I remember reading somewhere that a former member of the Bay City Rollers saved a fellow from drowning in a suicide attempt, and made the comment “hey mate, you think you have troubles? I used to be a member of the Bay City Rollers!”.
Could be mythology of course. 
If you want a semi-serious WAG explanation, I think the song resonates with those who feel swept up by the rapid urbanisation and social change of recent decades. They want to hark back to the “country roads” of an idyllic imagined rural past. Most songs in the “Country and Irish” genre fit this mould although Country Roads is popular with people who hate C and I.
This may not fit the OP, because it was not exactly a huge fall, but the Dead Milkmen gained some commercial success, and certainly any doper worth his salt should be able to get Stuart references. But they weren’t exactly rolling in dough after they broke up, and in addition to their own music projects they all pretty much ended up with day jobs.
But one member didn’t end up so well, Dave Schulthise. After working in Bosnia and having to leave during the NATO bombardment he ended up working as a custodian and tragically killed himself.
The band is back together, in a fashion, albeit with a different bassist. But none of them expects to make a living at DM music. At this point it is all for fun.
That would be Brian Forsythe from KIX, a hair band that didn’t get as huge as, say, Motley Crue or Ratt, but were on a major label and did get a decent amount of airplay on MTV and radio. He had a terrible drug habit which he kicked some years ago and is no longer painting billboards. He’s plays full time in an almost-ran LA band called Rhino Bucket and does all the semi-annual KIX shows on the East Coast.
It’s amazing to me how many of the original Sunset Strip hard rock guys are still around and playing one way or another, even bands who didn’t get signed, like Black Cherry. Despite all the partying, a lot of them had a certain kind of work ethic that never let them give up. When they realized they weren’t going to “make it” or they quit drawing thousands of fans, they either translated that ethic to another career or kept plugging away in the clubs, producing and putting out albums either on their own or with teeny specialty labels. I’m sure there are some genuine riches-to-rags stories there, but I’m hard pressed to think of any off the top of my head. Even the aforementioned KIX guy, the poster child for a so-called dead music genre, is doing fine these days.
Has anyone mentioned Meat Puppets here yet? That probably counts.
The BeeGees may have fallen into obscurity in the US, but there was a trend in the UK during the late nineties for pop acts to cover them (they were all over TV then, too). Take That’s last big hit, before they broke up, IIRC, was a BeeGees cover.
I honestly don’t know how much obscurity the BeeGees have fallen into - I don’t know if they’d still fill the biggest stadiums, but I think they’d sell out pretty much any other venue they’d perform in. I still hear their songs on the radio all the time (if I listen to the radio, which I don’t).
I hear “I was Made for Dancing” on the radio when the local classic radio station (which now considers 80s music qualifies as “oldies”) does 70s nights. As for Leif Garrett, he’s currently on the panel of TruTv’s “World’s Dumbest…”, being often paired in commentary with Danny Bonaduce.
Well more a case of paid for hype and 15 mins of fame than actual fortune but the case of
Jobriath comes to mind.
Heavily marketed as the Next Big Thing supposedly on a par with Bowie, but the buying public, and later his record Co , thought otherwise.
This is a fascinating video however - Check out the costume
They just played a small bar here for like $10 a ticket. Were they ever that big?
I don’t know how much “rags” they are, but in 1965 you were likely to hear a teenybopper say they love Herman’s Hermits as you were to find a Beatles fan.
A few years earlier the Kingston Trio sold a lot of albums.
The Zombies.
This thread was bumped by a spammer, who has been dealt with.
When it comes to no respect can anyone say Rickroll?
He’s gone pretty far it seems to me.
Lots of bands have hits, then enter a long, slow decline into obscurity, but continue playing gigs. What else are they supposed to do? They’re musicians, they play music. As long as enough people show up to make it worth their while, they’ll do so.
Just last week, I saw The Beat. In the US, they’re known as The English Beat, and lead by Dave Wakeling. Ranking Roger, the other leader from the original band has his own version of The Beat and plays in the UK.
They put on a hell of a show for 300 or so people at $25 a ticket. And why not? It’s not as if they’re going to go back to school to learn a trade.
Before I read the rest of the thread, how about Zager & Evans, of “In The Year 2525” fame?
Or Milli Vanilli, who didn’t sing a note on their millions-selling album, and when the fraud was revealed, the album immediately and permanently went out of print? They did release an album they sang on, but it only sold a few thousand copies.
His songs were all covers, like UB40.
There are many, many artists who were one-hit wonders in the States, or never had much commercial success here, who are or were very popular in other countries. Two bands that immediately come to mind are Saga and the Violent Femmes.
Have you seen Anvil: The Story of Anvil?
A pop crooner from the late 50s / early 60s, she had a bunch of top 40 hits including “Paper Roses.” She became the spokeswoman for Florida Orange Juice and starred in commercials touting OJ for over a decade. Maybe not the most stellar star ever, certainly not “Beatles” level popularity, but still a very famous name for a long while.
Then she started her anti-gay hate crusade. In some ways, that was the pinnacle of her career as a public “entertainer.” But the fallout over that pretty drastic. In the decades since her crusade, she has tried innumerable times to restart her singing career, but not even the religious right are interested in her any more. She has been in bankruptcy court numerous times, and her lasting legacy to the world will be her bigotry.
The most ironic thing is that before she began speaking out against homosexuality, she was regarded as a minor gay icon. I have a good friend who is a ‘mature’ gay gentleman who actually still has some of her .45’s. From his account, she was certainly not in the same league as Judy. Liza, or Barbra, but did have a decent gay following. Had she held onto that fanbase, it may have carried her career a while longer than it lasted. (The gays are quite loyal to their divas, unlike the Christians apparently.)
That movie is great!