Have there been any bands that COMPLETELY changed their membership?

[FujiSkunk]

And then you get Rush, where the "newcomer" to the band is the drummer... (granted, by "newcomer" we mean "has been with the band for 38 years", but regardless...)

Of course there are counter-examples, like Judas Priest where the drummer has changed so often they got parodied for it by Spinal Tap. Still, I found it uncanny how often the stable members were the ones who by definition are supposed to support the rest of the band anyway.

[nascargo19]

And then you get Rush, where the "newcomer" to the band is the drummer... (granted, by "newcomer" we mean "has been with the band for 38 years", but regardless...)

And he started on what, the second album? I can't even think of another band that has had the same line-up for that long. Is there another?

[FujiSkunk]

And he started on what, the second album? I can't even think of another band that has had the same line-up for that long. Is there another?

ZZ Top had some churn in its first year of existence, but the line-up that released the first album in 1971 has been in place ever since.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

Thanks everyone for your input. I just dug up this thread from a Google search and it was an enjoyable read =)

And he started on what, the second album?

Mhm. Fly by Night has song called "Rivendell." Rush has a song about getting off work and getting an ice-cold beer. Which sounds like something Neil Peart wrote?

I can't even think of another band that has had the same line-up for that long. Is there another?

The only other band that has been stable for a long time that I can think of is the Rolling Stones, and they changed bassists in 1993. Prior to that, though, the next most previous change was the second guitarist in 1975.