Top Four Rock Band Rifts

Bands that have been together for a long time often talk of the "family" that their band and crew create and many band members are closer to each other than real family. Over the course of rock history, though, there have also been some spectacular falling outs within bands. Here is a list of some of the most public and rancorous band rifts:

1. Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd formed in 1965 but it wasn't until David Gilmour joined the band to replace Syd Barrett that the band really took off. The combination of Roger Waters and David Gilmour made for some of the best-selling rock albums in history, including The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon.

Waters and Gilmour both had larger-than-life personalities and conflicts about the direction of the band began forming as early as the recording of Animals in 1976. Richard Wright left the band in 1977 due to inter-personal conflicts within the band over money, creative direction, and workloads. Pink Floyd continued without Wright until 1985 when Waters decided that the band was a "spent force" and wanted to wrap it up. That's when the true in-fighting started. Gilmour announced that he would continue under the Pink Floyd name and Waters sought an injunction to prevent him from doing so. The legal battle raged on even as Gilmour recorded Momentary Lapse of Reason, the first non-Waters Floyd album. Waters contacted every promoter in the US and threatened them with lawsuits if they booked Gilmour's Floyd. A settlement was eventually reached and Waters even rejoined the rest of the band for a one-off concert in 2005 for Live 8.

2. Fleetwood Mac

The members of Fleetwood Mac have rotated often since the band was first put together in 1967. The most famous combination of band members was Mick Fleetwood (the constant throughout the band's history), John and Christine McVie, and Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The McVie's married shortly before Christine joined the band. Buckingham and Nicks were also a couple who came to Fleetwood Mac together.

Fleetwood Mac's first huge commercial success was their self-titled album in 1975. Shortly after, however, tensions in the band started to explode. The McVie's divorced and Buckingham and Nicks split up after a series of spectacular fights. Despite the falling apart of the personal relationships, the band went on to record Rumors in 1977, which took the Grammy for Album of the Year. Rumors was a barely-concealed account of the nastiness and tensions in the band. Two more albums followed as the band grew farther apart from each other, then Buckingham left the band, followed by Nicks. The band has reunited sporadically over the ensuing years, but the relationships were never repaired.

3. The Band

The Band started its musical journey as a backup band for Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. The group consisted of Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, and Levon Helm. The Band released their first album, Music From the Big Pink in 1968. The group toured relentlessly and released two more albums by 1970.

That's when the tensions started. Robbie Robertson became the de facto head of the group, both musically and administratively. Robertson claimed it was an attempt to compensate for growing addictions in certain band members, notably Danko and Manuel. The other band members were unhappy with the arrangement and fights ensued.

In 1976, Robertson was tired of touring and announced the end of The Band. A blowout concert and party was held on Thanksgiving Day of that year that included many contemporaries and spawned the documentary, "The Last Waltz". Since then, Robertson has been in various disputes with band members over song writing credits and royalties.

In 1983, The Band- minus Robertson- reunited and began touring. During a tour in 1986, Richard Manuel committed suicide. With Rick Danko's death in 1999, The Band broke up for good.

4. The Eagles

The Eagles were a major contributor to American country rock. Their first album in 1972, Eagles, created 3 Top 40 singles and is considered to be one of the top 500 albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. The creative heart of the band was Glen Frey and Don Henley and the duo co-wrote most of the Eagles' songs. The band's final album, The Long Run took two years to produce and began to fray the relationships of Frey and Henley.

The Eagles broke up in 1980 but the band was still contractually obligated for one more record. Frey and Henley put together a live album from opposite ends of the country as they could not be in the same room together. The liner notes to the album thank five attorneys, a testament to the bitter break up. After the band split, all members went on to have successful solo careers.

In 1994, the Eagles were able to patch up their differences and reunited to tour together with a greatest hits album and a live album. In 2001, the band fired long-time member Don Felder who promptly sued the band. Countersuits followed and eventually the case was settled out of court. Remaining band members continue to tour and released a new album in 2007.