Two bands that weathered changes in their lineups (and two that didn’t)

Back in the day, the music industry wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Bands would spend days on end in the studio scrambling to meet their record label’s optimistic deadlines, and their nights consuming every substance under the sun and throwing television sets into swimming pools.

Once a record was released, they would embark on gruelling global tours to promote their new music, only to repeat the process all over again upon completion. It is no surprise, then, that it would all be too much for some band members. Some would quit through exhaustion or heated creative disputes with their bandmates, whilst some would even lose their life to the rock and roll lifestyle altogether.

Replacing departed band members was a risky business, often either making or breaking a group’s chances of making it big. Here are four of my favourite bands that underwent pivotal changes in its lineup, two of which who weathered the turbulence and two who didn’t.

AC/DC
Not many bands can lay claim to having one of the most iconic vocalists or frontmen within their ranks, and even fewer can lay claim to having two.

Legendary Australian rockers AC/DC are one of them. The band had garnered a reputation for their live shows in Sydney bars and clubs in the early 1970s, but they hadn’t yet settled on their desired sound and image. Up stepped the band’s chauffeur, Bon Scott, who replaced the group’s outgoing vocalist in 1974 after a successful audition.

AC/DC found great commercial success on home turf with the Australasia-only release of their debut (1974) and second (1975) albums, but it wasn’t until their third release (1976) that the band received worldwide recognition.

Scott’s powerful, raspy vocals and the simple but loud sound of guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young established AC/DC as one of the most coveted in the stadium rock circuit. Their sixth album, Highway to Hell (1979), saw them break the United States’ Billboard album charts for the first time.

Soon, though, tragedy struck. During recording sessions for their follow-up album, Back in Black, Scott was found unconscious after a night of heavy drinking in London and pronounced dead upon arrival to hospital.

After Scott’s family insisted the band continue in his honour, they underwent a meticulous auditioning process for his successor. Eventually, it was the relatively unknown Newcastle native Brian Johnson who got the gig, and recording sessions for Back in Black finally wrapped up.

Johnson’s high-pitched, gritty voice propelled the band to superstardom, with Back in Black becoming the second highest-selling record of all time. Long-time fans still maintain that no-one could ever have surpassed Scott, especially given that album marked the apex of the band’s critical and commercial success. Johnson certainly gave it a good go, and the 77-year-old still performs with AC/DC to this day.

Genesis
If only one change in lineup ever proved more consequential in music than Scott to Johnson, Genesis’ transition from Peter Gabriel to Phil Collins is likely that.

Records like Selling England by the Pound (1973) and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) ensured the English prog rockers were among the most revered pioneers of the genre in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Gabriel’s image and stage presence was a huge contributor to that.

However, his abrupt departure in 1975 left Genesis without a frontman. Up stepped Collins from behind the drumkit to fill that void, and so two of the most prolific solo careers in music history were set in motion. Lead guitarist Steve Hackett also departed in 1977, but the group continued confidently as a threesome.

Collins was to dominate radio airplay and ultimately release more hit singles than any other artist throughout the 1980s, but despite these solo exploits Genesis also went from strength-to-strength commercially.

The band’s transition to a more pop-infused sound yielded hit singles like ‘Follow You Follow Me’, ‘Turn It On Again’, and ‘Abacab’, with their thirteenth studio album Invisible Touch (1986) even topping the Billboard charts stateside.

Their recognition in popular culture seemingly continued into the new millennium, with American Psycho’s (2000) Patrick Bateman expressing his love for the band. Genesis continued performing as a trio until 2022, when Collins retired due to age-related complications.

Creedence Clearwater Revival
Quintessential American rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival were only active for a very brief period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but they cemented themselves as one of the all-time greats with songs like ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Fortunate Son’. In fact, British music magazine Melody Maker considered them the world’s best active band between the infamous Beatles split (1970) and Creedence’s own disbandment (1972).

Internal tensions between bandmates had reached boiling point some time before that split, though. Lead vocalist and principal songwriter, John Fogerty, was exerting too much control over the band’s creative and business decision-making, with his brother and rhythm guitarist Tom quitting in early 1971.

The remaining three members initially considered replacing their departed guitarist, but instead elected to continue as a trio and employ a more ‘democratic’ approach to songwriting.

However, whilst bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford finally enjoyed more creative freedom, the resultant record Mardi Gras (1972) was a critical flop, only exacerbating pre-existing tensions.

That record proved to be their last. Shortly after the accompanying tour, Creedence disbanded. They never formally reunited before Tom’s death in 1990, and Cook and Clifford continue to refute any future reunion prospects to this day.

.38 Special
Probably the most obscure entry in this list, .38 Special were still among the most prolific charting rock bands in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Among the band’s founders was Jacksonville, Florida native Donnie Van Zant, the brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Ronnie. The former was one of the classic lineup’s two lead vocalists and four guitarists who, alongside two drummers, were among the pioneers of the iconic southern rock sound.

Touring with the likes of Skynyrd, Peter Frampton and Kiss, .38 Special released multiple Billboard hit singles including ‘Rockin’ into the Night’, ‘Hold On Loosely’, ‘Caught Up in You’, and ‘Teacher Teacher’.

By the late 1980s, though, creative disputes with lead guitarist Jeff Carlisi saw co-vocalist Don Barnes leave with hopes of establishing a solo career. Steve Brookins, who had provided the band’s signature dual-drummer sound alongside Jack Grondin, also departed.

New vocalist Max Carl’s more pop-orientated voice saw ‘Second Chance’ reach number six on the Billboard charts – the band’s highest-charting effort – but fans were left disillusioned by their new sound.

Barnes soon returned, only for Grondin and then Carlisi to depart themselves. Such high turnover among band members saw album releases and commercial success dwindle, but the group still performs in small venues across the United States to this day. Health issues saw Van Zant and bassist Larry Junstrom both depart in the early 2010s, leaving Barnes as the only active original member.