Bands where no one can be replaced

[Chicagojeff]

I’d have to say WHAM… you just couldn’t replace Andrew or George… and without either they never sounded the same…

Still waiting on that reunion/comeback tour… go get Dee… and the blonde girl… do it!!!

[Fiddle_Peghead]

@StusBlues

It’s certainly arguable that George Harrison could have been replaced. Switch George with Pete Townsend or Jeff Beck or somebody, for example, and tell me that doesn’t get you at least as good a band. It changes the complexion of the group, certainly, but the Beatles changed so radically during their relatively brief tenure that this would have been par for the course.

Imagine the Beatles with more of the guitar of the type that is on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, since Clapton was of course playing the lead. This thread seems to be a bit all over the place, so whether or not Harrison could be replaced depends on how you interpret the OP. Yes, the band, as a musical entity, could have been as good, arguably even “better” with Beck or Clapton. Technically most would say they were better than Harrison. But you cannot have the Beatles without Harrison. Nor without Starr or Lennon. Possbily McCartney, I’ll grant you that. No, of course I’m kidding. They all are essential.

[WreckingCrew]

I just wish that Clapton had left Cream and been replace by two guitarist, so the new band could have been called Half and Half.

[njtt]

@Chicagojeff

I’d have to say WHAM.. you just couldn’t replace Andrew or George.. and without either they never sounded the same.

True. George actually became fairly good, thanks to the split.

[Mister_Rik]

@Saint_Cad

Here’s one I forgot on the replacable list - Van Halen. Did it really make a difference when Diamond Dave got replaced by Van Hagar?

Absolutely. I’m one of the odd ones who prefers the “Van Hagar” version - I’ve just always loved Sammy’s voice. But I remember a comment Dave made after he’d left the band and put out his own solo album, in response to comments he’d heard here and there about just how much he contributed to VH’s style. He pointed out how the songs on his solo album sounded a lot like VH songs, while VH’s stuff with Sammy sounded so different. He said, basically, “That should tell you right there how much I contributed.”

Put together with other things I’ve read about VH’s composing methods it makes sense. It has sounded to me like the singer gets the job of coming up with a melody for the lyrics — Dave said something about the band writing the lyrics together, and then he’d take them and drive around in his car trying out different melodies until he came up with something he liked — and then Eddie comes up with music to go with the melody afterward. So it makes perfect sense that, since Dave and Sammy have such different melodic sensibilities, that the resulting accompaniment would go in different directions depending one which singer was there at the time.

I just think VH became a “more serious” band with Sammy.
Re: Rush with Rutsey vs. Peart:

And that doesnt even account for the songwriting aspect.

Ever wondered why the lyrics on that first Rush album are so generic and, well, lame? Rutsey was supposed to be the lyricist (he’d done it up to that point; Lee & Lifeson just weren’t interested), but he just kept not finishing the lyrics. So out of frustration, after they laid down the instrumental tracks in the studio Lee & Lifeson just tossed off some “serviceable” lyrics to add to the tracks so that they could finish the damn record. They were like 19-20 years old and paying for the studio time out of their own pockets, so they were trying to keep on schedule and within their budget, and finally just had to record something. So after Peart joined the band, they noticed that he spent a lot of time on the tour bus reading books and asked if he’d be willing to write some lyrics. (I can’t remember now if “Fly By Night” or “Anthem” was the first thing he wrote.) The rest is history, as they say.

[MadTheSwine]

@Robot_Arm

This is a slightly odd answer, but…
ABBA

Love them or hate them, they just wouldn’t be the same without all four of them.

yes

@FoieGrasIsEvil

Well, you can’t replace the singer in Iron Maiden.

yes

@Chicagojeff

It’s one of those great trading Dimaggio for Williams legends.. lol

Dimaggio was traded for Hank Williams?

[Hershele_Ostropoler]

The Ramones
Rage Against the Machine

My girlfriend proposed, as a test, that if you can name all the members and you’re not a huge fan, that’s a good indication that no one is replaceable. If I wouldn’t be considered a huge Ramones fan (which is the side I’d take on that question) both they and RAtM fall under that for me

@RealityChuck

The Mamas and the Papas still toured about fifteen years ago with John and Denny and two younger women (they joked it was “The Papas and the Daughters”).

That’s very creepy, considering.

[Cardinal]

@President_Johnny_Gentle

I’ll argue for the classic incarnation of Van Halen. Sure, they did change parts, multiple times, but they turned into a completely different band.

I came here to suggest this. Alex’s drumming is at least platinum-rock-band competent, and he did do Hot for Teacher. Eddie - forget it. When Dave left, it was a different band. Michael’s harmonies are something I really enjoy about VH Mark I.

[Becky2844]

@Snowboarder_Bo

Topper, of course. Terry played with the band, but Topper was necessary for the band to exist. He was not only the glue that held Jones and Strummer together, he was the keystone that kept the arch from falling down.

There’s a couple of heartbreaking interviews with him and with Joe Strummer in Westway To The World, where they both describe (in individual interviews) the remarkable time the band spent in New York City recording the bulk of Combat Rock. They talk about the dizzying amount of new musical and cultural experiences they all had in NYC. One of those things was the easy availability of smack, which Topper took advantage of and led to his departure from the band (the other guys kicked him out). In the last bit, Topper is nearly sobbing as he admits his addiction and his failure to control it led to the destruction of the band, and Strummer, in his segments expresses similar sentiments.

In that film, you can hear Mick Jones describe Topper as simply the most amazing drummer he had ever heard, and he talks at length about how Topper’s skills and amazing musical dexterity and breadth of musical knowledge (Headon is also an accomplished pianist, singer, bass player and guitarist, with an extensive background in jazz, pop, rock and prog rock) enabled the band to do damn near anything it wanted, because Topper was always there to provide a solid foundation for the song structure they were building.

Strummer also echoes that Topper’s skills were a vital and necessary part of the band. “Finding someone who not only had the chops, but the strength and the stamina to do it was just the breakthrough for us.”

And sure enough, without him, they just couldn’t approach the same level of songwriting or playing and the band soon withered and died.

In reading your post, I experienced the essence of a band.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Hershele_Ostropoler

The Ramones

I think Tommy, Markie, Richie, Elvis and CJ might tell you that in fact, yes, members of the Ramones could be replaced without too much upheaval.

I’ll agree with RATM, tho; the 4 of them seem have a unique chemistry.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Becky2844

In reading your post, I experienced the essence of a band.

Wow, this has to be one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever gotten regarding my writing. Thank you!