For entertainers, finding success is hard enough. Though what is ultimately harder is holding onto it. Every year, styles and tastes change, and consequently, entertainers walk the fine line between fame and obscurity. Often, entertainers will have their fall from grace, they will “fail”, and they will have a dormant period in their careers. However, if they are patient and resilient enough, they will catch their second wind. That being said, here are three acts that scored major success after catching their second wind.
Videos by American Songwriter
Aerosmith
In the 1970s, Aerosmith were highly successful arena rock giants. However, due to internal issues and the decline of 1970s-style hard rock ‘n’ roll, their popularity diminished significantly in the 1980s. However, they once again hit their stride in 1986 with their collaboration with Run-DMC on the remake of “Walk This Way”.
Following its release, this remixed single went on to peak at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. After that, Aerosmith once again became a well-selling band. They scored hit singles, hit albums, and notably, recorded the theme song from the film Armageddon, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, which landed at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Johnny Cash
By the mid-1980s, Johnny Cash had been dropped by Columbia Records due to the sales decline of his work and general lack of success. At this point in his career, Cash easily could have walked away with a big sack of money and lived happily ever after somewhere in Tennessee. However, that isn’t what he opted for, and his major comeback came when he teamed up with Rick Rubin in 1993.
The producer-musician partnership between Cash and Rubin is one of the most famous of all time, given the context surrounding it and the result it produced. Johnny Cash’s albums produced by Rubin not only became hits, but they also became immortalized bodies of work showcasing the elderly wisdom and style of one of the greatest to ever do it.
Tina Turner
In 1976, Tina Turner left her abusive relationship with her former husband, Ike Turner. Subsequently, her music career slowed down a bit, as her solo albums didn’t entirely establish her as an independent solo artist whose name was no longer attached to her former partner. Although that all changed in 1984 with the release of her breakthrough album, Private Dancer.
Tina Turner’s Private Dancer is undeniably one of the most famous albums from the 1980s. After peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the breakthrough album stayed in the top 10 for roughly a year. That is primarily thanks to the hit singles “What’s Love Got To Do with It”, “Better Be Good To Me”, and the title track, “Private Dancer”.
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