Classic Rock Legends From The '70s Who Returned Decades Later To Top Their Original Performances

Like the music itself, rock performances hit new heights in the 1970s. As bands played some of the biggest concerts ever, music technology and stagecraft continued to evolve. Artists that started in the '60s came into their own, and kids raised on Elvis and The Beatles demanded the spotlight. No doubt, bands of that decade, from Aerosmith to Zeppelin, turned in career-defining, legendary performances. But while rock 'n' roll isn't known for second acts, some '70s classic rock legends disappeared for decades, only to reemerge stronger than ever. Long after they made their names, acts like the Eagles, Black Sabbath, and Cher found new life on stage and even eclipsed their original performances.

Countless 1970s bands have reunited long after their initial climb to tap into fan (and their own) nostalgia. Fair enough. But it's rare for an artist to hit a new echelon during their comeback, and rarer still for them to sound and perform better than they did before. As we assembled our list of classic rock legends who topped their '70s shows years later, we made sure to include a range of musical styles reflecting the diversity of rock music of that decade. At the end of the day, these legends pulled off the nearly impossible: They escaped the shadows of their own legacies and forever redefined how they'll be remembered in the future.

The Eagles ruled the '70s airwaves and captured a distinctly Californian sound with its smooth, country-inflected rock. Formed in 1971, the band's legendary 1976 song and album, "Hotel California," paved the way for the subsequent tour, which cemented the group's status as a classic rock icon. But by the end of the decade, tension brewed between the band members. Things came to a head during a benefit concert in Long Beach, California, in 1980 as guitarists Glenn Frey and Don Felder threatened each other between songs. As reported by American Songwriter, soon after, Henley told a reporter that the band would only reform "when hell freezes over."

Fourteen years later, temperatures must have dropped because the Eagles —  Frey, Felder, drummer Don Henley, guitarist Joe Walsh, and bassist Timothy B. Schmit — reunited. In 1994, the band recorded a live album, "Hell Freezes Over," and shot a special for MTV before embarking on a world tour. That album and subsequent shows captured musicians breathing new life into their '70s hits. As Frey noted in the documentary "History of the Eagles," "I know when I came back to play in the band in 1994, I was a much better musician, and I was a much more confident player and singer." Older, wiser, and more self-assured, the Eagles made classics like "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman" sound better than ever before.

While Black Sabbath had other lead singers during the band's multi-decade run, it was with Ozzy Osbourne in front that it formed and charted a new path for rock music. The early '70s albums "Paranoid," "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," and "Vol. 4" cemented the group's status as heavy metal pioneers and icons. Spending most of the decade on the road, Osbourne's over-the-top stage antics and Tony Iommi's gritty but virtuosic guitar work made live performances the stuff of legend. But touring — and the excessive lifestyle that came with it — wore on the band. Because of his excesses and uncontrolled alcohol and drug use, Osbourne was axed from the unit in April 1979. 

Black Sabbath continued into the '80s — most notably with Ronnie James Dio at the helm — and with Osbourne focusing on his solo career, the hopes of a reunion faded. However, almost two decades after Osbourne's exit in 1997, the original line-up reunited for two shows at the NEC Arena in their native Birmingham, England. Both were captured on the 1998 "Reunion" live album, and the band sounds heavier than ever, soaking in the weight of its own power. By this point, Osbourne no longer performed high or drunk, which seems to make his performance that much more commanding. The group's rendition of "War Pigs" (the first song off "Paranoid") simply soars as Osbourne swaps verses with an audience of thousands of frenzied fans. Black Sabbath's original lineup would reform periodically in the following years, most recently for a final show on July 5, 2025, mere days before Osbourne died at 76.

Cher is in rare company because she's come back multiple times. Originally hitting the scene in the late '60s as part of the folk duo Sonny & Cher, she embarked on a highly successful solo career in the '70s. After scoring No. 1 hits with 1971's "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" album and the follow-up, 1974's "Half Breed," she paused her music career in the middle of the decade before coming back for the first time with 1979's disco-inflected album "Take Me Home." With an extravagant stage show and Cher's undeniable stage presence, the world tour in support of the album included a long-running residency at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

After taking another break to focus on acting in the middle of the '80s, Cher returned to form a second time with soft rock ballads like "If I Could Turn Back Time." However, with the 1999 release of the "Believe" album and the eponymous Auto-Tune-driven hit single, the singer's "Do You Believe?" tour added new chapters to her already storied career. Behind powerful renditions of her songs as well as covers, the stage show set a new standard for pop and rock. It was the kind of brightly colored, visually stunning spectacle that only she could pull off. At age 53 and decades after first shining bright, Cher had captured the spotlight once again.

With the group's iconic, horror-meets-glam look and rollicking, anthemic hard rock, Kiss embodied 1970s spectacle and excess. On the backs of hits like 1975's "Rock And Roll All Nite" and 1976's "Shout It Out Loud," they were the ultimate arena rockers with shows heavy on costumes, pyrotechnics, props, smoke machines, and make-up. While the band never really stopped, things were messed up behind the scenes. Original drummer Peter Criss was fired in 1980, and lead guitarist Ace Frehley split in 1982. In 1983, the band members even ditched their iconic make-up, appearing cleaned up in a music video for the song "Lick It Up." 

But the original members — and iconic glam look — did make a return. The original quartet first reunited on stage when Frehley and Criss joined bassist and lead singer Gene Simmons and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley on stage during an "MTV Unplugged" session in August 1995. The following year, Kiss returned with its iconic lineup, makeup, and stage show. Fans were ecstatic, and the reunion world tour became the highest-grossing of 1996. In the Daily News, the reviewer of a concert at Madison Square Garden glowed, writing, "KISS blew the bejeezes out of tons of stuff at their komeback koncert last night." Twenty years after first dazzling arenas, Kiss came back grittier, dirtier, and more glorious than ever.

In the '70s, few bands burned as brightly as folk- and country-inflected rockers Fleetwood Mac. In 1974, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined with Mick Fleetwood, Jonathan McVee, and Christine McVee to form the classic line-up of the group, which took it to new heights. With the massive success of the "Rumours" album (the second with this lineup), the band toured from February 1977 to the end of the year and into 1978, hitting a creative and commercial summit.

The making of "Rumours" was full of drama, as both couples in the band — Nicks and Buckingham, and Christine and John McVie — broke up during writing and recording. Understandably, tensions bled into the writing, making the members' performances legendary (Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" and Nicks' "Dreams" rank among the most powerful breakup songs). By the early '80s, both Buckingham and Nicks would leave to pursue solo careers, and the fire that pushed the group to the top seemed to have consumed it.

However, in 1997, the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up reunited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Rumours." Like the Eagles, the group filmed an MTV special, recorded a live album, and embarked on a world tour. Listening to the album, you can hear that the years and history added heft to their material, and it was a rousing success. Fans were entranced by the sparks they saw on stage and the crowd's ecstatic frenzy. On the fan website The Nicks Fix, one concert-goer who went to a Hartford, Connecticut show recalled, "They were definitely at their peak."