By Jessica Wedemeyer
9:00am PDT, Apr 21, 2024
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Let's take a trip down memory lane to see what some of our all-time favorite rock stars looked like during their early years in the music business, starting with musician C.J. Snare, who died on April 18 at 80…
After the death of Duane Allman in 1971, Dickey Betts — one of the Allman Brothers Band's co-founders, seen here as a young man — became the group's sole guitarist and began contributing more vocals, including on "Ramblin' Man," which he also wrote. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
Keep reading to see dozens more more rock stars at the start of their careers…
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C.J. Snare joined FireHouse in 1987 after his former rock group, Maxx Warrior, disbanded and he remained a member for four decades. He's seen here in 1991 — not long after turning 30 — the same year FireHouse released their hit power ballad "Love of a Lifetime," which he wrote while playing solo gigs at a Holiday Inn. C.J. and his bandmates — which also released Billboard Top 40 singles including "When I Look into Your Eyes," "I Live My Life for You," "Don't Treat Me Bad" — won favorite new heavy metal/hard rock artist at the 1992 American Music Awards.
MORE: What your favorite country music stars looked like when they were young
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The Prince of Darkness didn't look so dark while posing in London in 1975. Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne was in his late 20s in this baby-faced snap.
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There's a reason why we call it hair metal! Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan posed for this portrait sometime in the late '80s — not long after his iconic band released their hit debut album, "Appetite for Destruction," in 1987.
Duff and his wild mane left GNR after more than a decade in 1997. He rejoined the group in 2016, four years after they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In recent years, he's collaborated with Ozzy Osbourne and Iggy Pop and released several solo albums including 2023's "Lighthouse."
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Cheap Trick singer and rhythm guitarist Robin Zander is seen here in 1980, a year after his band shot to fame with their live album "Cheap Trick at Budokan" and the hit 1979 singles "I Want You to Want Me" and "Ain't That a Shame."
Robin and his bandmates later topped the charts with 1988's "The Flame" and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
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Barry Gibb — seen here at 23 in 1970 flanked by his late fraternal twin brothers, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb (who were 20 at the time) — formed the Bee Gees with his siblings in 1958. The British brothers enjoyed major success in the late-'60s and '70s and became music superstars during the disco era in large part because of the popularity of their vocal harmonies on the soundtrack for 1977's "Saturday Night Fever."
The trio, who sold more than 120 million records worldwide and scored nine No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
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This duo made headlines in November 2023 when Daryl Hall filed a lawsuit against longtime musical partner John Oates and was granted a temporary restraining order against him…
Hall & Oates — the duo founded by John Oates (left) and Daryl Hall (right) in Philadelphia in 1970 — scored six No. 1 songs in the '70s and '80s including "Rich Girl," "Kiss on My List," "Private Eyes," "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)," "Maneater" and "Out of Touch."
They were both inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
The musicians are pictured here in the Netherlands shooting a video for their song "Sara Smile" in 1976 when both were in their late 20s.
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Aww! Nirvana drummer, Foo Fighters founder and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dave Grohl was still in his 20s when he posed for this portrait sometime in the early '90s. (Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died in April 1994, a few months after Dave turned 25.)
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Keith Richards was snapped playing guitar in 1964 — the same year the Rolling Stones guitarist turned 21 and his band released their debut album.
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Late "Margaritaville" singer Jimmy Buffett is seen here circa 1970 when he was in his mid-20s.
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U2 frontman Bono — seen here performing at New York City's Madison Square Garden when he was around 25 in 1985, about a decade after his band formed in their native Ireland — once rocked a wild mullet. At the time, U2 was just two years shy of releasing their Grammy-winning 1987 album, "The Joshua Tree."
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Rod Stewart is seen here at 24 in 1969, the same year the rocker — who during the '60s was a member of the Dimensions, Steampacket, Shotgun Express and the Jeff Beck Group — released "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down," his first solo studio album. He also started fronting the band Faces in 1969. Rod was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1994 and for a second time — as a member of Faces — in 2012.
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Australian-American musician-actor Rick Springfield was a guitarist and singer-songwriter in the Down Under band Zoot from the late '60s to 1971.
He then embarked on a solo career — he's seen here in 1973 when he was in his early 20s — but it wasn't until 1981 that he really hit it big: That's the year he released the hit track "Jessie's Girl," for which he won a Grammy.
Around the same time he was enjoying the success of "Jessie's Girl," Rick was also making a name for himself in the acting world playing Dr. Noah Drake on the popular soap opera "General Hospital."
