time when the band was very much into glam rock, but after some time honing their guitar sound, they released that. Evans wasn't right, certainly not for the way things were headed, so he was given the boot. His replacement was Bon Scott, who had actually been working as the band's chauffeur when he got a chance to audition. He got the gig and was their singer when they recorded their first album, High Voltage. Scott was the guy for seven albums, records that first cemented the band's reputation in Australia and helped them find a fan base worldwide. But then Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of drinking that was February 19, 1980. Bond had a really unique voice. How could anybody possibly replace that? However, ACDC was able to fill his shoes with Englishman Brian Johnson, just in time for the Back in Black album, which came out later in 1980. The swap worked way better than anyone could have dreamed. That record has sold at least 50 million copies, and subsequent albums have been big sellers too. But then there was a fourth change out front when Brian Johnson started having serious trouble with his ears. In 2016, Axl Rose of Guns N Roses was brought in to sing for about two dozen shows. Fortunately, though, Brian got some great medical treatment and was able to rejoin the band. So ACDC four singers. Number two, Alison Chains. Lane Staley was a founding member back in 1984. In fact, he was the person around whom the band was formed. It was Lane first and then everyone else. But we know the story. Lane got very, very deep into Heroin, and by 1995 he was all but unable to do anything because he was perpetually strung out. The band never broke up, but they couldn't record anything and they couldn't tour. And then on April 19, 2002, Lane was found dead in his Seattle condo. He'd Been holed up there for about a month doing drugs. No one had seen or heard from him for two weeks before he died. And when they broke down the door, they found his body still with a syringe in its arm. Alice in Chains was in limbo for the next three years. But then drummer Sean Kinney came up with the idea of the band reuniting for a benefit in aid of all those who suffered in the 2004 South Asian tsunami. A few people, including Maynard James Keenan, subbed in for that gig on vocals. But when it was all done, the remaining Alice in Chains members decided that they wanted to tour again. And to do that, they needed a new singer. After a few more gigs, they settled on William Duvall of an LA band called Comes with the Fall. Not only could he sing in a voice that blended in very well with that of guitarist Jerry Cantrell, very important thing. But he was also a pretty fair guitar player. Jerry had known him for half a decade, so he was comfortable with William. An offer was made, and despite a brief moment where the group thought they might have to change their name in deference to Lane, they've carried on with it. And with William Duvall out front, there have been three Alice in Chains albums with him. And considering everything they've done, all right. This is from the Black Gives Way to blue album in 2009, Alice in Chains, and Check my brain from 2009 featuring William Duvall. The guy who has, for all intents and purposes, replaced singer Laid Staley as frontman. Band number three, Black Flag. When the Flag was first formed in 1976, the singer was co founder Keith Morris. He was the guy out front as the band established themselves as one of the forces of hardcore punk. But by 1979, he was gone, a victim of creative differences and a lot of cocaine and speed. But anyway, a guy named Ron Rice subbed in for a while and then DEZ Cadena was in there for about a year. His replacement was a former 711 clerk from Washington D.C. named Henry Rollins. Big fan of the band that took Black Flag to an entirely new level. He was with them until the summer of 1986, when they broke up. There have been several reunions since, each with former singers taking the mic. Band number four is. Oh, boy. Black Sabbath. Let's zip through this one. Ozzy Osbourne between 1968 and 1977, Dave Walker in 1977 and 1978, Ronnie James Dio from 1979 to 1982, Ian Gillan 1982 to 1984, Ron Keel and Dave Donato both in 1984. Jeff Feinholt, 1985. Ozzy again for about 20 seconds in 1985. Glenn Hughes in 1985 and 1986. Ray Gillan, 1986 and 1987, and Tony Martin, 1987 to 1991. Okay, a lot of lesser known names there. And I'm not done. Ozzy came back in 1992, but then Tony Martin came back from 1993 to 1997 and then Ozzy for a long stretch 1997 to 2006. There was a break for a few years where nothing happened until Ozzy and the crew reunited one more time in 2011-2017. So by my count, and I could be wrong, cause there's a lot to count here, at least 11 different lead singers for one band. Black Sabbath. Deep Purple, which is band number five, is almost as weird. Ron