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Some musicians are simply too talented to be contained by just one band. Join us as we count down our picks for the most versatile musicians who found massive success across multiple legendary groups! Our list features icons like Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, and more! Which musician do you think had the most impressive multi-band career? Let us know in the comments!
Transcript
00:00Up on Balancholy Hill, there's a plastic tree. Are you here with me?
00:09Welcome to WatchMojo. And today, we're looking at 10 musicians who managed to carve out big success for themselves with
00:15more than one influential band.
00:18There goes my hero. Watch him as he goes.
00:25Maynard James Keenan.
00:33One of the most impressive things about Maynard James Keenan's work over the years is how he maintains a distinct
00:38identity for each of his musical projects.
00:41He first rose to prominence as the singer and lyricist of Tool, whose progressive metal sound, philosophical themes, and ambitious
00:47albums made them legends of the 1990s.
00:50From there, Keenan founded a perfect circle, exploring a more melodic alternative rock direction.
01:08He later formed Pucifer, a genre-blending project that incorporates rock and electronic music.
01:14Sure, his voice and lyrics remain a constant, but the sheer versatility on display from Keenan is staggering.
01:19You speak like someone who has never been smacked in the f***ing mouth.
01:27Mike Patton.
01:28You want it all, but you don't have it.
01:35One band was never going to be enough for a musician of Mike Patton's abilities.
01:40He burst onto the scene as the frontman of Faith No More, the trailblazing alternative metal act that served as
01:46the perfect vessel for his remarkable vocal talents.
01:49He then dived deeper into experimentation with Mr. Bungle and their constant genre-hopping.
02:04He also went on to form Phantomas, Tomahawk, and Peeping Tom, each showcasing different aspects of his musical interests and
02:11range.
02:12Faith No More remained the most commercially successful, but each band adds something unique to the Mike Patton story.
02:18Watch the range, spare change, good is my name.
02:33Tom Morello.
02:37Fuck up.
02:39Get your f***, get your name.
02:40Get your losers on the wall playing tic-tac-toe.
02:43When Rage Against the Machine broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, they represented a very different type of band.
02:50The anger and politically charged lyricism of frontman Zach De La Rocha paired perfectly with the metal-infused riffs of
02:56Tom Morello.
02:57It was a fresh and exciting sound, but for Morello, it was only the beginning.
03:01He would later branch off with his Rage bandmates to form Audioslave with Chris Cornell on vocals, resulting in multi
03:07-platinum-selling albums and enduring rock radio staples.
03:19Morello has also performed with Prophets of Rage, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and numerous solo projects, cementing
03:26his reputation as one of modern rock's most distinctive axemen.
03:30Living on the 110, there's no end to the property stopping me.
03:36Damon Albarn.
03:37Girls like boys, who like boys, big girls, and two boys, like their girls, and two girls, like their boys.
03:45Few artists of the last three decades have pulled off the type of career pivot that Blur frontman Damon Albarn
03:50managed.
03:51Despite his band's huge success in the UK, they were largely unable to break into the US market.
03:56In a truly unexpected twist, Albarn would not achieve true international success until he embarked on a very bizarre side
04:04project in the early 2000s, forming the animated band, Gorillaz.
04:18The band were a far cry from the Britpop that Albarn made his name with, mixing electronic music, funk, hip
04:25-hop, and more to create an infectious sound.
04:27Several of their albums are now regarded as classics, making Albarn the owner of one of music's most successful second
04:34chapters.
04:35Call in the submarines, round the world with gold.
04:42Does anybody know love?
04:45Ronnie James Dio.
04:47Lonnie, you're rockin' roll!
04:50Lonnie, you're rockin' roll!
04:53Filling the shoes of the great Ozzy Osbourne is no easy feat.
04:56Yet, when the legendary frontman was fired from Black Sabbath due to his substance abuse issues,
05:01the metal band somehow found an incredible solution.
05:03Ronnie James Dio had already made his name with Rainbow, and his soaring vocals and fantastical lyricism ended up bringing
05:10new life to the group.
05:18The subsequent album, Heaven and Hell, was a success, although he left shortly after their second LP together, The Mob
05:25Rules.
