10 Bands That Continued After Their Lead Singer Died

If you didn’t see the news about Linkin Park, they have a new singer, new logo, new album, new single and new world tour in the works! You can hear what new singer Emily Armstrong sounds like in our recap of the unveiling here!

The moment you’ve all been waiting for happened yesterday. Here’s all the new stuff from Linkin Park, including their new singer! https://t.co/KC7kqszoG1

— 95.9 The River (@959TheRiver) September 6, 2024

If you don’t think LP should continue as a band after the death of Chester Bennington, it’s important to note that this isn’t the first band that has continued on after the passing of their lead singer. As a matter of fact, there are MANY examples throughout rock history.

Losing a lead singer can be devastating for a band, no doubt about it.  But it’s not always fatal.

Here are 10 bands that moved on after their frontman died:

1.  AC/DC:  Bon Scott choked to death on his own vomit in 1980.  Brian Johnson was quickly chosen to replace him, and the blockbuster album “Back in Black” was released later that year.

2.  Queen:  Freddie Mercury died of complications from AIDS in 1991.  In 2005 they started performing with Paul Rodgers.  But since 2011, they’ve been relying on Adam Lambert from “American Idol”.

3.  Stone Temple Pilots:  Scott Weiland died of an accidental overdose in 2015.  Jeff Gutt has been their singer since 2017.

4.  The Doors:  Jim Morrison was found dead in his Paris apartment in 1971.  After releasing two albums without him, the band broke up in ’73.  In 2002 they formed The Doors of the 21st Century, with Ian Astbury from The Cult.

5.  Lynyrd Skynyrd:  Ronnie Van Zant was one of three band members who died in a tragic plane crash in 1977.  They went silent until 1987, when they reformed with Ronnie’s brother Johnny on vocals.

6.  Alice in Chains:  The band went on hiatus in 1996, due to Layne Staley’s addiction issues.  He died in 2002 . . . and in 2005, they reformed with William DuVall.

7.  INXS:  In 1997, Michael Hutchence died of either suicide or autoerotic asphyxiation gone wrong.  In 2002, the band went on tour with singer Jon Stevens.  Then in 2005 they got singer J.D. Fortune through a reality competition show.  A guy named Ciaran Gribbin took over from 2011 to 2012, when the band retired from performing.

8.  Thin Lizzy:  The band broke up in 1984, and singer/bassist Phil Lynott died in 1986 due to drugs and alcohol.  10 years later, guitarist John Sykes revived the band, with himself on vocals. Another group of former members revived the Thin Lizzy name in 2009, but ended up changing their name to Black Star Riders.

9.  Sublime:  Singer Bradley Nowell died in 1996, before their first album was even released.  In 2009 they reformed as Sublime with Rome, featuring singer Rome Ramirez. But just this year, they took back the Sublime name, with Nowell’s son Jakob on vocals.

10.  Blind Melon:  Shannon Hoon died of an overdose while the band was on tour in 1995.  They returned in 2006 with singer Travis Warren.

Were any of these bands the same or better the second time around? Eh, probably not.  I’d say AC/DC is the only one you can make a case for.