Evans was first serving in 1968 and 1979. Then it was Ian Gillan from 69 through to 73. That's when David Coverdale took over. He lasted until 1976. Glenn Hughes, there he is again. Also shared on some lead vocals during that period. And the same thing with Tommy Bolen. Ian Gillan came back from 1984 to 1989 before quitting and being replaced by JoLynn Turner between 1989 and 1992. And then Gillan returned and is still with the band today. So I think that's six different lead singers. Band number six on this alphabetical list is Faith no More. Singer Mike Norris was first. He was a co founding member of a band called Sharp Young men back in 1979 and that group eventually morphed into Faith no More. When that happened, Norris was out and the band under its new name tried out several vocalists, including someone named Courtney Love. Yes, her. That lasted about 20 minutes sometime in 1983. Then came Chuck Mosley, 1983. He was out front until 1988 when Faith no More released their first records. After that came Mike Patton, who had the gig for 10 years, 1988 to 1998. And then came a long hiatus for the band before they reformed in 2009 with Patton on lead vocals again for a little while. He shared the space with Chuck Mosley in 2015 and 2016. But now though, as far as anybody can tell, it is Patton's gig. Let's go back to 1989 for the album the Real Thing. This was Mike Patton's first record with the band after Mosley was fired. He was getting into fights with other members of the group and the roadies, and he actually fell asleep on stage during an important showcase event. He also had this thing about wanting to do just acoustic songs, which is not what anyone else in Faith no More wanted to do. So no wonder he was out. This is still the band's biggest song. It's epic.
- [10:41]
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- [10:48]
Alan Cross
Let's keep going with bands who survived changes of lead singers. This is band number seven on our alphabetical list. Genesis started in 1967 with Peter Gabriel as their singer, but his departure in 1975 nearly killed the band. After holding dozens of auditions, 40 maybe. The group settled on drummer Phil Collins. And, you know, that worked out okay, didn't it? But there was one more lead singer change for Genesis. That was a guy named Ray Wilson. He was the front person between 1996 and 2000, when Phil Collins was way too busy with his solo career. Now the story of I Mother Earth. JAG and Christian Tanner met a guy named Edwin Ghazal at their shared rehearsal space back in 1990. That resulted in the formation of I Mother Earth. And they were so hot right from the beginning that they became the object of a bidding war between several record labels. Edwin was the lead singer until 1997, when he announced very publicly that he was going solo. It was a friendly enough split, with Edwin finishing out the group's touring commitments that summer. The following year, the group held auditions. Hundreds of demos were sent in, including one from a Newfoundlander named Brian Byrne, and his tape was immediately thrown out. But then a mutual friend said, guys, you should really look at this guy. So Brian got a second look, and he got the gig. Brian was the Imother earth singer from 1998 through to 2003, appearing on a couple of albums. And then came a long hiatus where no one did anything until 2012, when there was a reunion. Brian returned as singer for three more years before Edwin was invited back in 2016. Today, everyone gets along with Brian, occasionally sharing the stage with Edwin when the band plays live. Let's go back to 1993 to imother Earth's debut album, which was called Dig. Edwin is your singer, and when you listen to this, you realize why the band was the subject of a bidding war. This is not quite sonic. One more band before the break. This is number nine on our list, and it's Iron Maiden. The group started in London in 1975 with singer Paul Day, who served for about two years. Next up was a guy named Dennis Wilcock. That was a weird time. He had a thing about where he'd put capsules of fake blood in his mouth and then he'd take a sword, draw it across his face, bite down on the capsules and then bleed all over the place. His replacement was Paul Diano. He's the guy that we hear on the first two studio albums from Iron Maiden. But then he was fired because of boozing and drugging. Enter Bruce Dickinson, the most well known of all the Maiden singers. His first tour of duty was from 1981 through to 1993. Then he left for six years to focus on some solo work. His place was taken by Blaze Bailey, but then Blaze ran into vocal issues. Just as Bruce Dickinson indicated that he wanted to come back, so was out with Blaze and in with Bruce. That was 1999 and that's the way things have been ever since. Ten more bands who changed up Lead singers and survived Coming up.
