- 8 minutes ago
Some bands simply can't survive the loss of their iconic frontman. Join us as we count down our picks for the bands that were never quite the same after replacing their lead singer! From legendary rock acts to punk pioneers, these vocalist changes left lasting damage on some of music's greatest legacies. Which singer change do you think hurt their band the most? Let us know in the comments!
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 18 bands who fell
00:10on tough times when they attempted to replace an iconic lead singer.
00:14Save your tears and laughter, because this is the ride!
00:21Number 18 Kasabian In many ways, the voice and overall presence
00:26of Tom Meehan were a huge reason why Kasabian were able to maintain success through the
00:312000s and 2010s.
00:38However, when he abruptly was dismissed in 2020 due to a domestic violence charge, guitarist
00:44Sergio Pizzorno stepped up and became the new frontman.
00:47Despite earning some decent critical acclaim, this latest iteration of the band has failed
00:52to hit the commercial heights of their early career.
01:02While Pizzorno certainly brings his own style and presence to the table, for many fans,
01:07Kasabian are so deeply linked with Tom Meehan that it just won't ever stack up.
01:13Number 17 Boston The vocal talents of Boston frontman Brad Delp
01:18helped single them out as one of the most successful rock bands of the 70s.
01:27DELP brought power, control, and undeniable personality to his role, resulting in a sound
01:32that was entirely their own.
01:34When he tragically passed away in 2007, the band turned to a fan, Tommy DiCarlo, who had
01:40recorded several covers of Boston classics.
01:42While it was indeed a good fit on paper, his impression of DELP simply didn't have the emotional
01:47punch that the original did.
01:57Although he served dutifully as the band's vocalist until his death in 2026, he was always fighting
02:04an uphill battle.
02:05Number 16 Sepultura For many fans, Max Cavalera's time
02:11at the helm of Sepultura will never be topped, and it's not hard to see why.
02:23The band enjoyed great critical and commercial success in the late 80s and 90s, right up until
02:28Cavalera left the group in 1996.
02:31In response, they hired American singer Derrick Green, a singer who brought new flavors and styles
02:36to the table.
02:37Live performances showcased classic songs, performed and sung in a different manner,
02:41leading many of the band's most loyal supporters to bow out.
02:45Green played a big part in stabilizing Sepultura during a rough patch,
02:50but to say he had big shoes to fill would be an understatement.
02:57Number 15 Journey
02:59Having a vocal powerhouse like Steve Perry is the type of ace up the sleeve that most bands would kill
03:04for.
03:14That made his eventual departure sting all the more.
03:17His replacement, Steve Augeri, had a voice that closely resembled Perry's,
03:22which initially reassured fans.
03:24However, the similarity became a double-edged sword, which made the band's supporters constantly
03:29compare eras, with Augeri generally coming out second best.
03:40In the end, vocal problems caused him to leave.
03:43Mimicry was only good enough to get Augeri so far, but there was a limit to how much she could
03:48do with
03:49Journey.
03:50Number 14
03:51Credence Clearwater Revival
03:53For as much as Credence Clearwater Revival enjoyed a hugely successful period in the late 60s,
03:59tensions between the band ultimately led to their demise.
04:02The victory of Tupon Tornet
04:06And there are Tupon Borg
04:09Singer John Fogerty was not overly enthused about giving his bandmates more creative control,
04:14but relented for their final album, Mardi Gras.
04:17With other members now contributing songs and even lead vocals, it became clear why Fogerty was the one
04:23calling the shots.
04:24The album was a dud, and the group didn't survive much longer.
04:29Even when ex-members began a spin-off called Credence Clearwater Revisited,
04:33their attempts to channel the band's prime ended up falling flat.
04:41Number 13
04:42Black Sabbath
04:43The success of the Heaven and Hell era of Black Sabbath and the interesting additions made by
04:49Ronnie James Dio stood as proof that sometimes change is good.
04:59Black Sabbath
04:59However, the next singer to try and fill the void left by Ozzy Osbourne was the legendary Ian Gillen,
05:06previously of Deep Purple.
05:07The Gillen-led era of Sabbath only lasted for a year and is almost unanimously regarded
05:13as an experiment that didn't really suit either party.
05:16Gillen is obviously one of rock's greatest vocalists, but on the album Born Again, it simply wasn't working.
05:30From there, Tony Martin's stint as lead singer has been critically re-evaluated.
05:35But at the time, he didn't fare too much better.
05:39Replacing Ozzy was easier said than done.
05:43Number 12
05:43Lynyrd Skynyrd
05:45The tragic plane crash that befell Lynyrd Skynyrd at the peak of their powers
05:50robbed them of lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt,
05:53guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines.
