Certainly it's true that nowadays that you usually can't name all the members of any given band if you are a casual fan of group. I can name the lead singer of Coldplay, of Maroon Five, and of Imagine Dragons but I can't name any of the other members of these bands. I think the last recent group that I can name all the members of would be the Spice Girls and they started up in the last century.
Back in the height of the classic rock era of the 1960's and 1970's rock fans would be intimately familiar with all the members of a group-even for groups they didn't follow. This started with the Beatles. The whole world can name all the members of the Beatles. Their producer, George Martin originally tried to pick one of the groups members to be main singer of the group-but then he realized it was impossible to pick between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And yet, despite having two world class talents in one band-Martin would agree to let the two other slightly lesser members of the band -sing lead vocals also. The formula typicall on British Beatles album was to let John and Paul handle ten of the songs, give George two songs, and let Ringo sing one song. George and eventually Ringo also wrote songs. Musically- Paul and John were always stronger and more important-but George and Ringo also contributed greatly to the band. When the Beatles broke up-all the group members all four members had successful solo careers. So this became the model for other classic rock groups . Have some leading members but also have a willingness to let others contribute and also a willingness to give the lesser members the spotlight on occasion.
The Rolling Stones sort of flouted this idea a little. The group's arrogant leaders, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger wouldn't encourage the other members to sing vocal leads or write songs (partly because the others really didn't have the talent to do so.) But even so all the others would make key musical contributions and on rare occasions they would even help with songwriting (always uncredited!).
In writing this article- I was wondered which of the group's of this era had the most equally talented band. I think I came to the conclusion that it would be sort of tie between The Who, Led Zeppelin and Queen. The Who's three instrumentalists were all lead players. They had Keith Moon, a lead drummer , John Entwhistle, a lead bassist and Pete Townsend- a lead guitarist. Many of the best moments on Who records came from Keith Moon's antic drumming. Lead singer, Roger Daltry sometimes got lost in all this talent in the early days, but he soon proved to be a virtuoso singer as well. All four sang as well, though Moon only as a novelty singer. The only imbalance in the group was that Townsend wrote most of the group's material (occasionally spelled by Entwhistle).
Led Zeppelin also had three virtuoso instrumentalists . John Bonham was probably the best rock and roll drummer ever. Jimmy Page was one of the best electric guitarists ever, and John Paul Jones was a solid bassist/ multi-instrumentalist/arranger. None of these three instrumentalists sang very well, so singer Robert Plant had to handle all of lead and most of backing singing by himself-which he did quite well. All four contributed to the songwriting with Page taking the lead musically, and Plant lyrically. Page also produced. Led Zeppelin was a well balanced band.
Queen might have been a half a step down instrumentally from Led Zeppelin, and The Who-but all four members could write songs individually. They are the only group to have four members individually write a US or UK number one song for their own group. Although lead singer, Freddie Mercury sang most of the lead vocals-Roger Taylor and Brian May also sang. The only imbalance here is that master showman, Freddie Mercury would have stood out in any group of individuals regardless of how talented they were.
Many other groups of the time- had a similar democrat approach -the Moody Blues had four lead singers and all of the members wrote songs . The only imbalance for the Moodies was that Guitarist Justin Hayward's songs were always a cut above-as were his vocals. This only became a problem for balance in the band when keyboardist and /singer, Mike Pinder left the band at the same time as Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge took on a lesser role. So the band basically became a Justin Hayward/John Lodge vehicle after the 1970's. The same problem occurred with the horn group Chicago. The classic version of this group had three lead singers, as well as multiple successful songwriters, but by the late 1970's one member, Peter Cetera became the group's main singer and songwriter. By the mid eighties, it had become so unbalanced that Cetera left the band to form a solo career.
What groups could put the most lead singers on the radio? Aside from the forementioned Beatles, the two groups that put the most solo lead vocalists on the radio were the Beach Boys (5) and the Eagles (4). The Beach Boys had a clear leader in the 1960's with vocalist/songwriter/bassist Brian Wilson. But his two brothers, Carl and Dennis, his cousin, Mike Love, and family friend, Al Jardine also all sang solo lead vocals on top ten singles. Another group member, Bruce Johnston also sang on their hits, and Blondie Chaplin ( a later replacement member) sang lead on one of the most notable songs, "Sail On Sailor".
The Eagles followed the Rolling Stones model of having two dictators running the band. Founding members and so called "Gods". Glenn Frey and Don Henley had a notably bad reputation for mistreating other members-and three of the groups' ultimate total of seven members were run out of the band due to conflict with "The Gods". However, unlike the Rolling Stones, the other guys and the band could not only play their instruments, but they could sing and write songs as well. The Eagles are the only group to have seven different members "really" co-write a top ten hit song. (Some acts give all members credit for writing a song even when they don't play a key role in writing lyrics or melodies.) All seven members sang solo lead vocals on Eagles records ( though Don Felder wasn't a very good singer and only sang one song). Four of the group members sang lead vocals on a top ten hit.
One other group should mentioned in this conversation. That would be the Temptations-although they were a Soul/pop group and not a rock group they operated during the same era and were notable for having a number of great vocalists in their lineup. The group had two main lead singers in their classic 1960's lineup -David Ruffin, and Eddie Kendricks both of whom sang lead on many classic recordings. When Ruffin left the group he was replaced by a another lead singer, Dennis Edward. When Dennis Edwards joined the group started recording a number of songs (such as "Cloud Nine)" that would feature solo spotlights for all the members of the group all on one recording-usually these recordings had Edward doing the main lead vocal. Thus another five members of the group would end up being heard singing solo leads on their songs throughout the seventies. Finally, a ninth member of the Temptations-Ali -Ollie Woodson would sing on two later hits. Thus the Temptations are probably the group that had the most different vocalist sing a solo lead on a top 40 record.
Some other groups where many people can name all the original members are the Police, Pink Floyd, CSNY, Cream, CCR, The Band, the Bee Gees, the Mamas and the Papas, the Clash, Traffic, R.E.M, Rush, Kiss, Nirvana, Journey, Yes, The Cars, Deep Purple and Journey.
Published may 2019
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