NOBODY EVER REALLY REUNITES
A segment of rockdom wailed and gnashed its teeth when the Eagles returned to the road without the late Glenn Frey. But the sad truth is, nobody ever really reunites.
From Guns N' Roses and Journey to the Rolling Stones and Van Halen, there are scarcely any bands touring with all of their original members. What about U2, you say? They don't count because they've never broken up and never replaced a band member.
More typical is a band like Styx, who are missing somebody, or the Electric Light Orchestra – who are missing almost everybody. The classic-era lineup of
Fleetwood Mac tried to get back together in the late '90s, but inevitably ended up working without Christine McVie, then Stevie Nicks and then Lindsey Buckingham over the years.
You wouldn't know it from all the complaining fans do, but this, in actuality, is the norm. Members grow tired of the road, or – quite simply – tired of one another. Some version of the old lineup gets back together, but without that one guy who used to drive them nuts. Or the one member who died. They do a one-off show, but can't keep it together on the road – much less record new music. Fans are left, over and over, to wonder what might have been.
This doesn't just impact the old-guard classic rock bands, either. Newer acts like the Replacements and Smashing Pumpkins have staged partial reunions too. As you'll see in the following list, nobody ever really reunites.
Guns N' Roses
A long-hoped-for reunion tour in 2016 found Slash and Duff McKagan joining Axl Rose onstage, but not fellow co-founding members Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler. Latter-era contributors Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus and Frank Ferrer remained.
Eagles
The Eagles had long since said goodbye to founding members Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. Not even the death of Glenn Frey could stop them, however, as the group retooled with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, Glenn's son.
Led Zeppelin
The death of John Bonham has forced Led Zeppelin to look elsewhere for drummers on those rare occasions when they get back together. Tony Thompson, Phil Collins and Jason Bonham – John's son – have served as subs.
Styx
Co-founding guitarist James "J.Y." Young has been leading a Styx lineup featuring longtime member Tommy Shaw and other newcomers since the 1999 exit of singer Dennis DeYoung. Original bassist Chuck Panozzo still occasionally sits in.
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath's last two tours began as a reunion for the co-founding quartet, before a very public split with Bill Ward. He never found his way back to the drum chair, not even as a one-off guest, before Sabbath retired from the road.
Journey
Without Steve Perry since the late '90s, Journey eventually rebuilt the rest of the Escape / Frontiers-era lineup around replacement singer Arnel Pineda. Even a Hall of Fame nod failed to get Perry back onstage with them.
Pink Floyd
A one-off appearance of Pink Floyd's classic-era lineup at Live 8 in 2005 followed fractured tours in which the band toured as a threesome under the leadership of Roger Waters and then David Gilmour. Unfortunately, they never got back together again.
Foreigner
The current Foreigner lineup, save for remaining '90s-era multi-instrumentalist Thom Gimbel, began coalescing around original guitarist Mick Jones in the '00s. Since then, they've had only a handful of one-off reunions with co-founders like Lou Gramm.
Beach Boys
The surviving Beach Boys seemed to have finally healed decades of rifts when they reunited in 2012. Then controversy erupted again as Brian Wilson departed. He later recruited ex-members Al Jardine, Blondie Chaplin and David Marks for his own band.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty's ugly split with CCR has led to competing bands, as bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford continued forward with Creedence Clearwater Revisited beginning in the mid-'90s. Lawsuits, but no reunions, have followed.
AC/DC
The band fell apart in 2014-16, as Malcolm Young retired, Phil Rudd left, Brian Johnson was sidelined and then Cliff Williams retired. Stevie Young, Chris Slade and Axl Rose ended up subbing in before Williams' departure.
The Band
The Last Waltz wasn't anything of the sort. The Band, in fact, got back together a few years later, only without Robbie Robertson. They continued after Richard Manuel's death too, before Rick Danko and Levon Helm both died.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Surviving members Gary Rossington, Ed King, Leon Wilkeson, Artimus Pyle and Billy Powell initially mounted a revival with Johnny Van Zant, younger brother of original singer Ronnie Van Zant. Eventually Rossington was the only original left.
Grateful Dead
Despite a number of key losses, the Grateful Dead managed to mount a reunion of surviving members in 2015 before splintering again. Phil Lesh then began working separately from the others, who called themselves Dead and Company.
Def Leppard
Def Leppard fired Pete Willis in the '80s, then lost Steve Clark to alcoholism in the '90s. They were replaced by Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, respectively, and Def Leppard kept rolling – even after drummer Rick Allen lost an arm.
