5 Musicians Who Nearly Joined Other Bands: Kurt Cobain, Elton John, And More

Rock history is littered with millions of "what if" scenarios. What if Jimi Hendrix was still alive? What if Jimmy Page had actually started that band with Keith Moon? Here are five more "what if" scenarios: five musicians who nearly joined other bands.

1. Patti Smith

New York hard rock band Blue Oyster Cult would often employ writers from outside of the band to contribute lyrics, and the most famous lyricist the band worked with is punk godmother Patti Smith. Before Smith formed her own band and helped kick start the punk movement in New York, she was invited by Blue Oyster Cult to serve as the band's singer, which is one of the weirdest hypothetical line-ups in rock history.

2. Bryan Ferry/Elton John

Between 1969 and 1971, King Crimson had already gone through two vocalists: Greg Lake and Gordon Haskell. When the band needed a new vocalist after the departure of Haskell in 1971, two future pop stars auditioned: Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music, and Elton John. Though Ferry could have conceivably been a suitable vocalist, as he was also involved in the British art rock movement of the early '70s, Elton John has never done anything nearly as avant-garde as King Crimson.

3. Kurt Cobain

In an interview published ten years after his death, Kurt Cobain admitted that he wanted to quit Nirvana and join Courtney Love's band Hole instead, saying that the few times he had played with Hole, he felt a deeper connection to them than he did with Nirvana. Cobain leaving Nirvana for Hole might have infuriated Nirvana fans, but he definitely would have done an excellent job.

4. Johnny Marr

Since quitting the Smiths in 1987, Johnny Marr has had brief tenures in a number of popular bands, such as the Pretenders, Talking Heads, and Modest Mouse. However, one band he refused to join was the notoriously drugged up Manchester band Happy Mondays. According to Marr, the band "kidnapped" him and tried to force him to fly to Barbados and record a new album with them. Marr claims he was a member of Happy Mondays for 25 minutes before he came to his senses and quit.

5. Will Oldham

The histories of Slint and Will Oldham are closely tied, as both were part of the Louisville indie scene and were childhood friends. According to the documentary Breadcrumb Trail, the members of Slint briefly considered asking Oldham to join the band as a guitarist, but ultimately decided against it, as he only knew three chords at the time. At Slint's first show, however, Oldham sat on stage, holding the kick drum in place.

Tags

Patti Smith, Roxy music, Elton John, King crimson, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Nirvana, Hole, Johnny Marr, The Smiths, Will Oldham, Slint