Top 10 Best Music Supergroups

David Crosby (The Byrds), Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash (The Hollies) discovered during a jam session in 1968 that their singing together produced unprecedented harmony. With the arrival of Neil Young, also ex-Buffalo Springfield, the ultimate supergroup was created. They played their second concert ever for half a million spectators at the legendary Woodstock festival in 1969. The album Déjà Vu (1970) produced classics such as “Teach Your Children”, “Our House” and the penetrating protest song “Ohio”. Despite decades of feuds, artistic disagreements and frequent breakups, CSNY remains the absolute standard for what a supergroup can achieve artistically and socially.

Guitarist Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds), bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker (both Graham Bond Organization) formed the very first power trio in 1966 that was described by the press as a 'supergroup'. Their explosive mix of blues, hard rock and psychedelia laid the foundation for the heavy rock of the 1970s. Songs such as “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room” showed the unprecedented individual talent of the trio. During performances they improvised for minutes at a high volume. However, the intense personal feuds between Bruce and Baker made a long existence impossible. After just over two intense years and four groundbreaking albums, the band gave their farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall at the end of 1968.

George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne: a line-up that on paper almost seemed too good to be true. The group formed completely by chance in the spring of 1988, when Harrison urgently needed a b-side for his single “This Is Love” and invited his musical friends to Bob Dylan's home studio. The result of that spontaneous session, “Handle with Care”, turned out to be far too strong to function as a b-side. The gentlemen decided to record an entire album under the fictitious names of the Wilbury brothers. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 became a worldwide sales success and won a Grammy. The sudden death of Roy Orbison at the end of 1988 unfortunately meant that this unique composition was short-lived.

Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson: four legends who each turned country music upside down with the so-called outlaw country movement. In 1985, the heavyweight friends decided to record a studio album together. Their arrangement of Jimmy Webb's song “Highwayman” became a huge number 1 hit and immediately earned the gentlemen a Grammy Award. The foursome successfully toured international concert halls for ten years and released three albums. The Highwaymen showed that the concept of the supergroup could also lead to timeless classics outside the rock genre.

After frontman Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine in 2000, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk were left without a singer. At the suggestion of producer Rick Rubin, they turned to Chris Cornell, whose band Soundgarden had broken up a few years earlier. It turned out to be a golden combination. Cornell's raw, soulful vocal style melded with Morello's innovative guitar effects and tight funk-rock rhythm section. Singles like “Like a Stone” and “Cochise” became modern rock classics. Audioslave released three successful studio albums and made music history in 2005 by becoming the first American rock band to give a free outdoor concert in Havana, Cuba.

As the 1980s dawned, traditional progressive rock seemed hopelessly out of fashion. John Wetton (King Crimson), Steve Howe (Yes), Carl Palmer (ELP) and Geoff Downes (The Buggles and Yes) decided to change course drastically: they combined technical craftsmanship with compact, hit-sensitive pop-rock melodies. The result exceeded all expectations. Their 1982 self-titled debut album became the best-selling album of that year in the United States. Powered by the world hit “Heat of the Moment” and intensive airplay on the young MTV, Asia proved that seasoned symphoric rockers could also sell millions of records in the pop era.

Keyboardist Keith Emerson (The Nice), bassist/singer Greg Lake (King Crimson) and drummer Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster) combined their musical virtuosity in 1970. The British trio set the standard for progressive rock with classical influences, bombastic Moog synthesizers and technically extremely complex drumming. Their spectacular performance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 immediately established their reputation. Albums such as Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery filled arenas and stadiums worldwide. Critics sometimes found the display of instrumental muscle language exaggerated, but their influence on the development of synthesizers in rock music was groundbreaking.

A tragic loss formed the foundation for this formation from Seattle. After the death of Andrew Wood, singer of Mother Love Bone, Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) wrote two memorial songs. He approached Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament (both ex-Mother Love Bone) to jointly record the tribute. The sessions resulted in a full-fledged album with guitarist Mike McCready and Eddie Vedder, who had just arrived in Seattle. Cornell and Vedder's duet on the iconic “Hunger Strike” essentially marked the birth of Pearl Jam. The project was limited to one studio album, but remains to this day as a key record within the grunge movement.

Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke (Free) joined forces with Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople) and Boz Burrell (King Crimson) in 1973. The British rockers consciously opted for a streamlined, bluesy hard rock sound under the name Bad Company. Under the management of Led Zeppelin's infamous manager Peter Grant, their 1974 self-titled debut album became a worldwide sales success. Songs like “Can't Get Enough” and “Feel Like Makin' Love” became staples on classic rock radio. Although subsequent line-up changes changed the band, the foursome sold tens of millions of records in their heyday.

Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum (all ex-Guns N' Roses) were looking for a fresh start in the early 2000s. After auditions with dozens of singers, the choice fell on Scott Weiland, the charismatic frontman of Stone Temple Pilots. Supplemented with rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner, Velvet Revolver was created. Their debut album Contraband (2004) shot straight to first place on the American Billboard 200. The raw hard rock of hit single “Slither” even earned the group a Grammy Award. Yet the formation turned out to be vulnerable: Weiland's addiction problems and increasing mutual tensions led to a definitive break after the second album Libertad in 2008.