The 15 Most Successful Lead Singer Swaps

Forty years ago, Survivor released their fifth album, Vital Signs. With three hit singles and a platinum certification, it was the second most successful album of their career. What made that of particular interest was the fact that it was the first album with new lead singer Jimi Jamison. That of course leads to the question of how many other groups successfully pulled off the lead singer swap. We’ve got fifteen candidates; you can decide who did it the best.

1. Survivor

“I Can’t Hold Back” (Uploaded to YouTube by Survivor Band)

Survivor was founded by guitarist-vocalist Jim Peterik and lead guitarist Frankie Sullivan in 1978. The original lead vocalist was Dave Bickler. The band landed their first Top 40 track in 1981 with “Poor Man’s Son,” but they would simply explode in 1982 with the release of the single and the album Eye of the Tiger. Commissioned for Rocky III, the song quickly became an anthem; the song hit #1, the album hit #1, and the group pulled in a Grammy. Unfortunately, Bickler developed vocal cord nodules that required surgery and more downtime than the band wanted. Bickler was let go and replaced with Jimi Jamison. Jamison’s first album with the band, Vital Signs, went to #16 and featured #8 “High on You,” #13 “I Can’t Hold Back,” and #4 “The Search Is Over.” Starting in 1988, there was a recurring pattern of Jamison leaving to be replaced by Bickler, and Bickler leaving to be replaced by Jamison. In 2013, the band announced that both Bickler and Jamison would be in the group. Unfortunately, Jamison passed away in September of 2014. Bickler left in 2016; Cameron Barton is the current lead singer.

2. Van Halen

“Why Can’t This Be Love” (Uploaded to YouTube by Van Halen)

Everyone knows this story, right? David Lee Roth fronted Van Halen from 1974 until 1984. Across the band’s first six albums, Roth established himself as one of the most dynamic and entertaining lead singers in rock. However, the familiar band dramas of musical direction and so on led to Roth splitting for his already brewing solo career. Various reports indicate that Eddie Van Halen offered the lead singer gig to Patty Smyth (of Scandal) and Daryl Hall (yes, of Hall and Oates) — both passed. But the band ultimately brought in Sammy Hagar, who had formerly been the lead singer of Montrose and had major solo success in 1984. The first “Van Hagar” album, 1985’s 5150, was Van Halen’s first to hit #1. It yielded the #3 “Why Can’t This Be Love” and two more Top 30s, “Dreams” and “Love Walks In.”  Hagar very successfully fronted the band until a variety of tensions led to his 1996 exit. Gary Cherone of Extreme sang lead from 1996 to 1999 before the band went on hiatus. Hagar briefly returned from 2003 to 2005. Roth came back and fronted the group from 2007 until Eddie’s passing in 2020.

3. AC/DC

“Back in Black” (Uploaded to YouTube by AC/DC)

When AC/DC released their 1975 debut LP, High Voltage, Bon Scott was the front man. Full of swagger and humor, Scott held the lead until his untimely death in 1980. The band wavered on whether or not to continue, but Scott’s parents said that Bon would have wanted them to keep going. After several auditions for a new singer, the band decided on Brian Johnson to take the spot. The band’s next album was already in progress; Johnson hopped aboard and joined the writing process with the band and producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange. That album would be Back in Black, the second-best selling album of all time. Powered by the title track, “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution,” “Hell’s Bells,” and “You Shook Me All Night Long,” the album went to #4 in the States and remained on the Billboard 200 for 612 weeks (yes, that’s almost 12 years). Johnson would remain the lead singer until 2016, when hearing difficulties forced him out of the band. Guns N’ Roses front man Axl Rose took over the vocal duties for the remainder of the dates scheduled that year. By 2018, Johnson was able to return to the group. (Note: This is the only death-related swap on the list, and we only included it because their post-swap success was so massive.)

4. Doobie Brothers

“What A Fool Believes” (Uploaded to YouTube by RHINO)

The Doobie Brothers are an interesting case, because they’ve functionally had a platoon of lead singers for much of the group’s existence. In the beginning, the lead vocalist was Tom Johnston, but Patrick Simmons sang lead on hits like “Black Water.” However, Johnston got sidelined in 1975 with a longtime ulcer condition. Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, who was playing with the band at that point, recommended that his friend and former bandmate, Michael McDonald, step in. McDonald continued the band’s success, taking them to #1 with “What A Fool Believes” and etching out other classics like “Takin’ It to the Streets.” Over time the band broke up, then reunited in the late 1980s. Today, the group is still together with Johnston, Simmons, and McDonald all participating.

