10 Rock Bands Who Only Have One Original Member Left
2. ELO
In the early '70s, prog rock was still just being born. With King Crimson and Yes starting to lead the charge, it was time for rock to move past the traditional bluesy formula and move into the big leagues of grandiose music. On the other hand, no one exactly expected to go full orchestral just yet.
Once Electric Light Orchestra arrived on the scene, rock fans were treated to Chuck Berry by way of Beethoven, with various string arrangements taking place where a guitar solo would have originally been. As time went on though, the only real constant in the group was Jeff Lynne, who was responsible for every one of the songs. While Roy Wood played a pivotal role in the early days, Lynne's immaculate touch with production has remained intact ever since, assisting both ELO's work as well as albums by giants like Tom Petty and George Harrison.
Across every single ELO song, Lynne proves himself to be somewhat of a musical visionary, looking to use the studio as his canvas to paint lush sonic tapestries across his discography. Hell, even when reforming and taking to the road in recent years, the new lineup has been rechristened Jeff Lynne's ELO to call attention to the technical wizard at the forefront. For a band that's all about lush soundscapes, it takes a certain type of musical force to make every single element of both rock and classical sound this good.