1. Nirvana
Nirvana started in 1987 in Aberdeen, Washington. The band consisted of members, Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic.
Nirvana released their first studio album, "Bleach" in 1989. They went on to release two more albums, "Nevermind" in 1991 and "In Utero" in 1993. Their most popular song is "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
In an unfortunate twist of events, the sudden fame and the stress of mental instability appeared to be too much for lead singer Kurt Cobain, who "committed suicide" in 1994. Grohl and Novoselic would choose to disband instead of replace Cobanin.
Grohl would go on to form the highly successful alt rock band, the Foo Fighters, which he is still a member of today. Novoselic played with bands like Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift and Flipper.
2. Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd had quite a bumpy ride from start to finish. They formed in 1965 running into the 2010s. However, this was not with original members start to finish. Members included Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, David Gilmour and Roger Waters.
Pink Floyd released 14 studio albums over the duration of their time. They released their first album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" in 1967. Their other albums include "A Saucerful of Secrets" in 1968, "More" and "Ummagumma" in 1969, "Atom Heart Mother" in 1970, "Meddle" in 1971, "Obscured by Clouds" in 1972, "The Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973, "Wish You Were Here" in 1975, "Animals" in 1977, "The Wall" in 1979, "The Final Cut" in 1983, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" in 1987, and finally "The Division Bell" in 1994.
They are most well known for their albums "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall".
Syd Barrett was part of the band from 1965-1968 before leaving due to mental issues as well as drug problems. He would release two solo albums, "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett", both in 1970. Barrett eventually passed away in 2006. Even though he was not part of Pink Floyd for very long Barrett had influenced the band in major ways.
Nick Mason was one of the members that stuck with the band for the duration of their time, though he created a solo album, "Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports" in 1981, during one of the bands lulls. He is the only member to appear on all Pink Floyd albums.
Richard Wright is another member of Pink Floyd that spent most of his career with the band. He made two solo albums, "Wet Dreams" in 1978, during a lull and then "Broken China" in 1996.
David Gilmour would be brought in to cover for Syd Barrett in 1967, when Barrett couldn't perform. However, this turned to a full time position for Gilmour when Barrett left the group permanently. Gilmour would be with Pink Floyd from then to the end of the band. Gilmour would create 4 solo albums, only one coming after the end of Pink Floyd. The albums include "David Glimour" in 1978, "About Face" in 1984, "On an Island" in 2006 and "Rattle That Lock" in 2015.
Roger Waters, perhaps the most well known member of Pink Floyd, had many ups and downs with the band. He was with the band from 1965 until 1985 when he abruptly left due to creative differences. He would sue his band mates for the rights of the name "Pink Floyd". The lawsuit would be carried on for approximately 7 years. Obviously, the band was able to continue to use the name and Waters has said he regrets suing them at all. Waters released 4 solo albums, "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking" in 1984, "Radio K.A.O.S." in 1987, "Amused to Death" in 1992 and "Is This the Life We Really Want?" in 2017.
Waters, Mason and Wright appeared together on stage for the first time in 24 years in 2005 to perform one final performance together as Pink Floyd. The band officially called it quits in 2014, agreeing they are all getting too old to tour and have no plans of making any new music. Though the members still perform some of Pink Floyd's songs separately, it is very rare that more than one of them appear on stage together.
3. Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is an example of a band that had to prematurely stop making music due to a members death. They formed in 1968, only to disband in 1980 after the death of John Bonham. They are one of the only bands to never have a lineup change during the duration of their time. Members included John Bonham, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Robert Plant.
Led Zeppelin produced 9 studio albums including, "Led Zeppelin" and "Led Zeppelin II' in 1969, "Led Zeppelin III" in 1970, "Led Zeppelin IV" in 1971, "Houses of the Holy" in 1973, "Physical Graffiti" in 1975, "Presence" in 1976, "In Through the Out Door" in 1979, and "Coda" in 1982. "Coda" was compiled of unused songs throughout the career of the band.
Led Zeppelin is most known for songs like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Immigrant Song".
John Bonham unfortunately passed away in 1980 after a night of heavy drinking. The band decided that they would disband rather than try and replace Bonham, a move not a lot of bands do.
Jimmy Page, arguably one of the greatest guitarist of all time, played with the Yardbirds from 1966-1968 before joining Led Zeppelin. After Led Zeppelin, Page went on the form the band The Firm and release two albums with them, The Firm in 1985 and Mean Business in 1986.
John Paul Jones went on to create 4 solo albums including "Scream for Help" in 1985, "The Sporting Life" in 1994, "Zooma" in 1999 and "The Thunderthief" in 2001.
Robert Plant did the most after Led Zeppelin. He produced 11 solo albums including, "Pictures at Eleven" in 1982, "The Principle of Moments" in 1983, "Shaken 'n' Stirred" in 1985, "Now and Zen" in 1988, "Manic Nirvana" in 1990, "Fate of Nations" in 1993, "Dreamland" in 2002, "Mighty ReArranger" in 2005, "Band of Joy" in 2010, "Lullaby and The Ceaseless Roar" in 2014, "Carry Fire" in 2017.
