Zombie Bands Attack! These Touring Groups Don't Have a Single Original Member (2024)

August 5, 2024

• Foreigner

  

  What happened? From the day Foreigner formed in 1976, guitarist Mick Jones was at the helm. He was their primary songwriter, and the one who hired/fired the others. When original singer Lou Gramm left the band for a second time in 2003, Jones was the last original member left. He led a new incarnation of the group until health problems gradually reduced his role within the group, finally forcing him off the road a couple of years back.

  Credibility? It’s pretty minimal. Former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson has been in the group the longest at this point, followed closely by frontman Kelly Hansen. But they both joined in the 2000s, long after the last hit was recorded. They do a very nice job playing the classics, and they’re in the middle of a successful summer tour right now, but this is a glorified cover band.

  Potential Reunion? It’s happening Oct. 19 when Foreigner are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Nothing has been 100 percent confirmed, but all signs point to Jones, Gramm, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, and bassist Rick Willis getting their “Double Vision” on one last time. The event falls shortly before the end of Gramm’s solo farewell tour, meaning this is the end of authentic Foreigner. Fake Foreigner, however, will likely tour forever — even though they claim they are on their own farewell tour at the moment.

• The Platters, Drifters, and Coasters

  

  What Happened? Lumping these three Fifties R&B vocal groups into one entity may seem like a gross injustice since they are distinct groups with their own unique histories. But, sadly, the original members didn’t own the rights to their own group names, and they were forced to helplessly watch imitators flood concert stages all over the world pretending to be them. Savvy promoters often hired a single elderly member in an attempt to make audience members feel they were seeing one original. These groups formed 70 years ago, and the real members are no longer with us in every single case.

  Credibility? Thanks to decades of legal battles, the heirs of the original members finally have the copyrights. That hasn’t stopped shady promoters from throwing fake versions onto the stage, meaning you should do your research before buying tickets. And even then you’re seeing skilled singers carry on the legacy of these groups, not the real deals.

  Potential Reunion? Nil.

• The Four Tops

  

  What Happened? The original Four Tops lineup of Levi Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and Lawrence Payton remained intact from their formation in 1953 all the way through 1997 when Payton died. It was a 44-year run with few precedents in music history. (During that same time, a small army of men came and went from the Temptations.) But Stubbs retired from the group in 2000 after suffering a stroke, and he died in 2008. And when Benson died in 2005, Fakir was suddenly leading a new version of the band by himself. He died July 22, 2024.

  Credibility? Lawrence Payton Jr. has been touring in his father’s place for many years. And the other three members were handpicked by Fakir himself. There may not be a single vocalist in the group that sang on any of the Four Tops’ original recordings, but this incarnation still has more credibility than the Platters, Drifters, or Coasters combined.

  Potential Reunion? Only up in heaven.

• Lynyrd Skynyrd

  

  What Happened? The short answer is time, illness, and one of the most horrific plane crashes in rock history. That 1977 accident killed frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines. The surviving members came back together with Johnny Van Zant, younger brother of Ronnie Van Zant, singing lead. But the surviving members died one by one over the years, until guitarist Gary Rossington was the last one left. He died in 2023.

  Credibility? The current incarnation of Skynyrd has a much greater claim to legitimacy than many of the other groups on this list. A big reason is the tireless work of Johnny Van Zant over the past four decades. He sings his heart out every night in a voice eerily reminiscent of his late brother. There’s also guitarist Rickey Medlocke, who played drums very briefly in the group before they found success in the early Seventies and returned to the fold as a guitarist in 1996. One could even argue that Skynyrd shouldn’t be on this list because Medlocke is still a member. But he left before the band recorded the first album. He seems to fall one tiny degree short of counting as an actual OG, but good people can disagree on this.

  Potential Reunion? The entire original lineup of the band is now dead, but drummer Artimus Pyle joined in 1975 and plays on several of their most famous songs, including “What’s Your Name” and “That Smell.” He’s the only living former member of the band who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. His return would give the group a bit more credibility, but it’s pretty unlikely. Relations between the two camps are pretty strained.

