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When singers die and bands go on
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The Doors have found it hard to replace Jim Morrison
Bands continuing on after the death of a lead singer are nothing new. Sometimes, like with AC/DC, it works on all fronts and even greater popularity is reached. Other times an attempt to move forward is not so successful, evident in the multiple instances The Doors have tried a re-launch.
It all comes down to whether or not the frontman was the focus of the group he left behind. Bon Scott was obviously an integral part of AC/DC throughout the 70s, but even more so was the thick riffs bandied about by guitarist Angus Young. And when Scott died in early 1980, the move to replace him was swift and effective when introducing the similarly sounding Brian Johnson while keeping the musical hooks in place.
The surviving members of The Doors haven’t been so lucky, first continuing on as a three-piece, and then attempting to replace the iconic Jim Morrison with Ian Astbury of The Cult and more recently Brett Scallions from Fuel. But the reality is that no one can fill those leather trousers because when you mention “The Doors,” the Lizard King is who instantly comes to mind.
Thankfully, the family of Morrison, along with Doors drummer John Densmore, filed a court injunction to prevent guitarist Robby Krieger and organist Ray Manzarek from potentially tarnishing the legacy of the band by continuing to use its name.
Sublime's fanbase would probably prefer the original lineup
This week, a similar situation came to a conclusion with Sublime, the poppy Long Beach, Ca. ska-punks who rose to fame in the mid-90s with hits like “Santeria” and “What I Got.” Unfortunately, singer Bradley Nowell didn’t live long enough to see the band blow up in the mainstream, as he died of a heroin overdose two months before the release of the critically acclaimed, self-titled major label debut by the outfit.
Two weeks ago, as part of the Cypress Hill Smokeout festival, bassist Eric Wilson and Sublime drummer Floyd ‘Bud’ Gaugh decided to use the Sublime name for the first time since 1996, the year they lost their frontman, much to the consternation of Nowell’s family, who threatened legal action.
“Prior to his untimely passing, both Bud and Eric acknowledged that Brad Nowell was the sole owner of the name Sublime,” read a statement from the Estate of Bradley Nowell, consisting of his widow, father and son. “It was Brad's expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, and Brad even registered the trademark ‘Sublime’ under his own name.”
“As Brad's heirs, and with the support of his entire family, we only want to respect his wishes and therefore have not consented to Bud and Eric calling their new project ‘Sublime.’ We have always supported Bud and Eric's musical endeavors and their desire to continue to play Sublime's music.”
The Estate said it intended to take appropriate legal action to protect Nowell’s vision, as well as “the legacy and integrity of his body of work.” It also said that it would back any other sort of project that honored the singer, such as the Long Beach Dub All-Stars, which was formed by Wilson and Gaugh shortly after Nowell’s death, but broke up in 2002.
“Our hope is that Brad's ex-bandmates will respect his wishes and find a new name to perform under, so as to enhance the ‘Sublime’ legacy without the confusion and disappointment that many fans have expressed upon seeing the announcement.”
Pleas from the Estate were obviously ignored, but it looks like a peacful resolution was reached, even though it came down to a California judge ruling that the Sublime name could no longer be used, leading Gaugh and Wilson to release their own statement.
“Our goal continues to be sharing the music and message of Sublime with all of our fans around the world. We intend to take the court’s advice and work on a business solution to this issue. We hope the Estate follows suit so the music of Sublime can live on and be accessible to everyone.”
Ronnie Van Zant would probably give his brother a beatdown
It’s tough to take a side with these sorts of things, because consideration has to be taken into what happens to the musicians left behind, many of whom were either on the cusp of success, or already an established act when tragedy struck in one form or another that snatched their frontman from them. And while they obviously have a right to continue to make a living though music, it also has to be looked at from a logical perspective.
Fans of Sublime think of Bradley Nowell, the group’s lyricist and driving force, and by bringing in a sound-alike, it dilutes the history of the band. It’s nothing more than a tribute, and should be treated – and named, as such. Anything else instantly reeks of a cash grab.
Look at Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The Southern rockers were at the peak of popularity and creativity when a plane crash in 1977 took the lives of singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister and back-up singer Cassie. Expectedly, the group broke up immediately, and a decade later did the emotional and classy “Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour” featuring the survivors of the plane crash and Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny on vocals.
That’s when the greed or a misguided sense of entitlement kicked in, and every year a bunch of musicians tour under the Skynyrd banner. Currently, guitarist Gary Rossington is the only original member left onstage each night, effectively disgracing the name.
Worse is Thin Lizzy, who has been touring since the mid 90s without any founding members. The Irish rock band had in fact been broken up for a couple years when singer Phil Lynott died after years of battling drug and alcohol addiction. Guitarist and vocalist John Sykes, who joined less than a year before the band’s demise, took it upon himself to revive the name and begin touring again, claiming it was in tribute to Lynott.
The question then becomes, why not call it a “Tribute to Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott?”
Even one-hit wonders, like Blind Melon, try to keep milking it for as long as possible. The group had a hit single, “No Rain,” that was more memorable for the annoying Bee Girl dancing around in the accompanying video than the song itself in 1993. Things seemingly came to an abrupt end when singer Shannon Hoon overdosed on tour for a sophomore release just two years later.
“Not so fast,” said the rest of the collective, which found a new singer 11 years later, only to have a falling out with him last year. Currently, Blind Melon is on the lookout for another vocalist, and nobody seems to care.
Queen took a more tactful approach, buoyed by the success of a tribute concert to Freddie Mercury, the consummate frontman who died of complications brought on by AIDS in 1991. It has named any new venture with a plus sign, the longest being Queen + Paul Rodgers, when the group enlisted the vocal talents of the former Free and Bad Company singer. At least it’s made clear in that sense who was going to be at the mic each night.
And then there is a band like Alice in Chains, with a catalog of material that was primarily written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell, but had such a distinctive sound from singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002.
The rest of the band have successfully reconvened and released an amazing new record for the first time in 14 years and brought in a new singer, William DuVall, who puts his own stamp on the existing classics.
Each night on the road there is a nod to Staley to acknowledge the importance of the past, but clearly being able to move on into the future; which is something that many of these other bands just can’t seem to do.
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