06:04This is the type of nightmare situation that could never fully be understood by anyone outside
06:09of the band's circle.
06:11Understandably, the group was put on ice for a decade, before reforming with Ronnie's brother,
06:16Johnny Van Zandt, on lead vocal.
06:18The decision to continue on led to several new albums and tours, but the magic had unfortunately
06:24left them, leading to them becoming something of a tribute band in the eyes of their fans.
06:35Number 11
06:36Queensryche
06:37Even among infamous band squabbles, Queensryche endured one of rock's messiest frontman transitions
06:44after a legal and personal split with singer Jeff Tate in 2012.
06:56A heavily publicized backstage fight between members ended with Tate getting axed.
07:01The band moved on with Crimson Glory frontman Todd LaTorre, enjoying some decent success in the years
07:07that followed.
07:08However, for some fans, whatever connection they felt to the group vanished as soon as Tate left the building.
07:13Under LaTorre, they were simply a different band, quite far removed from what they had once been.
07:26Number 10
07:28Sublime with Rome
07:29Technically, Rome Ramirez didn't replace the late Bradley Noel as the lead singer of Sublime.
07:41Sublime with Rome is essentially the same band with a new name for legal purposes,
07:46and a frontman who can't live up to his departed predecessor.
07:50Take it or leave it, cause I'm really leaving, I've made up my mind this time, there's no coming back
07:56for you.
07:57Ramirez, a fan of the band since childhood, is good if you're grading on a tribute band curve,
08:04but he absolutely cannot live up to the presence of Noel.
08:07And the albums released under the Sublime with Rome banner have been lackluster at best.
08:12Don't let me go, don't let me wonder out your sight
08:16This is less his fault, and more a matter of him being given the impossible task
08:22of filling in for someone who was arguably irreplaceable.
08:30Number 9
08:31Skid Row
08:32Though Sebastian Bach wasn't the original lead singer of hair metal band Skid Row,
08:37his pipes were the group's most distinctive feature.
08:45Unfortunately, Bach's conflicts with his fellow bandmates got him booted from the band in 1996.
08:51A few years later, a new Skid Row was born, with Johnny Salinger.
08:56I feel the things I said that never said how I felt
09:03But the group's sound was way out of fashion by then,
09:06and Salinger's lack of range compared to Bach was painfully clear.
09:11Salinger's tenure in the band was actually significantly longer than Bach's,
09:16but he never felt like anything beyond a mediocre replacement.
09:19Lying alone in the bed we made, watching headlights on the scene
09:26Since the late Salinger's departure from Skid Row in 2015,
09:31the band has cycled through various other lead singers,
09:34none of whom have managed to recapture the Sebastian Bach magic.
09:45Number 8
09:47Dead Kennedys
09:48One of the greatest front men in the history of punk rock,
09:52Jello Biafra's unmistakable voice and sharp political commentary,
09:56and incredible stage presence, made Dead Kennedys one of the defining hardcore bands.
10:01So you've been to school for a year or two, and you know you've said it all.
10:06They called it quits in 1986, before reforming in 2001, without Biafra.
10:11There's not much of anything to say about Brandon Cruz, Jeff Penalty,
10:16or current vocalist Ron Skip Greer, other than not Jello Biafra.
10:25Once again, this is a pretty blatant instance of a band cashing in on a name,
10:31and losing their punk credibility in the process. Case in point, there have been no new Dead Kennedys
10:37records since the original run, and the band without Biafra has been likened to a glorified cover band.
10:44Number 7
10:45Genesis
10:47We're not talking about Phil Collins taking over from Peter Gabriel here, don't worry.
10:52When Collins finally decided to part ways with Genesis in the mid-90s,
10:56instead of packing it in, the group decided to hire Scottish singer Ray Wilson.
11:00I feel shipwrecked
11:04I might as well be shipwrecked
11:07The resulting album, Calling All Stations, simply failed to satisfy the band's fans.
11:13New or or?
11:14Critical and commercial success was solid for a time, but when it faded,
11:19so did ticket sales. Eventually, this iteration of Genesis ended up fizzling out,
11:24with a statement that the band would no longer be recording music under the Genesis name.
11:29It's not about hate, it's not about pain, we're always free.
11:36Number 6
11:37Deep Purple
11:38If you only know Smoke on the Water, you may be shocked to learn that Deep Purple has gone through
11:44nine different formations since their late 60s origins, with drummer Ian Pace being the only constant.
11:58In fact, Smoke on the Water vocalist Ian Gillen isn't even the band's original singer.
12:03He is, however, its most enduring.
