Some musical acts have been content to work in a familiar musical style (ACDC, ZZ Top) while others weren’t content to stay in one place (The Beatles come to mind). This month’s topic is about musical acts that underwent a dramatic shift stylistically during their career. Let’s omit The Fab Four from our list as they evolved nearly every album rather than making a jarring shift. I will admit that some of these inclusions feel like cheating as some of the bands I have included changed because of new members but since their name stayed the same they made the list. Some of these artists have morphed more than once, but I will only include one before and one after video for reference. The order isn’t important, by the way.
1.David Bowie
Since the title of this post is stolen from David Bowie’s first U.S. chart record, let’s start here. Born David Robert Jones in London on Jan. 8, 1947, it is said he changed his name to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. He said he chose Bowie after the American pioneer Jim Bowie. Before success he tried several different styles including silly pop novelties like “The Laughing Gnome” (1967). “Changes” was more restrained and “Space Oddity” about Major Tom was almost prog-rock. When he took on the persona of glam rocker Ziggy Stardust is when his career seemed to soar. After that he re-invented himself many different times such as The Thin White Duke or playing Krautrock electronic music. He died of liver cancer Jan. 10, 2016.
2.Roxy Music
In the decade between these totally disparate songs, Roxy Music went from ’70s Glam Rockers to ’80s Lounge Lizards. One can assume that it was based on the evolution of lead singer Bryan Ferry in to a torch balladeer. While players like Brian Eno and Eddie Jobson came and went, the core of the band was Ferry with woodwind player Andy Mackay and guitarist Phil Manzanera. Ferry’s solo career has followed a similar path going from rock rhinestones to tasteful tuxedos – even touring with strings while wearing black tie.
3.The Bee Gees
There is perhaps no bigger example of a group reinventing themselves than The Bee Gees. It would be too much of a simplification to say they only switched from romantic balladeers to disco kings as frankly they changed many times during their career. As very young kids in Manchester, England they performed skiffle as The Rattlesnakes. When the Gibb family moved to Australia in 1958, the three brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice continued performing pop music. When they returned to England in 1967 they made a splash with string-laden ballads like “To Love Somebody”. As their fortunes waned by 1974, they seemingly were done as hit-makers till a move the following year to Miami and a radical change with the disco-driven “Jive Talkin'” revived their career. For a time everything they did struck gold with Saturday Night Fever making them mega-stars with chipmunk falsettos and manes of hair (except poor Maurice who was losing his). When disco tanked in 1980 they set about reinventing themselves yet again having sporadic hits off and on till Maurice died on Jan. 12, 2003 (age 53) ending The Bee Gees. Robin died May 20, 2012 (age 62).
4.Genesis
It was a huge disappointment for this fan of progressive rock when Genesis ditched the mellotron, simplified the music and dumbed down the lyrics to go pop. It worked for them as they became mega-stars (especially Phil Collins) but I still can’t forgive them to this day for ruining a great band. Sure, some of the singles were catchy but they put out such fine intricate music before Duke that I felt cheated as there are a bunch of pop bands but few outstanding prog rockers. While guitarist Steve Hackett likely missed out on a bunch of money, I am grateful he has stayed true to prog music after quitting the band. Interestingly, only he has put out albums in that genre while singers Peter Gabriel then Phil Collins never used mellotron or prog trappings in their solo material making you wonder if they ever really liked that style of music to begin with.
5.Fleetwood Mac
This one is probably a cheat since the musicians changed dramatically over the years, but if you were a fan of the early blues band you likely were shocked by their turn to pop. While I was disgusted by Genesis’ change, my pal Mr. D was more forgiving but has never forgiven these guys’ turn to pop and he has a point. The Peter Green/Jeremy Spencer/Danny Kirwan guitar trio put out some excellent gritty blues-rock music. They mellowed down when Bob Welch and Christine McVie joined, but of course they became mega-stars when Buckingham and Nicks came on board and started churning out the hits. I give Lindsey Buckingham at least some credit for acknowledging the legacy of the early band, but of course “Don’t Stop” while catchy isn’t “Shake Your Moneymaker”.
6.The Damned
Heck, maybe these guys changed their sound even more than The Bee Gees. When they were putting out punk in the late ’70s with rapid-fire drumming by Rat Scabies I could have cared less. In 1985 I was really shocked when I picked up the Phantasmagoria album with their switch to a gothic almost progressive style (or psychedelic). “Grimly Fiendish”, “Eloise”, “Alone Again Or” – all great singles and very different then in-your-face punk. Their newest album at the time this is being written (Darkadelic) is a a bit more punk than goth showing they still have some of the roots of the band who released the first British punk album.