5. Iron Maiden

“Run to the Hills” (Uploaded to YouTube by Iron Maiden)

When Iron Maiden dropped their self-titled debut album in 1980, Paul Di’Anno held down lead vocals. By the release of their second album, Killers, the following year, Di’Anno was deep in the throes of drug problems. After the tour for Killers, the band dropped Di’Anno. The band passed the mic to Bruce Dickinson, and 1982’s Number of the Beast blew up around the world. It hit #1 in their native UK, #33 on the Billboard 200, and Top Ten around the world. The title track made waves on MTV, but “Run to the Hills” became a sold candidate for their signature track; Rolling Stone magazine listed it at #10 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs. Dickinson’s initial run with the band lasted until 1993, when he left amid interband difficulties for a solo career. Blaze Bayley stood in from 1994 to 1998, but the band’s albums slid down the charts. In 1999, Dickinson returned, as did guitarist Adrian Smith, who had departed around the same time as Dickinson. Rather than remove Janick Gers, who had taken Smith’s place, the band continued with three guitar players (Gers, Smith, and Dave Murray), as well as Dickinson, founder/bassist Steve Harris, and longtime drummer Nicko McBrain. The band continues to fill stadiums around the world, having played for 750,000 fans in Europe across 33 dates in 2023.

6. Pink Floyd

“Wish You Were Here” (Uploaded to YouTube by Pink Floyd)

By 1965, Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright were all playing together as The Pink Floyd Sound; it wasn’t long before the name simply became Pink Floyd. On their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Barrett sang lead on seven tracks, he split with Wright on “Matilda Mother,” Waters took “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk,” and two tunes were instrumentals. In 1967, David Gilmour joined the band as vocalist/guitarist; it was already clear that Barrett’s mental state, whether from nervous breakdown or other factors, wasn’t conducive to continuing in the band. Barrett left before A Saucerful of Secrets, their second album, was finished. From that point onward, Waters, Gilmour, and occasionally Wright would trade lead vocals. Waters made a famously contentious departure from the group in the mid-1980s, and Gilmour, Wright, and Mason would continue as Pink Floyd. In 2005, Waters played with the band at the Live 8 benefit concert, but that would be the last time that all four members reconvened, as Wright passed in 2008.

7. Black Sabbath

“Heaven and Hell (Live)” (Uploaded to YouTube by Black Sabbath)

Metal pioneers Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, and Ozzy Osbourne united in 1968. As Black Sabbath, they’d lay the blueprint for heavy metal and inspire countless bands across a variety of genres. Ozzy’s unmistakable voice led classic tracks like “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” and “War Pigs.” By 1979, relationships in the band had broken down amid heavy drinking and drug use by, well, everybody. However, Ozzy’s condition was seen as somewhat untenable, and he was fired. The band hired Ronnie James Dio as the new frontman, and the metal mystic led them to sell a million copies of 1980’s Heaven and Hell. The band fell into a pattern of comings and goings, as Ward and Butler both left at varying points. Dio quit to form his own band, and Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan joined as singer. Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin, and Dio again would all take turns on the mic. However, in 1997, Iommi broke up the band and reunited the original four. Over time, the band has had successful tours, but fell into the pattern of rotating members and retirements;it’s unlikely that we’ll see the original four teaming up again.

8. Fleetwood Mac

“Go Your Own Way” (Uploaded to YouTube by Fleetwood Mac)

You could probably teach a college course on the shifting line-ups of Fleetwood Mac. This much is true: The band was founded in 1967, and by 1968 the lineup included founder/guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, singer/instrumentalist Jeremy Spencer, and singer/guitarist Danny Kirwan. Green left in 1970, and McVie’s wife Christine joined as a vocalist and keyboardist. Kirwan and Spencer left by 1972, and Bob Welch, Bob Weston, and Dave Walker joined. In 1974, Welch left and Spencer and Walker were let go. Looking for a new guitarist, Fleetwood came across the work of duo Buckingham Nicks at the Sound City studio in L.A. Fleetwood asked Lindsey Buckingham to join, and he said that he would if his girlfriend and musical partner, Stevie Nicks, could too. Do we even have to tell you what happened next? With three instantly recognizable voices in Christine McVie, Buckingham, and Nicks, and the revamped instrumental lineup, Fleetwood Mac became one of the most successful bands in the history of music.

