# Potential Pop Music Career Suicide **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269 "2002-03-21T02:00:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/21 "2002-03-22T03:32:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chrome Spot \* > \*\*What pop/rock musicians made surprising career decisions, and how did it work out for them? > \*\* Well, the **Bee Gees** were once a very fine progressive rock group (ca. 1969-1970). Then, in the mid-1970’s, they discovered _disco_ :rolleyes:. The rest is history. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/22 "2002-03-22T05:02:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph \* > \*\*Let’s not forget Pat Boone’s Heavy Metal album of a few years back. I mean, really, what was he thinking? His longtime fans aren’t going to buy it because it’s that Satanic Heavy Metal, and Metal fans aren’t going to buy it because it’s Pat Boone, for crying out loud. \*\* Yeah, but I bet a lot of people bought it for the same reason that they buy recordings of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, because its so bad that its funny. Here’s two “suicides” that I can think of: Phil Collins leaving Genesis, and Roger Waters leaving Pink Floyd. (Admittedly, Waters has managed to maintain more respectablity about his solo career than Collins, but its still nowhere near what it was when he was with Floyd.) ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/23 "2002-03-22T05:12:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph \* > \*\*Let’s not forget Pat Boone’s Heavy Metal album of a few years back. I mean, really, what was he thinking? His longtime fans aren’t going to buy it because it’s that Satanic Heavy Metal, and Metal fans aren’t going to buy it because it’s Pat Boone, for crying out loud. \*\* It wasn’t metal, it was several metal hits performed in a weird lounge/big band style. Very interesting, I considered buying it. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/24 "2002-03-22T05:14:41Z")
BTW, if anyone’s interested in hearing samples from Pat Boone’s ‘In a Metal Mood’ there are lots [here](http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1249599&cart=119176536&style=music). ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/25 "2002-03-22T10:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*Billy Joel has had some critical success with his attempt to move into classical music. _Paul McCartney_, on the other hand, tried it and failed miserably. \*\* I 've got a copy of Billy Joel’s classical CD\* Fantasies and Delusions\* I quite like it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/26 "2002-03-22T18:28:46Z")
Kenny Rogers of “Kenny Rogers and the First Edition” went from '60s pop to a very successful C&W career, I think the strong acceptance of Elvis’s gospel recordings is amazing given how he was viewed as anti-establishment in the '50s. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/27 "2002-03-22T18:38:45Z")
Can anyone say **The Juliet Letters**? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/28 "2002-03-22T20:34:21Z")
Well, I can think of several people who’ve shifted musical genres and been quite successful. 1. Alanis Morrisette started out as a teen pop chanteuse, in the Debbie Gibson/Tiffany mold. She’s changed a bit, wouldn’t you say? 2. Exile had a huge disco hit called “Kiss You All Over” when I was in high school, but they changed over to Country and Western in the 1980s, and were quite successful. 3. In the 1960s, Ed King played guitar for the Strawberry Alarm Clock, who straddled the line between bubblegum and acid rock. He later became lead guitarist for the kings of Southern hard rock: Lynyrd Skynyrd. 4. Dennis DeYoung, Styx’ former lead singer, has made an album of Broadway show tunes, and sometimes tours with road companies doing popular musicals (I saw him once playing Pontius Pilate in a touring company of “Jesus Christ Superstar”). 5. Charlie Watts plays with the Stones primarily for the money. His own interests lie mainly in big band jazz. He regularly plays (and occasionally tours) with his own big jazz band. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/29 "2002-03-23T02:54:58Z")
Beck is a genre all to himself. He gets acolades whether he raps, does human beat box, sing bluegrass, pop a ballad, drop acid rock or whip some electronica with help from Dust Brothers. And this is from one album. ---
