Members of successful bands who broke out as solo acts

Back in the day, when she was not known by only one name but as Beyonce Knowles, member of Destiny’s Child, she did still arguably feel like the standout among the girl group. To be fair, that might be because the members of the group changed during Destiny Child’s run, which the former members only found out when seeing the video for “Say My Name” debut. Eventually, Beyonce left them all in her dust as she rose to becoming maybe the biggest pop star in the world.

The Beatles changed popular music. Eventually, the Fab Four would split up and go their separate ways. Lennon would go onto a solo career, including the hit “Imagine.” He could have also had an even larger post-Beatles career if not for his murder in 1980.

With the Beatles, Lennon and McCartney were seen as the primary creative forces. They wrote and sang most of the songs. After the end of the Beatles’ run, McCartney did some solo work, but also fronted a new band called Wings. While his post-Beatles work hasn’t been as genre defining, obviously, McCartney has had incredible success away from Lennon and the rest of the group.

During the Beatles’ time together, Harrison was a little overshadowed by the duo of Lennon and McCartney. When he started his solo career, he started to get the attention he had always enjoyed. There are some who argue Harrison had the best solo work of any Beatle. Also, apologies that we did not give Ringo Starr an entry on this list. He’s a fine drummer, but his solo work is not necessarily revered.

With apologies to Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and the other members of N*Sync, Timberlake is the one who became the star from the group. He has risen above his boy band beginnings to become a major pop star. While ‘90s boy bands were often viewed derisively, Timberlake has been able to get critical and commercial recognition.

While she was in No Doubt, the band’s music video for “Don’t Speak” directly commented on the fact that Stefani often got the attention from the media, leaving her bandmates in the shadows. Well the prophecy came true, as eventually Stefani would move on from No Doubt and become a big solo pop star. She was no “Hollaback Girl,” and she would eventually become one of the stars on “The Voice.”

Gabriel started as the lead singer of Genesis, a seminal prog rock band. His first solo single, “Solsbury Hill” did not really sound like his work with Genesis, but it was a big hit. Then, of course, there’s “Sledgehammer,” which is apparently the most-played music video in MTV history. Well, that was true as of 2011, and the network doesn’t exactly play a lot of music videos these days.

Collins joined Genesis in 1970, but as the drummer. When Gabriel left the band, they needed a new singer, and naturally they figured the drummer should be the one do it. It was a success, but then Collins himself left Genesis as well. He became one of the biggest solo artists of the ‘80s, and would eventually win an Oscar for Best Original Song as well.

The Police were a talented trio that gave us a bunch of hits, including the misunderstood “Every Breath You Take.” That being said, it was hard not to see Gordon Sumner, aka Sting, as the breakout member of the group. This led to a solo career that got a little weird and more along the line of jazz and world music. He also made an album with Shaggy.

Boy bands sort of went away for a bit in the United States, but then One Direction came around. Another five-member group, inevitably they would split up. Among its members, who have all done solo stuff, Styles seems like the biggest star of the bunch. His most-recent single, “Watermelon Sugar,” was a big hit.

We have to include Zayn among One Direction members, because when he was the first one to leave the group. He’s basically the reason One Direction had to go their separate, well, directions. While Styles has maybe been a bit more successful, Zayn has had plenty of success as well, justifying his decision to leave the group.

Lewis began her career as a child actor before forming the band Rilo Kiley. The band built up a cultish following and made a splash in the indie world, but then Lewis decided to go solo. A lot of her solo work has more of a country sound, but Lewis has continued to make critically-acclaimed work in a variety of genres.

Pharrell first rose to prominence as a member of the group N.E.R.D. Of course, you know him for his song “Happy,” which was a massive hit. Pharrell belongs on this list for that alone. Also, for his hat.

Malkmus was the frontman of the seminal ‘90s indie rock group Pavement. When they split, Malkmus decided to embark on a solo career with his backing band the Jicks. Technically, Malkmus is in a band, but he’s the clearly the frontman and is the star of the show. When you release a self-titled album, you are putting yourself in the limelight.

First, they were the Supremes. Then, they were Diana Ross and the Supremes. This did not go over great with everybody. The movie “Dreamgirls” is sort of inspired by this. Eventually Ross would leave the group entirely, embarking on an extremely successful solo career, including several number-one hits.

Wilson had a lot of issues in life, but it didn’t stop him from having incredible success as the creative focal point of the Beach Boys. That band was built on Wilson’s sensibilities. His issues with his mental health and drugs kept him from delving into a solo career at first, but eventually he got there. That includes finally releasing his epic magnum opus “Smile.”

