What member of a famous band went on to have the best musical career afterwards?

Question

I'm not in a good place to answer this one because I haven't gotten to many solo careers by even my heroes because I have so much damned music to buy, so expect to see this question again in a few years.

But, from what I do know, I think the best moments of Iggy Pop's solo career (first two albums mainly) are high points for anyone's career. I mean if the Stooges never existed (the world would suck) then I'd still love Iggy Pop based on these. Hell, if the only thing he ever did was release the song "The Passenger" b-side "Some Weird Sin" he'd still be a favorite!

Other greats: Johnny Thunders, Roky Erickson (what an awesome guy), Lou Reed, Joe Strummer (love the Mescaleros and Joe's new voice), John Cale (what I've heard), Van Morrison (everyone seems to forget he came from the excellent Irish garage rock band Them), Lemmy if you count him forming Motorhead after leaving Hawkwind, and Alice Cooper (after leaving the band Alice Cooper).

Answer 1

Again Dan, I'll have to agree with you about Iggy Pop(big surprise). Mick Jones of The Clash is worth a mention too for his Big Audio Dynamite stuff("E=MCsquared" is a really good tune and the first couple of albums are worth a listen). Although it was relatively short-lived solo career, Syd Barrett's post Floyd releases are great in my mind... the fact that it really does sound like someone on the verge of falling apart gives it a real edge(poor guy, though..). Another obvious one would be Neil Young. The Buffalo Springfield/CSNY stuff is a little bit too "hippyfied" for me(although I find myself in the mood for it sometimes), but his early solo work is great("Down by the River" and "Cinnamon Girl" especially, and let's not forget his "After the Gold Rush/Harvest" period). Kim Deal's post-Pixies stuff in the Breeders is really good, too(especially "Pod"- a great example of how to do minimalism well).

Answer 2

Paul McCartney
Sting
Dave Mason
Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group)
Paul Simon
Janis Joplin (From Big Brother)
John Sebastian (From Lovin' Spoonful)
Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Kenny Loggins
Alvin Lee
Smokey Robinson
Michael McDonald
Jorma Koukonan
Frank Zappa
Joe Walsh
Jimmy Page
Carmen Appice
Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople)
Boz Scaggs (Steve Miller Band)
Phil Collins
Brian Setzer
Robby Robertson
Roger McGuinn
Linda Ronstadt (Stone Ponys)

Lotsa others I'm sure.

Answer 3

Here are some of my picks:

Curtis Mayfield after leaving the Impressions. He wrote the soundtrack for the movie "Superfly" which contained some strong anti-drug messages.
Stevie Nicks although she didn't actually leave Fleetwood Mac but started a side solo career.
Mariah Carey. She started out as a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr.
Ted Nugent was more successful as a solo artist than he was with bands like Damn Yankees and Amboy Dukes.
So far, it's looking like Gwen Stefani is more successful as a solo artist than she was with her group No Doubt.
Michael Jackson was the biggest pop singer in the world for a long time after leaving the Jackson 5 in 1978. He had actually planned to leave them when he turned 18 but financial problems in the group prompted him to stay longer.
Rod Stewart after leaving the Faces was one of the biggest musical artists of the 1970s.

Answer 4

Cher, Phil collins, possibly Ozzy Osbourne, Sting, it also depends on how famous the previous band was as most musicians have played with bands before becoming famous, Jimi Hendrix for instance played for Little Richards and many more, what about Jimmy Page that left the Yardbirds for LZ. Mitch Michell was in a famous band before joining Hendrix, Cozy Powell was in EVERY band.
Look at bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Rainbow for tons of intermingling between members.

Answer 5

Elton John, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Roan Keating, Robbie Williams....

Answer 6

In terms of the most successful solo artists, Diana Ross, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Michael Jackson, have had the best careers (except for John getting shot).

In terms of best music, that's really a matter of taste. You seem to be a bit progressive. I give a thumbs up to Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, respectively.

Answer 7

The most successful is obviously Michael Jackson, but it doesn't sound like that's the type of music you're looking for. Sting, Peter Gabriel, Ozzy, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Henry Rollins, Dave Mustaine (formed Megadeth after being kicked out of Metallica), to name a few.

Answer 8

Theres a few..John Lennon, Mickey Jackson, Serj Tankian is about to burst bigtime man. Does Dave Grohl count?? Kind of i think, he wrote the entire Foo Fighters first album, played most of the instruments, just hired himself some band mates to go on tour, and look where they are now(a few line-up changes i know) GREATEST BAND IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Dream Theater's Kevin Moore. I hated Dream Theater after Kevin Moore left, and they're all way too popular for the little emotion they have in their terrible music.
Kevin Moore went on to have a fantastic singing voice, some incredible lyrics, beautiful piano melodies, and an absolutely awesome band called "Chroma Key."

Answer 10

Honestly, The Beatles Sir Paul!