05:25His stint with Sabbath then gave way to the formation of his own band, Dio, who have a strong following
05:31to this day.
05:31Holy Diver, you've been out too long in the midnight sea, almost be coming of me.
05:40Chris Cornell.
05:42And you stare at me, Jesus Christ, for...
05:48The powerful vocals of the late, great Chris Cornell made him one of the most memorable vocalists of the 1990s
05:54and beyond.
05:55He first gained acclaim as the frontman of Soundgarden, whose blend of heavy metal and grunge helped define Seattle's music
06:00explosion at the end of the 80s.
06:10After Soundgarden initially disbanded, Cornell became the lead singer of Audio Slave, joining former members of Rage Against the Machine
06:16to carve out even more commercial and critical success.
06:19Cornell is the type of singer who was always going to branch out into a range of different genres, and
06:25it's pretty clear that he was a major success in this regard.
06:28I'm so hungry, I'm so hungry, I'm so hungry, Dave Mustaine.
06:35Feels like me, we're constantly, and comes in for our lives.
06:40Although he was only on board with Metallica for their earliest years, the impact that Dave Mustaine had on the
06:45group's direction was significant, or at least that's what he's been telling the world for 40 years.
06:50The early demos that featured Mustaine on lead guitar did indeed showcase all of the energy and grit that would
06:55eventually make it onto the band's debut LP.
06:58However, Mustaine would be dismissed from the band due to substance abuse problems and personal conflicts.
07:03He would go on to form Megadeth shortly after, carving out a truly massive legacy of his own.
07:08The thing that bothered me the most was I had all my music, and I left it behind, and I
07:12said, don't use my music, and of course they did.
07:15Oh, really?
07:15Yeah, they used it on the first record, on the second record, there's parts of my music on a song
07:20on the third.
07:20Though it took years for him to make peace with Metallica and what happened, the fact that he did so
07:25well for himself was a remarkable feat.
07:27These are the last words I'll ever speak to be your second name.
07:36Paul McCartney.
07:48You might have heard of Paul McCartney's first band, The Beatles, the sensational Liverpool Quartet, who redefined pop, rock, and
07:55experimental music in the 1970s.
07:571960s. All four members achieved success to varying degrees when the group broke up in 1970,
08:03but it was McCartney who dove headfirst into another long-term band. Wings were formed
08:08alongside his wife Linda McCartney and guitarist Denny Lane, going on to become one of the biggest
08:12bands of the 1970s. McCartney's solo career would also produce some of the highest-selling
08:26hits of the century, proving that he was more than capable of standing on his own two feet.
08:40Dave Grohl
08:48Given that he was known primarily as the drummer sitting behind Kurt Cobain in Nirvana,
08:53watching Dave Grohl become a major success in his later years has been a real treat.
08:57Following Kurt Cobain's tragic death, Grohl reinvented himself by founding the Foo Fighters,
09:01recording their debut album almost entirely by himself.
09:11Little did he know that upon recruiting a full band to join him, they would go on to become
09:15one of the defining rock bands of the next 20 years. To this day, Grohl has arguably become
09:20something of a spokesman for the genre of rock and roll, and it's clear that he has the resume
09:24to back it up.
09:33Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Ronnie Wood, legendary for
09:39his work with the Rolling Stones and the Faces. Jack White started with the White Stripes before
09:52branching out several times.
10:03Corey Taylor
10:04Slipknot and Stone Sour
10:06Both made him an icon.
10:17Steve Winwood
10:18Sustained a solo career alongside the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith.
10:33Matt Cameron
10:35Veteran Drummer for Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Pearl Jam.
10:50Eric Clapton
10:59Beyond his prowess on the guitar, perhaps the most impressive thing about Eric Clapton
11:03is how he managed to carve out a run of success with several bands while having an equally fruitful
11:08solo career. The Yardbirds, John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek
11:14and the Dominoes all had Clapton in their lineup and all achieved some degree of critical or commercial
11:20success.
11:33Over the years, Clapton has showcased his versatility and innate ability to find his way onto the charts.
11:39People talk about his all-timer status as a guitarist, but he also deserves credit for his
11:44immense longevity.
11:51But who do you think is the most versatile musician of them all? Let us know in the comments below.
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