Musicians Kicked Out Of Groups Just Before They Made It Big

You know The Who. They're one of those classic 20th-century rock bands who were so ubiquitous and well-known that the name of each and every member is basically etched into music history. Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon are all counted among the most iconic musicians of the century. Someone who isn't quite counted among the most iconic musicians of the century is a fellow called Doug Sandom.

Doug joined a band called the Detours in 1962, sticking with the band when a naming conflict — with another act called the Detours — led to the first group to rename themselves The Who. Despite that rocky start, things began to look up when the band scheduled an audition with Fontana Records, an opportunity they hoped would lead to their big break. Sadly, Sandom snuffed it: at the time, his marriage was under pressure and his age meant that he'd come to resent the time commitment the band required of its members. Because of this, he ended up in a bad mood at the wrong time. After the audition, Townshend reprimanded him for his mistakes to such an extent that Sandom was gone by the end of the day. To make matters worse, Sandom had defended Townshend's continued membership in The Who to the others only months before. Ouch.

Jason Everman might be the only person in history to have the distinction — or the dishonor — of being kicked out of two of the world's biggest bands in his career. After a troublesome childhood developed into a love for punk rock, Everman joined a little band called Nirvana in the late '80s through a connection with a childhood friend.

He became an integral part of the band, but soon soured on the touring lifestyle and cut himself off socially from the members he shared a tour bus with. Kurt Cobain would later dismiss Everman as being nothing more than a moody metalhead, and he was kicked out of the band shortly after. Everman would then go on to join Soundgarden, an experience he appeared to enjoy far more. It was a shock to the system, then, when Chris Cornell and the rest of the band called a meeting and kicked Everman out at the end of one of their tours. According to Soundgarden's road manager, it came down to much the same reason as his dismissal from Nirvana: They felt he had a moody attitude.

Nirvana and Soundgarden soon became two of the biggest bands on the planet. Everman tried his hand with a couple different bands, before deciding to do "the most uncool thing you could possibly do" and join the U.S. Army. He ended up in the Special Forces and would go on to fight in Iraq. Heck of a story.

The clue is in the name with this one. The latter part of the name "Guns N' Roses" refers, as you might be able to guess, to vocalist and rock icon Axl Rose. What's less well-known, however, is that the "Guns" part refers to someone, too. Tracii Guns first met Axl Rose in the mid-'80s. Tracii was in a band called L.A. Guns and brought in Axl after spotting him at a show, during which time he was singing for Hollywood Rose. Shortly after, they changed the name of L.A. Guns to Guns N' Roses.

Tracii only lasted about eight months in the band, sadly, before he and Axl found themselves engaged in a cataclysmic and slightly bigger-than-necessary fight over the inclusion of Michelle Young, a childhood friend of Slash, on a show's guest list. Tracii left the band a few shows later, having decided it simply wasn't fun anymore. Whether there was something else at play with his departure is a mystery, but it's worth pointing out that Guns was replaced, a short time later, by Slash himself. Make of that what you will.

Metalheads might recognize Paul Di'Anno as a member of a whole range of different bands, including Killers, Praying Mantis, and Gogmagog. His early days, however, were marked by his time as the vocalist for an altogether more recognizable act: Iron Maiden. Di'Anno's gruff style was more suited to Iron Maiden's early forays into the punk movement, and he joined the band three years after its formation in 1975. By 1981, after the recording of only two studio albums, he was kicked out of the group and replaced by Bruce Dickinson.

Allegedly, Di'Anno was removed because the band (that is, Steve Harris) was unhappy with his vocal style. According to Di'Anno himself, it's because Iron Maiden is "a money-making machine," insisting that he doesn't "give a f**k about it," either. Di'Anno then responded to claims that he was pushed out for drug abuse by stating that it's necessary to take drugs when with Iron Maiden because they're "so f*****g boring." A graceful exit, then.

The Rolling Stones might have a solid claim to being one of the biggest rock and roll acts of all time. Their 50-year career has spawned 25 studio albums, countless awards, and some mind-bogglingly big headline shows. They're basically synonymous with the musician's lifestyle, the band every band wants to be. Just imagine, then, the scale of the tragedy behind founding member Brian Jones' departure from the group.

