Photo: Antonio Bonanno from Milan (Italy), Italy / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
10 Classic Rock Spin-off Bands You May Have Missed article looks at bands formed by musicians who had been former members of famous classic rock bands. In most of these cases, these bands did not last too long. Some of them only recorded one album, while others released a few records. Of course, any hardcore fan of any musical artist knows everything about that particular artist. Nonetheless, for most rock fans, this article presents a list of groups that have gone pretty much unnoticed in classic rock history or at least have been forgotten or simply not noticed by the masses.
Interestingly, some bands are even recent configurations on this list too. We also think that there is a possibility that some fans may have heard of some of these groups but never knew their connections to the super groups that their members came from. This article will not present famous spin-off groups like The Foo Fighters or Hot Tuna because they are so well known, and everyone knows their stories. No, this article is about the spin-off Bands You May Have Missed or never knew their backstories.
# 10 – Jack-Knife
We open up our 10 Classic Rock Spin-off Bands You May Have Missed article with a band we are pretty sure most people have never heard of. The band Jack-Knife was a group formed by former King Crimson and Supertramp members. The band consisted of John Wetton on vocals, bass, and keyboards, Richard Palmer-James on guitars, John Hutcheson on keys, and Curt Cress on drums. John Wetton had formally been a member of King Crimson. Richard Palmer-James had been a member of Supertramp.
Wetton and Palmer had played together in bands growing up before garnering success with King Crimson and Supertramp. Palmer also wrote lyrics for many King Crimson songs. Curt Cress had been a member of Passport and one of the most successful studio drummers in the music business. John Hutcheson had previously recorded an album with Paul Brett. Jack-Knife recorded only one album together. The album Jack-Knife, or I Wish You Would, was released in 1979.
# 9 – Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
Unlike Jack-Knife, the band The Mescaleros released multiple albums. Fans of The Clash may be very familiar with this band. The group was led by Joe Strummer, who was a founding member of the band The Clash. Some may argue this was Joe Stummer’s backup band, as the group was called Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. But the group released several albums together and with continuous members that all took part in the songwriting process, making this very much a “band.” The group consisted of Joe Strummer, Martin Slattery, Pablo Cook, Scott Shields, and Tymon Dog.
# 8 – Bobby & The Midnights
The Grateful Dead may have more offshoots than any other band in classic rock history. We could have probably filled this entire list with The Grateful Dead offshoots. One of our favorites was one that many outside The Grateful Dead circle may be unfamiliar called Bobby & The Midnights. This was an exciting band. Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead founded the group. It also featured one of jazz fusion’s most iconic drummers Billy Cobham.
Former Steppenwolf member Bobby Cochran was also part of the crew. The bass duties were defined at first by ex-Vanilla Fudge member Tim Bogart and then by jazz legend Alphonso Johnson. Other musicians who played in the group were Matthew Kelly, Brent Mydland, Dave Garland, and Kenny Gradney. Bobby & The Midnights released two albums and performed frequently between the years 1980 and 1984
# 7 – Souther Hillman Furay Band
Well, there is nothing like defining the members of a band, such as putting all their names in the band’s name. That’s what they did with the Souther Hillman Furay Band. The band was created by Richie Furay of Buffalo Springfield and Poco, Chris Hillman of The Byrds, and J. D. Souther, who would gain fame writing many songs for Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles. The band was formed in 1972. They only released two albums and called it quits. I am still trying to get over the rhyme in the song “Border Town” about “women who were easy and dudes who were greasy.” Oh boy!
# 6 – The Dead Weather
The band The Dead Weather was a spin-off band that featured Alison Mosshart of The Kills, the great Jack White, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, and Jack Lawrence of The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs, and City and Colour. The band formed in 2010 and released three studio albums, one live album, and almost a dozen singles. We highly recommend checking out their material if you have never heard of this group.
# 5 – The Rentals
The Rentals are a band formed by former bassist of Weezer, Matt Sharp. The group was first formed in 1995. They have released four studio albums. The band has served as a group that has hosted so many musicians from other well-known bands such as The Killers, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and many more. Over thirty well-known rock musicians have been involved with the group, making the band’s name rather appropriate.
# 4 – Zwan
One of the most exciting and fabulous bands you may have missed in the 21st century was Zwan. The group was formed by former Smashing Pumpkins members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. The group also included Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and journeymen musicians Matt Sweeney and David Pajo. The group was only together for two years but released the excellent album Mary Star of the Sea.
# 3 – Butts Band
We would place a pretty heavy bet on this one that you never heard of. The Butts Band was a group formed by half the members of The Doors. In 1975, John Densmore and Robby Krieger formed the group and released two studio albums Butts Band (1973) and Hear and Now (1975), with a different lineup on both records.
# 2 – 3
While Emerson Lake & Palmer stands as one of the most legendary bands in classic rock history, the group has always been defined as lined with three of the most influential and highly contributing musicians in rock. We could do an entire article on all the bands that members of this group were associated with. However, the one you may have missed was the band 3. It was a short-lived group formed in 1988 by Keith Emerson, Carl Palmer, and Robert Berry. The band only released one album entitled To The Power Of Three.
# 1 – Super Heavy
We close out our 10 Classic Rock Spin Bands You May Have Missed with the supergroup Super Heavy. Talk about a supergroup you may have missed. Super Heavy consisted of Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame and one of rock’s greatest producers, and rounding it all out, the incredible and unbelievable soulful Joss Stone, Bob Marley’s youngest son Damian Marley, and one of India’s most cherished and acclaimed artists A. R. Rahman. This stellar group of artists came together to record one Super Heavy album. The album was released in 2011. This is an incredible video that is simply beautiful in every way.
Most people know the band below, so they didn’t really qualify for the list. However, we just wanted to pay special tribute to their group because there may be some fans who have never heard of them.
# Special Tribute – Rossington Collins Band
The Rossington Collins Band was a huge spin-off band formed out of four members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. As much as we loved this band, their formation was part of a healing process for the band and its fans after the loss of Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines in the tragic airplane crash of 1977. It was great for fans to hear that Lynyrd Skynyrd members had formed a new band. The group consisted of former Lynyrd Skynyrd members Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson, and Billy Powell. The group also included Dale Krantz-Rossington on vocals, Barry Lee Harwood on guitar and vocals, and Derek Hess on drums.
10 Classic Rock Spin Off Bands You May Have Missed article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024
What a waste of space and video this was. These groups were horrible.
Shake the tree.
See what falls out
Masterfully strategy
Border Town rocks
Doobie brothers spinoff Southern Pacific
I’ve never even heard of half these bands or people. I’m sure there must be better bands than these.
You kind of missed the point of the article. You were NOT supposed to have heard of them. That’s why we wrote the article.
Ikr? Some people’s children
Souther, Hillman, Furay had some good songs. Thanks for reminding me, I’m going to dig out their album!
How about PARIS. With Bob Welch