10 Musicians Who Left Major Bands

If a band has the good fortune of hitting the big time, it's a dream come true for almost everyone involved. Suddenly, there's an influx of fans who want to hear your music along with loads of money coming in to indulge yourself with. That doesn't necessarily mean that everything is fine though.

For one reason or another, some members of these famous bands could not be satisfied with the life of rock and roll that they found themselves in. Whether it be the stress, the animosity, or just plain egos, it was clear that these members had had enough of the rockstar myth. This creates tension, which leads to arguments, which leads to members just quitting the band altogether.

To the casual fan, it may seem like the dumbest decision in the world to just up and leave a successful rock band out of the blue. However, some people are just not cut out for the insane circus that is the music industry. It's fun to have the admiration and respect of your musical peers, but sometimes the baggage behind that is more than people can deal with. Here are the musicians who went from musical dream fulfillment to escape from the fame nightmare.

While every member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had a hard-edged attitude about them, bassist Ron Blair always stood out as the gentle soul amongst the group. Even at their darkest times, the band persevered and were rewarded with Damn the Torpedos, one of the most successful efforts of their glory years.

However, secondary characters started to creep into the band's network after their finest work. On the tour promoting their next album Hard Promises, Blair found himself unhappy with the way that the band's business was being handled. It seemed that everyone they met while on their hectic schedule was a sleazy agent trying to squeeze money out of them.

In addition to the added company, the pressure that the rest of the band felt would often be too much for Ron to bare, as he would routinely get heckled for how the bass "should sound." With no ill will towards the band, Blair announced that he would be parting ways with the group. Blair would see the band whenever they were in town and even rejoined 2 decades later after the death of replacement Howie Epstein. For all the hysteria surrounding the band, Blair was the first one to actually have his heart broken.