• Blood, Sweat & Tears

  

  What Happened? Blood, Sweat & Tears were one of the most popular groups of the late Sixties and early Seventies, scoring big hits like “Spinning Wheel,” “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” and “And When I Die.” They won Album of the Year at the 1970 Grammys over the Beatles’ Abbey Road, the first Crosby, Stills, & Nash record, and Johnny Cash’s At San Quentin. Their popularity took a big dip when they went on a U.S. Department of State-sponsored tour of Eastern Europe in the summer of 1970. Their lineup also changed quite a bit, with singer David Clayton-Thomas sticking around the longest. When he left in 2004, the group no longer had any authentic members.

  Credibility? A truly astonishing number of musicians have played in Blood, Sweat & Tears over the past few decades. They were even fronted by American Idol‘s Bo Bice at one point. Their current singer is The Voice contestant Keith Paluso. Original guitarist Steve Katz played with them a few times between 2008 and 2010, and founding bassist Jim Fielder performed with the band in 2022. But 99 percent of the time that you’re seeing Blood, Sweat & Tears, it’s an entirely new set of musicians with no connection to the classic band.

  Potential Reunion? Clayton-Thomas has kept a very low profile since Covid hit. It’s within the realm of possibility he could unite with fellow Blood, Sweat & Tears alumni like Fielder, Katz, organist Al Kooper, and drummer Bobby Colomby for a tour. But it’s unlikely, since they’re all nearing 80 or slightly past it and no longer care to tour. For better or worse, they’ve passed the baton onto a new generation of the band.

• Iron Butterfly

  

  What Happened? The classic Iron Butterfly quartet of Erik Brann, Ron Bushy, Lee Dorman, and Doug Ingle recorded the psychedelic mega-hit “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” in 1968. They splinted apart almost immediately after that. Drummer Bushy stuck around the longest, but he retired from the road in 2012 and died in 2021. (Ingle died in May.) The longest-serving member of the current band, singer-guitarist Eric Barnett, joined in 1995. The others signed up in the 2000s.

  Credibility? The best thing they can say is that Barnett spent many years performing with original members, including “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” singer/organist Doug Ingle. The others logged at least a little time in the band with Bushy. That gives them more cred than an Iron Butterfly tribute band, but not a ton.

  Potential Reunion? It’ll require some very powerful smelling salts.

• Molly Hatchet

  

  What Happened? Southern rockers Molly Hatchet filled the void left behind by Lynyrd Skynyrd when they entered the scene in 1978. In the early Eighties, the band scored big hits with “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” “Bloody Reunion,” and “Satisfied Man.” But the founding members all faced significant health problems in the years that followed. When guitarist Steve Holland died from Covid in 2020, the complete original lineup was gone.

  Credibility? Keyboardist John Galvin joined in 1983 and played on some of their latter hits. Guitarist Bobby Ingram came onboard in 1987, just as they were starting to transition into a legacy act. The other members were hired in the 2000s. The presence of Galvin and Ingram does grant them a degree of authenticity, but nearly every song in their set was recorded after they joined.

  Potential Reunion? The complete classic lineup is dead. A handful of Nineties members remain, but their return wouldn’t mean all that much. For all intents and purposes, the current Molly Hatchet are as close to a reunion as is possible.

• Blackfoot

  

  What Happened? Rickey Medlocke formed Blackfoot with his buddy Greg T. Walker in 1969, a couple of years before Medlocke joined a pre-fame Lynyrd Skynyrd. He recommitted to the band after leaving Skynyrd and helped them establish a foothold as one of the premier Southern rock bands of the late Seventies and early Eighties. They are best remembered today for their hits “Railroad Man,” “Highway Song,” and “Fly Away.” The band dissolved in the early Nineties, a few years before Medlocke joined Skynyrd, where he remains to this day. In 2012, Medlocke put together a new version of the band. And in 2021, he put yet another slate of musicians on the road as Blackfoot.

  Credibility? The living members are not thrilled about Medlocke controlling the band’s trademark. They even toured briefly under the moniker Fired Guns. That band didn’t have the name, but they did have a much more legit claim to the Blackfoot legacy. The current incarnation has very little beyond the blessing of Medlocke.

  Potential Reunion? There’s bad blood between Medlocke and the others, so it’s hard to imagine this ever happening.