Before becoming an actor in films such as “Anaconda,” Ice Cube was a superstar in the world of rap. That began when he was a member of the gangsta rap godfathers NWA. After that group dissolved, in an extremely tumultuous fashion, Ice Cube would go solo, and inform us that he had, in fact, had a good day.

Velvet Underground were immensely influential, and Reed was a huge part of that. His influence continued when he went solo and recorded songs like “Satellite of Love.” He also made “Metal Machine Music,” but we can forgive him for that given everything else.

Fleetwood Mac was a great band, but they always seemed on the verge of breaking up. That could be in part because members of the band had already broken up romantically speaking. Also, cocaine. Nicks was often at the front of Fleetwood Mac’s productions, and people were excited when she went solo. Her 1981 debut solo album “Bella Donna” was a number-one album and went platinum four times over.

Hill and the Fugees made a bit of a splash, but nothing they did could compare to the massive success of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Many consider it a seminal album of its era. Unfortunately, that was basically all we got from Hill’s solo career. Personal matters popped up, and Hill effectively disappeared from the musical landscape for years.

With the Stooges, Iggy Pop was at the forefront of protopunk. Pop went on a solo jag after the Stooges, though he still refused to wear a shirt. As a solo act, Pop recorded the song “Lust For Life,” which is arguably a bigger song than anything the Stooges did.

We’re going back to the NWA well with Dr. Dre. For many, his album “The Chronic” is the quintessential West Coast rap album. Eventually, he would get into producing and would help introduce the world to a motormouthed rapper from the Motor City, Eminem.

Young first rose to prominence as a member of the band Buffalo Springfield, known for the song “For What It’s Worth.” Then, he went solo with the backing band Crazy Horse. After that, he actually stepped back into a band, this time Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. After a stint there, he returned to solo work as well, becoming an incredibly prolific artist.

It’s not like Simon was buried in some band. His group was a duo known as Simon & Garfunkel, after all. Still, eventually Simon would part with Art Garfunkel to do his own thing. While Garfunkel’s solo work is often overlooked, Simon’s certainly is not. He’s had an abundance of hits, and also hosted “Saturday Night Live” a bunch of times.

With apologies to Andrew Ridgley, he’s mostly known these days as the other guy from Wham. The duo was quite successful, but Michael seemed to get the bulk of the love. His solo work continued that, with hits like “Faith” and “Freedom! ’90.” Plus, the man knew how to maintain his stubble.

Generation X was a somewhat successful British punk band. Well, for a punk band they were successful. These day, though, you mostly hear about them for one reason. Namely, it was the band that Billy Idol got his start with. Once he became a solo act, and got a little poppier, he became a major star in music with hits including “White Wedding.”

There were a ton of members to the boy band Menudo. People were moved in and out of that group almost haphazardly. Most of them have been forgotten. Martin hasn’t. He rose from Menudo to become a significant ‘90s pop star, starting with “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”

Jett began her career as a teenager in the band the Runaways, who were more influential than successful, though they did hit with “Cherry Bomb.” Jett is better remembered for her work outside the band, including as the frontwoman of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. They were the ones who gave us the hit cover version of “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.” That alone would get her on this list, but she’s had much more success than that.

Alternative bands from Iceland don’t have a ton of track record for success. As such, it’s impressive that The Sugarcubes made any international impact. They did, though, even if it was a little bit outside the mainstream. The band would be the jumping off point for an eccentric artist with a distinct voice by the name of Bjork. Even when she isn’t wearing swan dresses she’s gaining attention for her music.

The Go-Go’s are the subject of a recent documentary, and with good cause. The band was incredibly popular, and – as an all-female band that wrote and performed all its own music – wildly influential. Carlisle, the ostensible frontwoman, is the only one to really take off as a solo act, including the cheesy, but infectious, “Heaven is a Place on Earth.”

The Doobie Brothers really changed their sound when McDonald joined the band. It started to give them that “Yacht Rock” sound that McDonald is so associated with. When the band broke up, McDonald went into business for himself, and his specific vocal stylings are unmistakable.

Like Phil Collins, Henley is a drummer who sings, doing his work for the Eagles. With that band, he had incredible success. It would have been almost impossible for him to surpass the Eagles’ output as a solo act. Still, he had huge hits like “Dirty Laundry” and “The Boys of Summer,” and he has two Grammys as a solo artist.

There are a ton of members of the Wu-Tang Clan. It was inevitable at least a couple of them would break out as solo acts. Ghostface Killah has certainly done just that. He’s been prolific and gets a lot of love from fans and critics.

In terms of cultural impact, Method Man is probably the most successful of the Wu-Tang Clan’s members. That’s with all due respect to RZA and his film work. Method has done plenty of film work as well, including starring in movies alongside his compatriot Redman. On top of that, Method Man’s musical work outside of Shaolin has also been quite commercially successful.