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After cutting his musical teeth in the punk scene, Shane MacGowan — the England-born son of Irish immigrants — co-founded the Pogues in 1982 (he's pictured here at 24 the same year). The band, which favored Irish instruments and delivered sometimes politically-tinged music, is perhaps best known for their 1988 album "If I Should Fall from Grace with God," which features the wildly popular Christmas song "Fairytale of New York."
When Shane died in 2023, Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins was among the many famous friends and fans who paid tribute, branding him "one of music's greatest lyricists."
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English singer Kate Bush was 19 when she topped the U.K. singles chart for the first time in 1978 — the same year she posed for this photo — with her debut single, "Wuthering Heights." She went on to release two dozen more U.K. Top 40 singles as well as hits like 1985's "Running Up That Hill," which became her first Top 40 song in America (and enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 when it was heavily featured on the Netflix show "Stranger Things").
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Joan Jett sported her signature shag 'do and a whole lot of attitude in this portrait taken in September 1975 — the same month she turned 17.
Less than a year later, her all-female band The Runaways released their self-titled debut album featuring hits like "Cherry Bomb."
Joan later formed her own super-successful band — Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
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Robert, is that you?! A 20-year-old Robert Smith — the frontman for The Cure — posed for this portrait in 1979, the same year the band released their debut studio album, "Three Imaginary Boys."
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Joni Mitchell — widely regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time — got her start performing in her native Canada in the '60s.
She's seen here at 25 during California's Big Sur Folk Festival in September 1969 — a year after she dropped her debut album, "Song to a Seagull," and a year before she released early hits like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock."
Joni went on to win nine Grammys and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
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Late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby is seen here as a young man in his 20s in an undated portrait taken during the 1960s — the decade he joined the Byrds before co-founding the band Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1968.
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Singer-songwriter Grace Slick is best known for serving as a vocalist and pianist in the San Francisco-bred rock band Jefferson Airplane. She's seen here circa 1970 when she was about 30 and fronting the group, which lost and gained members and later transformed into Jefferson Starship.
Grace was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane.
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He was just a baby! In mid-1982 — a few years before he joined Guns N' Roses and started sporting top hats — a 16-year-old Slash was photographed playing with his very first band, Tidus Sloan, during a lunch break at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
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With his long mane of hair and extra-wide grin, Steven Tyler is unmistakable anywhere, anytime! The Aerosmith frontman was in his late 20s in this snap from 1976.
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Pat Benatar rocked a spectacularly late-'70s ensemble during a portrait session in Los Angeles in late 1979. She was 26 at the time and had just dropped her debut studio album, "In the Heat of the Night," a few months earlier.
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These days, Ronnie Wood is best known for his work as a guitarist in the Rolling Stones, which he joined in 1975. But he actually began his career nearly a decade earlier, joining the Birds on guitar in 1964, the Jeff Beck Group on bass in 1967 and Faces as a guitarist (alongside frontman Rod Stewart) in 1969 — the same year this photo of a 22-year-old Ron was snapped.
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David Lee Roth was all hair in this portrait taken in October 1978 — the same month the former Van Halen frontman turned 24. Earlier that year, his band dropped their self-titled debut studio album.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.
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Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac are seen here in a band portrait circa 1975 — the same year they released their No. 1 self-titled album and two years before they dropped the hit-filled masterpiece "Rumours," which won album of the year at the Grammys and sold more than 40 million copies, making it one of the bestselling albums of all time.
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A 22-year-old Tommy Lee was all hair and bold makeup when he posed for this colorful portrait in Tokyo in July 1985 — four years after he, Nikki Sixx, Mick Marks and Vince Neil founded heavy metal band Mötley Crüe in Los Angeles.
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Is it any wonder he won Gwen Stefani's heart (before breaking it into a million pieces)?!
Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale smoldered in his late 20s in this snapshot from 1996, the year his band dropped their sophomore album, "Razorblade Suitcase."
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They're back, baby! On Oct. 20, 2023, blink-182 released their ninth studio album, "One More Time…" It was the first album in nearly a decade to feature founding member Tom DeLonge, who walked away from the group in 2015 amid tension with bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker. Speaking of Travis…
In this photo from 2001, Travis Barker is a few tattoos and a shaved head short of the music artist we know and love today! The blink-182 drummer was just 25 at the time. Three months earlier, the trio released their hit "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" album.
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Look at that baby face! Mark Hoppus — blink-182's bassist, co-lead singer and co-founder — was 29 when this photo was taken in 2001, the same year his band released their hit "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" album.