12:06Gillen's initial run with the band, known as The Mark II, ended in 1975, but the lineup reunited in
12:141984 before Gillen's dismissal. He was replaced with former Rainbow frontman Joe Lynn Turner,
12:20who had collaborated with guitarist Richie Blackmore and bassist Roger Glover as a member of
12:25Rainbow. But that was the problem. It sounded like a mediocre Rainbow album.
12:37Turner soon departed and Gillen, once again, returned.
12:47Number 5
12:49Yes
12:50When you think of Yes in the 1980s, you likely think of the band's shift from their prog rock
12:56origins to something with more commercial appeal.
12:59Honor of a lonely heart
13:03Honor of a lonely heart
13:05However, they started the decade without keyboardist Rick Wakeman or vocalist John Anderson. Instead,
13:111980s Yes had Trevor Horn of the Buggles at the mic, with his bandmate Jeff Downs on keyboards.
13:18Look back, there is no escape
13:24That might seem like a potential recipe for disaster, but drama, the Horn-led Yes album,
13:30is legitimately good. But it wasn't the Yes that fans knew and loved.
13:35Take heart, I could never let you go
13:40He was soon dismissed as the band's vocalist and Anderson returned. Horn did, however, continue working
13:46with the group as a producer.
13:52Number 4
13:53Fleetwood Mac
13:55Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham vocals are so essential to the mythos of Fleetwood Mac.
14:05Would you believe the lineup hasn't always featured them? They both joined the band well into its
14:11initial run. After Buckingham left in 1987, vocalist Billy Burnett and Rick Vito joined.
14:22Then after Nicks' departure, Burnett stuck around and was joined by singer Becca Bramlett and
14:28traffic's Dave Mason. The result was 1995's Time, an incredibly tepid album that failed to chart in the U.S.
14:42What's more, there were personality clashes between the members, both previous and new.
14:48Nixon Buckingham returned shortly thereafter, and this era of Fleetwood Mac soon became a historic footnote.
14:54I do, I love you for what you want
15:00Number 3
15:02Iron Maiden
15:03Bruce Dickinson wasn't the original vocalist for this legendary heavy metal band, but he's widely
15:10considered the best.
15:11Six, six, six, the metal world of a beast
15:15And replacing him was likely to be a thankless task. Wolfsbane singer Blaise Bailey replaced
15:22Dickinson in the mid to late 90s, to not particularly good results.
15:33Many have since argued that Bailey is a good vocalist who wasn't suited for Iron Maiden and the
15:39songwriting styles of Steve Harris. Two albums released with Bailey flopped both critically and
15:45commercially and Dickinson came back soon after, though he and the band still performed some
15:57Bailey era songs live. Number 2
16:00In Excess
16:01Replacing a magnetic, charismatic and undeniably attractive frontman like Michael Hutchins was
16:07always going to be nearly impossible.
16:15That said, in the wake of his untimely death, In Excess went to some real lengths.
16:20After going through several replacements who would ultimately fail, the group held a reality TV show
16:26competition in order to find the best replacement possible. The winner, JD Fortune, got the job but
16:32struggled to embody or build off Hutchinson's mystique and natural musicality.
16:37It ain't really what the pretty leaves you with no place to go
16:42He left the group a few years later to be replaced by Irish singer Kieran Gribben,
16:47just one year later in 2012. The band decided to, finally, call it quits.
16:54If you love games, be sure to check out WatchMojo's new game, Terrible Influence. Just launched for
17:00purchase at TerribleInfluence.com. Terrible Influence is a satirical board game about the
17:04dark side of fame from the writer of the most popular girls in school and us, WatchMojo.
17:09Boom. I can make an apology video.
17:12Oh, you so would.
17:13Click on the link in the description to check out the game and be the first to play Terrible Influence.
17:18Number 1
17:19Van Halen
17:20The original frontman of Van Halen, David Lee Roth, was such a force of personality
17:26that the band could have collapsed in his absence.
17:29Might as well jump, jump! Might as well jump!
17:35However, Sammy Hagar ushered in another successful era for the band. But third time was not the charm
17:41when Hagar left and extreme frontman Gary Cherone came in.
17:46Here I have my way home.
17:48Better pick up your mind.
17:50The band was already in a slump period, and this didn't help. While Cherone had proven his vocal
17:56chops before on his one-and-only effort with the group, he sounded like a second-rate Hagar impersonator.
18:03Nobody ever told you nothing time to throw that off. You said I can't help you.
18:07He's not the only fault with the badly-produced Overlong Van Halen 3, but Cherone was unsurprisingly
18:15shown the door. Roth and Hagar returned to the band at various points.
18:19I just can't kill it all
18:26But what do you think was the single greatest vocalist switch-up in music history? Let us know
18:32in the comments below.
18:35I'll see you next time.
18:35I'm
Comments