Top 20 Musicians Who Left Fame Behind

Top 20 Musicians Who Left Fame Behind

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable musicians who walked away from the limelight.

#20: Michael Stipe
It’s almost never a good idea to drop out of school and start a band. Luckily, it worked out for Michael Stipe, whose band would eventually become the world-famous R.E.M. But, just as Stipe was losing his religion, so too did he lose his interest in music. The band announced in 2011 that they were breaking up, although no official reason was given. Later, guitarist Peter Buck told Rolling Stone that Stipe approached him during the making of “Collapse Into Now” and said, “I need to be away from this for a long time.” And that’s exactly what he’s done. Aside from a brief performance to celebrate their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, R.E.M. has remained quiet ever since.

#19: Jeff Mangum
Some musicians love the spotlight and others absolutely hate it. Belonging to the latter category is Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. The band is famous for the cult classic “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” but in a great paradox, the success of the album directly led to the dissolution of the band. The increased fame and pressure took a negative toll on Mangum, and his mental health began to suffer. He became a recluse and vanished from the public eye, and Neutral Milk Hotel disbanded at the height of their fame. And aside from a brief reunion tour and a handful of solo albums, Mangum continues to live a quiet and reclusive life.

#18: Tom Scholz
You don’t see too many engineer-slash-musicians, but Tom Scholz is one of them. He is a professional engineer and was earning his master’s degree at MIT when he began toying with music. He built his own basement recording studio and started the band Boston, which made its first studio album in Scholz’s dingy and often-flooded studio. Included in the recordings was “More Than a Feeling,” which peaked at #5 in the United States. However, the band went on to have a very sporadic schedule, releasing only six albums over 37 years. They have not toured since 2017, and while Scholz has hinted at new music, both he and the band have remained quiet ever since.

#17: Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson
One of the most famous Canadian rock bands, Rush are pioneers of progressive rock and sold out arenas around the world for many decades. But sometimes you gotta know when to throw in the towel. The band announced in the mid 2010s that they would no longer be touring, largely due to their advancing ages and various physical ailments. And tragedy struck in 2020, when drummer Neil Peart died of a brain tumor. Not wanting to continue without him, both Lee and Lifeson proclaimed that Rush was over. The two reunited in 2022 for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert, but both have reiterated that it did not signal a return to performing live. As of now, both are effectively retired.

#16: Daft Punk
It was obvious that Daft Punk wasn’t about the fame. Beginning in the late ‘90s, the two musicians who created Daft Punk hid themselves behind robot personas and rarely spoke to the media. According to Thomas Bangalter, the point of the masks was to ensure anonymity, deflect media hounding into their personal lives, and craft a fun public image for the band. Daft Punk had a great career and was a major influence in the French house genre, but the band called it a day in 2021. Bangalter finally ditched the mask and spoke to the media in 2023, and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo later collaborated with Travis Scott, producing a song called “Modern Jam.”

#15: Robert Fripp
One of the most prolific musicians of our time, Robert Fripp has contributed to over 700 releases. But he is perhaps best known for founding and playing in the legendary prog rock band King Crimson. And, fun fact, he also helped compose the startup tune of Windows Vista! So add that to his accomplishments. But after a very long and very prosperous career, Fripp put down the guitar in 2021 and King Crimson officially ceased all activity. They had been touring and making music for 53 years. After a year of speculation, Fripp confirmed in 2022 that King Crimson was done, and therefore, so was his time as the lead guitarist of a major rock band.

#14: Gotye
You couldn’t go anywhere in 2011 without hearing “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The song was a worldwide sensation and became one of the best-selling digital singles ever with more than twenty million copies sold. And soon after that, Gotye, a.k.a. Wally De Backer, wiped his hands and said, “Yep, that’s enough for me.” He released a few more singles and remained somewhat active with another band called The Basics. He also later started his own group called Ondioline Orchestra. Basically, it sounds like he’s doing what he wants rather than capitalizing on his mainstream success. Randomly drop one of the biggest hits of the decade. Quit. Refuse to elaborate. You gotta respect that.

#13: Carlos Dengler
While studying philosophy at New York University, Carlos Dengler met Daniel Kessler and was asked if he played an instrument. And that’s how he became the bassist and keyboardist for Interpol. Dengler played on the band’s first four studio albums, but as we later learned, he actually hated playing the bass guitar. It was not his first instrument of choice, and to compound the growing frustration, Dengler hated touring with the band and had grown tired of the lifestyle. After leaving Interpol, Dengler went back to school and briefly took up acting. He now composes ambient music and has released three New Age albums as of 2023.

#12: André 3000
This rapper embodies the phrase “Leave them wanting more.” Widely regarded as one of the best rappers ever, André 3000 found widespread success as one half of Outkast. The duo came out of nowhere, changed the face of rap with their eclectic style, and left, all within a span of just fifteen years. The group disbanded back in 2007, and that was about it for André 3000. The rapper took mostly to doing features and dabbled in acting before releasing an esoteric new age jazz album in 2023. It wasn’t exactly the comeback that people were expecting. André’s reclusive nature is persistently frustrating for rap fans, as he has repeatedly stated that he hates being famous and suffers from social anxiety.

#11: Steve Perry
With one of the most distinctive voices in the biz, Steve Perry is often considered one of rock’s greatest singers. He found great success with Journey, and the band scored six top ten singles in the United States. However, the group went on hiatus in 1987, and Perry left the public eye for several years. And while he has sporadically returned to music, including a studio album that reached #6 in 2018, he has remained relatively quiet for decades. Journey reunited in the ‘90s, but Perry left the band for good after injuring his hip. Most of his recent work has been Christmas material, and he remains intensely private.

