Bands Named After a Member Who Is Not the Lead Singer
This year may not get the distinction of being the fiftieth birthday of The Beatles and other famous bands, whose golden anniversary was observed in 2014.
Still, some very influential rock units will be turning 50 this year, including the underrated Spencer Davis Group.
The quartet released its debut album in 1965, scoring a huge hit with "Keep on Running.
" Several more singles frequented the airwaves in the following years, including classics like "Gimme Some Lovin" and "I'm a Man.
" In spite of the early success, it took years for people to realize that the lead singer was not Spencer Davis.
His name was Steve Winwood, who left the group to form Traffic and then ascended to a hugely successful solo career.
The misidentifying of Davis, who was actually the band's lead guitarist, was certainly understandable.
Just the year before people made the same mistake regarding a popular English band named after a member who was not the lead singer.
A handful of bands since then have suffered the same type of lead singer misidentification, and here is a list of the most well-known.
The Dave Clark Five This British band vied with the Fab Four for the best debut in 1964, hitting the charts with tunes like "Glad All Over" and "Because.
" The guy out front singing most of the songs was Mike Smith, often mistaken for the drummer for whom the band derived its name.
Van Halen Half of the quartet were named Van Halen, but the lead singer was not one of them.
He was David Lee Roth, who soon became almost as well-known as the band itself.
The J.
Giels Band Not even the most avid fans know what the first initial stands for, but they do know that Giels is not the lead singer.
He is actually the lead guitarist, and the man dancing around in front of him wielding the mike is Peter Wolf.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Blinded by the Light" was written by Bruce Springsteen, not Manfred Mann, before becoming this band's biggest hit.
Nor is Manfred Mann the group's singer, in spite of being one of the greatest keyboardists of all-time.
The gifted voice for this band belongs to Chris Thomas.
Mike and the Mechanics Band The group, who cracked the Top Ten with "All I Need Is a Miracle" in 1985," was named after Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford.
The group's two singers were Paul Young and Paul Carrack, so perhaps Paul and the Mechanics would have been a more representative moniker for the band.
Fleetwood Mac The band owes its name to the founders, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
Ironically, neither of them has ever been the group lead vocalist, even though they have had a total of twelve of them throughout their fifty year history.
Montrose The guy out front leading this band was not Ronnie Montrose, who had been a member of the Edgar Winter Group during its "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein" heyday.
The energetic front man for Montrose was none other than Sammy Hagar, who would later replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen.
Santana Since its performance at Woodstock, this rock band has not stopped recording and performing.
There have been numerous lead singers, but Carlos Santana is not one of them.
He has, by now, become known as one of the greatest guitarists in rock history.
Joe Perry Project For most of Joe Perry's career, the guy strutting on stage in front of him has been Steven Tyler.
After leaving Aerosmith, though, Perry formed this band.
He has the same role with this group as he had with his old one, which is not singer but guitarist.
The vocalist for Perry's self-named band was Ralph Morman.
Still, some very influential rock units will be turning 50 this year, including the underrated Spencer Davis Group.
The quartet released its debut album in 1965, scoring a huge hit with "Keep on Running.
" Several more singles frequented the airwaves in the following years, including classics like "Gimme Some Lovin" and "I'm a Man.
" In spite of the early success, it took years for people to realize that the lead singer was not Spencer Davis.
His name was Steve Winwood, who left the group to form Traffic and then ascended to a hugely successful solo career.
The misidentifying of Davis, who was actually the band's lead guitarist, was certainly understandable.
Just the year before people made the same mistake regarding a popular English band named after a member who was not the lead singer.
A handful of bands since then have suffered the same type of lead singer misidentification, and here is a list of the most well-known.
The Dave Clark Five This British band vied with the Fab Four for the best debut in 1964, hitting the charts with tunes like "Glad All Over" and "Because.
" The guy out front singing most of the songs was Mike Smith, often mistaken for the drummer for whom the band derived its name.
Van Halen Half of the quartet were named Van Halen, but the lead singer was not one of them.
He was David Lee Roth, who soon became almost as well-known as the band itself.
The J.
Giels Band Not even the most avid fans know what the first initial stands for, but they do know that Giels is not the lead singer.
He is actually the lead guitarist, and the man dancing around in front of him wielding the mike is Peter Wolf.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Blinded by the Light" was written by Bruce Springsteen, not Manfred Mann, before becoming this band's biggest hit.
Nor is Manfred Mann the group's singer, in spite of being one of the greatest keyboardists of all-time.
The gifted voice for this band belongs to Chris Thomas.
Mike and the Mechanics Band The group, who cracked the Top Ten with "All I Need Is a Miracle" in 1985," was named after Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford.
The group's two singers were Paul Young and Paul Carrack, so perhaps Paul and the Mechanics would have been a more representative moniker for the band.
Fleetwood Mac The band owes its name to the founders, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
Ironically, neither of them has ever been the group lead vocalist, even though they have had a total of twelve of them throughout their fifty year history.
Montrose The guy out front leading this band was not Ronnie Montrose, who had been a member of the Edgar Winter Group during its "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein" heyday.
The energetic front man for Montrose was none other than Sammy Hagar, who would later replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen.
Santana Since its performance at Woodstock, this rock band has not stopped recording and performing.
There have been numerous lead singers, but Carlos Santana is not one of them.
He has, by now, become known as one of the greatest guitarists in rock history.
Joe Perry Project For most of Joe Perry's career, the guy strutting on stage in front of him has been Steven Tyler.
After leaving Aerosmith, though, Perry formed this band.
He has the same role with this group as he had with his old one, which is not singer but guitarist.
The vocalist for Perry's self-named band was Ralph Morman.
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