A Brief Look at Supergroups

Inspired by booking my plane reservations out to California for the Coachella Music Festival and my excitement to see Them Crooked Vultures, I thought I would write today’s post about the rise of the super group in the 21st century. I was going to talk about Them Crooked Vultures, Velvet Revolver, Audioslave and Gnarls Barkley. Then I realized I that in my naïve, self-centered youth I managed to omit half a century of super groups.
Probably one of the most important super groups of all time was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Both Stephen Stills and Neil Young came from Buffalo Springfield. David Crosby had been playing with The Byrds, and Graham Nash played with The Hollies (2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee). I have no idea how I could’ve even thought about super groups without thinking of this first. Maybe it’s because I have never heard them referred to them as a super group. Maybe the idea of a super group didn’t exist in the 60s and 70s because Eric Clapton was joining and leaving new bands every two years, and it was too exhausting to dub reach of them a super group. Who knows, but it is clear that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young by today’s definition is a super group.
1985 saw the creation of another awe inspiring super group that cannot be ignored. The Highwaymen was made up of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. They released three albums during their time together. I have no idea why there is not a bio-pic made about this group, but I’m going to talk to me screen writer friend and see if that’s something he could do. That could make bank.
Finally I will point to the Traveling Wilburys, which is another super group that rivals all other super groups. Its members included the Late GREAT George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lyne of the Electric Light Orchestra and Roy Orbison. They put out two albums; “The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1” and “The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 3”.
There are many that are left out of this list, but these are the big ones I could think of. The real problem with super groups is that when you put that many musical geniuses together it can lead to clashes of ego and artistry, so they don’t seem to last much past a few albums, but it is great to enjoy them while they are around.