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Tom DeLonge was a total pop-punk heartthrob in the '90s. The blink-182 co-founder, lead guitarist and co-lead singer was three days shy of his 25th birthday in this photo snapped in 1999 — the same year his band released their first mainstream hit album, "Enema of the State."
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Who could forget the iconic all-female rock group The Runaways?
The band's lead guitarist, Lita Ford — seen here performing in 1976 — was still a teenager when this photo was taken.
She helped pave the way for a generation of singing and guitar-wielding female rock stars and went on to score a big hit with "Kiss Me Deadly" in the '80s when she pursued a solo career with a pop-metal sound.
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Unforgettable! The late, great Eddie Van Halen — who died at 65 in 2020 — rocked long hair and a piercing stare in this portrait from late 1978, the same year his band, Van Halen, dropped their self-titled debut studio album. He was 23 at the time.
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We see now where all those Harry Styles comparisons come from! Mick Jagger is a dead ringer for the former One Direction singer in this snap taken outside an airport in London in 1964 — the same year his band released their debut studio album. The Rolling Stones frontman was just 20 at the time.
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The late Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan's guitarist in the '60s and '70s who passed away in 2023, found greater fame after co-founding music group The Band in 1973.
He went on to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and to work extensively with filmmaker Martin Scorsese as a movie soundtrack producer and composer on many of the director's most notable projects.
He's seen here in 1971 when he was just 27.
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The Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle posed for this portrait in 1986 when she was in her 20s.
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Metallica's co-founder and lead vocalist, James Hetfield, is seen here sporting long locks in 1985 when he was 22. See him with his baby-faced bandmates the following year…
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In 1986, Metallica suffered a tragedy when bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a tour bus accident in Sweden while the band was touring to promote their acclaimed third album, "Master of Puppets." Musician Jason Newsted (second from left) replaced him on bass and is seen here at 23 with his bandmates — a 23-year-old James Hetfield, a 22-year-old Lars Ulrich and a 24-year-old Kirk Hammett — during a photo session in Tokyo in November 1986. Jason left Metallica in 2001 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the heavy metal band in 2009.
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Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died at 80 in August 2021. The legend is seen here in a snapshot from 1963, early in his career with the band.
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After forming the band Kyuss as a teenager, Josh Homme briefly served as a touring guitarist for Screaming Trees — he's seen here playing with the pioneering grunge band during the Lollapalooza tour in 1996 when he was 23. He formed his most famous band yet, Queens of the Stone Age, the very same year.
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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor — pictured here at 26 performing on a Lollapalooza tour stop in 1991, two years after he released the influential debut album "Pretty Hate Machine" — has found even more success making music for films and TV shows in recent years. He's won two Oscars for best original score for his work on "The Social Network" and "Soul," plus an Emmy for composing the score for "Watchmen."
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A baby-faced Sinead O'Connor got behind the mic on a 1987 episode of the long-running British docuseries "The South Bank Show." She was about 20 at the time and fresh off dropping her debut album, "The Lion and the Cobra."
The alt rock singer-songwriter died at 56 on July 26, 2023. Six months later, in February 2024, ABC announced that Sinead was one of 15 acts nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.
"Nothing compares 2 Sinead O'Connor. The life and art of this Irish singer-songwriter and activist left an indelible mark on the soul of popular music. Musically, she combined stylistic elements from alternative rock, hip-hop, reggae and electronic pop to punctuate and enhance her sociopolitical messages," the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said in a statement.
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Beach Boys member Brian Wilson was only about 23 when he posed for this portrait with his dog in Los Angeles circa 1965. Despite being so young, the songwriting genius and his bandmates had already released seven studio albums by this point.
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Bruce Springsteen, is that you?! The Boss was just a baby when he posed for this portrait circa 1970. He would've been in his early 20s at the time. (He dropped his debut studio album, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.," in 1973.)
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Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hame of Fame member Carlos Santana is seen backstage at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California, in 1969 when he was 22 — just a few months after his fame exploded with the release of his band's hit debut album, "Santana," in the wake of their electrifying performance at the Woodstock music festival.
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Who's that girl? It's Debbie Harry! The "Heart of Glass" singer and Blondie frontwoman looked appropriately blonde and beautiful following a 1978 concert in New York.
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Just look at how young he was! The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is seen here during the band's Christmas concert in 1963 when he was in his early 20s. They released two albums that year: "Please Please Me" and "With the Beatles."
