Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King was originally a member of the Strawberry Alarm Clock, who had that psychedelic bubble gum hit “Incense and Peppermints” back in the Sixties.
Having grown up with his 80’s hits, I was very surprised when I learned that Phil Collins was the singer and drummer of Genesis.
Actually, the first album with Anselmo (the band’s fourth) was still in hair mode. It’s called Power Metal. Scour the swap meets, search the bit torrents, do whatever you have to do to get a copy of it. Even by eighties cheese-metal standards it’s just laughable. A must.
Before “joining” Spinal Tap under the alias “David St. Hubbins,” actor Michael McKean was briefly a member of the Left Banke, the Sixties pop band that performed “Walk Away, Renee.”
Seriously, McKean has said his brief tenure with the Left Banke inspired several bits in “This Is Spinal Tap,” as he’d gotten to see first hand what it’s like to be part of a once-popular band that is just starting to figure out, “It’s over.”
Did you know that Peter Gabriel was the singer before Collins? 
David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) is still the lead singer for the New York Dolls.
I guess they reunited, but come on, they can’t be the New York Dolls without Johnny Thunders and Arthur Kane.
Before Black Sabbath took off, Jethro Tull was one of England’s probable “Next Big Things”. Tony Iommi actally abandoned his Sabbath dreams, in hopes of hitching his wagon on the Tull Train. It didn’t last, thankfully, but video evidence has been preserved in the form of “The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus” Cool video, and there’s Tony Iommi playing with Tull!
On a side note, The Who STEAL that show, in my opinion.
The number of big names who started with John Mayall is long and well documented, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandell, Jon Mark, Johnny Almond, Aynsley Dunbar, Larry Taylor, Andy Fraser, Don “Sugarcane” Harris,* and quite a few others. He and Frank Zappa compete in the contest for most musicians who left the band to do bigger things.
With Zappa, there should also be a mention of Alice Stuart – a superb blues musician who not only was in the Mothers, but was sleeping with Zappa.
*Who started out in a fifties singing groups “Don and Dewey” before having a second career on fiddle.
Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were the main vocalists in the superb sixties pop act the Turtles. After its breakup, they joined Frank Zappa’s band in the early 70’s (check out the “Filmore East 1971” album) and then released several albums of satirical pop as Flo and Eddie.
Although they never were formal members, studio musicians often provide the most oddball linkups. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zep fame were the top British studio musicians of the 60s, and as such recorded Herman’s Hermits studio work (the Hermits only played their instruments live). Rick Wakeman, pre-Yes, played with everyone from David Bowie (“Hunky Dory”), Black Sabbath (!-“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”), and Lou Reed’s (!!!) first solo album.
Nitpick: the Lou Reed and Black Sabbath sessions were actually recorded during Wakeman’s (first) stint with Yes. Yes guitarist Steve Howe also plays on the Lou Reed album.
I was surprised a few years ago to find out that Danny Elfman, who wrote so many Tim Burton movie scores as well as the “Simpsons” theme, was the singer/frontman for Oingo Boingo. Makes sense when you consider the styles, though.
Also, I recently learned that Randy Jackson, the American Idol judge, has apparently played bass for pretty much every single musical act ever. Just listing the ones I’ve heard of, he’s played for Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, Journey, Keith Richards, Aretha Franklin, the DiVinyls (he played bass on “I Touch Myself”), Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, 'NSync, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Fergie, Stryper, Whitesnake, Madonna, Roger Waters, George Michael, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown(!), Blue Oyster Cult, Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, Richard Marx, Bon Jovi, Michael Bolton, Bob Dylan, and the Charlie Daniels Band. Some resume!
Yep! I had to go to YouTube to listen to it again. Now it’s obvious that it’s a loop, but at the time, I thought someone actually coughed all those coughs. I bought that album for my older brother for Christmas. He had the first 3 and that’s how I got into them…I’ll never forget hearing the first Black Sabbath album in his dark purple-painted room, lights out and blacklights making his psychedelic posters glow. I wasn’t even high, too young, but it was a revelation that there was something out there other than Top 40. I was Top 40 slut, knew all the charts, all that. Black Sabbath, they were my entry into Different Music.
Anyway, I bought the album for him for Christmas and after he unwrapped it he couldn’t wait to get it on the living room turntable, cranked the volume up, and when the album started with COUGHCOUGHCOUGHCOUGHCOUGHCOUGHCOUGH** the look on my parents faces was priceless. Good times.
Oh fuck, now I’m listening to “Embryo & Children of the Grave” on YouTube. Great stuff man!
:eek:
ACK! Get off my lawn!
:: thud ::
I only recently discovered that the lead singer for Death Cab for Cutie is also the guy from the Postal Service. I’m not really a fan of either of these bands (although I know who both of them are), though, so I guess it shouldn’t have been a huge shock to me.
Chevy Chase was the original drummer for Steely Dan (while they were still in school, according to Chase the other guys quickly realized he sucked and replaced him).
Steve Stephens of the fantastic band BLS (Black Light Syndrome with Tony Levin and Terry Bozzio) used to be the guitar player for Billy Idol.
I saw Adrian Belew a couple of years ago and the other 2 guys in the band used to play for Christopher Cross.
Unclviny
Not to mention Cat Stevens. The piano trills on “Morning has Broken” are signature Wakeman.
Seriously. I remember seeing the credits for the Simpsons 20 years ago, and saying, “Waitaminit! That’s the guy from Oingo Boingo!”
sigh.
Joe
Well, I found a copy but I’m not drunk enough to listen to it yet. And yeah, it does seem to be quite a chunk of fromage.