#10: John Frusciante
Frusciante is well known as the on again, off again lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He was always a musician first and a celebrity second. When the band hit it big with Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991, Frusciante struggled with his newfound fame and quit the band. While away from the spotlight, he spiraled into a deep depression, developed a serious heroin addiction, and started writing screenplays and short stories. He eventually attended rehab and returned to the band, but left again in 2009 to pursue a solo career in electronic music. He returned yet again in February of 2019 but who knows how long he’ll stick around this time.

#9: Meg White
Meg White of The White Stripes is an extremely divisive drummer, known for her minimalist style. Her career began as a lark, as she was fooling around on her husband Jack White’s drum kit when he decided that he liked her playing. They started a band and began performing in Michigan’s underground rock scene before striking it big with White Blood Cells and Elephant. However, White has always been shy and reserved, and she suffered from anxiety attacks over the band’s hectic touring schedule. The White Stripes officially disbanded in 2011 after two years without releasing anything new, and White left fame and music behind her to live a quiet life in Detroit.

#8: John Deacon
Freddie Mercury gets all the attention, but John Deacon was an integral part of Queen. Serving as the band’s bassist and managing the group’s finances, Deacon also composed such popular songs as “Another One Bites the Dust,” “You’re My Best Friend,” and “I Want to Break Free.” Unfortunately, Deacon was hit hard by Mercury’s tragic death and subsequently lost interest in continuing to perform with Queen. He decided to retire and has stayed out of the spotlight ever since, not even attending Queen’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. While he still oversees the band’s finances, Brian May and Roger Taylor have admitted that they barely speak to Deacon.

#7: Cat Stevens
Known as one of the greatest folk artists of all time, Stevens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 for his contributions to music. Stevens was at his peak in the early 1970s with the multi-platinum albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat, which include such legendary songs as “Peace Train” and “Father and Son.” Stevens had been developing an interest in world religions throughout the ‘70s, and after receiving the Qur’an as a birthday gift, he converted to Islam in 1977 and took the name Yusuf Islam. Following his conversion, Yusuf used his hefty royalty payments for philanthropic purposes, like founding the Islamia Primary School in London and setting up various charities.

#6: Grace Slick
Slick was one of the most influential artists to come out of the San Francisco psychedelic scene, singing with the likes of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship. To this day, her deep, haunting vocals remain a cornerstone of ‘60s psychedelia. Following a brief Jefferson Airplane reunion in 1989, Slick retired from the music scene altogether, as she believes that “all rock and rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire.” According to her, rock and roll serves primarily as an outlet for young and frustrated individuals, not aging rich celebrities. Slick retreated from the public spotlight and focused on painting, drawing, and writing her autobiography.

#5: Syd Barrett
Barrett was originally the primary musician behind Pink Floyd, serving as their vocalist, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter for their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. His playing style proved enormously influential, and the album reached #6 in the UK. Unfortunately, Barrett suffered severe mental health problems, reportedly related to his use of LSD and possibly schizophrenia. His behavior radically changed throughout the ‘60s, and his bandmates barely recognized him as the man they once knew. Barrett was released from the band in 1968, and following two solo albums, retreated from the public eye completely. He moved back in with his mother and spent his years painting and gardening before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2006.

#4: Shirley Temple
Temple isn’t necessarily a musician in the traditional sense, but she’s one of the most popular singers and dancers in film history. Temple was arguably the biggest movie star in the world in the mid-to-late 1930s, owing to her work in movies like “Bright Eyes,” “Curly Top,” and “Heidi.” Temple’s creative output slowed throughout her teenage years, and she retired completely at just 22. After a brief stint on television, Temple entered into a diplomatic career in 1969. She served as the United States Ambassador to Ghana, the first female Chief of Protocol, and the Ambassador to Czechoslovakia. She also served on the board of directors of various organizations, including Disney and the Bank of America.

#3: Captain Beefheart
Known for his idiosyncratic style of music, Captain Beefheart recorded thirteen albums of avant-garde free jazz and rock between 1964 and 1982. Due to the puzzling and non-commercial nature of his music, Beefheart never attained mainstream popularity, yet he’s often considered a universal influence within the experimental rock scene. Following Ice Cream for Crow in 1982, Beefheart retired from music, became a recluse, and dedicated himself to painting. His abstract expressionist paintings were actually well received - some sold for nearly $25,000, and his artwork has become the subject of academic essays.

#2: Lauryn Hill
Hill is undeniably one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time, known primarily for the Fugees’s six-times platinum album The Score and her solo work The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The latter album broke sales records, won five Grammy awards, and helped bring neo soul into the mainstream. It has since sold nearly twenty million copies and is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential albums of the ‘90s. Unfortunately, the fame proved too much for Hill to handle and she largely retreated from the public eye, deciding instead to focus on her spirituality. She has released music sporadically throughout the intervening years, but nothing even close to the extent of her ‘90s output.

#1: Bill Withers
Despite his career spanning just fifteen years, Withers managed to leave an indelible mark on music history. He has been inducted into the Songwriters, Rock and Roll, and Grammy Halls of Fame and won three Grammy awards throughout his career. Today, he is largely remembered for his singles “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” and “Just the Two of Us.” Unfortunately, Withers often clashed with Columbia executives, who wished to control his sound to sell more records. Feeling disillusioned with the industry, Withers left music behind in 1985 and reportedly never missed it. He passed away on March 30, 2020 from heart complications, at the age of 81.

Which musician do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments below!