7.Bob Dylan
Fans of the early folky Dylan were not amused when he went electric. Robert Zimmerman of Duluth, Minnesota (born May 24, 1941) made a pilgrimage in 1961 to New York to visit the great folk singer Woody Guthrie. With that muse he was writing and playing acoustic folk because it was “filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings” than rock and roll. His first four albums as Bob Dylan were mostly acoustic and political. His 1965 Bringing It All Back Home LP was half acoustic but the other half went electric and while his lyrics were still biting, they weren’t necessarily protests. He was certainly influenced as much by The Beatles as they were by him. Over the years he changed styles again – the mellow country ballads (“Lay Lady Lay”), the religious (“Gotta Serve Somebody”), the raw blues (“Goodbye Jimmy Reed”). At his core he is still Dylan – always unpreditable.
8.The Beau Brummels
When the British Invasion hit in 1964, it was hard for an American band to break through and so the story has been told that this San Franciso band took a U.K. sounding name. Lead singer Sal Valentino doesn’t agree with that, but it sounds like a good story. In January of 1965 they released their excellent debut single “Laugh, Laugh” backed by “Still In Love With You Baby” on the Autumn label (produced by Sylvester Stewart aka Sly Stone). Guitarist Ron Elliott had a knack for writing catchy music. On Nov. 11, 1965 your Dentist went to his first rock concert with buddy Rick Steele (driven by his patient dad – thanks Mr. Steele) to see these guys along with The McCoys and Freddie & The Dreamers (with a host of Denver-area bands including my pal Myron Pollock and his band The Galaxies). There used to be cut-out sections for records that didn’t sell the first time and were drastically discounted after having a hole punched in the corner of the cover. This was how I discovered the 1967 album Triangle which probably cost me something like 35 cents while I was in college up in Boulder. I don’t recall why I bought it, but the LP was filled with folky mystic Americana. The following year brought Bradley’s Barn which was more country than folk but definitely not Beatley-pop – another great album. Other than occasional reunions, that was it for a band that deserved more acclaim.
9.The Strawbs
While they may not be well-known to casual music fans, they are one of my all-time fave bands. They started as the bluegrass group Strawberry Hill Boys (shortened to Strawbs in 1967) and today are still going with the only constant being singer and chief songwriter Dave Cousins. They were the first British band signed to A&M records and at first recorded in a sort of baroque-folk style (Sandy Denny later of Fairport Convention had been an early member). It was on their fourth LP From The Witchwood that Rick Wakeman (later of Yes) really displayed his progressive keyboards. The followup Grave New World (1971) was when new keys-man Blue Weaver’s mellotron took hold on excellent songs like “New World” and “Benedictus”. While over the years they have still included folk touches, guitarist Dave Lambert gave the band a more electric sound. “Lay Down” (1973), “Hero & Heroine” (1974) up to the amazing “We Have The Power” (2017) are all forceful songs that display powerful guitars and keys (notably mellotron). When I talked briefly to Dave Cousins (when on the On The Blue Cruise) I regret not asking him why they changed from a folk act to a prog rock powerhouse but I am glad they did.
10.The Byrds
Again this feels like a bit of a cheat as the only constant member was Roger (Jim) McGuinn, but it was a real jolt for the young me to buy the very country Sweetheart Of The Rodeo in August of 1968 after having the previous record The Notorious Byrd Brothers just 6 months earlier become one of my favorite all-time albums. In retrospect you can see the country touches creeping in earlier, but man this was WAY too much country for me and I dumped the album as soon as I could. The album shows the very strong influence of new member Gram Parsons and after he left quickly, McGuinn continued in a country-rock vein with guitarist Clarence White’s influence. “Ballad Of Easy Rider” (1969), “Chestnut Mare” (1970), etc. – all great songs but I still prefer the early folk-rock songs like “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” from 1965.
11.Santana
Formed in 1966, this San Francisco based rock band was notable for the Latin percussive influences and was based around guitarist Carlos Santana (originally from Mexico). Singles like ”Evil Ways” (1970), “Oye Como Va” (1971) and “No One To Depend On” (1972) made their first three LPs big successes. The last LP in that vein (III) had the same players pretty much as did the primary tracks on the next LP (Caravanseri – 1972) yet the new LP was very different moving in a jazz-fusion style. Reportedly Columbia Records president Clive Davis called it “career suicide”. While there were occasional returns to latino-rock, Santana’s style wouldn’t go back to what Davis wanted till he headed Arista Records and signed Carlos’ band. In 1999 that led to the biggest selling album of all-time by a Hispanic artist Supernational. In 2016 most of the early ’70s band reunited and released the album IV that actually did sound like a proper return to his old sound.
