Band member that contributed the least , but gladly rode the wave of success?

Addition of Craig Frost on Keyboards to Grand Funk Railroad. He contributed little or nothing to the group dynamic on stage or songwriting off stage. The addition coincided with the group's contentious break with Terry Knight which not only cost them financially, but also weakened their image as he was an incredibly efficient record producer and promoter.

Terry apparently took liberties with handling the group's money, much of which he legally had access to due to the poor contracts Mark, Don & Mel originally signed with Terry Knight to act as their promoter and business manager. Grand Funk would turn out a top hit, Don Brewer's We're An American Band after the group severed relations with Terry, but too much weak filler and changes in direction moving more towards soul and r&b which disappointed their balls to the walls hard rockin' fans. While GFR ascended rapidly to superstar status with their first five studio and an early raw live album.


Cat

 

John Deacon

 

The guy who wrote You’re My Best Friend, Another One Bites The Dust, Spread Your Wings, I Want To Break Free, Back Chat, and The Miracle?

 

One of my all-time favorite jokes:

The three easiest jobs in the world are:
- night watchman in a mattress factory
- left-handed relief pitcher
- keyboard player in Ten Years After

 

So, the best I can drum up (pun intended)
from within my realm of familiarity is Mick Avory in the early years of the Kinks career, the mid-1960s. First example would be Kinks most well-known and easily most influential hit single "You Really Got Me", on which English session drummer Bobby Graham is heard, not Mick (Avory is on tambourine only).
IIRC, drums on all the Kinks early recordings from '64-'65 were by pro session drummers hired by producer Shel Talmy ( mainly Clem Cattini and Bobby Graham). Avory plays drums on Kinks studio recordings after late 1965, the point at which my interest in their discography begins to wane a bit, hence my admitted bias.
* Apologies to fans of Kinks ~ this isn't meant as a knock of Avory as a musician at all. I only bring this mention to the thread since he was officially the drummer but wasn't on the records that I happen to deem their most essential overall. They were, after all, among the early archetypes of mid-60s garage-punk.

 

Ozzy

 

The most surprising thing that I have read on this forum is people not rating Roger Daltry. He is one of the greatest frontmen of all time in arguably one of the 3 greatest rock bands of all time!

 

3 pages and NO ONE has mentioned John Oates????

 

The dude wrote "Another One Bites The Dust", "You're My Best Friend" and "I Want To Break Free".

 

Peter Criss.

And before anyone throws "Beth" at me, there is little evidence that he had very much to do with actually writing the song.

 

I thought so too...

Imo, regardless of how you look at it, he was the least important of the 4

 

Don't forget 'Friends Will Be Friends', written together with Freddie... Oh, 'The Miracle' was originally Deaky's composition!?

 

Second that.

Although I’ve grown to appreciate his early drumming, he is by far the weakest link.
Wish he sang more - very cool voice

 

The case of Queen is second to none. All wrote major hits, and the only band where each member has written a number 1 hit

 

I don't think that's true necessarily.
Jimi saw Noel as an important band member and friend imo. He didn't think much of Noel as a singer annd songwriter, and he was right about that.
And eventually they butted heads because Noel would speak his mind and Jimi had a problem with that, while what he really needed was more individuals like that in his circle.

 

Ringo was perhaps the best musician in The Beatles and adolescent girls (their early best fans) loved him.

 

Bill Wyman

 

I believe Bill Berry was the main songwriter of Everybody Hurts, one of REM's best songs.

 

.. but, surely, you jest !

 

He is an awesome bassist, songwriter, and amp builder and Queen would not have been the same without him.

 

Adam Clayton U2

 

Kirk Hammett, Metallica...
Glued to his wahwah-pedal.... brought not much more

 

Not really considering his bass lines were often the melodic glue in U2’s early music. I’m not the hugest U2 fan but let’s give credit where credit’s due.

 

But...it's their highest-charting song, and he sang it--so he contributed to the band's success in a pretty big way.

 

Good point, they are melodic, but after hearing extended Achtung Baby bootleg years ago and all the cajoling to it took for him to get anything right, I question if he created those bass lines.