4 Iconic Musicians and Bands Who Only Released One Album

It’s hard to imagine such big names in music only releasing a single album. However, that’s been the case for quite a few legends in the world of rock music. Let’s look at four musicians and bands who only released one album, and why they decided to call it quits early.

1. Sex Pistols

Punk-rock trailblazers Sex Pistols only released a single album: Never Mind The Bollocks in 1977. The legendary band was extremely successful in their native UK and had blown up internationally after the release of their only album. Unfortunately, interpersonal drama tore the band apart. Sid Vicious was extremely unpredictable, the band battled drug addiction, and their US tour was a nightmare. They disbanded in 1978.

2. The Postal Service

The 2003 record Give Up was The Postal Service’s only album. It was a massive success at the time, too. Give Up was Sub Pop’s most successful album since Nirvana released Bleach through the label in 1989. Fans of the band, which is made up of Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Hibbard, Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis, have been begging for another album ever since. It’s not clear why the band won’t release another album despite still touring together. But it may have to do with conflicting work schedules.

[Get Tickets To See The Postal Service Live In 2024]

3. Jeff Buckley

Grace was released by Jeff Buckley back in 1994. It became a cult classic, and Buckley’s career was on the rise. Unfortunately, we never got a second album due to Buckley’s untimely death via accidental drowning in 1997. One can only imagine what he would have done with his career today.

4. New Radicals

Alt-rock outfit New Radicals released Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too in 1998. It was a great success, but the band never released a second album. This likely comes down to the band’s frontman, Gregg Alexander. Alexander struggled to get any traction as a solo artist, so he formed New Radicals instead. But after the success of Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, Alexander wasn’t a fan of being pushed to make pop music and also didn’t think they could top their hit track “You Get What You Give”. The band was over by 1999, and Alexander went on to become a songwriter for stars like Stevie Nicks and Madonna.

Photo by David Gahr

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