# Any Successful Super Groups (Music)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291 "2006-09-11T14:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/1 "2006-09-11T14:44:48Z")
Watching **Rock Star: Supernova** the other day, and I got to wondering. Every once in a while a group of refugees from successful groups team up and put out an album. IIRC, none of them seem very successful, but I may be wrong. I had heard that **Asia** was a “super-group”, and I guess you could count **The Traveling Wilberries** (I probably butchered the spelling), but I have two questions: 1. What is the most successful “super-group”? 2. Were any "super-groups"more successful that the bands that spawned them? Please note, in asking these questions, “super-groups” do not include bands made up of successful but generally unknown session musicians (i.e. Mr. Mister) or bands with one major star and a bunch of unknowns (i.e. Wings). Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/2 "2006-09-11T14:53:32Z")
Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)? Very successful for a couple of years, and at least as well remembered now as their former bands The Byrds, The Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/3 "2006-09-11T14:58:24Z")
Cream arguably fits the definition of supergroup, and Audioslave has proven pretty popular, although they haven’t eclipsed Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine just yet. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/4 "2006-09-11T15:01:05Z")
Cream was considered a super-group when it formed, although CSNY was the first group I heard referred to as such. Eric Clapton had been in the Yardbirds and then achieved fame in The Bluesbreakers. Jack Bruce was well known from the Graham Bond Organization as well as The Bluesbreakers, and Ginger Baker left the Graham Bond Org to join Cream. And then came Blind Faith. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/5 "2006-09-11T15:20:44Z")
Was Led Zeppelin a supergroup? I’d think that they were fairly successful 🙂 (did anyone other than Jimmy Page have major label albums out at the time though?) How about Dashboard Confessional? It wasn’t formed as a supergroup, so it probably doesn’t count, but its founder, Chris Carrabba, wanted to expand his sound he included former members of Sunny Day Real Estate and The Promise Ring, fairly well-known bands in their own right. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/6 "2006-09-11T15:46:00Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Was Led Zeppelin a supergroup? I’d think that they were fairly successful 🙂 (did anyone other than Jimmy Page have major label albums out at the time though?) [/QUOTE] John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were both session musicians well before forming Zep (and of course Jimmy was in the Yarbirds for a stint right at the end), but Robert Plant and John Bonham were just in small local bands jamming around. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/7 "2006-09-11T15:53:55Z")
\*\*Blind Faith \*\*was successful – a #1 album – before breaking up. In that respect, it was more successful than Traffic or Family, and equalled Cream. **Bad Company** clearly fits your definition of successful supergroup: it was made up of members of King Crimson, Mott the Hoople, and Free, and did better than all of them. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/8 "2006-09-11T16:24:21Z")
**The Raconteurs**. Although not yet as succesful as White Stripes. ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfyre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfyre/32/9972_2.png) [@Shadowfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/9 "2006-09-11T17:21:47Z")
I thought **Velvet Revolver** (Most of what used to be **Guns N Roses** and the lead singer of **Stone Temple Pilots** ) was really good. I haven’t kept up with them for too much so I’m not sure if they broke up. Their album did pretty well, though. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/10 "2006-09-11T19:37:50Z")
**Asia** had a couple of good solid singles. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/11 "2006-09-11T19:55:02Z")
The New Pornographers have had more success than Destroyer, Zumpano, or Neko Case’s solo career had on their own. ---
**Author:** ![2lazy2pee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/4bbf92/32.png) [@2lazy2pee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2lazy2pee)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/12 "2006-09-11T20:02:00Z")
**The Firm** was a super group with Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Paul Rodgers (Free and Bad company). Their albums didn’t sell as well as those of the members’ previous groups, though, and Page subsequently said that the Firm wasn’t intended to last more than two albums. **The Power Station** was a fairly successful group, consisting of Robert Palmer, John Taylor and Andy Taylor from Duran Duran, and Tony Thompson from CHIC. All four of those members were fairly well-known, so they’d fit your definition of super group. Also, **Damn Yankees** was a damn successful group. 😃 It had Ted Nugent, Tommy Shaw from Styx, and Jack Blades from Night Ranger. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/13 "2006-09-11T21:03:09Z")
The Highwaymen might be the only country supergroup and I think they are considered to have been successful I think mostly because it revitalized some sagging careers. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/14 "2006-09-11T23:28:47Z")
