Rock music careers usually have an expiration date. Plenty of artists have fallen out of favor, lost some of their luster as rock stars, or simply opted to retire early. The following famous rock stars decided to change things up by launching their comeback careers, and they were quite successful in doing so. Let’s dive in, shall we?
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1. Elvis
Elvis Presley was the king of rock and roll for a hot minute. But like any musician who managed to secure their spot in the limelight, Presley’s career took a downturn. He opted to take a hiatus from touring for several years to focus on making films, many of which were unfortunately deemed “not cool”.
Then, Presley changed things around with a comeback special in 1968. It was quite a performance, and Presley famously delivered a passionate rendition of “If I Can Dream”. Presley’s career was never quite what it was at its peak, but that comeback special absolutely relaunched his career.
2. Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop had a rough go of it for several decades, and he hit just about every low you could hit as an avid drug abuser. He even had to check into a mental institution after the second breakdown of The Stooges.
Sometimes, you need to just run away to Germany with your bro to get inspired. In one of the finest examples of rock music comeback careers, Pop went to Berlin with David Bowie in the 1970s and came out of it with two successful albums (Lust For Life and The Idiot). He saw yet another comeback in the 1990s, sober and a bit more healthy, with the Top 40 US hit “Candy”.
3. AC/DC
When Bon Scott died in 1980, AC/DC was more or less ready to hang it up. Even though they had massive success with Highway To Hell, continuing on without Scott’s massive personality and otherworldly vocals seemed futile.
Fortunately, the band decided to release Back In Black as a tribute to their late frontman and add Brian Johnson into the mix. The release of that album marked the most legendary comeback in rock music at the time. Back In Black is 27 times platinum today.
4. Paul McCartney
In the early 1970s, The Beatles were thoroughly broken up, Paul McCartney was happily married, and the former members of the Fab Four were still considered the biggest rock stars in the world. However, McCartney’s music was not well-received by critics throughout the early years of his solo career. Couple that with visa issues that prevented him from touring outside of Europe, and you’ve got a pretty disappointing career downfall.
Luckily for McCartney, this booger of a period didn’t last for long. Band On The Run from 1973 would give him a substantial boost, as would his massive world tour with Wings just a couple of years later.
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