00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10
00:09artists who managed to pull off a career comeback that nobody saw coming.
00:19Number 10. Santana
00:29The psychedelic rock of Santana hit its first critical and commercial peak with albums
00:34like Abraxas, a showcase for Carlos Santana's other worldly guitar talents. Outside of their
00:40devoted fans, though, mainstream success was up and down after the 1970s. 1999's Supernatural
00:47album was something entirely different, though. After years of declining visibility, producer
00:53Clive Davis rebranded the project as a collaborative platform rather than a traditional band album.
01:06It was the aesthetic and guitar mastery of the band paired with more contemporary voices.
01:12The single, Smooth, featuring Rob Thomas, was a massive crossover hit, reframing Santana
01:18and giving them the kind of boost that many of us never saw coming.
01:30Number 9. Neil Young
01:39There were few rock and roll legends of the 1960s and 70s who didn't run into problems sustaining
01:45their success in the 80s. The rapidly shifting aesthetics, tastes, and production approaches
01:50of the era generally didn't mesh as well with some of the older rockers. Yet while Neil Young had his
01:56own shortcomings during the decade, he managed to turn things around as the 90s approached. First came the
02:02album Freedom, a rejuvenating force for him that led to the similarly beloved Ragged Glory and Harvest Moon.
02:16Not only had Neil shaken off the cobwebs, but he had also found a second commercial and critical peak.
02:23Songs like Unknown Legend, Harvest Moon, and more are renowned as classics of his repertoire.
02:36Number 8. Aerosmith
02:45Following on from their initial commercial splash in the 1970s, personal issues and substance abuse led the
02:51band to stall towards the end of the decade. Following a run of instability and declining relevance,
02:56their revival began indirectly through Run-D.M.C.'s 1986 remake of Walk This Way, which bridged rock and hip
03:04-hop audiences.
03:10This cultural crossover reintroduced Aerosmith to younger listeners, and you'd better believe that they capitalized on it.
03:26This newfound success provided the group with a real creative spark, and they cleaned up their
03:31sound to fit modern styles. Hits throughout the 80s and 90s would follow, marking Aerosmith as a
03:37group with major staying power.
03:47Number 7. Daft Punk
03:59One of the joys of keeping your distance from the world of celebrity is that you can kind of come
04:04and go as you please. For Daft Punk, taking a long hiatus from working as a duo left many fans
04:10wondering if
04:10they would ever hear from the iconic masked musicians again. However, in 2013, the French house legends
04:24stunned the world, releasing Random Access Memories, their tribute to the music that had inspired them.
04:30The crazy part? It ended up becoming their biggest selling album, spawning by far and away their biggest hit,
04:36get lucky. It just goes to show that radio silence doesn't necessarily mean that a group are out of ideas.
04:43In this case, the exact opposite was true.
04:53Number 6. Cher
05:02The level of comeback that Cher managed to achieve in the late 1990s was truly astounding. She had
05:09already carved out a legacy for herself through the 1960s and 1970s in music, before pivoting to
05:15acting. While she never left the music industry, Cher was certainly not expected to make too much of
05:21a commercial dent in the 90s mainstream charts. When Believe came out in 1998, though, everything changed.
05:33Not only did she earn herself a worldwide number one hit, but she also popularized the use of
05:38autotune as an artistic choice. Despite being in her 50s at the time, this music legend was dominating
05:45the next generation. A truly rare feat, indeed.
05:55Number 5. Bob Dylan
06:04When it comes to musicians who have a real knack for finding a second wind, Bob Dylan is in a
06:10real
06:10league of his own. Your mind might first recall the mid-70s resurgence that brought us desire
06:15and blood on the tracks. However, for our money, when Dylan found his footing with 1997's Time Out of
06:22Mind, it was the type of late-career comeback that you very rarely see.
06:33With producer Daniel Lanois in tow, Dylan crafted an album that has earned its place among his finest
06:39releases. It wasn't just a one-off either. Its follow-up, Love and Theft, is arguably even more
06:45beloved by fans and critics alike, setting Dylan off for a series of excellent records right up to the
06:51present day.
07:00Number 4. Elvis Presley
07:09After flipping the script on the world of pop music in the 1950s, Elvis Presley's brand took some
07:15undeniable blows after a string of formulaic movie work in the 1960s. By the time the decade was
07:21closing out, Presley wanted to strip away all of the excess and mount a comeback by once again
07:26making it about the music.
07:35The 1968 comeback special that followed was, in many ways, the ideal launch pad for the
07:41second half of his run of chart success. It was a show that pushed Presley's stage presence,
07:47charisma, and, of course, that golden voice right to the forefront again. If the goal was to kickstart
07:52a new chapter, this comeback special well and truly over-delivered.
08:05Number 3. Adele
08:16In this world where content is shipped out on an extremely frequent basis, an artist like Adele is
08:22certainly cut from a different cloth. Like many great musicians of old, she prioritizes quality
08:27over quantity, letting years drift by with nothing but radio silences while she works on her next project.
08:34After 2015's 25 album, she largely withdrew from public output, creating anticipation through her total absence.
08:43Never mind, I'll find someone like you.
08:48Her comeback, 2021's 30, was framed not just as a musical return, but as a narrative continuation of
08:56personal transformation, the next chapter in the story she was trying to tell. The LP was a huge success,
09:03further solidifying Adele's status as a living legend.
09:13Number 2. Johnny Cash
09:24By the time the 1990s came around, country music was, of course, still popular, but the golden era that
09:32made Johnny Cash a star had indeed faded. It had been years since The Man in Black had carved out
09:37a run of
09:38charts success, with the late 70s and 80s in particular proving tough to navigate.
09:43I just hope you know, it was never to you.
09:51With 1994's American Recordings, producer Rick Rubin stripped his sound down to voice and guitar
09:57minimalism, launching the series with its first volume. This reframing shifted attention away from
10:03production trends and back onto Cash's biggest strength, his voice. Now, its growing frailty was used
10:10as a tool. And in many ways, it ended up giving him one of the most notable second wins in
10:16music history.
10:26Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Red Hot Chili Peppers. The return of John
10:33Fruscianti sparked a new level of success. It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication.
10:43D'Angelo. His decade-plus hiatus ended with a third classic LP.
10:59Abba. Nobody expected to see these legends releasing another album.
11:04Knowing me, knowing you. We just have to face it this time.
11:11I'm weak. Ozzy Osbourne. Struck off his Black Sabbath firing with a huge solo career.
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11:52Number 1. Tina Turner
12:01The partnership between the husband and wife combo of Ike and Tina Turner produced some of the finest
12:07music of its time. Behind the scenes, however, Ike's abuse of Tina has cast an undeniably dark shadow on their
12:14music.
12:22When Tina finally broke free in 1976 and set out on a solo career,
12:27her prospects initially seemed bleak. Thankfully, she weathered the early storm and eventually pulled
12:33off one of the most dramatic musical comebacks of all time in the 1980s. Songs like What's Love Got to
12:39Do With It and The Best ended up giving her more mainstream exposure than ever before, becoming
12:45signatures of her repertoire, the gold standards for mid-career resurgences.
12:58But what do you consider to be the greatest comeback in music history? Let us know in the comments below.
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