4 Bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Who Changed Lineups a Ton

Even the most successful rock bands can occasionally experience a bit of turmoil in terms of the relationships between members. That can lead to folks coming and going from the lineup with surprising regularity. These four bands all sit proudly in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And all of them have experienced plenty of lineup turnover during their laudable careers.

Yes

Yes started canning people from the band almost right from the jump. You can’t argue with some of the moves they made. After all, if they’d stayed put, they might not have found crucial members like Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman, who helped raise their 1971 album Fragile to a new level. The lineup chaos hit a whole new level in the 80s. For a hot moment, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of The Buggles joined the group. Then came Trevor Rabin, who energized them by initiating the song that would become “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”, their surprise 1983 chart-topper. The lineup shuffling from that point forward is nothing short of mind-scrambling. But it always seemed to work for this outfit.

Fleetwood Mac

Modern audiences often think of Fleetwood Mac only in terms of the lineup that made Rumours and produced a passel of hits in the 70s and 80s. But the band existed for nearly a decade before the arrival of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. In their early years, the Mac concentrated on a bluesier style. Talented guitarists Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, and Bob Welch shuffled through the lineup in those years. In the 90s and beyond, Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie were in and out, prompting a few fill-in members who came and went quickly. Meanwhile, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, the rhythm section and the reason for the group name, never left the fold.

Journey

When Journey formed in 1973, Neal Schon and company didn’t have any ambition other than to be a session band in San Francisco. But once the band started changing their lineup around, all kinds of possibilities opened up to them. Specifically, the additions of Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain turbocharged their songwriting, while Perry gave them a lead singer of rare ability. At the height of their success, however, Journey once again started fiddling. At one point, they changed their rhythm section all at once. Randy Jackson of American Idol fame even made a pit stop in the band as bassist. Since Perry left the band, they’ve watched several lead singers come and go.

Grateful Dead

Like a few of the other bands on this list, the Grateful Dead boasted a core that was pretty unshakeable. You knew that, album in and album out, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh were going to be at the heart of the band’s creative direction. But beyond that, it was anybody’s guess who might show up. Most of all, the Dead had a difficult time keeping keyboardists due to the deaths of several of them. On top of that, the band included Donna Godchaux as a backing vocalist on several of their 70s albums. If you want to be fair about it, you should also mention lyricists Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow, whose contributions to the band’s songs shouldn’t be overlooked.

(Photo by Fred Hermansky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)