Described by Rolling Stone as the "soul" of the Stones, Jones was a crucial member of the band, appearing most often before the media to defend their style and even standing out at the front of most publicity shots in the band's early days. He remained with the band as they took their first steps on the long road to success, but it came at a price: He was convicted of possession of cannabis in 1967 and suffered from severe mental health issues as a result of the pressure placed on his everyday life. In 1969, after a second bust for possession had put even more pressure on both his physical health and the band, he announced his departure from the Rolling Stones, citing a difference in music policy as the reason. Jones was found dead in his own swimming pool only a month later. He was 27 years old.

Doug Hopkins was a musician from Arizona who formed a band called Gin Blossoms in 1987. The group took off, eventually signing a recording contract with A&M, a career decision that didn't really sit right with Hopkins. They carried on, however, recording the music that would eventually come together to become the band's first full album with A&M. Before it was released, however, Hopkins was fired from the band at A&M's request after his drinking became too much of a problem for the group. What began as disaster soon turned into a waking nightmare: New Miserable Experience, an album Hopkins had taken the lead in writing, went on to become a chart success. 

Over the course of his life, Hopkins had struggled with alcoholism and depression. Perhaps these demons, combined with his own personal feelings of betrayal, and the distress he felt at his music making his ex-bandmates rich and famous all proved too much. In 1993, he shot himself in the head in his own apartment.

Elbridge Bryant, known to his friends as "Al," was a member of The Distants from their formation right through to their rebranding, first as The Elgins and then, after being signed to Motown, as The Temptations. The group first appeared in the R&B charts in 1962 with a handful of successful songs (and a brief, unfortunate third rebranding which led them to become The Pirates), but failed to really take off until 1964, when they released "The Way You Do the Things You Do," their first Top 20 hit.

Bryant was the oldest of the group, but he had become a heavy drinker earlier in life. In 1963, about a year before that first hit, he had been kicked out of the group. His alcoholism caused erratic behavior and had begun to threaten the fabric of the team. By 1975, he was dead after a long fight with cirrhosis of the liver.

In 1990, Crystal Jones devised a girl group that would skirt the line between hip-hop and R&B. Working with a local record producer, she recruited two bandmates to join her in this endeavor: Lisa Lopes and Tionne Watkins. The group (originally known as 2nd Nature) scored an audition in front of Perri "Pebbles" Reid, who suggested they rename to TLC-Skee. They were then brought to the attention of LaFace Records and Antonio Reid.

Here's when things fell apart for Jones. A documentary film called CrazyS*xyCool: The TLC Story suggested she was kicked out around this time because she couldn't sing. However, according to Jones, when she was presented with a lengthy contract, she asked Pebbles whether she could take it home for her mother to look over. Pebbles refused, demanding she sign it immediately, and Jones said no. Either way, Crystal was soon replaced with another "C" — Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas — and the group went on to achieve a torrent of success during the '90s.

Brian Jones wasn't the only victim of the success of The Rolling Stones — but, as his tragic end proves, it could have been far worse for this one. Ian Stewart was one of the band's original six members. During the band's earliest days, he would play the piano and the keyboards for the band and helped guide the group more toward blues and jazz. What's more, he basically ran the show logistically, driving the van, carrying gear, running sound checks, and making sure everybody got to stage on time.

Soon, however, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger began to take the band in a rockier direction, which proved unsatisfactory for Stewart, who insisted they keep to their R&B roots. The influence of their new manager Andrew Oldham (who wasn't exactly a fan of Stewart's look) led to Stewart being fired from the band. Stewart took his firing on the chin and agreed to stay on as a road manager. He would continue in this job for decades to come.

Chad Channing was a musician from California who joined a band called Nirvana in 1988. Together, they recorded the songs that would become their first album, Bleach, which was a moderate success for the band. In no time at all, however, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic had become frustrated with Channing's input, while Channing himself began to recognize certain creative differences in his view of where the band should go. In 1990, he departed the band and was replaced by Dave Grohl. Despite all this, he remained on good terms with the rest of the group.

Decades after the split, Channing recalled, "the reality is I didn't really give them much of a choice but to kick me out of the band. It was a situation that I should have quit ... before I was kicked out." Nirvana's second album, Nevermind, was released a year later. You've probably heard of it.