4. *NSYNC
*NSYNC was one of the first huge boy bands to take over the world. They formed in 1996 with members, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick. They created 3 studio albums together including "*NSYNC" in 1997, "No Strings Attached" in 2000 and "Celebrity" in 2001.
They are most known for songs like "Bye Bye Bye" and "It's Gonna Be Me".
There are rumors the band decided to take a temporary hiatus in 2002 due to Timberlake wanting to start his own solo career, but no actual reason has officially been given. Though they said the hiatus was temporary, they have no plans to reunite and have no created music since the breakup.
They appeared together for the first time since the hiatus started, in 2013 on the VMA stage to perform a mashup of a couple of songs.
Justin Timberlake, the most successful member, went on to release 4 solo albums including, "Justified" in 2002, "FutureSex/LoveSounds" in 2006, "The 20/20 Experience" in 2013 and "Man of the Woods" in 2018. Timberlake has also starred or lent his voice for over 20 movies.
Lance Bass would not produce any music after the hiatus, but instead become a TV host for multiple shows. He also advocates for gay rights after coming out himself in 2006.
JC Chasez went on to release two semi-successful albums, "Schizophrenic" in 2004 and "The Story of Kate" in 2007. Now, he writes music for other artists.
Joey Fatone did not make anymore music after the end of *NSYNC. He went on to star on some TV shows and then eventually went onto Broadway.
Chris Kirkpatrick has not done much since the end of the band. He appeared on the reality TV show "Gone Country", but mainly likes to focus on his personal life.
Though the band has been on hiatus for almost 20 years, the quick reunion gave fans hope of a chance they'll get back together at some point. At this point though, it seems unlikely. But let's keep hope.
5. One Direction
One Direction holds a similar fate to *NSYNC. Formed in 2010, the band produced music until one member wanted to go solo. Members include Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik.
Malik would leave the band in 2015, claiming he wanted to go his own direction. The band would produce 4 studio albums with Malik and 1 without him. In 2016, after the release of their final album the band decided to take a temporary hiatus. This hiatus seems to be semi-permanent for the time being, as all members have released solo music.
One Direction's released albums "Up All Night" in 2011, "Take Me Home" in 2012, Midnight Memories" in 2013, "Four" in 2014, and "Made in the A.M" in 2015, without Malik.
They are best known for their songs like "What Makes You Beautiful", "Steal My Girl" and "Perfect".
Harry Styles released his first studio album in 2017, titled "Harry Styles". He also secured a role in the movie Dunkirk which was released in 2017 as well.
Niall Horan released his first studio album, titled "Flicker" in 2017 as well.
Liam Payne has only released a handful of songs, such as "Strip That Down", "Get Low", and "Bedroom Floor" in 2017 and "For You", "Familiar" and "First Time" in 2018.
Louis Tomlinson has only released singles as well, including "Just Hold On" in 2016, as well as "Back To You", "Just Like You", "Miss You" in 2017.
Zayn Malik has released one solo album titled, "Mind of Mine" in 2016 after he left the band. He is set to release another album later this year speculated to be called "Zayn".
The release of the album without Zayn suggests that the band will hopefully at some point reunite with or without him, but no time table has been set for this. However, realistically the band is still on a hiatus and it seems as if that will become permanent. No member has expressed serious interest in returning as a band and all have been working on solo projects.
6. My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance started in 2001 after the events of 9/11 inspired them to do something for the greater good. They wanted to help people through tough times and music was the best way they believed they could do this. Members include Gerard Way, Mikey Way, and Frank Iero.
They broke up in 2013 after Gerard's mental health status started to decrease. Dealing with the band became too much and ultimately caused the band to end. Though the band is calling this break up permanent for now, there is some hope they will get back together in the future.
They would create 4 studio albums together including, "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" in 2002, "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" in 2004, "The Black Parade" in 2006, and "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" in 2010.
They are best known for their songs "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Teenagers" and "Helena".
Gerard Way released a solo album, "Hesitant Alien" in 2014. Now, he focuses mainly on writing comics for DC comics.
Mikey Way went on to form the band "Electric Century" in 2014. They released a self-titled EP in 2015 and the studio album "For the Night to Control" in 2016.
Frank Iero also went on to form a new band, "Frank Iero and the Patience". They've released 2 studio albums, "Parachutes" in 2016 and "Keep The Coffins Coming" in 2017.
Both Gerard's and Lero's music after My Chemical Romance was successful with the crowd that previously had followed the band. Mikey saw less success but was popular in the similar crowd.
Mikey and Frank have both expressed interest of getting back together and making another album. Due to Gerard's health issues, he originally did not want to ever get back with the band but has recently said he won't rule it out completely. So fingers crossed MCR will hit the studio once more.
