10 Rockstars Who Left Bands for Successful Solo Careers

Some musicians perform better in a band and some leave their band and go on to have even bigger success as a solo musician. 

Here, we take a look at 10 such rockstars whose solo career eclipsed their band acts. 

1. Iggy Pop

Designated the "Godfather of Punk", Iggy Pop (born 21 April 1947) was the vocalist and lyricist of influential proto-punk band The Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited multiple times since. 

Pop began his music career as a drummer in various high school bands in Ann Arbor, Michigan, including The Iguanas. His later stage name, "Iggy," is derived from the Iguanas.

In 1967/68, Pop formed The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges with guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. After releasing two albums—The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970)—the group disbanded briefly and reformed with a different lineup to release Raw Power (1973) before breaking up again in 1974.

In 1977, Pop began a volatile yet ultimately successful solo career, beginning with the David Bowie-produced albums The Idiot (18 March 1977) and Lust for Life (29 August 1977). The Idiot marked a departure from the guitar-based proto-punk of his former band the Stooges and has been compared with Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" of albums in its electronic sounds and introspective atmosphere. The Idiot received critical acclaim upon its release and is regarded by many as one of Pop's best works. Lust for Life achieved critical acclaim and became Pop's most commercially successful album to date; it also remains his only gold-certified release in the United Kingdom.

Including these two, Pop released a total of 18 solo albums.

2. Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio (10 July 1942 – 16 May 2010) was an American heavy metal singer-songwriter and composer. He is known for popularizing the sign of the horns in heavy metal. 

Dio was associated with numerous heavy metal bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell.

His musical career began in 1957, when several Cortland, New York musicians formed the band, "The Vegas Kings". In 1967, Dio founded Elf with keyboardist Doug Thaler, drummer Gary Driscoll, and guitarists Nick Pantas and David Feinstein (Dio's cousin). Elf disbanded in 1975 after recording three albums.

Dio then joined Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in the mid-1970s. Rainbow recorded two studio albums with Dio—Rising (1976) and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)—before he left to join Black Sabbath in 1979, replacing the fired Ozzy Osbourne.

In 1982, Dio left Sabbath and formed Dio with drummer Vinny Appice. Vivian Campbell played guitar and Jimmy Bain was on bass; the latter of whom Dio had known since the old Rainbow days. Their debut album, Holy Diver (1983) included the hit singles "Rainbow in the Dark" and "Holy Diver", the album's title track. Later, the band added keyboardist Claude Schnell and recorded two more full-length studio albums, The Last in Line (1984) and Sacred Heart (1985).

Dio's solo project went on to become a great success both commercially and culturally.

Dio was inducted into the Cortland City Hall of Fame in 2004 and has a street named after him there called Dio Way. Classic Rock Magazine awarded Dio with the "Metal Guru Award" at their yearly "Roll of Honour" awards ceremony in 2006. On January 17, 2007, Dio was inducted into Guitar Center's Rock Walk of Fame in Hollywood. On January 18, 2017, he was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History.

3. Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton (born 30 March 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream.

In October 1963, Clapton joined the Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock and roll band, and stayed with them until March 1965. In March 1965, Clapton and the Yardbirds had their first major hit, "For Your Love", written by songwriter Graham Gouldman.

In April 1965, he joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. He left the Bluesbreakers in July 1966 and joined Cream after an invitation from the drummer Ginger Baker. During his time with Cream, Clapton began to develop as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, though Jack Bruce took most of the lead vocals and wrote the majority of the material with lyricist Pete Brown.

Clapton's next group, Blind Faith, formed in 1969, was composed of Cream drummer Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood of Traffic, and Ric Grech of Family, and yielded one LP and one arena-circuit tour.

After leaving Blind Faith, Clapton assembled a band with Bobby Whitlock as keyboardist and vocalist, Carl Radle as the bassist, and drummer Jim Gordon, with Clapton playing guitar. The band was originally called Eric Clapton and Friends and ultimately renamed as Derek and the Dominos. The band released only one studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), produced by Tom Dowd, which also featured extensive contributions on lead and slide guitar from Duane Allman. A double album, Layla did not immediately enjoy strong sales or receive widespread radio airplay, but went on to earn critical acclaim. Although released in 1970, it was not until March 1972 that the album's single "Layla" made the top ten in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album is often considered to be the defining achievement of Clapton's career.

In the early 1970s, Clapton left Derek and the Dominos and went solo, releasing his debut solo album in 1970, titled Eric Clapton. the album charted at number 17 in the US charts and at number 14 on the British charts. 

Four years later he released his second album 461 Ocean Boulevard, which received two gold certifications in the US and UK and peaked at number 1 in the US charts.

Between 1970 and 2018, Clapton released around 23 solo albums including 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974), No Reason to Cry (1976), Money and Cigarettes (1983), Me and Mr. Johnson (2004), and Happy Xmas (2018).

4. David Lee Roth

David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954), is an American rock vocalist and songwriter, best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, and as the lead singer of hard rock band Van Halen across three stints from 1974 to 1985 and in 1996 and again from 2006 onwards.