In its day, **Emerson, Lake & Palmer** were considered to be a supergroup, with members from **The Nice, King Crimson** , and **Atomic Rooster**. So **Asia** may have been the first _second generation_ supergroup. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/15 "2006-09-12T01:23:34Z")
The Traveling Wilburys had two well-received albums, although they were just a side project for all involved. I have to assume that the band was at least tongue in cheek a sly reference to the [Masked Marauders](http://www.answers.com/topic/the-masked-marauders-1) of early supergroup hoax fame. > [@](#): > > “In a world of sham, the Masked Marauders are truly the genuine article.” Following the wake of the “supergroup hype” of the late '60s (Blind Faith, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin), a joke review ran in Rolling Stone about an album that didn’t exist by a group called the Masked Marauders, supposedly consisting of John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan, produced by Al Kooper. Some months later, an album by the Masked Marauders appeared, causing a good deal of controversy. It wasn’t recorded by the above named superstars, the last song on the album being a disclaimer stating that fact. The tongue-in-cheek album liner notes also slyly hinted that it was bogus: “Leading experts now estimate that the music business is currently 90% hype and 10% bullsh_t. The Masked Marauders, bless their hearts, have gone far beyond that. Their music needs no hype. It transcends the very essence of the bullsh_t for which the public pays millions each year.” For the most part the record and concept of the Masked Marauders faded into oblivion. Tracks from the album have surfaced on bootlegs, disguised as Beatles, Stones, or Dylan “outtakes.” ~ Jim Powers, All Music Guide ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/16 "2006-09-12T01:32:43Z")
I like the band Electronic. It’s Bernard Sumner (singer of New Order), Johnny Marr (guitarist from the Smiths), and in some songs the guys from the Pet Shop Boys. I doubt they were really popular, but they were successful in that they had some great songs. Is The New Pornographers a supergroup? I’d say they are successful. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/17 "2006-09-12T02:12:41Z")
[QUOTE=Talon Karrde] I like the band Electronic. It’s Bernard Sumner (singer of New Order), Johnny Marr (guitarist from the Smiths), and in some songs the guys from the Pet Shop Boys. I doubt they were really popular, but they were successful in that they had some great songs. [/QUOTE] My all-time favorite band… as you note, Neil Tennant was involved in the first album. Karl Bartos from Kraftwerk was involved in the second album. Arthur Baker, super-producer (Afrika Bambaataa, New Edition) co-produced and did other stuff. At one point Electronic also featured Jimi Goodwin (of Doves) on bass. Gorillaz might be a stretch, but it consisted of Damon Albarn (Blur), Jamie Hewlett (cartoonist/creator of Tank Girl), and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. There’s talk of a band called Freebass which consists of Peter Hook (New Order), Andy Rourke (The Smiths), and Mani (The Stone Roses). I know they exist but I don’t know if they’ve recorded anything yet. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/18 "2006-09-12T02:13:45Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] Arthur Baker, super-producer (Afrika Bambaataa, New Edition) co-produced and did other stuff. [/QUOTE] …on the third and final album. Rhino is putting out a Greatest Hits album this fall. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/19 "2006-09-12T02:19:15Z")
Oysterhead is still one of the best live shows I have ever seen. Stewart Copeland (Police), Les Claypool (Primus), and Trey Anastasio (Phish). ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291/20 "2006-09-12T02:29:39Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] **Bad Company** clearly fits your definition of successful supergroup: it was made up of members of King Crimson, Mott the Hoople, and Free, and did better than all of them. [/QUOTE] I get what you mean, but King Crimson could actually be considered “Robert Fripp’s Supergroup”,couldn’t it? I think it’s debatable that Bad Co. has “done better” than Crimso, though. Over their respective careers, I wonder how their record and ticket sales stack up against each other. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-successful-super-groups-music/372291.md?page=2)