3 Iconic Bands That Survived a Revolving Door of Band Members

Ask anyone in a band, and they’ll tell you the hardest thing about being in a band is keeping it together. The only tried-and-true path to surviving the rock and roll business is to just keep going. Drummer leaves for college? Find a new one. Did your guitarist quit to start a solo career? There are probably 10 more looking for a band after theirs has just broken up. Cycling through musicians isn’t unique, and these iconic bands prove that you can survive a revolving door of band members.

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Wilco

Wilco endured many different lineups during its first decade. But before the current and classic arrangement was finalized, Jeff Tweedy’s ever-evolving group created a masterpiece. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a genius work that resulted from Tweedy deconstructing his band. It exists as a threshold between Wilco chapters. Then he’d nearly destroy himself making the follow-up, A Ghost Is Born.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot wouldn’t have happened without multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, but it also led to Bennett’s exit. Glenn Kotche had replaced the original drummer, Ken Coomer. This change profoundly expanded Wilco’s sound as Tweedy had grown restless with the limitations of the alternative country genre he helped pioneer. By Sky Blue Sky, Tweedy, Kotche, bassist John Stirratt, and keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen completed an album with multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone and guitarist Nels Cline, giving Wilco continued stability.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers have survived a revolving door of guitarists and drummers. But many more guitarists than drummers. Once Chad Smith arrived in 1988, the rhythm section was settled. Though guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons co-founded the band with Flea and Anthony Kiedis, they don’t appear on the self-titled debut album. Following Slovak’s death in 1988, a teenage fan and virtuoso named John Frusciante joined. This addition eventually turned RHCP into stadium legends.

However, Frusciante came and went multiple times, and in his absence, Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and session musician Josh Klinghoffer (and others) warmed the seat. But the band’s defining work occurred during Frusciante’s time, and RHCP fans are grateful for his return.

Fleetwood Mac

Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac released three blues rock albums before Green left the band he created. He left behind iconic songs like “Oh Well”, “Black Magic Woman”, “Albatross”, and “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)”. Since Green’s time, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, whose combined surnames form the band name, have been the only constant members.

Fleetwood Mac has amassed a staggering list of bandmates since forming in 1967. The most successful period featured Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham alongside John McVie, Christine McVie, and Fleetwood. The band’s biggest hits, “Dreams”, “The Chain”, “Go Your Own Way”, and “Landslide”, bear little resemblance to Green’s original version of the band.

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