Sometimes, breakthrough albums capture a level of creativity and cultural influence that create a double-edged sword. Inflated expectations, creative exhaustion, lineup changes, and personal conflicts, among countless other potential obstacles, frequently surface from fame and critical acclaim to disrupt a band’s momentum… or take it away completely. This has certainly happened more than once in music history.
Shifts in the landscape of the music scene obviously play a role, but more often than not, this conversion comes down to generational bands allowing a combination of pressures to accelerate their untimely decline from mainstream popularity. It's not an inescapable phenomenon, not even in today's music world, and these 9 bands represent how it can happen even after making a breakthrough on one key album.
9 Simon & Garfunkel
Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
It’s not your traditional fall off in popularity, but Simon & Garfunkel did break up at their peak in 1970, not long after the commercial and critical success of their final studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970). The album sold over 25 million copies while winning both Album of The Year and Record of The Year (“Bridge over Troubled Water”) at the Grammys. This, however, wasn't enough to keep them together.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s relationship had been deteriorating for years, prompting the duo to split and pursue their respective solo careers. Differences were set aside multiple times in the coming decade-plus for short-lived reunions, but the partnership was unable to reclaim the heights of its 1970 masterpiece. That certainly earns them a place on this list, despite these lightning-quick moments of reunion over the years.
8 The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses (1989)
The Stone Roses’ self-titled, breakthrough album debut from 1989 is considered one of the most influential pieces in British music history, featuring songs like “Waterfall,” “I Wanna Be Adored,” and “I Am the Resurrection.” However, there was a substantial gap between their debut and follow-up offering, Second Coming (1994). It was a project that didn’t live up to anyone’s expectations after so much anticipation.
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Ian Brown and John Squire often clashed over musical direction, forcing the band to completely dissolve by October 1996 after numerous lineup changes throughout the ensuing tour. The Stone Roses didn’t reunite until 2011, in an effort that only lasted through their Hampden Park concert in 2017. Overall, they couldn't seem to handle the pressure that they themselves had built with their huge success during their debut.
7 The Zombies
Odessey and Oracle (1968)
Somewhat overlooked at first, Odessey and Oracle (1968) eventually became one of the most iconic albums of the 1960s. Global success “Time of the Season,” the band’s biggest hit, was featured on the psychedelic pop project, but by the time it actually became a hit the following year, the group had already decided to split. In fact, the band actually broke up after its final gig in December 1967 — four months before their final album was released.
The Zombies weren’t active for decades, outside the occasional reunion efforts, before regaining popularity in the 2000s.
Understandably so, album sales were poor, and the eventual hit single sat dormant for some time before reaching No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1969. The Zombies weren’t active for decades, outside the occasional reunion efforts, before regaining popularity in the 2000s. Still, this long period of separation is worth nothing, and definitely worth pondering as well.
6 Hootie & The Blowfish
Cracked Rear View (1994)
Hootie & The Blowfish’s Cracked Rear View (1994) was a massive success as the best-selling album of 1995. It rose to 16x platinum by 1999 behind the nationwide love for hits like “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry,” “Time,” and “Only Wanna Be with You.” Even though the group managed to become one of the biggest bands of the 1990s, it was never quite able to recreate the same magic and dominance from ‘94.
By 2008, Hootie & The Blowfish had drastically fallen in mainstream popularity, and frontman Darius Rucker decided to pursue what soon became a widely successful solo career in country music. He would go on to create albums like Learn to Live (2008), Charleston, SC 1966 (2010), True Believers (2013), Home for the Holidays (2014), and Southern Style (2015). It worked out for him, but not for the group as a collective.
5 The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
You’ll hear much more about The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) in of artistic influence than you will commercial appeal. It took some time, but eventually, people came around to the band’s experimental production and controversial theme. The band would go on to influence rock, punk, alternative, and indie music for decades to come through tracks such as “Sunday Morning,” “Heroin,” and “I’m Waiting for the Man.”
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The Velvet Underground released three more albums, which all received critical acclaim, before singer, songwriter and guitarist Lou Reed left in 1970 and took the band’s identity with him in the process. This, of course, was a shocking move. Only three years after such an influential album, and this was what resulted - leaving, in some ways, a new kind of legacy.
4 The Clash
London Calling (1979)
The Clash’s third album, London Calling (1979), crossed the British punk rock group into American popularity and was later named the best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone (U.S. release: Jan. 1980). This project went far beyond traditional punk rock, blending reggae, New Orleans R&B, pop, jazz, rockabilly and more to showcase an extremely unique musical versatility and spirit of rebellion that will continue to withstand the test of time.
Their sound was slowly diluted, and the lack of cohesion became clean in the coming years.
The group’s vision began to battle against its own core identity after the success of London Calling, though. Their sound was slowly diluted, and the lack of cohesion became clean in the coming years. Musical trends are moving goal posts, and bands like The Clash (which disintegrated by 1986) that struggle to adapt after such major accomplishments unfortunately often fall out of popularity.
3 The Smashing Pumpkins
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), a 28-track double album lasting over two hours, quickly became The Smashing Pumpkins' most accomplished work - and the best-selling double album of the decade. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned seven Grammy nominations. Within less than five years, as a plethora of internal issues started clouding the band’s success, the group was no more.
The Smashing Pumpkins did announce a reunion in 2005, but without D’arcy Wretzky and James Iha, things just weren’t what they used to be. Iha also returned years later and remains with the group, but it was far too late to help generate the 1990s dominance that led to this band at one time capturing an unrivaled cult fanbase. It's the prime example of the difficulties of bouncing back after such a high rise to the top.
2 Derek & The Dominos
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)
Derek & The Dominos’ only offering, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), is undoubtedly among the most beloved albums in rock history, thanks to notable tracks like “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” “Bell Bottom Blues,” and, of course, “Layla.” Personal dilemmas, drug issues and unresolved tensions within the group unfortunately led to its collapse before the sessions were ever completed for their second album.
Eric Clapton ultimately left both the one-album wonder and the public eye behind, a year before his most iconic musical composition reached the top 10 in both the United Kingdom and United States, as the band officially disbanded in 1971. Clapton could no longer hide behind the mask of Derek, which he later itted was simply a cover in his attempt to steal George Harrison’s wife, the premise of “Layla.” With that, Derek & The Dominos were no more.
1 Sex Pistols
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) will forever be regarded as one of the most impactful punk rock albums to ever exist, pushing the boundaries of rock and helping define the entire genre. Unforgettable tracks like “Pretty Vacant,” “Holidays in the Sun,” “Anarchy in the U.K.,” and “God Save the Queen” pushed the album to No. 1 in the U.K. This was despite it being the most censored record in British history after labeling the monarchy as a fascist regime.
The height of their fame was notoriously short, disbanding in 1978 after vocalist Johnny Rotten announced the split live on stage in the United States. The band’s second bassist, Sid Vicious, later died of a heroin overdose in February 1979, months after his arrest for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. It wasn’t until 1996 that the original - Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock - would forces once again for a long-overdue tour.