3 Rockers From the 1990s Who Ended up Joining Famous Bands
This lighthearted retrospective looks at three 1990s rock frontmen who, despite finding fame with their own bands, later chose to join other established or newly formed groups rather than pursue purely solo careers. It highlights how, even after huge success and solo releases, these musicians gravitated back towards collaborative band settings, underlining how tightly interconnected the rock scene of that era could be.
The article profiles Chris Cornell, who fronted Soundgarden before releasing solo material and then forming Audioslave in 2002; Scott Weiland, best known for Stone Temple Pilots, who released a solo debut in 1998 before joining supergroup Velvet Revolver alongside Duff McKagan for their 2004 album Contraband; and Mark Lanegan, formerly of Screaming Trees, who alongside a prolific solo career also performed with Mad Season and later fronted Queens of the Stone Age between 2000 and 2013.
- Chris Cornell left Soundgarden solo career to form Audioslave in 2002.
- Scott Weiland joined supergroup Velvet Revolver after Stone Temple Pilots.
- Mark Lanegan played with Mad Season and Queens of the Stone Age.
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Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland and Mark Lanegan all made their names fronting well-known bands in the alternative rock and grunge scene that flourished from the late 1980s through the 1990s: Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Screaming Trees respectively. Each also built a solo career, releasing music under his own name once those bands had run their course or gone on hiatus.
Rather than sticking solely to solo work, all three went on to join other bands later in their careers. Cornell formed Audioslave with members of Rage Against the Machine in 2002, Weiland teamed up with musicians from Guns N' Roses to form Velvet Revolver in the early 2000s, and Lanegan performed with the group Mad Season before fronting Queens of the Stone Age for several years in the 2000s and early 2010s.
This pattern reflects how closely connected the American rock scene of that era was, with musicians frequently crossing between bands and side projects. It also speaks to a wider tendency among successful rock frontmen to keep returning to collaborative band work even after achieving fame on their own.