9. Genesis

“Misunderstanding” (Uploaded to YouTube by Genesis)

During the 1970s, English band Genesis were synonymous with progressive rock. Their expansive instrumentation and the showmanship and elaborate costuming of front man Peter Gabriel made them one of the most interesting bands on the scene. After the conclusion of their The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour in 1975, Gabriel left the group. While recording their next album, A Trick of the Tail, the band started to audition vocalists, with drummer Phil Collins teaching the candidates the songs for their try-outs. Collins eventually took a swing at singing one of the songs himself, and the band decided to simply appoint him to the job. The album was an instant hit. In 1977, the band started to move in a more pop-oriented direction. Then came the ’80s. Alternating between his solo career and the band, Collins became the singer with the most Top 40 singles in the decade. Guitarist Mike Rutherford’s side project, Mike + The Mechanics had four Top 40 hits in that span, including the #1 “The Living Years.” (For his part, Gabriel had an awesome ’80s, too.) Collins decided to leave the band in 1996, and Ray Wilson became vocalist before the band went on hiatus a year later. Collins reunited with Genesis for tours in 2007 and 2021. As of 2022, the band has been considered retired.

10. Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship

“Somebody to Love” (Uploaded to YouTube by Jefferson Airplane)

The complete history of Jefferson Airplane and its descendant bands rivals the complicated nature of Fleetwood Mac. Airplane formed in the mid-1960s and debuted with two lead singers: Marty Balin and Signe Anderson. After Anderson left, Grace Slick joined and would soon sing lead on two Airplane classics: “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love.” Balin left the band in 1971. Airplane became Jefferson Starship in 1974, and Balin rejoined in 1975. For ten years, the band had a solid string of hit albums with eight releases going gold and/or platinum. Slick and Balin left in 1978, and Mickey Thomas took over vocals. Slick tapped back in during 1981. In 1984, original founder Paul Kantner decided he was done, but also legally forbade the group from continuing as Jefferson Starship. Renaming themselves Starship, the Thomas/Slick-fronted band had several big hits in the decade, including “We Built This City,” “Sara,” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” Slick left in 1988, but a Thomas-fronted version of Starship continues today.

11. Deep Purple

“Smoke on the Water” (Uploaded to YouTube by Deep Purple)

A band with so many configurations that they instituted the “Mark” system for people to keep track of the four distinct lineups between 1968 and 1976, Deep Purple is a foundational band for progressive rock, hard rock, and metal. The original Mark I vocalist was Rod Evans. While touring in 1969, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice start talking about exploring the heavier side of the band. Evans and bassist Nick Simper were dismissed. After looking for a new singer, the band decided on Ian Gillan (who would later join Black Sabbath); as luck would have it for a band also missing a bassist, Gillian only wanted to join if bassist Roger Glover could join, too. With the new Mark II intact, the band would embark on its most successful period. Two of the band’s most famous songs, “Highway Star” and the immortal first-riff-every-guitarist-learns “Smoke on the Water” came from Mark II, and they would be among the best-selling artists in America in 1973. Gillan left amid tension with Blackmore, and Glover was dismissed. With Mark III, the band hired Glenn Hughes (who would also later join Sabbath) as bassist/vocalist and David Coverdale (later of Whitesnake) as lead singer. Though that version was successful, too, Blackmore ended up quitting in 1975 to former Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow with singer Ronnie James Dio (once again, see Black Sabbath). Mark IV welcomed Tommy Bolin on guitar. The band broke up in 1976, but the Mark II lineup reunited in 1984 and stuck around for five years. From then on, there have been several reconfigurations (they’re on Mark IX now!). The current group includes Gillan, Paice, Glover, Don Airey, and Simon McBride. In 1997, Blackmore formed the neo-Medievalist folk rock band Blackmore’s Night (if you’ve ever been to Great Wolf Lodge, they did all the music for the MagiQuest interactive video games). When Deep Purple was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, the Hall opted to include Glover, Evans, Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan, Hughes, and Coverdale.

12. Journey

“Wheel in the Sky” (Uploaded to YouTube by Journey)

When Journey recorded its self-titled debut in 1974, Gregg Rolie held down the lead vocals. Their sound was originally more progressive rock, even tinged with jazz fusion. After three albums, they were in danger of being dropped by their label, Columbia. Columbia actually insisted that the band should get a new singer to at least share duties with Rolie. In 1977, Journey hired Steve Perry. 1978’s Infinity went to #21 on the Billboard 200 album chart on the strength of two Perry-sung tracks, “Lights” and “Wheel in the Sky.” 1979’s Evolution yielded their first Top 20 single, “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” Departure and “Any Way You Want It” followed in 1980. Rolie left and Jonathan Cain joined the band, emphasizing synths over organ. Perry, Cain, and guitarist Neal Schon were a songwriting force as a unit. 1981’s Escape hit #1 on the album charts and yielded three Top Ten singles: #4 “Who’s Crying Now,” #2 “Open Arms,” and the unofficial second National Anthem, #8 “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Escape has been certified as selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone. The band’s run of success continued through a hiatus and a reunion, but disagreements over touring emerged amid Perry’s health concerns. Perry semiretired in 1998. The band continued on, first with Steve Augeri on vocals until 2006. Jeff Soto briefly took over. Schon found singer Arnel Pineda doing “Faithfully” on YouTube, and he was hired in 2007. Though the current lineup includes Pineda, Schon, and Cain, the last few years have been marked by infighting, lawsuits, and the cancellation of a UK/Ireland tour in 2024.

