Best Rock Comebacks of All Time

You may not realize it, but Elvis was once a has-been
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 30, 2009 4:42 PM CDT
Best Rock Comebacks of All Time
Former Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson attends a party in New York in 2005.   (AP Photo)

In honor of Blur’s triumphant return Sunday at the Glastonbury Festival, the Independent compiles a list of the best rock-and-roll comebacks:

  • Elvis Presley: The King was practically a has-been in 1968, following his army stint and a string of lackluster films. His black-leather-clad, blues-heavy appearance on an NBC Christmas show that year revived his career.

  • Brian Wilson: He turned the Beach Boys from surf rockers to groundbreaking musicians, but his mental health took him out of the spotlight. In 2004—37 years after he conceived Smile, the follow-up to Pet Sounds—it was finally released, to glowing reviews.
  • Johnny Cash: He was at the top of his game for decades, but by the mid-1980s Cash was having trouble finding an audience. Finally, his last album, recorded after the death of his wife, became his first to go gold—after his death.
  • Green Day: The 1990s phenoms lost fans when they went folksy in the early 2000s, but 2006’s American Idiot—and its anti-Bush rhetoric—became the group's most popular album to date.
  • The Eagles: Don Henley vowed hell would have to freeze over before they got back together—14 years later, they reunited to release Hell Freezes Over. And they’re still selling out tours.
For the complete list, click the link below. (More Elvis Presley stories.)

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