12.Journey
When Santana went in a jazzy direction, singer/organist Gregg Rolie and guitarist Neil Schon left to form Journey in 1973. Their first three Columbia LPs were rock leavened with jazzy-progressive touches and weren’t terribly successful. It was the addition of singer Steve Perry in 1977 that dramatically changed their sound and their fortunes in to arena rock darlings. Rolie left in 1980 to be replaced by Jonathan Cain taking them to even higher successes.
13.Bobby Darin
In Walden Robert Cassotto’s short life (May 14, 1936 to Dec. 20, 1973) he packed many musical changes and frankly might be overlooked for the talent that he was. As Bobby Darin he was a songwriting rocker (“Splish Splash” 1958), a Sinatra-style balladeer (“Mack The Knife” 1959) and a folksinger (“If I Were A Carpenter” 1966). He had heart problems which ultimately caused his death.
14.Rick(y) Nelson
Another heartthrob from the late ’50s was Ricky Nelson who also had his life tragically cut short – in this case from an airplane crash (May 8, 1940 to Dec. 31, 1985). He gained fame on his parents’ show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1957 wanting to impress a girl he was dating he ended up recording a cover of the Fats Domino song “I’m Walkin'” which became a hit (#4 U.S.). With the TV show as a great advertisement for his singles, his success continued till the British Invasion clamped down on older American performers. He eventually moved in to a country-rock direction and had a last hurrah with “Garden Party” in 1972. The Stone Canyon Band that backed him on that record included guitarist Allen Kemp and drummer Pat Shanahan who had been with ’60s Colorado band The Soul Survivors (not the “Expressway [To Your Heart]” group) and The Poor with bassist Randy Meisner later of The Eagles.
15.Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
In 1966 NGDB grew out of jam sessions at the Santa Monica store McCabe’s Guitar Shop. One of those players was Jackson Browne who dropped out before their first album for a solo career. While moving in to a straight country style certainly made them a whole lot more successful, your blogger sure missed the days when The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band could just as easily do “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on a record as they could do “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic”. Being eclectic is what made them interesting. In the second video (from 1984) the three players in the middle (Jimmie Fadden, John McEuen and Jeff Hanna) were also on their 1967 debut LP in the first video. It was likely the addition of singer/guitarist Jimmy Ibbotson that gave them a more country feel due to his vocal style. Let’s not forget that for a time they dropped the Nitty Gritty (while Ibbotson was out of the band) and as The Dirt band went a more pop-rock direction with songs like “Make A Little Magic”.
16.Jerry Lee Lewis
It is interesting how many artists over the years have turned to country music and found success as their rock and roll careers faded. ‘The Killer’ lived a full life from Sept. 29, 1935 to Oct. 28, 2022 starting out as a rock and roll piano player on the same label where Elvis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins recorded – Sun Records. His 1957 hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” made him a star but when it was revealed in 1958 that he had married his 13 year old cousin Myra, things went south quickly. In 1968 he began a run of top 10 country hits that would continue (with a few ups and downs) in to the ’80s. He occasionally did return to rock and roll notably on the great 2006 duets album Last Man Standing that featured players like Ringo Starr and Jimmy Page.
17.Jeff Beck
The Yardbirds gave us Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck – not a bad group of guitarists to spawn. Jeff Beck was the most eclectic of those three in his solo career. His first album after leaving The Yardbirds was Truth (1968) and featured an unknown Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass (later to be the Rolling Stones’ guitarist). That record is still one of my faves including a nasty version of the Willie Dixon blues by way of Howlin’ Wolf – “I Ain’t Superstitious”. Beck lived from June 24, 1944 till Jan. 10, 2023. He did several rockin’ blues albums then apparently decided to move away from that. It was the instrumental album Blow By Blow (1975) that saw him moving in to a funky/jazzy vein that he pursued more often than not from then on. There was a notable exception in a hot 1993 note-perfect Gene Vincent/rockabilly tribute album Crazy Legs with the Big Town Playboys. Jeff Beck was one of those guitarists whose playing style was recognizable and very unique.
