3 Rock Band Members That Just Weren’t Meant To Replace Their Predescers

Some of the most talented rock musicians have been called upon to replace other talented rock musicians in famous bands, only for them to ultimately leave or get the boot in the end. For some, it was deserved. For others, it was just a matter of the musicians in question not quite being able to fill the shoes of the artists who left, which would have been an almost impossible task. Let’s look at a few famous rock stars who tried to replace former band members but couldn’t quite do it.

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Buckethead, Guns N’ Roses

Remember when the famous KFC bucket-wearing guitarist Buckethead was a member of Guns N’ Roses? No? I certainly didn’t, and learning about Buckethead’s tenure with the rock band was pretty surprising. And while Buckethead is an incredibly talented guitarist, replacing someone as tightly connected to a band’s sound as Slash was to Guns N’ Roses was an impossible ask. Though, technically, Buckethead replaced Robin Finck, who previously replaced Slash.

Sadly, Buckethead’s particular style of playing just didn’t match up with Guns N’ Roses’ sound. You can hear him on lead and rhythm guitar, along with quite a few solos, for most of Chinese Democracy’s songs. His solo on “There Was A Time” is absolutely killer. But in the end, Guns N’ Roses really wasn’t the same without Slash, who rejoined the group in 2016. Buckethead left in 2004 after about four years with the band.

Sid Vicious, Sex Pistols

This might seem like an odd entry on our list of rock band members that just weren’t meant to replace their predecessors. When one thinks of Sex Pistols, they almost immediately think of Sid Vicious, and he was only in the band for less than two years, between 1977 and 1978. He left quite the impact, but musically, he had big shoes to fill in replacing bassist Glen Matlock. In a way, the addition of Vicious was the death knell of the band, as his drug dependency issues affected his ability to perform. That even led to Steve Jones taking over bass on the band’s sole studio album. Vicious was a persona, but a persona was not enough to lend musical credibility to a band in the end.

Gary Cherone, Van Halen 

Replacing a rock vocalist, especially one who has to do some serious vocal tricks in a metal band, was a very delicate and tricky thing back in AOR’s heyday. And replacing someone with the energy, vocal ability, and overall rock star vibe like David Lee Roth was virtually impossible. They lucked out with Sammy Hagar, but they didn’t get so lucky twice. Neither vocalist was in the picture in 1996, so the band turned to Gary Cherone for help.

Sadly, it didn’t really work out. Van Halen III was considered to be a commercial flop compared to the band’s previously successful albums, and the subsequent tour wasn’t particularly successful, either. We can’t blame it all on Cherone, but the shoes he was expected to fill were just not possible to fill.

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