Rock’s Greatest Comebacks: Bands and Artists Who Defied the Odds

Getting one’s career as a musician back on track is rarely an easy venture, but these four bands made it look easy. Let’s take a walk through music history and explore four of rock’s greatest comebacks!

1. Heart

Heart did very well for themselves in the 1970s with their folk rock/hard rock sound. Sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson, like many musicians in their position, eventually saw their careers begin a steady decline. Luckily, they made a very particular set of choices that launched them into a whole new successful era of Heart. 

They changed to a new label, hired a few songwriters, and volumized their hair. With the release of their 1985 self-titled album, Heart was back in business.

2. Whitesnake

Rock’s greatest comebacks have often been surprising. Whitesnake’s resurgence was particularly surprising. The band was starting to lose its grip commercially, and David Coverdale decided to fire the entirety of Whitesnake (other than himself, of course). He ditched the bluesy vibe of early Whitesnake and went in a glam metal direction, and it worked. The band’s 1987 self-titled record was a huge commercial success.

3. Iron Maiden

When Bruce Dickinson quit Iron Maiden in the early 1990s, nobody was really surprised. Nicko McBrain was particularly excited about his departure and was ready to find a new lead vocalist. Sadly, the band fell into significant commercial decline soon after. 

It seemed like it was all over for Iron Maiden. Thankfully, in 1999, Dickinson returned to the band and they released Brave New World. That album was a huge success and launched a few humungous world tours.

4. David Bowie

David Bowie suffered some health issues in 2004 and took a pretty hefty break from music. Few expected him to return. However, he did return; and it was a wild ride. 

Bowie released a surprise single titled “Where Are We Know?” in 2013, and the internet blew up. That single and its album The Next Day became his first chart-toppling successes in about two decades. Sadly, his career came to an end a few years later when he passed away from liver cancer, but the man went out with a bang.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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