He wasn’t the most stable guy, though, and a lot of LSD and other drugs apparently pushed him over the edge. Syd Barrett was there for Pink Floyd’s formation and the success that came with their debut album and early live shows. Hayward is still the Moody Blues’ principal vocalist. For their second album, Days of Future Passed, they moved away from R&B and created a progressive, psychedelic classic. There were some lineup changes sometime after the release of their first album, and these included Denny’s departure and the addition of Justin Hayward. Dio stuck around for a couple of albums, and later Sabbath vocalists included Deep Purple alumn Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes.ĭenny Laine and Ray Thomas shared lead vocal duties in the early days of The Moody Blues. He was replaced by none other than Ronnie James Dio, who joined Sabbath directly from Rainbow. Ozzy Osbourne was Black Sabbath’s vocalist from the band’s formation in 1968 until his firing in 1979. The lineup was never consistent, and Joe Lynn Turner and Doogie White each had their turn up front. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame formed Rainbow in 1975, recruiting Ronnie James Dio to front the band.

Deep Purple’s vocalists during his absence have included David Coverdale and Joe Lynn Turner. Gillan later rejoined then was fired, then in 1994 he rejoined for good (it seems).

Ian Gillan, Deep Purple’s second lead vocalist, was in the lineup when the band hit it big, and he left in 1973.

Here are the bands that have done it successfully. It can be tricky for a band to keep things going with someone new providing their lead voice and, most often, serving as their frontperson.

Foreigner lead singer dies