**Author:** ![dimsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/77aa72/32.png) [@dimsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dimsie)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/30 "2002-03-23T03:10:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Can anyone say The Juliet Letters? Yeah. Or Almost Blue, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/31 "2002-03-23T03:17:07Z")
**U2** has modified its sound for more than 20 years. After _The Joshua Tree_, they continued to grow and change musically. Bono’s attitude seemed to change, too, until he became an intentional self-parody. The lads became Ironic instead of Earnest. It didn’t work for me, and seemingly didn’t work for a few others. They went on, creating great music, but the fan base shrunk. Thankfully, they’re back now, without too much Irony. I love their new album. They’re back! They’re back! ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/32 "2002-03-23T03:24:44Z")
Two successful constant re-inventors… Bowie Madonna ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/33 "2002-03-23T08:13:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Why A Duck \* > \*\ ***Neil Young** is always getting accused of this. Think _Trans_ or _Everbody’s Rockin’_. But he always bounces back. \*\* Neil Young once got sued by his own record label (Geffen, I believe) back in the 80s for “not sounding like Neil Young”… I’m not sure whether the company won or lost that one, though. I just remember reading it in a book my brother had about Neil Young. (who’s one of his favorite artists) [This site](http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=229&cf=229) provides a lot of information, including the cite for the lawsuit information, in case anyone’s interested. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/34 "2002-03-23T21:52:16Z")
Bruce Springsteen’s sparse, depressing, recorded-at-home-on-a-four-track “Nebraska” from 1982. At the time there was nothing like it, especially from a huge star like Bruce. Even if you can’t stand America’s Troubadour, give this one a listen…it’s very good and very real. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/35 "2002-03-24T06:33:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\* > Here’s two “suicides” that I can think of: Phil Collins leaving Genesis, and Roger Waters leaving Pink Floyd. (Admittedly, Waters has managed to maintain more respectablity about his solo career than Collins, but its still nowhere near what it was when he was with Floyd.) \*\* Perhaps your definition of “Career suicide” differs from mine, but Phil Collins’s solo career has been wildly successful, commercially speaking. He’s had one hit album after another and many hit songs. Jeez, the guy won an Oscar. Just what was suicidal about his solo career? (And anyway, he never really changed his musical style.) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/36 "2002-03-24T07:52:18Z")
Did anybody else click on this thread thinking it would be all about Mariah Carey? ---
**Author:** ![riserius1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@riserius1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/riserius1)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/37 "2002-03-24T08:38:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\* > Perhaps your definition of “Career suicide” differs from mine, but Phil Collins’s solo career has been wildly successful, commercially speaking. He’s had one hit album after another and many hit songs. Jeez, the guy won an Oscar. Just what was suicidal about his solo career? > > (And anyway, he never really changed his musical style.) \*\* yes, his solo career has been mostly successful, but it has, up til recently, been concurrent with his membership in Genesis. He actually gave his notice to Genesis a few years back, and since then his solo career has been a shadow of its former self in terms of sales. Whether his flagging sales are a result of his leaving Genesis is debatable, as his solo stuff always outdid his group stuff anyway. But timewise the two events remain linked. Chris W ---
**Author:** ![darksight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@darksight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darksight)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/38 "2002-03-24T08:48:10Z")
Tom Waits is the most dramatic change of all. He first albums were great but they only give small hints of what type of songwriter and performer he would become. It almost like listening to two different people. ‘Heart of Saturday night’ to ‘Franks Wild years’ Then to ‘Bone Machine’ Now ‘Mule Variations’ How’d he do that? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/39 "2002-03-24T08:48:41Z")
Blur. Their first album was in the (thankfully) short-lived “baggy” genre, danceable pop with lots of drugs references and floppy hairdos. Teenage girls loved them. For the second album they decided they wanted to be the Kinks and they lost a huge number of their fans, though critics liked them a lot better. They kept that sound but made it a bit more modern and radio-friendly for a few albums and won the teenagers over again, then they started listening to American post-punk and made an album that sounded like Pavement and lost a lot of their fans _again_. There’s a new one due out within the next year, and it’s anyone’s guess what it will sound like. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269/40 "2002-03-24T15:27:13Z")
I think Danny Elfman has changed a bit since his days with Oingo Boingo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-pop-music-career-suicide/99269.md?page=3)