- [14:11]
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- [14:18]
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- [14:20]
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- [14:21]
Alan Cross
I'm just a regular dad who happens
- [14:23]
Matt Lewis or Dr. Eleanor Yannaga
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- [14:24]
Alan Cross
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- [14:44]
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- [15:11]
Alan Cross
the most traumatic thing that can happen to a group is to have one of your number die. How do you recover from that? And if the person who dies is your lead singer, God, what do you do? This is exactly what happened to Joy Division in May of 1980. The group had been together since 1976 and struggled the whole time through. They had fans, but they really weren't exactly setting the album charts on fire. And their lead singer had a big problem. Ian Curtis had plenty of physical and mental health problems. He he was allergic to the sun. If he stayed outside too long his hands would turn bright red and swell up. He developed a severe case of Epilepsy, he suffered from depression, he drank too much, he did too many drugs. He wasn't reacting well to the attention the band was attracting. He had financial problems, his marriage quickly fell apart and he was having an affair. All of this proved to be too much for Ian, and he hanged himself in the family kitchen on May 18, 1980. He was just 23. Joy Division was supposed to leave for North America the very next day on a tour that could have broken things wide open for them. The three remaining members of the band had a problem. When Ian was alive, they'd agreed that should anyone leave the group for any reason, they would break up. At the same time, though, they didn't really want to give up on a music career for themselves. And so it came to pass that Joy Division was dissolved, but immediately reconstituted under a new name, New Order. Okay, but who was going to sing? Rehearsals featured everyone taking a turn at lead vocals, but in the end it was decided that guitarist Barney Sumner should get the job. That was at the end of July 1980. That fall drummer Stephen Morris girlfriend Gillian was added on keyboards and that completed the classic New Order lineup. As New Order's success and influence built, people were led back to discover Joy Division. The bigger New Order got, the bigger Joy Division became looking back on things. Now both bands are considered essential influences across several regions of alt rock. Joy Division's dark music helped create both goth and industrial music. Meanwhile, New Order made it cool to dance again after disco had made it very uncool for many people. In many ways, New Order invented alternative dance. Plus their use of sequencers and drum machines had a profound effect on the development of music throughout the 1980s. A couple of things about this song, it came out when drummer Stephen Morris was messing around with an Oberheim drum machine. The initial idea was to put this on at the end of a set so New Order could leave the crowd with some beats as they went back to get an early start on post show drinking. But then these beats morphed into a full song. There is a mistake. In the final version, Gillian Gilbert missed programming in one note with the melody, resulting in it being out of time with the rhythm track. That was a happy accident because it actually sounded better with the mistake, so they left it in. Even though the song became the best selling 12 inch in the history of humanity, the packaging in which it was sold was so expensive to produce that that New Order and their record label lost money on every copy they sold. And why is it called Blue Monday? Because Ian Curtis took his own life on a Sunday and everyone found out the following day A Monday Sad blue
- [18:42]
New Order or Joy Division Song Vocalist
I see a ship in the harbor I can unshall obey but if if it wasn't for your misfortune I'd be a heavenly Christmas day
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KFC Advertiser
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- [18:58]
Alan Cross