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band survived the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, then the exit of Dickey Betts. They bowed out with a series of shows featuring modern-era contributors Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks. Gregg Allman eventually succumbed to cancer.
Deep Purple
Co-founding drummer Ian Paice is all who remains from the early days, through Deep Purple's Mark VIII lineup includes veterans Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. Ritchie Blackmore was ultimately replaced by Steve Morse, and Jon Lord by Don Airey.
The Cars
A long-awaited 2011 reunion by the Cars happened without bassist and singer Benjamin Orr, who had succumbed to cancer. The band never replaced Orr, who didn't live to see the Cars inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
Steely Dan
Once an actual working band, Steely Dan eventually winnowed down to Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and a series of ringers. That's how it remained too, until Becker's 2017 death. Fagen then began a fight to continue on alone with the band name.
KISS
Turns out it's far easier to replace members when your band appears onstage in full makeup. That's how Kiss transitioned from a reunion of all four original members to a rejiggered lineup that included only Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Cheap Trick
Guitarist Rick Nielsen's son Daxx began working as Cheap Trick's touring drummer in 2010, after a curious split with Bun E. Carlos. The band said Carlos is still a member; he just doesn't perform with them anymore.
Yes
The 2015 death of Chris Squire left Yes with no originals, though Steve Howe and Alan White go all the way back to the early '70s. The band was rounded out by Jon Davison, Geoff Downes and Squire's hand-picked successor Billy Sherwood.
Judas Priest
Glenn Tipton was replaced by Andy Sneap before Judas Priest's 2018 tour, as the guitarist continued to battle Parkinson's disease. Richie Faulkner had earlier taken over for co-founder K.K. Downing.
Boston
Tom Scholz is the lone holdover from Boston's glory days. Fellow multi-instrumentalist Gary Pihl, who joined in the Third Stage era, is the longest-tenured member following the 2007 death of singer Brad Delp.
Doobie Brothers
The Doobies boast three distinct eras: the original lineup, the Michael McDonald-led lineup and the reunion lineup. Tom Johnston was part of the first, John McFee was part of the second and Patrick Simmons connected both to the new era.
The Monkees
The Monkees have toured as a threesome without Michael Nesmith, as a threesome without Davy Jones and, for the first time in 2018, as a duo starring Micky Dolenz and Nesmith. Jones' death in 2012 ended hopes for a reunion with all four.
Bad Company
Boz Burrell's death will keep Bad Company from every mounting a complete reunion. More recently, Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke have toured with guests like Rich Robinson after fellow co-founding member Mick Ralphs began having health issues.
Bon Jovi
Alec John Such and then Richie Sambora both dropped out over the years, leaving David Bryan, Tico Torres and the band's namesake to carry on with Hugh McDonald (who finally became an official member in 2016) and Phil X.
Moody Blues
Drummer Graeme Edge is the only original member left, though Justin Hayward and John Lodge have been around almost as long. Denny Laine left in 1966, followed by Mike Pinder in 1978. Co-founders Clint Warwick and Ray Thomas have since died.
Rolling Stones
Hard to believe, but Bill Wyman has been retired for almost as long as he was in the band. That leaves three core early members in Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, following the deaths of Brian Jones and Ian Stewart.
Chicago
Chicago were pared down to Robert Lamm and the horn section after first losing guitarist Terry Kath in the '70s, then later splitting with singer Peter Cetera and drummer Danny Seraphine. Original saxophonist Walt Parazaider began limiting his touring schedule in 2017.
Electric Light Orchestra
Even though they began with a band dynamic, ELO eventually morphed into a vehicle for Jeff Lynne – and the lineup came to reflect that. He's the only original left after key departures by Roy Wood in 1972, Kelly Groucutt in 1983 and Bev Bevan in 1986.
Queen
The 1991 death of Freddie Mercury seemed to spell the end of Queen. Next came the 1997 retirement of John Deacon. Queen carried on, however, with guest vocalists like George Michael, Paul Rodgers and, more recently, Adam Lambert.
Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen has said that the band's heavily anticipated David Lee Roth reunion would never have happened without the involvement of his son Wolfgang. He took Michael Anthony's spot, however, meaning a true reunion isn't happening.
Fleetwood Mac
It should have been shocking when Fleetwood Mac suddenly replaced Lindsey Buckingham with two other people on the eve of a new tour in early 2018. Except they did the exact same thing three decades earlier.
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