Roth, in his late teens, was singing solo, as well as with a group called the Red Ball Jets. In 1972, he joined the Los Angeles-based group Mammoth (Alex Van Halen on drums and Eddie Van Halen singing and on lead guitar). In 1974, they changed their name from Mammoth to Van Halen.

In early 1985, while still a member of Van Halen, Roth released Crazy from the Heat, a popular solo EP of off-beat standards. Singles for "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" succeeded largely due to innovative music videos, which featured ridiculous characters created by Roth and his Creative Chief Director, Pete Angelus, who directed Van Halen's Roth-era videos.

In late 1985, Roth west solo, forming a band comprising guitarist Steve Vai(previously of Frank Zappa's band), bassist Billy Sheehan (previously of Talas), and drummer Gregg Bissonette (previously of Maynard Ferguson's big band). Roth released his debut solo LP, Eat 'Em and Smile in July 1986. The album saw his return to hard rock music but also incorporated some of his more eclectic musical tastes, including jazz and blues. The album met with widespread commercial and critical success, charting at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200, and selling over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. After this, he released six more solo albums: Sonrisa Salvaje (1986), Skyscraper (1988), A Little Ain't Enough (1991), Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994), DLR Band (1998), and Diamond Dave (2003).

5. Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne, aka the "Prince of Darkness" (born 3 December 1948) is an English heavy metal singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has sold more albums solo than with Black Sabbath and continued to be relevant throughout the '80s, '90s, '00s, and even today.

In 1968, Osbourne, as the vocalist, formed Black Sabbath in Birmingham with guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, and bassist Geezer Butler. The group is often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality(1971). 

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue a solo project he called Blizzard of Ozz, a title which had been suggested by his father. Three members of the band Necromandus, who had supported Sabbath in Birmingham when they were called Earth, backed Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band.

In 1979, Osbourne was fired (and replaced by Ronnie James Dio) from Black Sabbath due to alcohol and drug problems, but went on to have a successful solo career, releasing 12 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. He has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. 

His biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon Osbourne and assisted by his son Jack Osbourne. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, helping many up-and-coming groups who were featured there to broad exposure and commercial success. 

Over the years, Osbourne recorded 12 studio solo albums including Blizzard of Ozz(1980), Diary of a Madman (1981), Bark at the Moon (1983), The Ultimate Sin(1986), No More Tears (1991), Ozzmosis (1995), Black Rain (2007), and Ordinary Man (2020).

6. Morrissey

Morrissey (born 22 May 1959) is a British singer, songwriter, and author. He first gained recognition as the frontman of the rock band The Smiths, which was active from 1982 to 1987. Since then, he has pursued a commercially successful solo career.

In 1982, he formed The Smiths with Johnny Marr. In February 1984, they released their debut album The Smiths, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. After their fourth and final album Strangeways Here We Come (September 1987), the band broke up. The breakdown in the relationship has been partly attributed to Morrissey's annoyance with Marr's work with other artists and to Marr's growing frustration with Morrissey's musical inflexibility.

Several months before the Smiths dissolved, Morrissey had enlisted Stephen Street as his personal producer and new songwriting partner, with whom he could begin his solo career. By September 1987, he had begun work on his first solo album, Viva Hate, at Wool Hall Studios near Bath; it was recorded with the musicians Vini Reilly and Andrew Paresi. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on 16 November 1993.

In February 1988, EMI released the first single from this album, "Suedehead", which reached number 5 on the British singles chart, a higher position than any Smiths' single had achieved. Morrissey's first solo performance took place at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall in December 1988.

In his successful solo career, Morrissey released 13 albums, with the most recent one being I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, released on 20 March 2020.

7. Lou reed

Lou Reed (2 March 1942 – 27 October 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and poet. 

In 1964, he founded the rock band The Velvet Underground in New York City with multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise (replaced by Moe Tucker in 1965). The band was initially active between 1965 and 1973 and was briefly managed by the pop artist Andy Warhol, serving as the house band at the Factory and Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable events from 1966 to 1967. Their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (with German singer and model Nico), was released in 1967. It peaked at No. 171 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Much later, Rolling Stone listed it as the 13th greatest album of all time; Brian Eno once stated that although few people bought the album, most of them were inspired to form their own bands. Václav Havel, the last president of Czechoslovakia, credited the album, which he bought while visiting the U.S., with inspiring him to become president of Czechoslovakia.

Reed left the Velvet Underground in August 1970 and the band disintegrated after Sterling Morrison, and Moe Tucker departed in 1971.

After leaving the Velvet Underground, Reed, in 1971, signed a recording contract with RCA Records and recorded his first solo album at Morgan Studios in Willesden, London with session musicians including Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman from the band Yes. The album, titled Lou Reed, contained versions of unreleased Velvet Underground songs, some of which had originally been recorded for Loaded but shelved. The album did not sell well, although music critic Stephen Holden, in Rolling Stone, called it an "almost perfect album. ... which embodied the spirit of the Velvets." 

