Luckiest Band Member

Ha Ha Ha Ha, I love Sabbath and Ozzy's 1st two solo albums, but that comment made my night!!! He has become one of the biggest caricatures in music.

 

Mediocre songwriter??? Even Jerry and the rest of the band would disagree. Most of the Dead's "hits" were Bobby tunes, Sugar Magnolia, Truckin, Black-Throated Wind, Cassidy, Playing In The Band and on and on. Jerry had his "hits" too, but in the Dead Bob stood toe to toe with Jerry when it came to song writing.

 

While I agree those are all classics (truckin was a group effort tho), I just feel like Bobby produced a lot more stuff that just doesn't appeal to me. Beginning with his 78 album

 

Keith Relf. Any band he was in he's the last member mentioned (and then only because he looked a bit like Brian Jones) and he was the lead singer.

 

Wrong.

 

After the obvious answer of Ringo Starr, I'd say Ronnie Wood.

 

They both probably would have been successful sooner or later anyway, but Stephen Still and Neil Young certainly had a tremendously lucky break when they spotted one another in that traffic jam in LA.

 

Jim Messina. Even playing with The Jesters was a lucky break.

 

The thing about Ringo is that while his skill set may have been relatively limited for a professional drummer, he was excellent in the skills needed for the Beatles. There's a reason they wanted him in the band and they were proven right beyond any rational question. The energy that comes across in those early recordings (including the live in the studio radio stuff) is amazing. No one cared whether he could do a drum roll. He could do what was needed and do it well. Can you imagine the results had a "more skilled" Ginger Baker, or a Keith Moon taken that seat? It likely would have been over before it started.
Actually it was John, Paul, and George who were the luckiest guys in the world that they were able to get the perfect drummer for them. What happened and the music itself bears that out.

 

The bass player in Nirvana.. it could have been anyone.

 

Bez from Happy Mondays (dancer, maracas, lead drug taker) and Joel Gion from Brian Jonestown Massavre (tambourine man)

Happy Mondays - Kinky Afro (1990) [Bez is the one in the white shirt]

 

Kelley Deal.

 

His name reminds me of Stony Curtis on The Flintstones.

 

Shane McGowan for still being alive (barely).

I cannot believe the guy is still breathing.

As for Bobby... is he Hendrix? No. He's a rhythm guitarist. And arguably one of the very best in the business. I feel badly for anyone who can't appreciate that.

 

Terry Sylvester of The Hollies. To this day, he still earns a living from touring as Terry Sylvester of The Hollies, even though he left the group in 1981. I found his voice to be suitable for the required parts, but nothing which could be more memorable than that of Graham Nash.
During the Rock Hall induction in 2010, Terry's attempt to grab the spotlight and sing a verse was thwarted by longtime frontman/founder member Allan Clarke.

 

I see someone beat me to posting Waylon but he is really the only answer here

 

He got by with a little help from his friends. And he got Barbara Bach.

 

Frank Beard, Drummer for ZZ Top.

 

Not at all. Krist founded the band with Kurt and contributed financially and was his closest friend for a long time. He was critical to the inception of the band. He also contributed catchy and melodic bass lines for which he occasionally received writers' credit for.
The drummer could have been anyone; they had about seven drummers; Grohl was the last one but contributed very little musically. He had a powerful style, but they would have made it with any other good drummer.

 

Hardly unique in the annals of popular music, is it. Ambitious musicians do what they have to do to make it and that means being not-so-nice people. That includes The Beatles.

 

Anyone mentioned Andrew Ridgely?

 

Wolfgang Van Halen

 

Any of the Pips behind Gladys Knight....(or did I just hear that on the grapevine ?).

 

I don't think you can call Joel Gion especially "lucky", since he'd probably have been better off if he'd just stuck with his record store job.

 

Well, he wouldn't be the guy I'd turn to if I needed to borrow a tenner, but at least he's managed to be a musician without being one...