Guitar enthusiasts love Clapton. They loved him in bands like Cream and Derek and the Dominos. Of course, he’s had plenty of success as a solo act as well. He lost the rock sound to a degree and got more acoustic and mild, but the success remained.

Faces was a pretty successful band, and it featured a couple of artists who would go on to good things in their careers. One was Ronnie Wood. The other was Stewart. Of course, Stewart’s solo work needs no introduction. He has four number-one hits in the United States and was even bigger in his native United Kingdom.

The Commodores could get funky with songs like “Brick House” or go the ballad route and hit you with something like “Three Times a Lady.” A lot of their success is owed to Richie, who served as a co-lead singer of the band. Richie would head off to do his own thing, and the success of the Commodores followed him. Hits like “All Night Long” and “Hello” made it clear that he could still get his groove on but also still drop a ballad on you.  

If you’ve seen “The Big Lebowski,” you surely know the song “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Believe it or not, that psych rock song came from a band called The First Edition that featured Rogers as their frontman. After a couple years they became Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. That kind of put the writing on the wall for his eventually solo career, though he took a turn toward country there.

By all accounts, Byrne was a little difficult to work with as a member of Talking Heads. The band’s immense popularity and influence maybe cuts the sting of that a bit for the non-Byrne members of the group. Eventually they would invariably split up, but Byrne has kept doing his thing. There have been to “Once in a Lifetime” level hits, but Byrne is still finding success.

In truth, none of the members of New Kids on the Block had a notable solo career after the band split up. Well, Donnie Wahlberg, and short-term member Mark Wahlberg, have had successful acting careers, but not necessarily as musicians. McIntyre has released several solo acts, including the album “Stay the Same.” The title track rose to 16th on the Billboard charts, so that’s a clear success.

We have sort of buried a possible obvious choice down this list because we were a little iffy on including Jackson. Not because of his musical career. On that front, he’s an obvious choice. Jackson was the King of Pop for a time. However, there are also a ton of concerns about his personal life, to the degree that celebrating him seems iffy. So let’s just say this is an objective statement on immense commercial success as a solo artist and leave it at that.

Technically the Yeah Yeah Yeahs haven’t broken up, but they also haven’t released any new music since 2013. In the meantime, frontwoman Karen O has released two solo albums that have been well received. It seems that Karen O is for all intents and purposes a solo artist now, and it’s been a promising beginning for her.

Rollins is one of a handful of singers the seminal punk band Black Flag had, but he’s definitely the most famous. The punk legend is as much known for acting and spoken word these days, but he did become a solo musician after leaving Black Flag. He mostly performed with the Rollins Band, which to us still counts as solo work.

Smith got his music start with the indie band Heatmiser, but they never really broke out. Things would go differently for Smith as a solo act. He was adored as a cult figure prior to his premature death at 34, including being nominated for an Oscar for his song “Miss Misery.”

Rosenstock is one of the biggest names in DIY punk these days and has released some excellent albums in recent years, including the politically-charged “POST-“ and 2020’s “No Dream.” Prior to being a solo act, though he has a backing band of course, Rosenstock was a member of the punk/ska band Bomb the Music Industry!, so clearly he’s always had an incendiary edge.

You probably know Crutchfield better under the name Waxahatchee, which she adopted when she started making solo music that was just her and an acoustic guitar. These days, there’s a more lush sound to Waxahatchee’s music, and her critical acclaim is only rising. Before adopting the Waxahatchee moniker, Crutchfield was a member of the band P.S. Eliot along with her sister Allison, who has recorded solo work as well.

We have to acknowledge the presence of another problematic person on this list. Morrissey and his band The Smiths were incredibly popular in their time, and remains beloved by many. In fact, Morrissey used to be a true hero to music fans, and he had a particularly strong Latin following. His political views have left some feeling unhappy with Moz, but before that his success was massive.

We could have put either Roth or Sammy Hagar on this list. Both Van Halen frontmen have had solo output as well. Though Roth has never been that talented of a singer, his personality has won him fans. He had two big hits on his debut solo EP “Crazy From the Heat.”

Ozzy was a metal legend thanks to his time with Black Sabbath, but after leaving that band he pretty much found immediate success as a solo performer. You know the song “Crazy Train?” That’s not a Black Sabbath song. It’s an Ozzy original from an album that went platinum five times over.

Plant is considered one of the seminal frontmen of the ‘70s thanks to his time with the legendary Led Zeppelin. However, after the death of Zeppelin drummer John Bonham the group disbanded. Plant did not let his famed voice go by the wayside. Instead, he continued as a solo act, and he joined forces with Alison Krauss to win multiple Grammys, including Album of the Year.