• The Ventures

  

  What Happened? Prior to the Beatles, instrumental rock bands were the rage in America. Few were as popular as the Ventures. Led by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, they landed massive hits on the charts like “Walk Don’t Run” and the theme to Hawaii Five-O. Along the way, they inspired a generation of young guitarists to first pick up an instrument. Bogle died in 2009, and Wilson followed in 2022. The current version is led by guitarist Bob Spalding, who has been playing with the band since 1980.

  Credibility? Spalding spent many years touring with Wilson, Bogle, and classic-era members Nokie Edwards and Mel Taylor. He’s the closest thing to an original Venture still involved in the music industry. Any incarnation of the Ventures with him in the lineup is more than a cover band, even if he didn’t play on the classic recordings of the Fifties and Sixties.

  Potential Reunion? Every single person who played on “Walk Don’t Run” is no longer among the living. Four-star retired Gen. George T. Babbitt Jr. did briefly play with the band in 1959, shortly before they cut “Walk Don’t Run.” If he feels inclined to sit in with the group one night at age 82, it would be a reunion of sorts. That’s about the best they could offer.

• The Spinners

  

  What Happened? The Spinners formed in 1954, but thanks to a disastrous stint on Motown in the Sixties, they didn’t find their footing until the Seventies when they had an impressive run of hits, including “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “Then Came You,” and “One of a Kind (Love Affair).” They had difficulty adjusting to the Eighties despite their amazing work on the Spaceballs soundtrack, but continued to tour heavily. By the time they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, baritone singer Henry Fambrough was the last remaining original member. He died a year later.

  Credibility? Co-lead tenor Charlie Washington has been with the group since 2007. He’s now the member with the longest history in the act. Most of his bandmates spent at least a little time working with Fambrough, so there’s some form of connective tissue to the past. But it’s pretty thin.

  Potential Reunion? Vocalist John Edwards was with the band from 1977 to 2000, when he was sidelined by a stroke. G.C. Cameron’s history with the band stretches back to 1967, and he sang lead on “It’s a Shame” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” He came back for a short time in the 2000s but has been absent ever since. Both singers could get with the current group at some point, but don’t hold your breath.

• The Kingston Trio

  

  What Happened? The Kingston Trio introduced folk music to suburban America in 1958 when they brought the traditional song “Tom Dooley” to Number One. They followed it up with a long string of hits, including “A Worried Man,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” and “Reverend Mr. Black.” As soon as the Beatles landed at JFK, their act seemed hopelessly passé. They took a break in 1967 before partial reunions became a mainstay on the oldies circuit. Original member Bob Shane secured the name rights in the Seventies and stuck with the group until he suffered a heart attack in 2004. He died in 2020, and there are now no original members still alive.

  Credibility? The name rights are now owned by Josh Reynolds, son of original member Nick Reynolds. He puts a group on the road that does a fine job of honoring the legacy of the original band, but there’s no real connection to the classic lineup beyond a business one.

  Potential Reunion? The “Tom Dooley” lineup of Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane are all gone, so it’s not possible.

• The Four Freshmen

  

  What Happened? Back in 1948, there were indeed four young singers in the harmony group the Four Freshmen: Hal Kratzsch, Dan Barbour, Ron Barbour, and Bob Flanigan. “Bob and the Freshmen were my harmonic education,” Brian Wilson recalled decades later. “My dad took me to see them in 1958. I was blown away by their sound. Seeing that show inspired me to create the music I did with the Beach Boys.” Ironically, it was the Beach Boys and other modern groups of the Sixties that turned the Four Freshmen into yesterday’s news. But they never stopped touring and recording. The original four members retired long ago. The last two of them died in 2011.

  Credibility? Bass singer Bob Ferreira joined the current band in 1992. The others joined in the 2000s. In Wilson’s memoir I Am Brian Wilson, he recalls meeting them backstage at one of their recent shows. “I told them how I first heard them on a demonstration record at a department store,” he wrote. “It wasn’t those Four Freshmen, of course, but I liked pretending. It was a kind of time machine.” If they’re good enough for Brian Wilson, they’re good enough for us.

  Potential Reunion? This is a group that formed in the friggin’ Forties. It’s a miracle they exist in any form right now. But a reunion of the OGs isn’t possible in this world.