(October 20, 2025) – When former KISS member and guitarist Ace Frehley died suddenly on Oct. 16 at age 74, the original members of the group were on an elite list of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers whose entire classic lineups remained alive for more than 50 years after the band’s founding. Founded in 1973, KISS original members Frehley, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss formed the core that was inducted into the RRHOF in 2014. While the band experienced line-up changes beginning with Frehley’s departure in 1982, each of the core four lived to see his 70th birthday and all four were still alive as the band’s 50th anniversary passed in 2023.
But amazingly, KISS is not the only RRHOF group to have that distinction. In fact, DJROBBLOG found sixteen additional acts whose entire “classic” lineups – defined here as those individuals whom the Rock Hall deemed essential enough to the group’s success to be inducted by name, regardless of whether they were still with the group – lived more than 50 years after the group’s inauguration. For the purposes of this article, the blog only included acts – vocal groups or bands – whose members, like KISS, numbered four or more at some point in their careers or, more specifically, that had four or more of its members inducted into the RRHOF. This largely excludes duos and trios, although some acts’ rosters may have either started or ended that way, like Motown legends Martha and the Vandellas or the British supergroup Genesis.
Of the 17 total acts, only eight are still actively padding their total years with no deceased classic members, while KISS now joins the other eight in being in this exclusive club but whose classic lineups have recently lost one or more members.
DJROBBLOG has listed all 17 qualifying acts below in alphabetical order, along with their year of founding and a vignette about the original/classic line-ups that made them eligible. The first eight are those whose key members are all still alive as of the article’s publishing, while the remaining nine are those that KISS just joined as having lost at least one member after year 50. In an era when band breakups and tragedy were as common as chart hits, these acts defied rock’s mortality curve with past and present key members. Perhaps some of the acts listed below will surprise you.
Still With Us (the 8 with all living members):
ABBA – Founded 1972 (53 years and counting).
One of the most popular and most enduring groups in history, the four core members of ABBA – Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – were inducted into the RRHOF in 2010. The Swedish icons reunited to record a new album, Voyage, in 2021 – on the eve of the band’s 50th anniversary.
Aerosmith – Founded 1970 (55 years and counting).
The five core members of Aerosmith are not only the five that were inducted into the RRHOF in 2001, but they’re also still with the band today. Often deemed “America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band,” Aerosmith has maintained that core membership – consisting of Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, Joe Perry, and Joey Kramer – for the better part of 54 years. All five men – as well as former member and founder Ray Tabano – are still alive today, although the band retired from touring in 2024 following Tyler’s vocal cord injury.
Cheap Trick – Founded 1973 (52 years and counting).
The band out of the non-Chicago suburb of Rockford, IL has been active since its 1973 founding and has primarily consisted of the RRHOF lineup of Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, and Tom Petersson, who were inducted alongside original drummer and former member Bun E. Carlos in 2016. All four men are still with us today.
Genesis – Founded 1967 (58 years and counting).
The British supergroup Genesis has mostly performed as a trio featuring Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks. But those three plus former members Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett were inducted by the RRHOF in 2010, and all five are still alive today. Against all odds, Genesis performed its final concert tour in 2022 with Collins suffering debilitating health problems. Still, the band ranks among the oldest inductees to have its founding and classic lineup still alive nearly 60 years since it began.
Heart – Founded 1973 (52 years and counting).
The Seattle band featuring Ann and Nancy Wilson was inducted into the RRHOF in 2013. While there have been lineup changes, all past and present members of its classic lineup, including former drummer Michael DeRosier, plus Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, Howard Leese, and the Wilson sisters, are alive today, with Ann and Nancy still touring as Heart in 2025.
Journey – Founded 1973 (52 years and counting).
Journey is another one of those bands whose membership has changed dramatically since its founding in 1973. But all its classic RRHOF lineup – including current members Jonathan Cain and Neil Schon, plus former journeymen Steve Perry, Aynsley Dunbar, Gregg Rolie, Steve Smith, and Ross Valory – are still around today.
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – Founded 1957 (68 years and counting!).
Five members of the Vandellas were inducted into the RRHOF, although the band operated as a trio for the better part of its heyday. Still, with the band having been retired since 1973, all five inductees, including Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard, Betty Kelly, Lois Reeves and Martha Reeves are remarkably still alive today!
The Talking Heads – Founded 1975 (50 years and counting).
The Talking Heads just joined this elite club in 2025 on the 50th anniversary of their founding. Core members David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth were all inducted into the RRHOF in 2002, the same year the group permanently broke up. Byrne is still performing – this writer will see him in concert on October 31 in Chicago.
