10 Musicians That Walked Away From HUGE Bands

10. Ron Blair - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

It's never an easy decision having to get off the old rock and roll hype train. Sometimes you have to deal with a lot of sleazy managers from time to time, and that can end up grating on even the sharpest of players. Of all the people on this list though, Ron Blair seemed to fall apart due to sheer burnout as the '80s rolled around.

After slogging it out with the rest of the Heartbreakers, things finally started to look up around the turn of the decade with the album Damn the Torpedoes, which launched the band into the stratosphere with songs like Refugee. With that level of fame though, you also get a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, which led to arguments among the rest of the band about how the bass should actually sound on the record.

While it's easy to let that kind of stuff go amongst your friends, Ron found himself getting too jaded about the touring life style, with everyone coming to your feet wanting some piece of you. By the time the band wrapped up the touring for Hard Promises, Ron caved in and decided to leave the band, with Tom Petty drafting in session veteran Howie Epstein to fill his shoes. Unlike usual rock and roll though, there was no hard feelings between Ron and the rest of the band, with him opening up his own shop in California and eventually rejoining the Heartbreakers after Howie's passing in the early '00s.