Some bands are an institution, and they become bigger than each member. Yet there are also some cases in which specific musicians have a big solo career, and even sometimes they transform into better and more recognizable figures on their own, surpassing their original groups. Here are three cases:
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy was an English heavy metal singer, known for being Black Sabbath’s singer as well as for his solo career.
His fruitful solo career had many popular albums like Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, The Ultimate Sin, and No More Tears. He helped and took under his wing many young musicians like the guitarists Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and Zakk Wylde.
He is considered a heavy metal legend, with the nickname of Prince of Darkness; he’s in the Top 10 best heavy metal singers.
Since the late 70s, he has gone back and forth from Black Sabbath to his solo career. He also created a huge Festival named Ozzfest along with his wife Sharon and son Jack, in which they featured many famous as well as emerging bands. They also participated in a very popular reality show on MTV, The Osbournes.
On July 5, 2025, he gave his last show with Black Sabbath and a handful of other bands close to him and then died a couple of weeks after, leaving behind a great and loved career by us, music fans.
Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson is an English singer best known as the singer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, famous for an operatic vocal style and an almost gymnastic stage presence.
Started in the band Samson, then joined Iron Maiden, and then quit to go solo, being away for 6 years, in which he released great albums like The Chemical Wedding and Accident of Birth. Since he returned to his main band, he has done two more solo albums.
Besides being a singer, Bruce is a modern Da Vinci; he has stood out as a commercial pilot, fencer, and businessman, just to name a few other interests.
In this case, I’m biased because Iron Maiden is my favorite band of all time, and I think his work with them is unbeatable, but I also like his solo work.
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American singer who rose to fame as the founder and vocalist of the band White Zombie. Then he had a prolific solo career, yet he is also very famous as an actor and director of horror movies like House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, among others.