Well-known groups that spawned more than one popular solo artist

Cafe Society
41

[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Were most of these successful solo artists? I know Johnny Marr had an album recently, but damned if I can name a song off it. Likewise, I know Can, Beat Happening, and Tangerine Dream, but can’t think of any of their members having a successful solo career in the context of the OP.

[/QUOTE]

Look at their individual Allmusic.com pages sometime - TD’s Klaus Schulze has released something like 80 solo albums, which fits my definition of “successful,” while Can’s Holger Czukay has done a ton of solo albums and film scores. Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening is now on his third solo album, not counting his Dub narcotic soundsystem stuff.

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[QUOTE=control-z]
The Beatles: John, Paul, and to some extent George
[/QUOTE]

Actually, Ringo had more #1 hits than any of them.

[QUOTE=control-z]
The Eagles: Don Henley, Joe Walsh
[/QUOTE]

… Timothy B. Scmitt and Randy Meisner both had solo hits, and Glen Frey was big for a while in the '80s.

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[QUOTE=VCO3]
Look at their individual Allmusic.com pages sometime - TD’s Klaus Schulze has released something like 80 solo albums, which fits my definition of “successful,” while Can’s Holger Czukay has done a ton of solo albums and film scores. Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening is now on his third solo album, not counting his Dub narcotic soundsystem stuff.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but has anyone heard of Calvin Johnson’s albums? And what has Brett Lunsford done, because I can’t find anything. Even if these artists all qualify as “successful” (and I don’t feel releasing a bunch of solo albums automatically qualifies), the OP is asking for bands with two successful solo artists.

44

Frank Zappa and the Mothers:
Jean-Luc Ponty
Lowell George
George Duke
Adrian Belew
Steve Vai
Mike Keneally

and others I’m not remembering at the moment… FZ was like Miles Davis in the respect anyway…

45

[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux]
Actually, Ringo had more #1 hits than any of them.
[/QUOTE]

Not so. I think there was a brief window of time in 1974 when Paul, Ringo, and George were tied at two #1 singles each: “Uncle Albert” and “My Love”; “My Sweet Lord” and “Give Me Love”; and “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen.” Paul broke the tie that same year with “Band on the Run” and went on to have numerous other #1 hits (solo, with Wings, or in duets). George had one further #1 later in life (“Got My Mind Set On You”), but Ringo never reached the top spot again. (John had only one #1 hit in his lifetime, but he tied Ringo’s pair posthumously.)

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Clannad - Enya

47

I have a feeling this is going to hinge on how you define “successful.”

The E Street Band has spawned Patti Scialfa, Clarence Clemons, Steve Van Zandt and Max Weinberg.

48

All the really good answers I can think of have been taken, so here are some not-so-good ones:

Freddy Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor each released more than one solo album, but I don’t know how successful they were; they’re far better known as members of Queen than as solo artists.

Several of the Replacements had solo careers (most notably Paul Westerberg, but personally I’m rather fond of Chris Mars’s solo albums).

Split Enz led to the careers (separately and together) of the Finn brothers, Tim and Neil.

49

Well, the New Edition spawned both Bobby Brown (a very successful solo act for a while) and Bell Biv DeVoe, who were very popular as a trio for a few years.

50

Diana Ross and Mary Wilson both had solo gigs after The Supremes, as did Jody Watley and Howard Hewitt after Shalamar.

Diana and Jody, however, fared a little better as far as popularity . . .

51

I’d add NWA. Nobody in the group was famous, but ultimately the band spawned Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. DJ Yella and MC Ren… well, I know they tried to do some stuff, but it never blew up. Dre and Cube, though, definitely because bona fide solo stars.

The Jackson 5 gave us Michael and Jermaine.

If I warp the OP a little bit to include groups who had members that formed other groups, and if we count artists that may be unknown now, but for a moment were quite popular, and if we define “popular” outside of the US context I would also include:

The (English) Beat. Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger formed General Public (Tenderness, I’ll Take You There, She’s Having A Baby) and Andy Cox and David Steele added Roland Gift, making the Fine Young Cannibals.

Blur spawned Gorillaz and Graham Coxon.

The Wailers launched the careers of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. (Granted, Marley stayed with the Wailers, but they were initially just the Wailers.)

Rockpile featured Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds.

The Housemartins featured Paul Heaton (who formed The Beautiful South) and Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim).

Take That - Robbie Williams, and the others had flashes of fame in the UK.

Wham! - George Michael, and for a spot, Pepsi & Shirley were famous.

52

[QUOTE=auntie em]
Diana Ross and Mary Wilson both had solo gigs after The Supremes, as did Jody Watley and Howard Hewitt after Shalamar.

Diana and Jody, however, fared a little better as far as popularity . . .
[/QUOTE]

I was going to mention Shalamar! But I don’t know if anyone outside of old-school R&B knows who Howard Hewitt is.

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The Runaways produced Lita Ford and Joan Jett.

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[QUOTE=Green Bean]
The Runaways produced Lita Ford and Joan Jett.
[/QUOTE]

Cherie Curry and Sandy West also became rather famous, in their way…

55

The Who:

Pete Townshend has an impressive body of solo and collaborative work.

Roger Daltrey has put out some decent stuff. “McVicar” got to #22 in the US charts. He’s built up quite a resume as a character actor, as well (he was on CSI last week).

John Entwistle was lucky to get two songs on any given Who album, but he put out a string of solo records that showcased his dark humour. He loved playing live, and had a touring band that really kicked ass (they were the rhythym section for the “Walk Down Abbey Road” Tour). He also toured as a member of Ringo’s All Starr Band.

Now, Moonie is a different story…

56

Did Marie ever perform with The Osmonds? Becuase both Donny and Marie had solo careers.

And from The Clash, Mick Jones had success with Big Audio Dynamite (“The Globe”), while Joe Strummer had an alternative hit as a solo artist (“Gangsterville”) and another while singing lead for The Pogues (“Tuesday Morning”).

Not raging success, but…

57

**Simon and Garfunkle ** both had successful solo careers once they broke up.

The Graham Bond Organization spawned Jack Bruce (before John Mayall), Ginger Baker (before Cream), John McLaughlin, and Bond.

58

[QUOTE=control-z]

The Eagles: Don Henley, Joe Walsh
Any others?
[/QUOTE]

I might take issue with Joe Walsh. He was successful as a solo artist before he joined the Eagles. His career undoubtedly was enhanced by his membership in the group, but it wasn’t spawned by him being a member, in contrast with Don Henley or Glenn Frey.

All five members of Duran Duran were in successful side projects: John Taylor and Andy Taylor formed the Power Station, along with Robert Palmer and Chic’s Tony Thompson. And Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor formed the group Arcadia.

59

Also, I don’t know about their relative popularity, but Barry Goudreau and Brad Delp of Boston collaborated on Goudreau’s eponymous album as well as in the group Return To Zero (RTZ).

60

[QUOTE=Zabali_Clawbane]
Clannad - Enya
[/QUOTE]
People do seem to be having trouble with the “more than one” part of the OP …

The Byrds spawned David Crosby and Roger McGuinn

The Hollies produced Graham Nash and Alan Clarke

the Zombies had Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent

Cold Chisel included Don Walker, Jimmy Barnes and Ian Moss