13. REO Speedwagon

“Roll with the Changes” (Uploaded to YouTube by REO Speedwagon)

REO’s debut album, 1971’s R.E.O. Speedwagon (they’d later drop the periods) featured Terry Luttrell on lead vocals. Here’s where it gets kind of funny. Luttrell departed in 1972 and was replaced for one album by Kevin Cronin. Cronin left, paving the way for Michael Bryan Murphy; Murphy filled the frontman slot for three records. Cronin came back for 1976’s R.E.O. and has remained lead vocalist ever since. After six albums, the frustrated band persuaded their label to let them try what Kiss had done successfully: making a live album to communicate how the band really sounded. Live: You Get What You Play For from 1977 sold a million copies and established Cronin as the voice of the band in the minds of the public. When 1978’s You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish dropped, it sold two million copies on the strength of two REO instant classics “Time for Me to Fly” and “Roll with the Changes.” Kevin Cronin continues with the band today as does guitarist Bruce Hall, who joined in 1977, and keyboardist Neal Doughty, who has the distinction of having playing on every REO album since their founding.

14. Pantera

“Walk” (Uploaded to YouTube by Pantera)

Most music fans probably associate glowering frontman Phil Anselmo with metal legends Pantera, but he didn’t take the stick until after the band had done three albums with Terry Glaze. The band was founded by brothers “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and “Dimebag Darrell” Abbott on drums and guitar, respectively. Glaze was lead singer, and bassist Rex Brown filled out the lineup in 1982. The first three albums were rooted in the glam metal that was huge in the 1980s, although they got heavier with the third record, I Am the Night. By 1986, it was clear that Brown and the Abbott brothers were going in a different musical direction, and Glaze exited the band. After a couple of abortive tries, the band filled the singer slot with Anselmo. With 1988’s Power Metal, the band leaned more into thrash and ditched the glam look. 1990 saw the release of Cowboys from Hell, a landmark thrash album that solidified their standing, eventually selling two million copies in the U.S. Vuglar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven put them in the upper echelon of metal. The band fell apart in the early 2000s after a long absence and Anselmo’s health issues. The Abbott brothers formed Damageplan, and Darrell was tragically murdered on stage in Ohio in 2004. Vinnie Paul considered any thought of a reunion closed without his brother. Vinnie Paul died in 2018. In 2022, Anselmo and Brown formed a new version of Pantera with metal veterans Zakk Wylde on guitar and Charlie Benante on drums.

15. Nightwish

“Ghost Love Score (Official Live)” (Uploaded to YouTube by Nuclear Blast Records)

Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish was founded in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. Turunen’s operatic vocals fit the sweeping metal style that Holopainen has likened to film soundtracks.
The band’s fifth album, 2004’s Once, was a true international breakthrough, eventually selling over two million copies around the world. However, in 2005, the rest of the band gave Turunen an open letter that was later posted online to dismiss her from the group. That rancor played in international press as the two sides exchanged words. In 2006, Swedish singer Anette Olzon joined the band. Their next album, Dark Passion Play, was another smash. Midway through the Imaginaerum tour in 2012, Olzon was fired. There were disputes about the reasons; Olzon claimed it was because she was pregnant and was against the band using a substitute singer for shows she might not be able to do. Nevertheless, Olzon was replaced by Dutch singer Floor Jansen. She finished the 2012 tour and was confirmed as new lead singer in 2013. The next two albums with Jansen were international successes, and a third is poised for release in late September 2024. As an added bonus, the band’s performance of their track “Ghost Love Score” with Jansen on vocals from the Wacken Open Air festival in 2013 had become the kind of permanently viral video that most bands today crave. The epic 10-minute tune shows Jansen in full-on Valkyrie mode, putting every phase of her voice (operatic, rock, etc.) through its paces as the band plies an epic soundscape. While the original video was viewed 34 million times, it’s become the subject of dozens, if not hundreds, of reaction videos as people watch Jansen in awe.