# What is the biggest rock band with no living, original members? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744 "2026-02-17T14:24:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/41 "2026-02-18T01:21:48Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I’ve long wondered when a famous _band_ like The Rolling Stones would become a _brand_ with one or more touring acts of non-members. Meat Loaf’s band, the Neverland Express, has sort of become this after Meat’s death - none of the musicians who played on _Bat out of Hell_ are still in the group, but it still tours performing Meat Loaf’s music. Aside from Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, though, the entire rest of the Bat Out of Hell lineup (Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Max Weinberg, Roy Bittan, Edgar Winter, and Ellen Foley) are still alive, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/42 "2026-02-18T01:41:21Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > > The last surviving member of the Jimmy Hendrix > > Jimi. No, he’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/43 "2026-02-18T02:05:50Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > Pretty sure all the original members of The Mothers of Invention are dead. I think Art Tripp is still with us. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/44 "2026-02-18T02:27:34Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > A good bar bet is “Who are the last two surviving original members of the Beatles?” Which two out of three depends on how you define “original” since Ringo, Paul, and Pete Best are still with us. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/45 "2026-02-18T02:32:05Z")
Don Preston is alive and kicking, as is Ian Underwood. Of the very first Mothers, Roy Estrada is alive in prison serving what amounts to a life sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/46 "2026-02-18T02:38:49Z")
Ringo was not an original member of the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/47 "2026-02-18T02:39:28Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Roy Estrada is alive in prison serving what amounts to a life sentence. He died last year ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/48 "2026-02-18T02:46:34Z")
They all Flirted with Disaster one too many times. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/49 "2026-02-18T06:48:12Z")
With two of their original members on hiatus due to health reasons what about Kansas? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/50 "2026-02-18T07:24:05Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The current iteration of Foreigner has none of its original members. Ed Gagliardi and Ian McDonald are deceased, and the others have either long ago left the music industry, or in the cases of Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, who IMNSHO were the nucleus of Foreigner, can’t tour or perform due to health issues. I saw Foreigner on tour twice, in 2010 and 2014; Jones played for the entirety of the first concert, but only for a few songs in the second, which is apparently about when his health issues (Parkinson’s disease, as I understand it) started to affect him. He’s still listed as a band member on their web site – and I believe that he effectively has legal control of the band these days – but it’s clear that he’s no longer an active performer. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/51 "2026-02-18T08:57:09Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > If we want to limit it to still existing bands with no living original members, the easy pickings are Doo-wop groups like the Drifters or the Coasters. Folkies, too. The original Kingston Trio, for instance, are no longer with us. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/52 "2026-02-18T11:49:17Z")
> [@GoodOldKJ](#): > > With two of their original members on hiatus due to health reasons what about Kansas? Is this thread about bands still in existence but with none of their original members, or about bands, whether or not they’re still around, all of whose original members have died? I assumed the latter, since otherwise the word “living” in the thread title is redundant; and I think the majority of posters have been interpreting it that way too. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/53 "2026-02-18T13:30:36Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > > [@Wilson](#): > > > > Pretty sure all the original members of The Mothers of Invention are dead. > > I think Art Tripp is still with us. He wasn’t an original member. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/54 "2026-02-18T13:36:44Z")
Yes, you’re right. I was thinking he was a Soul Giant, but no. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/55 "2026-02-18T17:22:55Z")
I guess there isn’t a way to define this as a “rock band” but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (it looks like it’s a different name now) has been around since 1847. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/56 "2026-02-18T17:24:37Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (it looks like it’s a different name now) has been around since 1847. But, are there any remaining original members? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/57 "2026-02-18T17:37:08Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (it looks like it’s a different name now) has been around since 1847. Similarly the Glenn Miller Orchestra still performs, playing exactly the same arrangements that Miller originally scored. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/58 "2026-02-18T17:37:23Z")
There’s also the Blind Boys of Alabama, founded in… (checks Wikipedia) …1939. They’re a gospel group, but they’ve generated some interest in the rock world as well. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/59 "2026-02-18T17:55:10Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Ringo was not an original member of the Beatles. I agree. > [@hajario](#): > > He died last year I didn’t know that. So all four (or five, I forget) of the original MOT are in fact deceased. Of the early but not quite original Mothers, Bunk Gardner is also still kicking at 90+; I saw pictures of him performing with Don Preston 5-10 years ago and he looked 20 years younger than his age at the time. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744/60 "2026-02-18T23:35:33Z")
It’s now called “The Tabernacle Choir At Temple Square.” Hadn’t known they had changed their name. Members still have to be members of the Mormon Church. > **[Tabernacle Choir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle_Choir)** > > The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for over 100 years. Its weekly devotional program, Music & the Spoken Word, is one of the longest-running radio programs in the world, having aired on radio every week since July 15, 1929, and on television every week since October 1949. > The choir was founded on August... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-rock-band-with-no-living-original-members/1027744.md?page=4)