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Stevie Nicks is seen here circa 1975 — the year she joined Fleetwood Mac after starting her career as a duo with future ex-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham.
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Morrissey fronted the English rock band The Smiths from 1982 to 1987. He's seen here in his early 20s in 1982 — two years before his band's self-titled debut album landed on shelves.
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Lee Ranaldo (left), Thurston Moore (bottom center) and Kim Gordon (right) formed Sonic Youth in 1981. They released several albums on indie labels during that decade — drummer Steve Shelley (back middle) joined in 1985 — and made their major label debut with the lauded album "Goo" in 1990, the same year they're seen here. They disbanded in 2011 after Thurston and Kim split after 27 years of marriage amid his messy cheating scandal.
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Scotland-born, America-raised musician David Byrne is seen here at 26 performing in Atlanta in 1978 — three years after founding the Talking Heads with drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth. Five years later, the band, which by then also included Jerry Harrison on keyboard and guitar, released their mainstream hit "Burning Down the House."
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The Beatles singer, songwriter and bassist Paul McCartney turned 21 the year this photo was snapped — 1963 — just a few years after he, John Lennon and George Harrison formed their band (Ringo Starr joined in 1962).
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Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi was in his early 20s in this photo of him performing with his band in England in 1985 — one year before their third album, "Slippery When Wet," debuted.
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Genesis drummer Phil Collins is pictured here in 1977 when he was in his mid-20s — two years after Peter Gabriel left the band, leading Phil to take over as Genesis's lead vocalist. Though Phil went on to great success as a solo artist, releasing hits like "In the Air Tonight" in 1981, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Genesis in 2010.
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Drummer Mick Fleetwood is seen here at 20 or 21 circa 1968 — a year after he co-founded the initial incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and the same year his band released their first album.
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In 1994, a 27-year-old Billy Corgan performed with his band, The Smashing Pumpkins, in his hometown of Chicago.
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Jane Wiedlin, seen here in her early 20s in 1981, was the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist in the all-female band The Go-Go's — a pioneering force in new wave pop music that delivered hits like "Vacation," "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed" — before she went solo.
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Lenny Kravitz was 25, married to actress Lisa Bonet and a new father to future actress Zoe Kravitz when he posed for this portrait in 1990, mere months after the release of his debut studio album, "Let Love Rule."
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My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way was 27 when this photograph was taken! He's seen here performing during the Nintendo Fusion Tour in 2004 — four months after the band's second studio album, the triple-platinum "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge," debuted.
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That hair! Eric Clapton was in his early 20s when he was snapped with a female companion during a photo shoot with his band, Cream, sometime in the late '60s. (He was just 23 when the band's final album, "Goodbye," dropped in early 1969!)
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The Who frontman Roger Daltrey (second from right) is seen here with bandmates Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwistle in a portrait taken circa 1967. It was a busy decade for the British rock band: They released five albums including 1965's "My Generation" and 1967's "The Who Sell Out."
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Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose is seen here looking particularly baby-faced early in his career, which kicked off in the mid-'80s.
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Bret Michaels without a bandana?! Yep! The Poison frontman went without his now-signature accessory while performing with his band in 1988 — the same year they released their hit sophomore album, "Open Up and Say… Ahh!" He was 25 at the time.
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Alice Cooper dropped his shock-rock persona for this portrait taken in 1973, the same year his band released their hit song "No More Mr. Nice Guy." He was in his mid-20s at the time.
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Courtney Love formed the alt-rock band Hole in 1989 and came to fame as a force in the grunge scene in the '90s with albums like "Pretty on the Inside" and "Live Through This." She's seen here with her bandmates — guitarist Eric Erlandson, late bassist Kristen Pfaff and drummer Patty Schemel — early that decade when she was in her late 20s.
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We'd recognize the late, great David Bowie anywhere and at any time! Ziggy Stardust was still a teenager in this portrait from 1964. It would be three more years before his self-titled debut studio album dropped.
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Billy Idol was about 22 and still in the band Generation X when he posed for this photo in New York City's East Village in early 1978. Three years later, the British rocker born William Broad had a big hit on his hands as a solo artists with the singles "Dancing With Myself" and "White Wedding."
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Here's a quick reminder that Jimmy Page hasn't always had white hair! In 1966 — two years before he founded Led Zeppelin — the guitarist rocked a mop of brunette locks during a portrait session with his first band, The Yardbirds, in the Detroit area. He was just 22 at the time.
