(Gibson) Ask Mick Jagger. Leaving a big time band – even temporarily – for solo success is a dicey proposition. Rock history is littered with artists that made the leap and fell flat on their pretty faces. Only a few have managed to strike out alone and actually enrich their bank accounts and fan bases.Gibson listed 15, here are three of them: Ozzy Osbourne - His work with Black Sabbath was amazing, if underappreciated, in its time. As a solo star he's gone multi-platinum, having established the incredibly durable Ozzfest heavy metal fest and become a reality show icon.
Dave Grohl - He was doing just fine playing drums for Nirvana. But after Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994 Grohl instinctively kicked into high gear, writing all the songs and playing all the instruments on his platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated solo debut under the name Foo Fighters (before it actually, you know, became a band).
Robert Plant - How do you top Led Zeppelin? The secret to Plant's success is that he never even tried; instead following his passion, whether it's 1950s style doo-wop (The Honeydrippers), leftfield folk (Dreamland) or contemporary bluegrass with fellow blonde Alison Krauss (Raising Sand).
- Find out who else made Gibson's list