18.Dion (DiMucci)
From 1958 till the 1964 British Invasion, Dion had nine doo-wop hits with The Belmonts and then another nineteen rockin’ solo hits either on Laurie or Columbia Records. After that he had a drastic style transition and had four more introspective chart records from 1968 to 1970 including this oddly mellow version of the Jimi Hendrix song “Purple Haze”. His big #4 comeback hit was “Abraham, Martin & John” which was about the tragic assassinations of prominent Americans. Dion had a heroin addiction and then experienced a religious transformation which caused him to clean-up his habit in 1968 leading to his more folk oriented music. Later he went in to a Christian music phase before a return to rock andn roll with the neglected 1989 LP Yo Frankie produced by Dave Edmunds. Since then he has done concerts of his old hits plus released some excellent blues albums including the 2020 record Blues with Friends. Dion was born in The Bronx July 18, 1939.
19.King Crimson
Once again this a probably cheating as guitarist Robert Fripp was the only constant member, but they were always called King Crimson so deal with it kids. Their debut record In the Court of the Crimson King is an essential purchase for any fan of progressive rock (as are several of their other albums). Singer/bassist Greg Lake left to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer almost immediately plus multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald also left quickly (he was eventually a founder of Foreigner). Over time the music stayed progressive but got jazzier and more jarring. By the second video (1982 from Beat) the band was guitar-based with the mellotrons nowhere to be heard. Fripp (born in England May 16, 1946) has admitted to be very difficult to work with hence the constant flux of members during King Crimson’s existence.
20.The Isley Brothers
Between the first video (1962 – “Twist & Shout”) and the second (1973 – “That Lady”) is a world of style changes (plus nineteen other chart records). At the time of this writing, of the original trio or brothers, O’Kelly is deceased, Rudolph died Oct. 11, 2023 while Ronald with younger brother Ernie continues on. From the Lincoln Heights suburb of Cincinnati, their 1959 record “Shout” is probably their most remembered yet it was never a big hit (#47). That song was in their early style – a more gospel call and response sound. Ernie joined on bass for their #2 hit “It’s Your Thing” in 1969 which was on their own label T-Neck. This began a run of hits that got progressively harder and funkier. By 1971 Ernie was on guitar and brother Marvin (now deceased) was on bass with brother-in-law Chris Jasper on keys. Disco hits followed with more guitar – danceable heavy metal.
21.Neil Young
Thanks to the rocknrollbro-inlaw Matt for reminding me of one of the ultimate musical morphers – Neil Young. Toronto born Young (Nov. 12, 1945) has had a career of changes. The electric tracks like “Cinnamon Girl” and “Rockin’ In The Free World”, the Americana like “Heart Of Gold” and “Comes A Time” and then the odd side projects like Trans (electronic music) plus Everybody’s Rockin’ (rockabilly) from 1983.
22.Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention
Political satire, psych rock, doowop, jazz, modern orchestration, scatological juvenalia, electric guitar workouts – Zappa with and without The Mothers Of Invention did a great many styles in his life. At this point in time counting posthumous releases he has released something like 126 albums. His mind moved in many mysterious ways and he was certainly never boring. Prostate cancer took him way too soon (Dec. 21, 1940 – Dec. 4, 1993). When I heard his debut double album with The Mothers (Freak Out! – 1966), it was strange but also strangely fascinating to this teenaged Monkees fan. When Zappa was on an episode of The Monkees and in their movie Head it was like the universe tilting. The sad fact is most casual music fans only know him from his record with his daughter Moon – “Valley Girl” (#32 in 1982).
23.Rod Stewart
Rod can sing many different styles convincingly – rock and roll, blues, r&b, folk, on and on. The one place I didn’t go with him was when he decided to be a crooner for 5 albums of The Great American Songbook (2002 – 2010). There is no denying, however, that those records were successful. I still prefer Rod the rocker. He was born Jan. 10, 1945 in London.
24.The Grateful Dead
My friend Paul reminded me how quickly this San Francisco band could morph from psychedelia to Americana. I would also add that my favorite Dead album Terrapin Station (1977) moved the band in to baroque progressive rock on the long title track. There is still a version of The Dead going however with the passing of Jerry Garcia (Aug. 1, 1942 to Aug. 9, 1995) it seems like the heart is gone.
25.Elvis Presley
The taming of Elvis Presley was depressing to fans like me and John Lennon – “it was never quite the same – it was like something happened to him psychologically. Elvis really died the day he joined the army – that’s when they killed him, and the rest was a living death.” Later John opined that “somebody said today he sounds like Bing Crosby now, and he does.” Elvis went from being the sneering pink pegged pants rocker who did some ballads to the caped crooning balladeer who might do rock. He also veered in to gospel music on records like Peace In The Valley (1957). Elvis Aron Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss. Jan. 8, 1935 and passed too soon in Memphis, Tn. Aug. 16, 1977.
Rock 'n' Roll Reviews and Trivia 