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Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry posed for a portrait in his mansion in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in September 1979 when he was in his late 20s. Two months later, the band dropped their "Night in the Ruts" album. Joe only recorded half of it, though: He left the group earlier that year amid a feud with his bandmates. (He ultimately returned five years later.)
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Bassist Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe was just 25 in this photo taken at a party celebrating the band's second album, "Shout at the Devil," being certified gold in early 1984. Its success established the group as one of the top-selling heavy metal acts of the '80s.
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Patti Smith, is that you?! The music star is seen here at 29 in 1976, a year after she released her debut album, the punk classic "Horses."
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Thom Yorke was just 25 when he posed for this portrait in 1993, the same year his band, Radiohead — which he formed as a teen at boarding school in Oxford, England — released their debut album, "Pablo Honey," featuring the hit single "Creep."
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Liam Gallagher — who's seen performing in London in 1994, the year he turned 22 — fronted the band Oasis from 1991 to 2009. After they broke up and his relationship with bandmate and brother Noel Gallagher imploded, Liam fronted another rock band, Beady Eye, which came to an end in 2014.
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Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is seen here in 1970 when he was 25. That same year, he released his debut self-titled solo studio album.
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Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins (front) had a total baby face in his mid-20s when he was photographed alongside bandmates Zac Lind, Rick Burch and Tom Linton in 2001 — the year their iconic album "Bleed American," which featured the then-ubiquitous hit "The Middle," debuted.
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Chrissie Hynde, who formed the British American rock group the Pretenders in 1978 and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 — is seen here performing on a British TV show in 1980.
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Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was a 22-year-old bleached-blonde babe when this photograph was taken in 1994 — the same year his band's Grammy-winning third studio album, "Dookie," debuted.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (born Michael Balzary) and frontman Anthony Kiedis were in their early 20s when they were photographed before a sold-out show in New York City in December 1986. They'd formed their group — which remains the most successful alternative rock band ever with 14 No. 1 singles and more than 120 million records sold worldwide — three years earlier. It would be another five years before they scored their first mainstream commercial hit with the 1991 album "Blood Sugar Sex Magik."
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Goo Goo Dolls singer-guitarist John Rzeznik posed outside CBGB in New York City in January 1993 when he was 27 — two years before he and bandmates Robby Takac and George Tutuska released their breakthrough single, "Name," and five years before their fame skyrocketed with the release of the hit track "Iris."
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The world lost Prince far too soon, and yet the iconic artist appeared practically immune to aging. He looked nearly the same performing in New York City in 1981 as he did when he died at 57 in 2016.
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A baby-faced Shirley Manson looked ready to rock in this portrait from 1996. The Garbage frontwoman was about 30 at the time. Her band had just released their self-titled debut album the previous year.
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Matt Bellamy sure has grown up since this portrait from 2000! The Muse frontman was in his early 20s at the time and his band was fresh off dropping their debut studio album, "Showbiz," the previous year.
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Be still our hearts! The late, great Chris Cornell looked too cute during a portrait session in New York City in late 1989, the year his band Soundgarden released their sophomore album, "Louder Than Love." The singer, who was 25 at the time, later fronted an equally popular group: Audioslave.
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Which rock star was front and center during a funeral-themed photoshoot with one of his earliest bands, The Hentchmen, in Detroit in 1998? Jack White, who was in his early 20s at the time. The following year, he and Meg White released their debut self-titled studio album as The White Stripes.
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Kim Thayil, who was in his early 30s when this photo was taken at Lollapalooza in 1992, was the lead guitarist and co-founder (alongside the late Chris Cornell) of the iconic Seattle rock band Soundgarden.
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Chris Barron — who's fronted the Spin Doctors since 1998 — was in his mid-20s when this portrait was taken in 1993.
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Gordon Gano, the lead singer and guitarist for the Violent Femmes, is seen here during a performance in Minneapolis in 1984 when he was 21.
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Siouxsie Sioux famously fronted the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The English singer-songwriter is seen here rocking her signature eye makeup in this 1977 photo taken the year she turned 20 — a year after she started the band behind hits like "Kiss Them For Me" and "Peek-a-Boo."
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Thurston Moore, who's seen here in 1996, fronted the influential indie band Sonic Youth. A year later, he released his debut solo album, "Psychic Hearts."
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The Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser were in their early 20s when they posed for this pic in 1983. The Scottish alternative rock band released their debut studio album, "Garlands," the previous year.
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Stephen Malkmus fronted the indie rock band Pavement from 1989 until their breakup in 1999. The Los Angeles native is pictured here performing on stage in 1992 when he was 26.
