how many bands are like Fleetwood Mac?
 

by that I mean a band with more than one lead singer and more than one singer who has left to go solo(kiss don't count).

I think what they are is amazing, the fact you can turn on the radio and hear one of three different songs(not with the new material of course) and it still be from teh same band.

Lemme see....
 

Mamas and the Papas (Mama Cass did a solo, right and didn't Denny too?)

Jefferson Starship (Grace Slick and that other guy, did he do a solo? LOL)

Bon Jovi (John and Ritchie have both had solo albums, but if you are talking opposite sex bands, then, this won't count..also, Ritchie isn't a lead singer, but he does sing a lot of backup)

I'm sure there are more, but I can't think right now.

There aren't really ANY bands extremely similar to FM...in the male/female/singer/songwriters/musicians vein. That makes them VERY rare and unique!!! :thumbsup:

Re: how many bands are like Fleetwood Mac?
 

Ahhh, this is one of the very reasons I love FM...

Maria

It makes me ill when someone compares the Mammas and the Pappas to Fleetwood Mac.

It's like comparing Bryan Adams to Johnny Cash. Some people have a kind of insincerity that will always come across in their music - and even people who don't like FM have to agree that that's not the case for them.

The other guy in Jefferson Airplane/Starship was Marty Balin, and yeah, he did a solo album. actually had a big hit with "Hearts" in the early '80.

I'm not sure I'd call the mama's and the papa's insincere-if thats what you were saying. They had some great songs.

The Eagles would be another similar band, other than the fact that there were no females in the band. But Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Tim Schmidt, Glen Fry and Randy Meisner all went solo--to varying degrees of success.

Of course, there is Abba.........;)

There's a lot of bands with different members who take on lead vocal duties, but what I've always loved about Fleetwood Mac is their ability to come out with something as wonderfully catchy as any Abba song (Everywhere/Monday Morning/Say You Will), twisted experimental pop (Tusk), and then great folk/blues inspired rock like Led Zep. (The Chain, Rhiannon, Come).

More importantly, it's the sincere performances of songs like Landslide, Silver Springs, I'm So Afraid, Big Love etc... That put them so far ahead of most other bands that it actually disgusts me when they're put in that silly AOR category with bores like The Eagles.

I'm not too crazy about the Eagles either. I only used them for comparison purpose. Fleetwood Mac was always a better band than the Eagles. To me, the eagles are a pop/adult contempory band, not a rock band. What crossed them over to rock was when Joe Walsh joined the band in 1975.

"Peaceful, easy feeling", "Tequila Sunrise", "Take it to the Limit", "best of my love"---those aren't rock songs.

and to think that "their greatest hits 1971-1975" is the biggest selling album in history.....

I found a top 10 selling albums of all time list the other day. Thriller is #1 (Eagles are only #1 in the US). Eagles are second, Dark Side Of The Moon was third I think, and then Rumours. Shania Twain has somehow ended up with the 5th biggest selling album ever.

the only one who comes even close are ABBA.
they had 2 writers, 2 leading female singers, the whole 4 of them sang, they had solo careers, they were 2 couples within the band and the both of them divorced and still kept the band together, AND they were very succesful and highly influential too.

Hey! I'm sticking up for the Mamas and Papas (note the correct spelling and punctuation). They were as sincere and earnest in their music as Fleetwood Mac! Lots of parallel connections too:

1. Reportedly, the first song Stevie and Lindsey sang together was "California Dreamin'"

2. Both groups have men and women sharing equal spotlight, now still not the most common group dynamic

3. Dave Mason! Bizzarely so...he and Cass made an album and did shows together...then he appears briefly as a member of Fleetwood Mac.

4. Both groups were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

5. Both groups had immeasurable internal personal conflict during their heyday. We all know, ad nauseum, about what happened with Fleetwood Mac. With the Mamas and Papas....Michelle was married to John. Cass was smitten with Denny. Michelle has an affair with Denny. Cass gets angry with both of them. Michelle gets fired from the band. Band forges on with a Michelle substitute. Michelle fights back, and gets rehired. That's a lot of drama! Unlike Fleetwood Mac though, this group didn't hold it together...they broke up after only 3 years! That easily could have happened to Fleetwood Mac during Rumours.

6. All four members have released solo albums

I know there is more...I just need another cup of coffee

Yeah, there's more they have in common. Let's not forget the drugs!

- Jake

For singer/songwriter power and solo success nobody tops the Beatles. Even if you think they rode off their group name to get solo careers going, they all still topped the charts with solo projects after the group split.

For drama, I agree the Mamas and Papas come close. The band incest element is the same but the sleeping around did break up the M&Ps.

The women were not in the creative element either. They were performers. Same with ABBA. The men in ABBA were the creative talent and the wives were more or less just performers. The same as with FM, ABBA continued as an act for a while after the marraige breakups but in the end the men still work together like the FM guys.

Stevie and Chris are unequaled as singer/songwriter women in the same group sharing the spotlight with a male singer/songwriter of equal production output and talent. I don't think any other group with women except maybe Heart, had two women singer/songwriters who made up more than half of the creative force in a successful band that had men in it.

Matchbox 20

What about The Who? Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle all wrote and sang (though admittedly, Pete did most of the writing), and all had solo careers as well. I'm not sure about Keith Moon, but he does get an honorable mention for a "solo" project - he posed nude for a centerfold (I'm not sure, but I *think* for Playgirl)! That's one of the gutsiest solo moves by a band member EVER, imo! :lol:

Lori :wavey:

Just thought of another one...The Allman Brothers Band. Greg Allman and Dickey Betts both wrote and sang, and both had solo careers (though Greg's was more successful).

Also...what about Cream? Two singers...Clapton and Jack Bruce. Obviously Clapton has had a somewhat successful solo career. ;) Did Jack Bruce do any solo work? I'm thinking that he did. It sort of doesn't count, since he didn't sing, but Ginger Baker did at least one solo album that I know of - friends of ours have it and it is excellent.

Interesting thread!

Lori :wavey: