Numanoid

As I was watching my new a-ha DVD today, I realized that all of the members of this group have successful solo careers (though, like a-ha, are not well-known in the U.S.)

So I got to thinking...what other groups are there in music history that every member had another career alongside/after and outside of the original group? The Beatles is obvious, but what others can we think of? And yes, ALL members count, so groups like Fleetwood Mac or the Rolling Stones would be ineligible.

Rocketdog2000

KISS
The Eagles
The Police
The Monkees

...maybe Pink Floyd?

Mhepburn20

Wait? Why is Fleetwood Mac ineligible? From the primary era of the band - every member HAS had a solo career.

Stevie Nicks (6 studio albums, 2 greatest hits, 1 box set and 1 live CD)
Lindsey Buckingham (5 studio albums, 1 live cd/dvd combo)
Christine McVie (3 studio albums)
Mick Fleetwood (5 albums counting the most recent Mick Fleetwood Band)
John McVie (1 studio album - since I suspect this is the one few know about here's the evidence... http://www.amazon.com/Gotta-Band-John-Mc-Vie/dp/B000008IBZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293342235&sr=8-1 )

Even if we stretch beyond the primary years - Bob Welch, Dave Mason, Bekka Bramlet, Billy Burnett, Rick Vito, Peter Green and Danny Kirwan have ALL had solo or new band cd's that occurred before/alongside their fleetwood mac tenure.

nodeerforamonth

KISS was the first one that came to my mind.

The Cow

Cream

Drexl

Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland of The Police have each released solo albums. Copeland has also composed scores for film, TV, etc.

Supermallet

Wham!

Heat

Beatles
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
Traveling Wilburies
Damn Yankees

TGM

NiN

mickey65

Led Zeppelin (after John Bonham died)

Michael Corvin

All the members of Dream Theater keep pretty active between DT albums.

nodeerforamonth

I think many people here are missing the definition of "solo careers".

Drexl

Yeah, with some guys it's just one or two albums, and not a sustained "career." For example, I wouldn't say that Keith Richards has a solo career because he released two solo albums around 20 years ago. I felt that The Police should count because Copeland's score work is in music, has been ongoing, and is credited only to him.

Mikael79

Jeff Lynne of the Wilburys technically had some solo stuff, but I wouldn't call him a solo artist. He's known for the Wilburys, ELO and his work as a producer.

Numanoid

Yeah, I didn't assume that people would think that a single release would constitute a "career", but hey, this is Music Talk where no one ever sticks to the premise of the OP, so it's all good. And that's a cheat, since the Wilbury's is a supergroup, made up of people who have had a career BEFORE the group's creation. Kind of using backwards logic on that one.

Supermallet

What, are you telling me Andrew Ridgeley isn't still living off the residuals from Son of Albert?!

Nick Danger

How many rock drummers have gone on to successful solo careers? Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, um . . .

cungar

Don Henley

The Cow

Dave Grohl (if you consider Foo Fighters to be his band, and I do)

Spiderbite

I would hope so since he wrote, sang and played every instrument on their debut album.

wendersfan

Does Max Weinberg count?

In the same vein, albeit far more intermittent, Charlie Watts has his own big band.

Pizza

Depends how nit-picky you want to be with solo careers. Sure, everyone in Kiss has had a solo album but I don't know if any of them really have a solo singing career. Same thing with the Monkees. Nesmith certainly has a string of solo records and even had a hit or two. Jones did a solo album on Bell but it crashed. Certainly, members of past bands have migrated to other bands ala Asia for example.

Personally, my hat's off to anyone who gets a record out. So I'd count it. And, I agree with Mhepburn20 and I'm mystified at the disqualification of Fleetwood Mac? (Not that it really matters)

So, what are the guys from a-ha doing as solo acts?

Hiro11

Levon Helm.

Poink

N.W.A.

Although Dr. Dre hasn't exactly put out a lot of albums, when he does it's big enough to count as a successful career, even without considering his work as a producer.

Rocketdog2000

Plus he has been a member of a couple of band projects since he left the police, too. He did the Klark Kent project, and was a member of Oysterhead with Les Claypool (of Primus) and Trey Anastasio (of Phish).

But I disagree about Keith Richards. I don't care how many solo albums you did outside the band, or how long ago. As long as you did one (or more), and especially if you had hits off them, then it should count. For that matter, the Rolling Stones should pretty much be eligible, too, as all those cats have had solo careers outside of the band. The only exception would be Brian Jones, who died before had had the chance to make one.

For that matter, look at the OP's first example of a-Ha. While the individual band members may have all had solo careers, and as he says, successful ones at that - it certainly wasn't in this country. So does that mean it doesn't count, just because they weren't popular in the US? I don't think so.

Oh, and a few more bands that come to mind...

The Who
Genesis
...and I'm pretty sure...
Yes