band number 10 on our list of groups who survived and ultimately thrived after a change of lead singer. Band number 11 is quite recent. Kasabian first appeared in 1997, right at the tail end of the Brit pop era. Over the next decade and a half they carved out a nice career for themselves in the uk, Europe and in pockets of North America. But then things fell apart with original singer and founding member Tom Meehan. In July 2020, an announcement came that he was leaving the band. It was a mutual decision. Tom had admitted in court that he'd assaulted his ex fiance in front of their child and that was a red line for everyone else. He was permanently dismissed and terminated from all associations with Kasabian. The new singer is guitarist Sergio Presorno. This new version of Kasabian first appeared in October 2021 and we'll have to see how they do, but so far so good. Moving to band number 12 of 18 is a bit tricky. Rage against the Machine had a really good run for about nine years, 1991 through to 2000. But then frontman Zach de La Rocca quit, leaving the other three members in limbo. After talking it over, they decided that they would in fact carry on. All they had to do was find a new singer, and at first this new band was supposed to be Rage against the Machine with somebody new out front. One of the guys they auditioned was Be Real of Cypress Hill. But after jamming a little, they decided that no, we didn't want a Zach sound alike. It was time for a fresh start of some sort. And that's when producer Rick Rubin suggested they talk to ex Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. The chemistry was immediate and the band started writing under the name Civilian, or alternatively the Civilian Project. But then they found out that another group was using that name, so they opted for Audioslave. This group was essentially Rage with a different singer, and everyone was pretty happy with the results over the next six years, starting with their very first single in 2002,
- [21:02]
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- [21:13]
Alan Cross
That's a dozen bands who managed to get through a change of lead singer. Six more to come in just a second.
- [21:19]
Matt Lewis or Dr. Eleanor Yannaga
In a world where swords were sharp
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and hygiene was actually probably better than you think it is. Two fearless historians me, Matt Lewis and me, Dr. Eleanor Yannaga, dive headfirst into the mud, blood and very strange customs of the Middle Ages.
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So for plagues, Crusades and Viking raids, and plenty of other things that don't rhyme, subscribe to Gone Medieval from History Hit wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:49]
Alan Cross
We're going through 18 bands who somehow managed to dodge bullets by successfully segueing from one lead singer to another, even multiple times. Band number 13 is the small Faces. They were a big deal during the swinging 60s era of London, but then singer Steve Marriott decided to leave to form a band called Humble Pie. The rest of the group took this opportunity to hire a new guitarist and a new singer. The new guitarist was Ronnie Wood. Six years later he'd replaced Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, and the new singer was this gravelly voiced former gravedigger dude named Rod Stewart. They also changed their name from the Small Faces to just the Faces, ostensibly because the two new members were relatively tall, making the Faces not so small anymore. Number 14 is Stone Temple Pilots. They were a major force in the 1990s with Scott Weiland as their front guy. He is honestly one of the best frontmen I've ever seen. The dude was hypnotic, but Scott had all sorts of demons which saw him fired from the band a couple of times. The first time the remaining Pilots regrouped under the name Talk show with a singer named David Coutts. This did not work and they sank without a trace. Weiland eventually returned and lasted until they couldn't take it anymore. He was dismissed for good in 2013 and then we all know that Weiland tragically died of a drug overdose in 2016 without reconciling with the rest of the group. For a while, STP carried on with Chester Bennington, who was moonlighting from Linkin Park. That was actually an excellent fit because he'd been an STP fan since. Well, since he could remember. Chester was also made an official member. He toured with the band and recorded a couple of tracks with him. But then Chester had to go back to his day job and was back with Linkin park after about 2 1/2 years with STP. His replacement was Jeff Gutt, a guy they found after launching an online audition process. One possibility was John Borgia, who was from the Philippines. But then the successful candidate was John, who was a runner up on season three of the TV talent show the X Factor. That was finalized by the fall of 2017. The result was another self titled album and here's a song from that. This is called Meadow. Stone Temple Pilots with their current lead singer Jeff Gutt. Let's go. A few more changes of lead singer at number 15 on this alphabetical list is Styx. When they were formed in 1975, Tommy Shaw handled some lead vocals. After a breakup in the 1980s, sticks reformed with Glenn Bertnick in place of Shaw for the next reunion in the 1990s, Shaw came back, but then the big one, the replacement for Dennis DeYoung, another lead voice, and that was with Canadian Larry Gowen. And that's where we are today. Sublime