4 Famous Rock Stars Who Quit Their Classic Rock Bands

Sometimes, you just gotta walk away. These four rock star icons walked away from their classic rock bands to blaze their own trails… and some of them launched even bigger bands afterward. Let’s take a look at four rock stars who quit their classic rock bands back in the day!

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1. Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)

Roger Waters is best known as a standout member of Pink Floyd. He’s also known for once having pretty big visions for the future of the band. And according to the other members of the prog-rock outfit, Waters became not unlike a dictator after recording The Wall. 

Creative arguments with David Gilmour came to a head, and Waters left the band to pursue his solo career. And a few legal issues have bounced between himself and Pink Floyd in the years since he left.

2. David Lee Roth (Van Halen)

Van Halen is best known for its namesake and his guitar-shredding chops. However, David Lee Roth was the true frontman of Van Halen. Sadly, creative dissonance between himself and the rest of the band led to his departure from the famed rock outfit in 1985. Specifically, Roth wasn’t happy about Eddie Van Halen’s decision to bring keyboards into the band’s music. 

Roth went on to pursue his solo career and briefly returned to Van Halen several times throughout the years.

3. Pat Smear (Foo Fighters)

Any self-respecting punk knows Pat Smear from Germs. However, Smear was also briefly part of alternative rock bands Nirvana and Foo Fighters. While with Nirvana, Smear was the rhythm and touring guitarist for the band, but he wasn’t really a part of the “band” persay.

However, after the death of Kurt Cobain and the subsequent disbandment of Nirvana, Dave Grohl asked Smear to join Foo Fighters. He was part of the OG lineup of the band until 1997 when he decided that he wasn’t loving the band’s exhausting tour schedule. So, he dipped out. Though, Smear rejoined the band in 2010.

4. Jimmy Page (Yardbirds)

This famous example of rock stars who quit their classic rock bands went on to found another enormously popular band: Led Zeppelin. Most diehard fans know that Jimmy Page started out in The Yardbirds, but casual fans may not even be familiar with the band. 

They should, though. The Yardbirds were one of the biggest British rock bands of their time, and they had a lineup unlike any other. The likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and more were part of the band. And today, The Yardbirds are credited with influencing what would later become punk rock as a genre.

Photo by Jim Dyson/Redferns

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