Supergroup (music)

Cream has been credited as the first supergroup.

A supergroup is a musical group formed with members who are already successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups. The term became popular in the late 1960s when members of already successful rock groups recorded albums together, after which they normally disbanded.[1][self-published source?] Charity supergroups, in which prominent musicians perform or record together in support of a particular cause, have been common since the 1980s. The term is most common in the context of rock and pop music, but it has occasionally been applied to other musical genres. For example, opera superstars the Three Tenors (José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti) have been called a supergroup.[2]

A supergroup sometimes forms as a side project for a single recording project or other ad hoc purposes, with no intention that the group will remain together afterwards. In other instances, the group may become the primary focus of the members' career.

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Stuart (2009). Rock and Roll and the American Landscape. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4401-6458-3.[self-published source?]
  2. ^ McDannald, Alexander Hopkins, ed. (2000). The Americana Annual 2000. Grolier. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-7172-0231-7.