We analyze the topic of death in many different wayswhen it comes attached tomusic. Recently, we examined an artistwho became a viral sensation just before her passingwith a 63-year-old song, as well as the singer-songwriter who praisedan underrated Taylor Swift track for helping her healfrom the demise of a close friend/band member.
Death even gives us an added reason to look back at the musicians who went away too soon andthe career-defining work they left behind. Often, though, when we examine the dark side of melodic mortality, we neglect the bandmates left behind and how they recover. Specifically, the select group thattook the hardest loss and found success from it.
8Metallica
Lost In A Crash
By 1986, the fame of hard rockers Metallica was on the rise, buoyed in part by a significant US tour opening for Ozzy Osbourne and a well-received third studio album entitledMaster of Puppets. That good fortune would come to a halt by September of ‘86, however, whena crash of the band’s tour bus killed Metallica’s bassist Cliff Burton.
The remaining group members were unsure whether to go on. After deciding Burton would want them to continue and receiving approval from his family, Metallica drafted Jason Newsted to take his place. Their 1988 follow-up LP (… And Justice For All) became the band’s first Billboard Top 10, andallowed Metallica to continue their Hall of Fame-level career.
7Chicago
A Traumatic Accident
A big part of the success behind the band Chicago in the late ’60s and throughout most of the ’70s wastheir ferocious song attack, buoyed by plenty of layered, brassy, assertive instrumentals. Guitarist phenom Terry Kath was at the forefront of this signature Chicago sound until a horrific accident with a gun in 1978 ended his life.
Like Metallica, Chicago also considered going their separate ways after the loss of Kath. Ultimately, the rest of the members of Chicago picked up the pieces in memorial to him, feeling like Kath would want them to continue. While they did shift to a softer-toned sound, timeless singles like “You’re the Inspiration"ultimately took them to bigger heights.
6Def Leppard
A Life-Altering Adventure
English rockers Def Leppard were on quite a run by late 1984, capped by a third studio album (entitledPyromania) dropped in 1983 that started their breakout. Until New Year’s Eve 1984, that is, when the band’s drummer, Rick Allen,lost his left arm (and nearly his right) in a bad car accident.
Despite fears Allen would never drum again, letters from supporters (including the famed drummer Phil Collins) convinced Allen to return on a specialized drum kit. Those efforts were ultimately rewarded, as Def Leppard’s next LP (1985’s quite successfulHysteria) showed the group could still fight hard andsucceed in expanding their legacy despite adversity.
5Foo Fighters
Moving On From An Icon
Seattle ’90s grunge rock pioneers Nirvana were dealt a devastating blow after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain in 1994, causing the group to split up. Rather than pack it in or play drums for another band, former Nirvana musician Dave Grohl choseto release a self-titled 1995 debut LP under his own band name, the Foo Fighters.
Since then, the Foo Fighters have won 15 Grammy Awards across 11 studio albums, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Grohl even wrote of Cobain in a 2005 FF track dubbed “Friend Of A Friend.” Despite the added loss in recent years of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, the group seems committed to continuing.
4Peal Jam
Overcome Out Of Heartbreak
Another casualty born out of the late ’80s and early ’90s Seattle rock scene was the band Mother Love Bone. Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament thought they were building on something in the group they shared with singer Andrew Wood. But as interest grew and an album was releasing,tragedy struck as Wood died of a heroin overdose.
Fractured by the loss of Wood and the band, Gossard and Ament began playing with guitarist Mike McCready and looking for a drummer and vocalist for their demo tape they passed around. While the group did go through several initial drummers, it wasrandomly connecting to singer Eddie Vedder where Pearl Jam was truly born.
3The Rolling Stones
A Member’s Slow Fall
The first stable lineup of the Rolling Stones in the early ’60s was singer Mick Jagger, bassist Bill Wyman, guitarist Keith Richards, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, and drummer Charlie Watts,with Jones being the group’s early leader.But as Jagger and Richards’ control of the group took center stage, Jones found himself on the outside looking in.
Jones' growing alcohol and drug use weren’t helping matters either; by 1969, he’d been fired. Not long after that, Joneswas suspiciously found deceased at the bottom of a pool(one of the first members of the 27 Club). The Stones continued to find success after this, especially after guitarist Mick Taylor joined the Stones in Jones' place.
2The Allman Brothers Band
Success Despite Heartbreak
It’s almost an amazing thing that popular music knows and loves the works of the Allman Brothers Band as much as they do, especially when considering howthey had to overcome so much tragedy that followed behind them. Early on in the band’s breakthrough, expert guitarist and bandleader Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash at age 24.
A year later, Allman Brothers bassist Berry Oakley died in a similar manner just blocks from Allman’s own bike crash. Despite these emotional setbacks standing in the way, the group went on to record highly well-received albums likeBrothers and Sisters, though it was accompaniedby spiraling drug use and further behind-the-scenes drama.
1AC/DC
Powerful Results From Creative Loss
After recording six studio albums of growing success, Australian rockers AC/DC were stopped in their tracksafter lead singer Bon Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning in early 1980. While the boys in AC/DC initially thought of quitting, Scott’s family persuaded them to continue, saying it’s what Scott would have wanted them to do.
In searching for a replacement lead vocalist, the band stumbled upon Brian Johnson, who won AC/DC over with his own signature vocal style and engaging personality. What they saw immediately paid off, as their first album with Johnson (entitledBack In Black) was critically and commercially successful,ending up being one of the best-selling albums of all time.