In November 1972, he released his next album Transformer, which went on to become his commercial breakthrough album. It was co-produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and it introduced Reed to a wider audience, especially in the UK. The single "Walk on the Wild Side" was a salute to the misfits and hustlers who once surrounded Andy Warhol in the late '60s and appeared in his films. Each of the song's five verses describes a person who had been a fixture at The Factory during the mid-to-late 1960s: (1) Holly Woodlawn, (2) Candy Darling, (3) "Little Joe" Dallesandro, (4) "Sugar Plum Fairy" Joe Campbell and (5) Jackie Curtis. 

In his successful solo career spanning five decades, Reed released 20 albums, most notably including Transformer (1972), Berlin (1973), Coney Island Baby(1975), Street Hassle (1978), Growing Up in Public (1980), Magic and Loss (1992), Ecstasy (2000), and The Raven (2003).

8. Sting

Sting (born 2 October 1951), is an English musician who had a successful career with the new wave rock band The Police from 1977 to 1984, and as a solo musician in 1985. He has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music.

In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London and joined Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (soon replaced by Andy Summers) to form The Police. From 1978 to 1983, they had five UK chart-topping albums, won six Grammy Awards, and won two Brit Awards. Their initial sound was punk-inspired, but they switched to reggae rock and minimalist pop. 

After the release of their fifth album Synchronicity (1983), Sting left the band and embarked on a solo career, making his debut with The Dream of the Blue Turtles(1985), which featured jazz musicians including Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim, and Branford Marsalis. The album received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, and Best Engineered Recording.

His 1991 album, The Soul Cages was dedicated to his father, who had died of cancer in 1987. It included "All This Time", and the Grammy-winning title track. The album went Platinum. In 1991, he appeared on Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. He performed "Come Down in Time" for the album, which also features other popular artists and their renditions of John/Taupin songs.

In May 1993, Sting covered his own Police song from the Ghost in the Machine album, "Demolition Man", for Marco Brambilla's action thriller film Demolition Man, starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes.

His last solo album was My Songs, released on 24 May 2019. It features fifteen reworked versions of a selection of Sting's most widely recognized songs from across his career both as a member of The Police and as a solo artist. 

Over his career, Sting released a total of 14 albums, from 1985 through 2019.

9. Don Henley

Don Henley (born 22 July 1947) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and founding member of the rock band Eagles. He was the drummer and co-lead vocalist for the band from 1971 until the band broke up in 1980.

In 1971, Henley formed The Eagles in Los Angeles with Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals), and himself on drums and vocals. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards, and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s.

The Eagles broke up in July 1980, following which Henley pursued a solo career. At the time, he was dating Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac) and the two had duetted on her Top 10 Pop and Adult Contemporary hit "Leather and Lace", written by Nicks for Waylon Jennings and his wife Jessi Colter, in late 1981.

In 1982, Henley released his debut album I Can't Stand Still, which met with moderate success.

In 1984, he released his second studio album, Building the Perfect Beast. A single release, "The Boys of Summer", reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for the song was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and won several MTV Video Music Awards including Best Video of the Year. Henley also won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song.

He has released five studio albums, two compilation albums, and one live DVD. His solo hits include "Dirty Laundry", "The Boys of Summer", "All She Wants to Do Is Dance", "The Heart of the Matter", "The Last Worthless Evening", "Sunset Grill", "Not Enough Love in the World", and "The End of the Innocence".

Henley reunited with his old band a few times in the intervening years but continued to release solo albums. In 1994, the re-unification led to the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks.

10. Ritchie Blackmore

Ritchie Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the founding members of Deep Purple in 1968. In his solo career, he formed a heavy metal band * Ritchie Blackmores's Rainbow* or simply Rainbow, which fused baroque music influences and elements of hard rock. 

In 1960, Blackmore began to work as a session player for Joe Meek's music productions and performed in several bands. He was initially a member of the instrumental band The Outlaws that played in both studio recordings and live concerts. 

In late 1967, he joined a band-to-be called Roundabout after receiving an invitation from Chris Curtis. Curtis was forced out and once the Roundabout line-up was stabilized, the band was renamed to Deep Purple, in April 1968. Blackmore is credited with suggesting the name as it was his grandmother's favorite song by Peter DeRose.

By 1973, Blackmore had steered Deep Purple through a significant personnel change, with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover being replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. Blackmore wanted to record the Steve Hammond-written "Black Sheep of the Family", but the band didn't agree with him. He then decided to record the song with Ronnie James Dio instead, using Dio's band Elf as musicians. With Elf, he formed his new band Rainbow and recorded the song in its debut studio album titled Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow(1975). The album was recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany.

The band name was inspired by the Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood, California.

Rainbow recorded two more studio albums with Dio—Rising (1976) and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)—before Dio left to join Black Sabbath in 1979 (replacing Ozzy Osbourne.) Blackmore replaced Dio with Graham Bonnet and released the band's next album Down to Earth in 1979. Bonnett and the drummer Cozy Powell also left after this album. 

Blackmore released four more albums with Rainbow with a varying line-up: Difficult to Cure (1981), Straight Between the Eyes (1982), Bent Out of Shape (1983), and Stranger in Us All (1995).

As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016.