The idea of being super started to take over by the late 70s. It was not just for comic book heroes, expanded grocery stores or the Concorde. It was one thing to be successful but to be considered a superstar raised you to another strata few had ever been. Whatever feelings of invincibility one felt they were just as soon matched with time pressures, fan burdens, company managers and egos so out of control that by the end of the decade, a lot of these groups crashed and burned or at the very least didn’t want to be around each other anymore.

By 1980, The Eagles, Steely Dan, and the Doobie Brothers put out their last recorded output for a while as some of the members of those bands decided to explore other musical avenues. (Fleetwood Mac needed a similar break, and after recharging the batteries they would get back together from time to time.)

Luckily for us fans we ended up with more music than before. The Eagles would get back together 14 years later with Hell Freezes Over. The Doobie Brothers would only need 9 years until Cycles, but Michael McDonald never rejoined the band. And even though Steely Dan started touring again in the mid-90s after a multi decade drought of concerts, it would be a solid 20 years for their next album, Two Against Nature, which won a Grammy for Album of The Year. Good things come to those who wait….

Here’s a montage of 1980s West Coast solo acts spawned from popular 70s bands: