31 Musical Side Projects That Became the Main Gig — Or Made Someone Grateful They Had A Main Gig to Fall Back On

When a low-key jam at a party leads to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
31 Musical Side Projects That Became the Main Gig — Or Made Someone Grateful They Had A Main Gig to Fall Back On
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When their main gig got a little stale, these artists and celebrities experimented with a side project. Some struck musical gold, while others, well, not so much. Whether they were aiming for the charts or they just lucked out with a little jam session that people really resonated with, their main gig took a back seat for what people ended up loving or loathing. 

Here are a handful of folks who were lucky to have a career to fall back on, and some who were oozing with so much talent that one project just couldn’t handle it all…

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson CRACKED.COM She cut her teeth on a George Gershwin cover song, and went on to cover, just, a whole bunch of Tom Waits songs. Her first full-length cover album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, got this rave review from Spin: There's nothing particularly compelling about Scarlett Johansson's singing.

Luke Evans

Lord of the Rings Stars' Side Projects 23 Luke Evans Rugged action star Luke Evans does cringy power ballads. Oh, is that disrespectful to his music? Nothing compares to his disrespect to Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield. If Benatar's 1983 original is the LOTR movies, then Evans' 2019 cover is the Hobbit movies. Yes, we stand by that comparison. CRACKED.COM

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan LINDSAY LoHAN wisan By RELIGION P ASSION PAS Anuria San في mus Pus wقل PARLEY SIN MOW TRo 5rb Drink Spt SAGAY Lonis BLACK A HAE Sess يم من FL es Houses Mil DSH SPEAK CRACKED.COM ARK COLÉRA For a firebrand actress attempting a music career no one asked for, Lohan saw some legitimate, shockingly sustained success. Her 2005 album charted at #20 - - а a relative disappointment, compared to her #4 album in 2004.

William Shatner

William Shatner WILLIAM SHATNER CAPTAIN KIRK OF STAR TREK THE TRANSFORMED MAN CRACKED.COM Shatner released a spoken-word cover album of poetry and pop songs in 1968, The Transformed Man, that would be a #1 comedy album and pull in a Netflix deal if it were published today.

Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling DEAD MAN'S BONES CRACKED.COM Gosling's spooky Halloween-rock duo, Dead Man's Bones, released a self-titled album in 2009. It sounds like if Grizzly Bear had to write the soundtrack to a Scooby Doo movie with a children's choir.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant bryani K.O.B.E. Koba CRACKED COM Kobe had been rapping since high school, and he really wanted to make a career happen. After a live performance of his debut single absolutely tanked, the music video was nuked and he was released from his label. Не then started his own label, but couldn't keep it running for a full calendar year.

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith wicked WISDOM CRACKED.COM She's the frontwoman of a nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom. They played Ozzfest in 2005, released an album in 2006, and have played shows as recently as 2018. Pinkett Smith says she's received death threats from confused, enraged metalheads.

Heidi Montag

CRACKED COM ie TV ds Heidi Montag spent nearly $2 million of her own money on her first album, titled Superficial. The album, which she and her husband produced themselves, took three years to make. Despite boasts that it was comparable to Michael HETDI Jackson's Thriller in terms MONTAG of sound and quality, SUPERACIAL Superficial was met with poor sales and bad reviews. Au

Metallic and Lou Reed

Metallica were excited to make an album with Lou Reed. They blamed fans when it sucked. Lulu debuted to pitiful sales, selling only 13,000 copies in its first week. James Hetfield later called the fans who criticized the effort fearful people who are probably typing from their mom's basement that they still live in. CRACKED.COM

Morrissey

In 2015, Morrissey wrote a novel about a 1970s relay team that gets embroiled in black magic. The novel, List of the Lost, has phrases like bulbous salutation (meaning erection), lush houses of beddy-bye shut-eye snoozled in sleepland, and Whoever put the pain in painting had also put the fun in funeral. Book reviewers and Morrissey fans both hated it. CRACKED.COM

Bob Dylan

RENALDO & CLARA is a four hour movie created by Bob Dylan that has footage of his concerts, interviews of various singers, and vignettes based on lyrics from his songs It was pulled from theaters when critics called it incoherent, impenetrable, self-indulgent, and... virtually unwatchable. CRACKED.COM

Aretha Franklin

In 1979, the Queen of Soul attempted to become the Queen of Disco. ARETHA FRANKLIN Aretha Franklin's La Diva was a monumental flop that has never officially been released on CD. CRACKED.COM

Robert Downey Jr.

In 2004 Robert Downey Jr. recorded an album of original and cover songs titled The Futurist. THE Fuburist After receiving mixed reviews, he has wisely refocused his energies on his film career. CRACKED.COM

Will.i.am

31 Musical Side Projects That Became the Main Gig — Or Made Someone Grateful They Had A Main Gig to Fall Back On

John Travolta

In 1986, John Travolta lent his vocal talents to The Road to Freedom, an album of songs written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Sample lyric: You are not mind or chemicals, you don't even have a form/ You're in a trap of senseless lies, it's time to be reborn THE ROADIO FREEDOM and friends The spectacular new hit album of Scientology® songs! CRACKED COM

Johnny Cash

In Johnny Cash's 1984 single Chicken in Black, the country icon COLUMBIA becomes a bank @Columbia, Marcas Fleg robber after being M 513 229 given a brain BS Inc. transplant, while his old brain is STEREO 2:58 given to a chicken who subsequently becomes a music 7464-04513-7 star. JOHNNY CASH THE CHICKEN IN BLACK The video features -G. Gentry- Cash wearing a Produced by Billy Shemill yellow-and-purple supervillain outfit. CRACKED.COM