is band number 16. This was another group who had to deal with the death of their lead singer. Bradley Noel died of a heroin overdose in a San Francisco motel room on May 25, 1996. That was just weeks before their self titled third album was scheduled to be released. That record ended up being huge. It was a multi million seller and and it showed Sublime's long term potential. But without Noel, that was that and they broke up forever. Just like Nirvana, just like Joy Division. The other two guys had no interest in continuing with the name Sublime. Well, for a while. After raiding the vaults for material recorded while Bradley was still alive, there was a reunion in 2009 featuring a singer named Rome Ramirez. But then Noel's widow stepped in, launching a trademark challenge over the use of the name Sublime. And so to dodge the lawyers, the group was officially dubbed Sublime. With Rome, that was enough to make the lawyers go away. They played around the world, with most of their set consisting of old Sublime songs. Nothing anyone could do about that. Then There was an EP in 2011 entitled Yours Truly. A full album in 2015 called Sirens. And then 2019 they released an album called Blessings. And from that is a song called Wicked Heart. Band number 17 on this list of groups who have changed lead singers is Three Days Grace. They were one of the most successful hard rock bands of the early 2000s anywhere in the world.
- [26:27]
Chosen Foods Advertiser
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- [26:27]
Alan Cross
Not just at home in Canada, but even more so in the us. The first hint that something was not going well came in 2005 when singer Adam Ganthia had to check himself in for rehab after developing an addiction to OxyContin. He recovered well from that and used his experience to write additional songs. And for the next couple of albums things seemed just fine. But then on January 13, 2013, a sudden announcement. Adam was gone. Out of the band. He explained it by saying that he'd had enough and wanted to try something else. After scrambling for a replacement, Three Days Grays had a ton of tour commitments coming up and they didn't Want to bail on those? A new singer was named Matt Waste, the brother of bass player Brad Waste and formerly of the band My Darkest Days. That arrangement has turned out brilliantly, and Three Days Grace really hasn't missed a step. In fact, things got even better. And get this, they have more number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart than anyone else. They beat out Van Halen for that honor. Told you they were successful. This is a song that broke that Van halen record from 2017, the album Outsider. This is three days grace with Matt Waist and Infrared,
- [27:41]
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The Heat and the Light and the Way you.
- [27:52]
Alan Cross
That's 17 bands. Here's the 18th, and I just mentioned them. Van Halen. They've had three lead singers. David Lee Roth from 1973 to 1984, then Sammy Hagar from 1985 to 1996. Roth again for a very brief time in late 96, and then four years with Gary Charon, formerly of the band extreme, then another two with Hagar. That was 2003 to 2005. And then Roth was back in for a reunion tour between 2006 and 2008. There was supposed to be another reunion tour with David Lee Roth, we think, but then Eddie Van Halen got sick with cancer and eventually died on October 6, 2020. That was a pretty long list. 18 bands who managed to navigate a change in lead singer, but if I had time, I would have included more. Some of the following had more success than others, but at least tried to carry on Rainbow, who had at least three different frontmen. The Moody Blues, Anthrax, Dream Theater, Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse, Iced Earth, Dropkick, Murphy's Gallows, the Stranglers, Ultravox, King Crimson, Marillion, Bad Company, In Excess, Teenagehead, and back. When we started, I mentioned Judas Priest and Journey. I'm sure there's more. I know there is. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that losing your lead singer doesn't have to be the end of the band. It could be, but if you get lucky, there are hundreds of shows like this in podcast form. Just go to any podcast platform and search for ongoing history and you'll find them. Download as many as you want. They're all free. We can also meet up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Gotta be everywhere, right? I invite you to my website, which is updated every day with music, news and information. That's ajournalofmusicalthings.com subscribe to the free daily newsletter when you're there and all email can go to AlanLancross CA Technical Productions by Rob Johnston I'm Alan Cross.
- [29:42]
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- [30:07]
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