Lead Singers with a huge solo career while still in a band?

It always amazed me how Phil Collins was huge as a solo artist in the 80s while at the same time still an active member and a huge success in Genesis. I can't imagine many pulling that off. Can you think of any others? How amazed were/are you at this feat?

 

Rod Stewart was beginning to break through as a solo artist when he was still in the Faces, though he achieved much greater success after they split. It's a very tricky balance to manage once a singer starts to get really big on their own.

 

Bryan Ferry released numerous, and very successful, solo albums while Roxy Music was still an ongoing band.
Initially his solo records were made up of covers as he kept his own penned songs for Roxy, but after a while the lines blurred somewhat.

In fact, Roxy Music was an interesting band in that both Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay released a number of successful solo albums too, during the lifetime of the band.

 

That's why I'm amazed Phil Collins did it so well. We was at his peak as a solo artist in the 80s and Genesis were at its commercial peak. Having two very successful careers going on at the same time is quite a feat.

 

Stevie Nicks

 

When you are hot, you are hot.

Gwen Stefani

Lionel Richie but I don't think he was still in the Commodores.

 

Joe Walsh had some solo success while a member of the Eagles.

 

They were in a lucky position for a while where Phil's success seemed to feed Genesis' increasing commercial success in the 80's.

 

What time is it when the record company wants to put only the singers face on your album cover?




Time to find a new band. You're getting fired soon anyway.

 

Jacksons, Victory
Journey, Raised On Radio
Foreigner, Inside Information

All albums where they managed to persuade a singer to come back after having solo success, although not for long.

 

Would Diana Ross be an example?
Pete Townshend?

 

Thom Yorke is the first to come to mind, but under his own name and Atoms for Peace.

 

Freddie Mercury put a large number of singles outside of Queen.
Neil Young... has a very unique career in terms of his involvement with bands and solo.

 

Donny Osmond. He basically owned the charts for about two years, usually singing one of his execrable solo hits but also chipping in with vocals on his brothers' (much better) singles such as Crazy Horses and Goin' Home. The little rat was never off Top Of The Pops.

 

Dave Davies

"Death Of A Clown" was a #3 UK solo hit.

 

Keep in mind that, at the time, while Collins was everywhere you looked, Rutherford was doing his bit the Mike and the Mechanics very successfully, and Tony Banks had solo releases as well as work on film scores. The volume of work put out by the collective members of Genesis in the 80's as a whole is very impressive!!!

 

Although the records didn't sell very well, the Jerry Garcia Band were a successful touring band during his downtime from the Dead between around 1976 and 95.

 

True, and it got the point where I didn't know if the song I was hearing on the radio was a solo Phil song or a Genesis song.

 

Steely Dan / Donald Fagen 2k TAN EMG Morph Condos
Tom Petty w and w/o Heartbreakers
Justin Timberfake with Nstink
Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks with Fleetwood Mac
Greg Almond

 

Yer nuts!

 

Indeed, they were even selling out the Spectrum and Brendan Byrne by the late 80s/early 90s

 

Don Henley in Eagles comes to mind.

 

I still haven't figured out the difference.

 

I think his only solo hits came in the 80's when the Eagles were disbanded.

 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

me either