Joe Pesci

Joe Pesci released a 1998 album as the persona of Vincent Gambini from the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny. Michael Gallucci reviewing for Allmusic described the work as such: his nasally New York tones translate directly onto record about as subtly as a mob hit, burying everything around it in a mound of failed songs and lame jokes. Sings just for You VINCENT LAGUARDIA GAMBINI PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENT CRACKED.COM

Method Man and Redman

METHOD MAN & REDMAN US Toutig CRACKED.COM Everything's better with your bestie. Meth & Red are both incredibly successful solo artists, but the energy they bring together is downright infectious. Their 1995 hit single, How High sparked a now 27 year partnership, including two platinum albums, a movie, TV show, and more consistent tours together than individually.

The Mars Volta

THE MARS VOLTA CRACKED COM At The Drive-In's Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez had a side-project called De Facto. Once ATDI broke-up, De Facto recorded songs that they shopped under the name 'The Mars Volta'. From 2001-2012, they had 6 albums chart worldwide, won a Grammy, and were named Best Prog-Rock Band by Rolling Stone in '08.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG CRACKED.COM Imagine your 2nd gig ever was Woodstock '69? Crosby (The Byrds), Stills (Buffalo Springfield), and Nash (The Hollies) formed in '68 after harmonizing well at a party. Neil Young joined soon after, and although each have released high-profile solo albums, the group performed together until 2016, and were inducted into the Rock & Roll HoF in '97.

The Breeders

THE BREEDERS CRACKED.COM Bassist Kim Deal hated her lack of creative input in The Pixies, and started The Breeders in 1989. Their 2nd album, The Last Splash, went platinum thanks to Cannonball reaching #2 on Billboard, and they opened on Nirvana's In Utero tour after Kurt Cobain called their first album, Pod, one of his all-time favorite albums.

A Perfect Circle

A PERFECT CIRCLE CRACKED.COM While working as a guitar tech for Tool in 1999, Billy Howerdel convinced Maynard James Keenan to front his new band. While definitely the main gig for Howerdel, A Perfect Circle became a very successful side project for Keenan, selling 4 million albums from 2000-2004 in and around Tool projects.

Audioslave

AUDIOSLAVE CRACKED.COM After Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine, they began auditioning new frontmen. Realizing that adding Chris Cornell would not be Rage's signature sound, they formed Audioslave, recording 3 full-length albums from 2001 to 2007 (going multiplatinum and reaching #1 on Billboard) before reuniting with Zack from '07-'11.

Velvet Revolver

VELVET REVOLVER CRACKED.COM While Guns N' Roses became an Axl Rose solo project, Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum linked with Wasted Youth's Dave Kushner, and Scott Weiland while Stone Temple Pilots was on hiatus. Velvet Revolver debuted at #1, went multiplatinum, and toured Europe & The U.S twice from 2002 to 2008, when Weiland returned to STP.

City and Colour

CITY AND COLOUR CRACKED.COM With Canadian screamo band Alexisonfire, Dallas Green had gone platinum in Canada twice by 2005 when he began releasing free City & Colour (get it?) songs for fans. The high demand had Green switch focus to City & Colour, releasing 6 albums to date (2 platinum, 2 multi-platinum) and even charting in the U.S.

Gnarls Barkley

GNARLS BARKLEY CRACKED.COM Maybe every project needs Danger Mouse. After Goodie Mob, CeeLo Green had 2 solo albums while Danger Mouse created The Grey Album in 2004. Their side project, Gnarls Barkley, began with platinum album St. Elsewhere, thanks to Crazy reaching top 5 in 20 countries. The song remains a bigger hit than each artist has had individually.

Watch the Throne

WATCH THE THRONE CRACKED.COM Since 2000's This Can't Be Life, Jay-Z kept Kanye's generational talents close. 2011's Watch The Throne was their first and only 50/50 joint effort, taking time away from solo work to debut at #1, go 5x platinum, tour the world for a year, and give HOV that comeback success that alluded him since 2006.

The Traveling Wilburys

THE TRAVELING WILBURYS CRACKED.COM Side Project to Supergroup. George Harrison brought in Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan to record the track, Handle with Care. Having a blast in the studio, they formed The Traveling Wilburys, and took time away from solo work to record 2 full-length albums, tour, and win a grammy for Best Rock Performance in 1990.

Broken Bells

BROKEN BELLS CRACKED.COM The Shins meets Danger mouse. James Mercer of The Shins and Danger Mouse were fans of each other, and although it started as a fun side project in 2009, Broken Bells sold out shows on their first tour, and became a staple of indie rock over the last decade with 2 studio albums reaching Billboard's top 10.

Gorillaz

THE GORILLAZ CRACKED.COM Blur's Song 2 was still topping charts worldwide when frontman Damon Albarn began side project, The Gorillaz, in 1998 with artist Jamie Hewlett. The band saw instant success with hit Clint Eastwood, and while Blur did sell 15 million albums, The Gorillaz have sold 25 million over 7 albums from 2001 to present day.

Steven Seagal

The highlight of Steven Seagal's 2005 album Songs From the Crystal Cave is arguably Strut, duet a with Jamaican dancehall legend STEVEN Lady Saw,

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