*Lost a Member (the 9 with recent losses):
*Black Sabbath – Founded 1968 (57 years).
The British heavy metal band Black Sabbath were active members of this elite club until frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s recent death in July 2025. Although the band had been inactive for much of its 57-year-existence, the members reunited for a farewell concert just weeks before Osbourne’s passing. The remaining core members – Geezer Butler, Toni Iommi, and Bill Ward – were inducted along with Ozzy in 2006.
*Blondie – Founded 1974 (51 years).
Like KISS and Black Sabbath, pioneering new wave act Blondie was an active member of the 50+ club until drummer Clem Burke’s passing in April 2025. He was with the band shortly after its founding and remained with it until his death, having played on all their albums with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. Fellow members Harry, Stein, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante, and Gary Valentiine were all inducted into the RRHOF in 2006.
*Electric Light Orchestra – Founded 1970 (54 years).
The spectacular band ELO was among the groups padding its year count until former keyboardist Richard Tandy passed away in May 2024, 54 years after the group’s founding. Amid various lineup changes over the years, Tandy was inducted along with Bev Bevan, Roy Wood, and founding frontman Jeff Lynne in 2017.
*Fleetwood Mac – Founded 1967 (51 years).
One of the most resilient bands to ever feature two romantically involved couples, Fleetwood Mac’s classic lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham remained alive until Christine McVie’s passing in 2022, 55 years after the group was founded. Inducted into the RRHOF in 1998, the venerable band required some math wizardry to be counted among the acts on this list, with classic members Steve Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham not joining the Mac until 1975 (both are still around today). Meanwhile, founders Peter Green (d: 2020) and Jeremy Spencer, plus Danny Kirwan (d: 2018) who joined the band in 1968, were inducted into the RRHOF along with the core of five. Thus, Kirwan’s death in 2018 was the first to immortalize Fleetwood Mac and give them their asterisk on this list.
*The Hollies – Founded 1962 (57 years).
The Hollies out of Manchester, England were one of the first and oldest members of this exclusive club until the passing of bassist Eric Haydock in 2019, 57 years after he co-founded the band. Although he left the group amid several lineup changes over the years, he is the first and still only key member of the Hollies to have passed away. Fellow RRHOF inductees include Bernie Calvert, Allan Clarke, Bobby Elliott, Tony Hicks, Graham Nash, and Terry Sylvester (although only Hicks and Elliott are active Hollies members).
*KISS – Founded 1973 (52 years).
As the inspiration behind this article, the original members of KISS were among the most recognizable names in rock-and-roll for a generation, despite their trademark face-covering makeup. They each lived more than 52 years past the band’s founding, capped by Frehley’s death earlier this month. It has been touching to see the tributes of the other band members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss to their fallen former bandmate in recent days. Read the blog’s tribute to Frehley here.
*Little Anthony & the Imperials – Founded 1958 (50 years).
One of the few R&B/soul vocal groups in this club, Little Anthony & the Imperials has shown itself to be one of the more resilient. Only original member Tracy Lord is known to be deceased (2008), his death coming at the 50-year mark of the group’s founding. The Imperials’ RRHOF lineup includes Lord, Clarence Collins, Anthony Gourdine, Glouster “Nat” Rogers, Sammy Strain (also in with the O’Jays), and Ernest Wright, Jr.
*The Moody Blues – Founded 1964 (54 years).
Perhaps one of the saddest tales of groups whose mortality was only recently manifested, The Moody Blues were among the original owners of this unique distinction with the group’s 50th anniversary in 2014. Then tragedy struck: Ray Thomas (2018), Graeme Edge (2021), Denny Laine (2023), Mike Pinder (2024), and John Lodge (2025) have all passed away in the past seven years. That leaves only fellow inductee and former frontman Justin Hayward as the last surviving member of the classic lineup.
*The Young Rascals/Rascals – Founded 1965 (57 years).
The four core members of the Rascals – Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, and Dino Danelli – all lived long enough to place their band in this elite group. Unfortunately, original drummer Danelli passed away in 2022, 57 years after the group’s founding. Cavaliere and Cornish still perform as the Rascals today.
And for those readers who are wondering which groups are on the cusp of joining this exclusive club, they are: U2 (founded 1976), The Cure (1976), Dire Straits (1977), the Go-Go’s (1978), and Duran Duran (1978)… God willing, of course. If they can all make it to their 50th anniversaries still being among us, they’ll join one of the rarest fraternities in rock-and-roll history.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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